Interstim...should I have it done???

[VJgirl]

Hi-

My uro/gyno is recommending Interstim for me. He tells me that this would help with my frequency/retention issues. I've tried just about everything else. I was diagnosed with IC last June of 04. My IC started after an idiot nurse forcibly removed my indwelling foley catheter without deflating the balloon while I was standing up next to my hospital bed. Tore me up inside. It has been an awful year for me. It's a long story and a very very sad one at that.

His treatment plan right now is pelvic floor therapy treatments, every two weeks and bladder washes as needed for spasams.

I would love some feedback from those that have the Interstim...good or bad please. My doctor basically tells me it's a quality of life decision for me at this point and is well worth a try to have it done. I'm tired of living this way.

Please help me shine some light on this big decision.

Cindy

[patricia1]

Cindy Hi!!! Interstim is consider when all other option have been tried and not help. This should included all oral medicines, and treatments such as the DSMO and so forth. The interstim is usually used as a last resort. That being said. I have had the interstim since 2001. My suggestion is to look at the whole picture with the stim. Find out as much info as possible on the internet and on this site about the interstim. Think of the short term benefits and the long term benefits. Please look at all the pros and cons...look at the side effects and the bad things that have happened with the interstim. Be aware that there are not many phy/drs that know do not know much about the interstim and its working. Make sure your phys is well experience with the interstim surgery and care afterwards. Ask him how he will treat you after having the interstim and care 6 mth, 1 yr, 2yr and longer. Find out if he will treat you if you have problems with the interstim and lose your medical insurance. Think about the long run. Please be aware the even the slightest movement of the lead wire will cause the unit not to work properly and surgery will be needed to fix the wires or unit. You can look at the FDA's MAUDE watch site to see patients that have had some serious problems anything from infections, shocking from the unit, toe curling and other things. That being said the Interstim has been a life saver for some patients and it has helped the regain their lives. They are the ones that have been lucky with the units themselves. Also beaware that the interstim is not for pain. Some patients it has helped but it is for the frequency and urgency problems with IC. Also this is not FDA approved procedure for IC.

My case....I am going to have to get a revision done. Long story short I have lost alot of weight since have the 2001 surgery done and the unit sticks way out of my back now. I have left foot toe curling of all toes, I have a shocking sensation when needing to have a bowel movement that I must turned the unit off just to move my leg. I have had no relief of symptoms in over 2 yrs. I had a car accident that moved my wires a year ago. But my problem was losing my insurance and the uro that implanted it would not help me. It has taken me this long to find someone at the charity hospital louisiana has to help me. I now have medicare but I still am fighting the charity hospital to have my surgery done there. They have never had this type of operation before. My doctor must go before the operation board to be able to have the procedure done there. So I am still stuck. The unit I have is currently turned off.

Only you and your Dr can dec. what is best for you. Make sure you have all the info before you make your decision so that you will be comfortable. I will be praying for you and if you do dec to have it done I will only hope for the best...Good luck

[DanaW]

I was also told that I should have the Interstim. I did my research and I decided against it. Just do your research. My main symptom is pain and there was no proof that the Interstim works for that......best advice is to do as much research as you can! Good Luck

Dana W.

[ICNDonna]

Actually, even the manufacturer will confirm that interstim is not for pain.

It should definitely be a last resort action. We have some who come here who have had success with interstim --- others have had some serious problems.

Donna

[tigger_gal]

My 2 year anny for the interstim is just around the corner... I had the implant done 4/16/2003.....
IT IS NOT FOR PAIN, go into this knowingly I put that in bold because, sad to say I repeat it often.... I don't get on the internet very often any more.. Better for the mind :) anywho, I have no regreats.... no second thoughts, and would do it again in a heart beat.... I had urgency so bad there were times I nearly blacked out.. it was horrible.... if my dr told me it would help only for the urgency, I'd be right there in line waiting for them to put it in... My frequency ranged form 25 to 35 times a day... I bascially was going every 15 mins....
I have a small bladder. When I was dx'ed it was 250 cc's. I had another hydro since, but that was last year and it was stretched to 650 cc's owie bigtime....all I got out of that was pain for 4 days and peed blood for a week.... bummer to me it didn't stay that big....

