please share with me your first, last name, where
you're located, and the name of your business
and or company. Hi, my name is Dr. Nigel Brayer.
I'm from Cleveland, Ohio region, and my company
is myself, and I'm the founder of the Ironclad
Bladder Retraining System. Nice. Ironclad Bladder
Retraining System. Yeah. Tell me more about it,
doctor. Sure. So I've been in practice in the
wellness space now for 28 years or so. Exciting
stuff. So over the years, I've evolved from treating
musculoskeletal problems to digestive issues.
And the last several years, I kind of stumbled
upon by accident, shall we say, but there's really
no accidents. stumbled upon the epidemic really
that women are suffering from, which is urinary
incontinence. So I kind of stumbled upon in a
way such that my wife, with our last child, she
started having it. And of course, I didn't know
that. She was afraid to share it. But through,
I guess, constant annoyance from me i kind of
got to the bottom of why are you avoiding so
many of the activities we used to do why are
you not hiking with us why all these different
things and you know and obviously an emotional
moment she shared that she was unable to hold
her bladder um so i guess being a doctor and
being a male i guess we like to fix things so
i took it upon myself to try to figure out well
how do i get my wife back to doing what she loves
and then also helping to remove some of the stigma
that was associated with it. So I started digging
into my old patient files and started reviewing
some paperwork from my past female patients,
ones who had children and ones who didn't. And
I realized from their intake paperwork that urinary
incontinence is really a huge problem that had
never really been addressed. And so as as things
went along i started doing trial and error different
types of things to see if i could help my wife
we went through kegel exercises i referred her
to a pelvic floor physical therapist all these
different things and really didn't help her it
did slightly but nothing really shall we say
resolved the issue so i looked a little deeper
and did a lot more research in anatomy and physiology
and neurology and i came to the conclusion that
The reason urinary incontinence isn't being resolved
is because the focus has been primarily on the
muscles and tissues around the bladder. And as
I started changing my process and helping her
and addressing more what's called the neurologic
components, and most importantly, the autonomic
components, which involves what's called the
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
retraining, that's where we started to get amazing
results. So with her, We started devising the
protocol. It worked amazingly. And then I started
asking more of my patients who had these problems
that I wasn't really addressing prior. And I
said, hey, I've got this new protocol that we're
testing out. Would you be open to it? And of
course, the answer was yes. And eight to 10 out
of 10 women had full resolution. And so I'm like,
wow, this is pretty amazing. And then I started
looking even deeper and saying, well, why don't
women talk to other doctors about this? And I
realized that there's this huge stigma attached
to urinary incontinence, a stigma of self -worth,
of insecurity, of smelling like urine, like all
these different things you could imagine. And
I realized, well, the majority of women don't
because of all the different emotional challenges
that go with that, shall I say, label. So I kind
of take it upon myself to break through that
label so that we can open up the dialogue and
help people understand that there's valid solutions
and they're easy. They're non -surgical. They're
non -medication based. um but it just takes a
little bit of retraining which is what my system
was designed for and i did it in my office for
several years but then i thought okay how do
i get it to women because i understand that a
lot of women aren't going to want to talk to
others about it and they're not going to want
to talk to their doctors and even if they do
their doctors are probably going to use this
standard treatment let's use some medication
let's use a diuretic let's use a beta blocker
these are different drugs that people use and
obviously those aren't very attractive so i wanted
to make it easy and simple that they could really
do it at home and that's where the ironclad bladder
system came because then it's not the i have
to have the uncomfortable conversations i have
to spend the money seeing a doctor i have to
spend the money getting tests all these different
things that are barriers i thought if i could
remove those barriers then it would be a lot
easier to resolve it and then also to get people
you know control their bladder back Yeah. Yeah.
I guess, doctor, speaking from a woman's perspective,
I must admit, we did not. There's two things
I'd like to admit as a as a woman and who's had
four children. Sure. I don't know if we could
put a name to it. And I think it was normalized.
Right. I think it was something that we thought
was normal after having a kid because we didn't
get any instructions on having the child. We
didn't get any after the child. So there was
no thought process of like, what is this about?
It was like, OK, you open up your 10 centimeters,
you go back down and it never really goes back
down. That's our mindset. Right. And then when
we normalize things, it's interesting how we
don't have a conversation of what we believe
to be. normal you know and so for you to bring
this up and to have this discussion I think is
very awesome and I guess I could probably say
for most women that are watching this or some
we didn't know what to call it also the thought
process of urinary incontinence came with age
OK, I'm 46. I would not admit, you know, because
I'm not old. You know what I mean? I'm not there
yet. I don't want to I don't want to be prescribed
a diaper. So at that point, I guess I'm just
sharing with you the mindset that that I had.
