Am I playing a dangerous game?

[Thereisnopain]

I'm now on my second treatment of elmiron. The previous treatment worked as a miracle, and had me in full remission, but my insurance ran out and thus I lost my elmiron (200 bucks a month uninsured kinda can break a person heh) and with it, my remission.

Now, I'm back on it again, and insured again, here's the catch though, in between that time I got the whole "I'm cured! Time to enjoy life!" mentality, and I forgot how delicate and precious my health is/was, I drank, and well, I experimented with a couple hard drugs as well, one of which I had an extremely heavy psychotic reaction to for about 10 hours.. That was the end of that part of my life thank god.

Basically what Im saying is Im really scared somewhere along the lines I hurt my liver, because this time during my elmiron treatment, I'm having the same miraculous recovery, 2.5 months of treatment and healthy diet and I'm already ranging from a 1-3, with a 1 5 days out of 7, and a 2 or 3 the other 2 days... That's huge!!!

However, I'm having very mild - mild pain in my abdomen, and it generally does NOT feel like stomach upset, although I am having a bit of stomach upset after taking it as well.

Is this potentialy serious? Or should I just keep an eye on it.

Thx to those who took the time to read through this sry it was so long-winded.

[vm]

You'd have to ask your doc if it is dangerous, but I do know you can have your liver enzymes checked through a blood test. Maybe you could ask your doc to run one just to check it out?

[Thereisnopain]

Ya... I'm just such a wimp about all those tests =(

I had one spinal tap when I was 3 and one when I was 7... So for as long as I can remember I've had a very very deep fear of tests and particularly needles.

[jaime15]

Your uro should be checking your liver through a simple blood test at least once a year. It is just a quick stick and you're done. I hate blood tests and shots as much as the next person but it has to be done.
Make sure the doctor you see knows everything about your past. They can only say if something you are doing is potentially harmful to your health.
Take care of yourself......and I'm glad you have health coverage again. :)

[ICNDonna]

I totally agree that you need to discuss this with your doctor. And if you do need a blood test, you really should go for it. At any rate, you should be checking to see what is causing that tummy ache!

Warm hugs,
Donna

[mayray518]

I took elmiron for 9 months. It did not help me, glad that it is helping you. I had horrific stomach pains the first two weeks I took it. I understand that this can be a side effect in the beginning and that it may be alleviated by pouring the capsule contents in water.

[ConnieM]

I just started taking it on Tuesday and I also got that mild pain in my mid section. It was kind of like mild cramps, but above the belly button instead of down below. As for wondering about liver problems, are you scheduled for blood tests to check your liver function? My doc made me go for full blood workup prior to starting the Elmiron, and says I have to get rechecked after three months on the med. He said that only a very small percentage (like 1%) of people's livers cannot tolerate it, but if my numbers were safe at three months, then I would be okay with it. He said that if my liver didn't like it, stopping the med then would reverse any problems. He will check my blood now and then (yearly I think) after that initial three month test. Good luck and I hope your stomach pains stop!

[Thereisnopain]

I had no bloodwork done following my first dosage of elmiron, and had no side-effects for over a year and a half.

This second doctor who got me started on it again has done no bloodwork at all.

As for the pain in the mid-section, it has gotten better, I still have mild-moderate stomach upset when I take it on an empty stomach as recommended, but the mild cramping feeling is gone and that's what was conserning me.

[Hope]

I read that it is okay to take elmiron with a small snack if it leads to upset stomach. I know this is not what is said on the label, but when I took elmiron from 1998-2004, I hardly ever took it on an empty stomach, and it worked really really well for me.