My best advice to you is to research, at www.medtronic.com and, call medtronics @ 1800-510-6735 and talk to there reps.. I did do that.. also have them send you the Free video/cd and info packet.. You are the only one that can make this decision.. not anyone else... Go with your gut feeling.
best wishes
Brat

[Betsie]

My best advice to you is this....only consider conversations here with people who HAVE this. I think Cindy would agree. I have not, but have read many a story here, it does not qualify me to comment in any way good or bad....try to find people here who do have it and would be willing to discuss this with you, read every piece of information provided and make sure you have researched every other option and just be as informed as possible...there are many here who have very solid feelings, but have never had one, like myself....so I rule all of us out as viable advisors....all we can do is wish you much success with your IC and any choices you make. :) However we can be here to try to help with any other conerns...;)

[dancemomof2]

I agree again that research is the best thing to do. I have had mine for 3 months and would do it again in a heart beat, my urgency has greatly improved and my frequency went from 60+ a day to about 1 time an hour. To me this is a great improvement. My nightime voiding has went from up tp 10 to twice. I also knew going into this that not to even consider it for pain and it hasn't worked in that area. You really have to make this choice on a personally leave. nothing we can say or do can work for you.

[dyno]

I also agree about doing your research. I have never had it and so I tell everyone just to do your homework. You have to know that there have been good results and bad results, just like any treatment. The difference in this is that Interstim is not like a medication that you can quit if it doesn't work. Sometimes there have been permanent, lasting problems. You have to know in your heart that you can live with more trouble if you are one of the ones who this procedure causes a problem for.

You have been given the link for Medtronics. I am going to give you a link so you can read about some of the problems people have encountered.

http://www.ic-network.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&f=82&page=1&pp=25&sort=lastpost&order=desc&daysprune=-1

Here is a link for the success board.
http://www.ic-network.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&f=82&page=1&pp=25&sort=lastpost&order=desc&daysprune=-1

For those who this has helped, they have really felt it worth it. I can't tell you what to do, nobody can. Just do your homework and then you can decide what is best for you and your family and situation. Good luck in whatever you decide.

[jensue973]

I recently had the Interstim device at the end of January this year and so far things are so much better...frequency and all that has decreased...I would basically tell u to research your options and whatever decision you make things will be ok...I wish you luck

Jennifer

[VJgirl]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that replied to my Interstim post. I am still doing research on this procedure and have not decided what I will do yet. My doctor just recommended it to me last month, so I feel I have time to decide, don't you??? My frequency has gotten better the past couple of months. I think it's from the PFT sessions I'm having every two weeks. So, I'll stay with this scenerio for awhile until I make the decision on the Interstim. Thanks again.

Cindy

[rachelm]

Cindy,
I just sent you a PM. I'm from the Dallas area too and have had my interstim for a year. I'm glad the PFT is helping! Hopefully you won't need further options.

Rachel

[melanie626]

Cindy-
I did a trial of it and it didn't work for me, but I was glad I trialed it...this was before my IC Diagnosis (long story)...feel free to private message me if you have questions. I did a staged trial at the Mayo Clinic.

[XoChelsey03Xo]

I had the real interstim put in March 28th and I have been pain free as well as urge free. I don't know why I haven't had pain, but it seems to have actually taken the pain away. My doctor did tell me though that they are working on an interstim that will take the pain away. Hopefully in the future this interstim will be availabe. I understand IC pain very well. I hope everyone is doing ok. Chelsey

[saraeyates]

Like Chelsey, I had my permanent Interstim implanted on March 28th. (By the same doctor, as a matter of fact. Small world, huh?) Anyway, the Interstim has been great for me as far as frequency, I go less than half as often as before. Unlike Chelsey, however, it has not helped me with my pain. I suffer from severe pain every day, and it has not lessened for me. Interstim is NOT, of course, for pain. Everyone will tell you this. I know it is repeated over and over. My doctor told me that some people have had reduced pain, or even no pain after having Interstim. Even with her telling me that, I went into the surgery with my eyes wide open knowing that if it did help my pain, it would be a minor miracle. I believe some people do have their pain relieved from Interstim, but they are the lucky minority in my opinion. If you suffer from severe pain, like I do, please make plans to continue any pain medication you are currently on, and consider speaking with a pain management clinic.
Good luck to you. :)
Sara

[happy lou]

I had 3 trial four the interstim to see if it would help me it did not help at all but even tho the trial did not help the dr pushed me to have it put in it still did not help and now that i want it removed he want me to leave it in he said there is a new battery coming out that is better i ask how can a battery help he said it will so i dont know if it will but when you have tryed every thing and nothing help you will just about try any thing to get relief i just pray he know what he talking about. happy lou

[Betsie]

I am about to comment on the very thing I swore not to. As I keep reading the interstim conversations good and bad, I am changing my feelings. I am not down on the interstim the unit and the device designed to help....but I am getting way down on the Drs who push it, have the need for the experience (without experience, where is your follow through) and basically I am just getting very down on the humans that push this device and then seem to be unavailable for revisions and the many questions so many have here. For the life of me, I am dumbfounded when patients that have gone through implants need to come here to get answers, because no one is minding the store.