I can I can really speak for myself. So I really
appreciate you looking further into that. That's
that's very awesome. What I find really interesting
in what you just said is. I've spoke to countless
women and they have that exact same sentiment
in different words. And so the question is, is
when we normalize things, we therefore sweep
it underneath the rug. And then, of course, we
don't ever look at it and it just sits and festers
and it affects us in other ways. So just an interesting
standpoint is if. I always like to see what's
on television commercials because it kind of
shows you where problems of people are. And if
you notice next time you watch a television show
is the adult diaper business is astronomical.
How many commercials? how much monthly payment
people are spending every single month to not
fix anything but just to normalize it like oh
i guess now i have to put 200 a month in my budget
for adult diapers isn't that a sad state yeah
right and and and for That's the solution, right?
That's my thought process is like, oh, that's
the solution. There's no solution to saying,
hey, is there something, you know, up here rather
than, you know, in the lower body or the pelvic
area? And of course, Kegels are often stated,
hey, that's what you start. That's what you do.
not really sure if it really fixed anything but
hey we'll try right so at at the end of the day
um as like you mentioned when those commercials
come on that is that's that's typically a woman's
solution and now we can go and do jumping jacks
and run and ride the bike and do all those things
uh but looking like we have a diaper on yeah
you've been making them thinner now dr bryer
i'm like what i think i'd just rather use a restroom
on myself rather than wear a diaper you know
at the age of 46 i i have a question for you
what because of this right this is this is this
um urinary incontinence What made someone just
say, just forget it? And I mean, just your thought
process, right? Because my mind is going, what
was the thought process of someone just saying,
just put a diaper on them? And why did they put
it in an age rather than someone that did have
a child or rather than someone who is younger
that doesn't understand? So in my reasoning,
and again, I've had the pleasure of meeting a
lot of people and hearing their stories, is.
we have to kind of look at the historical process
of of healthcare in general so healthcare in
general has a very very um mechanistic point
of view meaning here's your anatomy this is how
it's supposed to work if it doesn't work the
anatomy is flawed we move along and do something
else We're going to see if we can manipulate
the function of the anatomy using a chemical,
which of course is a pharmaceutical of some sort.
If we can't manipulate it to what we want, then
we're just going to say, hey, it's flawed anatomy.
Anatomy can't be changed. Let's move along. But
I guess what's really exciting and hopeful, and
this is part of my mission, is if I help people
understand their anatomy, it opens up the entire
door. um and the whole world of options to resolve
it so let's just talk about that for a second
is most people might know this but we have two
kidneys on either side of our back off or just
behind our ribs and there's two tubes that come
out of the kidneys that are called the ureters
that go to the bladder and the bladder is like
a balloon okay and then that balloon holds urine
of course and that balloon is complicated there's
a bunch of muscles that control that balloon
but for simplicity then there's a straw that
comes out of it And that straw would be called
the urethra. Now in men, there's two valves.
There's one right where the straw meets the balloon.
Okay. It's called the internal sphincter. And
on the other end of the straw called the external
sphincter. So there's two with a space in between
and the prostate. And in women, they have a very
small straw. And so that valve is about an inch
long. But what really opened my eyes, because
I was trained in medical school like everyone
else, you've got the anatomy, you've got the
function, you've got the valve, you've got nerves
that run the valve, big deal, move along. Well,
when you look at the valve, and this is kind
of where the solution started to percolate, is
the innervation, which means the nerve supply
to that valve, is only 30%. what's called consciously
controlled. So what that means to you and I is
your bicep muscle on your arm, when you want
to flex your muscle, you, you know, you do it
consciously, right? If you're not consciously
doing it, unless there's something wrong, it's
going to just be at rest. Well, what's interesting
about the valve of the bladder, 30 % is consciously
controlled. So when you're doing kegels, you
are using the 30 % to control that muscle. OK,
well, what about the other 70? And that's kind
of where I started to scratch my head and look
deeper into into neurology. Well, the other 70
is what's called autonomically controlled. So
what that means is you and I are sitting here
and if we get excited, our heartbeat goes up.
You didn't ask it to it just did because you
needed more blood for your brain and you're getting
excited. So you move your body around. Well,
that's autonomically that's back brain stuff.
