Olivia McVeigh, Owner of Enola Private Clinic Newry

I have always been very outgoing, and I wasn’t afraid to speak about anything and was surprised at how many of my friends, colleagues, gym buddies, men and women were suffering with incontinence.

Monday 15 November 2021

Olivia McVeigh, Owner of Enola Private Clinic Newry

I have always been very outgoing, and I wasn’t afraid to speak about anything and was surprised at how many of my friends, colleagues, gym buddies, men and women were suffering with incontinence.

From planning what clothes they would wear in case of a leak, to really researching their route for the weekly shopping to include bathroom breaks, so many were silently living with stress and urge incontinence issues.

My background is in property however I decided I wanted to diversify my interests. I still manage my own block management business and a property business overseas, I guess I just like to keep busy!

In 2019, I travelled to Cambodia to take part in a trek to raise funds for the Southern Area Hospice.

I talked to people from all over the world on our trek, men and women and the topics ranged from children to lifestyle, sports to politics. One night a woman had an ‘accident’ when we were out walking. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to leave and go home. I was amazed at how many people opened up and started sharing their experience of incontinence. Men and women, of various ages, their daily routines revolving around managing these issues, disturbed sleep, reduced intimate satisfaction and the need to be constantly close to a toilet.

When we returned home, I started to research what was available for people who lived with incontinence.

There were a lot of invasive procedures, painful and time consuming with a lot of recovery time, or the alternative was bulky pads that ruined people’s confidence and were bad for the environment.

Then in early 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic was really starting to worry people, I came across a new technology that was non-invasive, was a walk-in walk out procedure with no down time and reduced incontinence, of all kinds, in 95% of cases.

It was an electro-magnetic chair that gave the internal pelvic muscles a deep work out, in fact it was the equivalent of 11,000 Kegel exercises per 28-minute session and had no adverse environmental side effects or waste.

The treatment was not just medically approved for the treatment of incontinence but also for vaginal laxity when the muscles may have become slack after childbirth, menopause or for many other reasons. So many women were suffering in silence with this, losing confidence and intimacy with their partners.

With millions of people worldwide needing help with incontinence and intimate issues, it is hard to believe it is still so rarely talked about. I am hoping to change that.

Picture: Olivia pictured recently hosting a coffee morning for Macmillan. To give something back, the clinic raises funds for a different charity each month.

We are coming up to our sixth month in business and we have had men and women of all ages at the clinic.

Brenda, a 29-year-old from just outside Newry, was suffering with leaking and limited bladder control and it was really affecting her day-to-day life. She noticed a gradual improvement from her first treatment (the treatment lasts for six sessions) and a month after she had finished her course, she came back to tell me how much more confident she was, how her bladder control had greatly improved and how her day-to-day life was completely changed.

Another client Kate, 53, had stress and urge incontinence since her first son was born 26 years previous. She was always embarrassed to talk about it, feeling it was such a taboo subject. Over lockdown, she made a decision to change her life and seek help for her condition. Her life had revolved around where the nearest toilet was, and she had started to feel like a prisoner in her own body.

She had been referred by her GP to the hospital for internal physio but found it very invasive. She received other treatments at the hospital, injections that were effective but wore off quickly. Having seen our advert, she got in contact and went through the six sessions. To quote Kate, “to say this has absolutely changed my life is an understatement. I have pushed myself to run, walk down steep hills, squat at the gym and I can now sneeze, laugh, jump on a trampoline with no leaking. I feel like I have my life back.”

We have people coming to us from all over Ireland, men, and women.

Charlie, a 68-year-old man from mid-Ulster had resigned himself to getting out of bed two or three times a night to use the bathroom. He rang the clinic as he was interested in finding out more information. I saw Charlie arriving at the door and nearly turning away at the front door because he was embarrassed to come in, but he did and he said: “The treatment was so discreet, just sitting on chair and watching some tv. For the past two weeks I haven’t had to get out of bed once during the night. I know this will be anonymous, so I am also going to add that there have been other side effects that were very unexpected. I now also understand that erectile dysfunction is not something I have to live with and I reclaiming that part of my life.”

Each of our clients have a different story to tell and although the treatments are short (each session is 28 minutes) we get to know them so well and become invested in their wellness. It is a privilege to do my job, people put so much trust in me and it makes me very happy to hear how much it changes their lives, it changes my life to hear their story.

You can contact Olivia at the Enola Private Clinic on 0800 246 1309 or go to www.enolaprivateclinic.com for more information.

Monday 15 November 2021