The problem solver

It appears more or less imperceptibly, but it appears sooner or later - with all of us. For me, it happened somewhere between 65 and 75 years that I had to pick a dry toilet paper and wipe away the last drop after I had hit the bilge.

As time went by, a tiny stain started to form in the panties, almost just a little imperceptible moisture which eventually turned into a tiny stain. As the years went by, this stain only got bigger, and the solution was to fold a paper towel or two after hitting the bilge and put it inside the panties.

For me, this was a goodbye to my boxer shorts, the briefs were better suited to hold in place this little piece of paper that caught the leak at the front.

As the years went by, the one piece of paper was dried to both two and three, depending on whether it involved sports, walking, and so on, - in general, I became eventually adept at adapting the paper thickness to the conditions, so to speak.

Eventually, I noticed that I had to get up at night and pee. You usually do that once after two, three, four, or five hours a night, depending on fluid intake the evening before. Now it suddenly happened twice, and then three, - and four, - and maybe five times, while the piece of paper in the panties got thicker and thicker.

I don't know about you, but I tend to think of everything regarding bodily functions, whether they cause pain or not, as transient. But this, which I eventually learned was called urine leakage, did not go away, it rather grew in scope.

My GP promptly prescribed suitable pills for the purpose, and sure enough, the leak stopped, to the extent that I had to get new pills that opened up again. And so, it continued as time and years passed.

It is worth noting that the reflexes from the growing prostate pressing on my bladder continued to wake me up at night, and in the bathroom a few, - tiny drops into the toilet bowl, no matter how long I stood there, - and I thanked Our Lord that we had had enough sense to install underfloor heating in the bathrooms.

So it went on and on, struggling with my urine leakage problems and lack of sleep at night while the panty changes became more and more frequent.

Since I've never been a shy person, I consulted my pharmacist who told me that yes, - there were diapers for adults with such problems, but the last thing on the market were snazzy paper panties with extra absorbent material in the crotch that effectively gripped in the leakage problems. The briefs came in different colors and sizes and could be effectively changed when needed.

In addition, the GP sent me to a urologist - a doctor who specializes in everything with the "undercarriage" and who promptly inserted a catheter, a tube that goes into the urinary bladder, and out came within a few minutes 1 - one-liter urine!! We stopped by the pharmacy on the way home and were handed tubes and plastic bags and things with a message from the urologist to come back in a month for a check-up. I also got special pills to stop the growth of the prostate (look it up) to ensure that it was reduced to normal size. Thereby it would not press on the urinary bladder, which was the direct cause of frequent toilet visits and uncontrolled urination at night.

At the check-up the following month, the urologist said he was satisfied with the development, and asked me to continue with the pills, in principle for the rest of my life, and to come back for a check-up in six months. This, - dear boys (and girls), put an end to at least 10 years of peeing nightmares, maybe even more for me.

As of today, everything is normal, but I have kept the paper panties, simply because they are clean, hygienic, and comfortable and catch the few drops that tend to come, the older you get, at the most inconvenient times.

 I have made a habit of always going to the toilet before I go out and hit the lance. It quickly becomes a habit, and you avoid unpleasant surprises when you are out in public.