I have absolutely no business even commenting on this, but it seems it is a constant issue of revisions undone, questions unanswered and frustration in trying to get a hold of these Drs and reps.

So here is my opinion, I am not against the interstim...I feel very suspect of the teams selling and implanting them....it seems they are always around for this part...but so many look around here for them when there is a problem. They aren't here.

MY body? The day I put any type of device inside of it, I will be damn sure the person with the answers, surgical skills and anything else needed, better be camped out waiting for my call in the next 30 years. Especially since my husband works with medical/surgical devices....the implant varieties....precious metals....wrong metal or coating, very likely to cause problems....call me industry cautious.

I just don't get it....I am of course happy for the successes, but so wonder about missing reps and surgeons and misunderstandings of use AFTER the implant is finished and paid for. No, I don't need this (yet) but I hope if and when I do, I have found a team of reps that will be around and available for an extremely long time.

Call me, *****y....what the heck, edit me too....well now that's a technolgy success....I type & it x's out bad words....so apply those same principles to the interstim.....immediate follow up and i won't be here complaining. :)

[Portia17]

You are right as doctors and those reps are never there for you

I can tell you that my dog's vet is there for her 24-7

What a shame our doctors can't be like that

I think I will go to a vet from now on where i would get treated with dignite and respect like my dog does

[patricia1]

Bestie very well said. I am one that has had major problems with my interstim. The dr who orginally did it, when I started having major problems and no more insurance he would never return my calls. Even told me the problems I had were normal. NOT TRUE. I had to wait 8 months to find a dr at the charity hospital Louisiana has to help me. I am scheduled to have the revision either on April 27 or May 5. I always say consider the long term with this device cuz it a total pain in the a** if you lose insurance :headbang: . Nobody wants to touch you with a 10 foot pole. My interstim worked good for the first 6 months. I have had mine since sept 2001. I am having to have the leads replace they moved from a car accident and hopefully can have the unit reset deeper in the pocket. I lost around 40 pounds since I had it done and now it sticks way out in my back. Looks gross. Anyway again well said. They push and push then dont want to help with the after care of this thing. Its not like a med we can just stop taking.

[Betsie]

Patricia,

I am so sorry you are going through this. I am one who adamantly feels no one but the people who have this should comment on it's success/failure....always a hotbed for debate here. I hope I was REALLY clear in NOT commenting on the INTERSTIM itself.

I do however read so many stories here and one thing that struck me yesterday had nothing to do with the device or the mindset/technology behind it.

I am only making a statement on what I think I reasd a lot about....and that "appears" to be a real gray area for many needing follow-up care. Even for little things. I just wonder how such an enormous decision for a person to make can then be so easily dismissed when they seek simple solutions etc.

I know this does not speak to the whole community of interstim users and some/many here would not have a quality of life without it....I guess I am just cautious and curious for those so desperate for an IC solution that possibly the "after-commitment" isn't thoroughly understood with some reps.

Oh boy, I sure hope no one is offended by this....I am once again serious about refraining from advising people for/against this as I am not a recipient. I am finding myself curious about the people in the support positions after the trials and the permanent implant.....only going by what I read here and I know as many successes as failures...so just me doing what I shouldn't-Thinking Outloud-Yikes.

[Dusty]