OK, well, that means autonomically back brain
stuff. is controlling your valve so i think of
it this way is imagine your fist with a straw
going through it and this the tighter you hold
that straw that collapses it and it stops the
flow of water let's say okay but imagine now
you're contracting it for days and months and
years just think about how um tight and rigid
and stiff your your fist becomes right so after
you do it for a while it starts to quiver so
a good example is a lady goes to bend over And
she, you know, leaks a little bit. Well, when
that valve is constantly under a state of contraction,
it loses its ability to relax and contract as
it should properly. Well, that's an autonomic
issue based upon what's called the sympathetic
and parasympathetic nervous system. Meaning when
your body's under stress from having baby, from
raising baby, from working full time to juggling
50 schedules. that stress that affects every
other part of your life is also affecting your
valve and that's affecting your body's ability
to control urine so kind of the key to changing
that is resetting what's called the parasympathetic
sympathetic balance which goes back to stress
so if we can retrain the stress response and
then over time help you reduce that stress response
not to stop living and go sit on a mountain and
hum right but but so your life isn't so sympathetically
stressed fight flight then the bladder starts
to gain better control now tissue changes too
there's hormones right hormones shift they change
tissue so if you address those factors then that
bladder starts to function properly and even
when it's full even if there's more pressure
on it you have control over it does that make
sense Yes, yes, yes. And so it's very interesting.
I was typing these things down. So it's the autonomic,
which is the 70%, right? Which is what holds
on, right? Because it grips and it's the straw.
I'm thinking of the straw and it grins. Yep.
And as we are parenting all the roles that we
fulfill as women, it's often tight, right? It's
often controlled, right? Not by us, but because
it's controlled. But then you said when we get
excited and our heart rate goes up, I think that
it sort of loosens up. Well, that in my mind,
I'm thinking that's why when we do something
fun. Everything just happens, right? It's not
doing it while we're chasing the kids or, you
know, we're cleaning the kitchen or we're doing
anything else. And so I guess I'm having this
aha moment in realizing that. The stress that
we have as women and the lifestyle that we live
and not like that's, you know, it's always bad
stress. It's just all the roles that we play.
But the minute that we decide to have fun and
the minute that we're like free, everything's
too free, doctor. Wait a minute. What we're paying
for to do now, our body is taking full control.
But it's it's almost like. For lack of better
words, like our body is just releasing like it's
like, oh, OK, we're in a different environment.
We don't have to tense up. We can let loose.
But doctor, as a woman, I'm irritated to hear
this because we have enough stuff just being
a woman. You know what I mean? Control the emotions
and the hormones and not to mention as we get
older, not to mention having babies and everything
else. I think that we tend to lose less control
over things. And now we have to figure out how
to do something else in order to maintain a normal
lifestyle. That's challenging. It is. And I guess
just to take a little of the angst out of your
voice with that, because you feel like, oh, my,
another thing I have to add on to my do list.
This is just. sucks already right so so the solutions
are simpler than you think and i'll just use
a different example is sympathetic let's just
kind of take a step back from this topic for
a second and let's just talk about heart disease
heart disease is the number one cause of death
in most first world nations what is heart disease
it's what's called a sympathetic dominant disease
what does that mean it means that after years
of this fight flight response You and I have
just been talking about the bladder and the valves
called sphincters. What about the blood vessels?
Well, they're doing the same thing. So now imagine
your blood vessels are constantly constricting
over decades. And now your heart rate has to
go up and your heart load has to go up. That's
what causes heart disease. So we're not talking
about anything different than undoing how we've
responded internally to stressors. The only difference
is, and this is what, again, this protocol is
about, is our focal point. And I call it our
million dollar problem. The million dollar problem
is you can't hold your bladder. So let's fix
that first. And to fix that, we have to address
the underlying stress that, oh, by the way, is
also going to create heart disease later in life.
So it's not like you got to do a whole bunch
of different stuff for different problems. This
is just a different symptom related to one underlying
problem. So resetting the sympathetic nervous
system. And more than anything, making a small,
simple, consistent effort to do so. And that's,
again, I'm not trying to sell a program, but
that's what the program is designed for, is how
do I implement something simple? Because like
you, Jovenka, is we don't want another overwhelming
thing that people have to try to fit into an
overwhelming life. We want to give solutions
that are simple, where it becomes like, I really
look forward to this. process that I'm learning.
That's not only going to help my bladder, which
it absolutely will, but it's going to help my
life. It's going to help how I relate to my children,
how I relate to my coworkers, my significant
others, all that other stuff. So it's not like
10 different things I got to do. It's one or
two things that are going to affect the whole
cascade of your life. That sounds better. Kind
of cool. Yeah. Yeah. And, and that's the cool
part is when you start making those changes,
it'll start affecting bladder yes it'll start
affecting how you do things yes but it'll also
affect how you sleep it'll affect how you know
you respond to others if you're already if you're
already wired and stressed then of course when
others bring more things to you you're more wired
and more stressed and that affects all those
interactions and it becomes like a big um just
built absolutely and it's it's um it's it's it's
actually really nice to talk about this and i'm
super excited for those who choose to watch this
because at the end of the day there's something
else that we can learn and as i mentioned to
you before i feel like i'm the audience most
of the time as i continue to have these conversations
and for me dr bryer i know what your vision is
but tell me about your vision with this foundation
sure so really simply is open the dialogue and
then the biggest thing is getting an understanding
of your body so that's kind of my mission the
protocol is the the how the mission is let's
help people women in particular of course first
understand a little bit about their anatomy because
if you understand how your body works you make
entirely different choices again i've been at
this long enough to see patients make enormously
erroneous choices or following following choices
that other doctors that say have made, but they
just didn't make any sense, but they didn't make
sense because the patient doesn't understand
how their body works. So if I can help people
understand their anatomy, their physiology, and
you don't have to be a doctor just enough to
make good decisions and then give them steps
to start to improve how they'd all integrate,
they first are going to get a resolution or great
improvement to their million dollar problem.
But it's going to empower them so that they can
start doing what they love. Because you think
about how, and I've heard this from countless
women, their lives become extremely small. So
we talked about the occasional leak. That's one
issue that, you know, you can temporarily use
a pad, etc. But now imagine how it progresses
to where you can only hold the bladder for, let's
say, 10 minutes and you got to go to the grocery
store. and you're worried about smelling a urine.
Do you see how your life gets really small as
that builds? So I guess my big vision is empower
women with some understanding, give them tools
that not only will help their current problem,
but will help them live just more stress -free,
more authentically, have better relationships,
have better interactions with their kids, their
family, their life. So that's really my big vision.
I love that. I love that. And I do have just
one more random question. Sure. What does it
feel like having this conversation and being
a man? Sure. I'm glad you asked that because
I get that one a lot and I didn't choose this.
And so it's not like I had this. premonition
from God that this is going to be my mission.
It's mostly like, and I'll just speak spiritually
for a second, is most things that have created
the biggest impact that I've been able to help
others are problems that appeared to me that
I felt a deep need to figure out and solve. And
again, is maybe that's a man thing because we
like to fix stuff. I'm not sure. But and my wife
and I talk about this frequently is you're a
guy. And you're talking about female urinary
incontinence. Isn't that a barrier? And I guess
the question is, it might be to some. But my
thought is, is knowledge starts to soften that
edge. So I don't come to people say, hey, I can
fix X, Y, Z. I come to people saying, hey, let's
take a look at this together. And let's look
at how all these things work together. And let's
kind of have a dialogue. And I can't truly feel
how you feel. I can never be a woman. I treat
many women. And of course, I'm a husband, but
I can't be a woman. But that's also gives me
the advantage of to be able to empathize, but
not actually have to live your pain. I can empathize
as a male, but I can also keep a little bit of
a logical perspective saying. if we do this then
we can do this without being drug into the weeds
not that i'm not emotional so i'm not going to
say that but men and women have their strengths
and weaknesses i think one of the male strengths
are is they can kind of my woman my wife calls
it men are waffles and women are spaghetti so
men can put everything in a little square box
and work on the box and then when they need to
work on something else they step out of the box
and go into another one She said, women are spaghetti,
all the little strands intertwined together.
And that's the way they think. And I try to keep
that in mind. So part of me thinking squarely,
allow me to really focus on this problem and
then offer solutions without intertangling it
to all the other things, which can often happen.
Yes, yes, because. I guess if you have in the
analogy of your wife, two spaghettis, all we're
going to do is just entangle even more. So I
like that. I like the analogy of having spaghetti
and waffles. Number one, there won't cross. Number
two, there are two big different things. But
I love that she said that because that brought
me a lot of understanding too as well. And I
know the audience would be, again, have an aha
moment. Thank you so much, Dr. Breyer, for choosing
to do this, right? I know you've been given a
vision to do this, but it's also a choice to
want to do this and then create a foundation
and a system to helping women with urinary incontinence.
Thank you so much. If it's OK, would you mind
sharing the website or your social media handles
for the audience? Sure. My website is Dr. D .R.
Nigel and I .G .E .L. B .R .A .Y .E .R. dot com.
And on there you can learn all sorts of cool
stuff. We have April 17th. We have a really exciting
live webinar coming up for ladies. It's free.
We'll learn a lot. deeper dive into these sort
of things. We'll talk a lot about hormones. We'll
talk about stress management, things you can
do at home. We'll talk about some of the specifics
of the protocol. So people are welcome to sign
up. I think we have a waiting list for that sign
up. So we'd love to. For you to join us. Thank
you for being here today. I'm really happy that
you tuned in to Vision Pros Live. I'm looking
forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes
continue to move forward. This is going to get
more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement
as well. We'll invite people to participate in
the show. And thank you for giving us your time
and attention. Have an excellent time building
out your vision and becoming a vision pro yourself.