There are definately serious issues with interstim. Mine was put in a long time ago and I as you all most all know by now am one with serious injuries due to it. My problems started day one in the trials. I could barely walk then.
The surgeon that put mine in was one of our leading doctors here in Colorado.
He worked along side of the inventor of this device. He knew it from day one.
I have heard over and over how doctors are pushing this device for IC and I have yet to understand the why or reasoning behind that. Now I am one that had numerous reprogrammings and numerous revisions and yes they do tell you this is normal. I cannot believe at all this is normal. I just can't because I have the body that says otherwise. I saw my foot bend at the arch each time it sent its signal..now try and bend your foot at the arch and you can't. I had a lady that is a good friend of mine have a doctor suggest interstim to her..she lives down in Louisiana..and she already knew about me so she asked some serious questions as though she did not..and one she asked was...."Everytime this sucker goes wrong or gets messed up, or isn't working right are you going to be on call 24/7 to have me come in to see you because you can bet I am going to be there for help and you better be there too." The answer to that is just plain no. I had times I had to wait the week end out or two weeks out even in such agony. I also am one that has wondered why are the reps doing so much? A rep is just that a rep..I don't go to the car salesman or rep and ask him to repair my truck when it has a problem ...I go to the mechanic. I do not go to the rep for my household appliances when they go bad I go to a repair man...a rep is just that ..their job is to sell the product and that is exactly what they are doing with interstim. I never listened to the rep concerning me..I wanted to hear what the doc had to say. The rep told me to call him but in my thinking I was thinking,"What the heck would I call you for as your not the surgeon you are a rep.?" My line of thinking on rep must be different..but I feel it is appropriate. Now I have a extremely messed up body that a neurologist,physical therapist are trying to take care of along with me as an after fact of interstim. I had two surgeons operate on me and both refused when it went so bad to take it out..that is a question to this day I will never understand..How can a doctor put something so detailed as this device in a person's body and refuse to monitor it as I have read on here and refuse to take it out? Where is the oath they take and how does it play into this interstim. I never knew one thing about this device or I would never of had it.
I can barely walk any distance and was down to no walking before it finally was out of my body. I am not reading anything that says anything is better.
I have had the curled toes, the shooting pain, the leg not ok, the implant sight probs, the malfunctioning of the device, revisions, constant programs, calls not answered by doctors, and refusal to take it out, the loss of my ability to walk and so on........I think I know pretty well what this device can do NOW..I did NOT know what it could do..it was printed no where..no one spoke of it and you seldom will read about it. So what does that leave..positive experiences for people to go by and with that how can anyone make a decision that is based on full knowledge..they can't. No wonder those who pop up with injury or problems can't understand. I still believe because there are so many like me and some worse off even that some day they will be forced to tell the other side and then those that kept it hidden from the public will suffer the consequences. I went from diagnosis to interstim..with no inbetween..I was told this is what is out there for IC..and it is not even for IC..now I am very intelligent and I should of looked into this further. I also trusted my doctor that he knew what he was talking about and that now is long gone from my life as I don't trust now. Those with serious damage are trying to live their lives and many have gone from here because it is too painful and it is very hard to read when someone is going for one and you know what can go wrong. It actually is scarry. My first reaction is ..oh don't. I am not a failure either. Intersim is. The surgeons that operated on me are. Medtronic is. I did not fail..they all failed to do their part with a device they are all connected to. Not one person on here is a failure the device is and those who are there to help you in the medical field are. I refuse to be considered a failure because I am not..those that worked with me and the company are the failures here. I am a success because I have overcome what has happened to me. There will come a time when this will hit the media so people know. Part of the problem now is so many lawsuits going on across this nation with this device. I still believe it will someday be heard about in the media and then I think the bottom will drop out. We cannot all be kept hidden forever that have damage.
I need a cane so I went to people that specialized in that and obtained one..due to my interstim damage.
I need a wheelchair now so I have gone to the people that specialize in them for that.....due to my interstim damage.
I needed a doctor for my spinal cord damage so I went to the doctors that specialize in that a neurologist..due to my interstim damage.
I needed a physical therapist so I went to the people that specialize in that..a spinal cord injury physical therapist...due to my interstim damage.
This is the team that is helping me.....the team that put it in and makes it..well they are not there for me and never have been..so everyone else is cleaning up the mess that was made for them. I have a good team of people now to clean up this mess of a body to the best of their abilities..but the mess never should of gotten this out of control..because the team that put it in should of been specialized enough to take it out and take care of this before it got to this. I think I have the better team of medical personal now.
I will say what I have always said on this matter of interstim..if you get it in make sure you have the surgeon sign a legal document that at anytime you want or desire it out they have to take it out and get it witnessed. If you get it in and the first sign of things go wrong..don't except the. "We have never heard of this before or seen this happen before." Don't except that they just have to program you again..because again can lead to many agains.
Don't excpet that if your feet and legs are not ok that is OK...as it is not.
They are not telling the other side of interstim. It is a device that is costly to make and put in..and maintain..what does that say. They have not offered me help with all the consequences of this device either..so what does that say? Look out for yourself if you choose this device as those that put it in and market it are not going to. I think people here read time and time again about the problems..and women wanting to know the why????
What happened?
What went wrong?
Why didn't I know?
Because it is not being told at the doctors. I know there are good ones putting this in and that is wonderful. I am not seeing where they are outweighing the horrible experiences..and the lady in Louisiana you should not be going through any of this kind of ordeal at all. Any product is usually backed by his maker..unfortunately this one is not. I feel so bad for you and all your going through..be careful of the false promises. I feel that is what they are if they are not willing to follow it from begining to end and even more so if something goes wrong. If your out of money or insurance you are out of luck..shame on that doctor..he took a oath.
Dusty

[DanaW]

Wow. Dusty. You have been thru so much. I am so sorry. I can actually feel your pain when you describe what has been done to you. It is terrible what you have been thru and will continue to go thru. :mad:

I was told that my next step was interstim. (last Nov.) I thank god that I found this site so that I could do my research. I can't believe 2 Drs. tried to talk me into the Interstim when it is NOT FOR PAIN. Which is my main symptom. What is going on with this Interstim Issue??? Why are these Dr.'s pushing this treatment on us? It is appalling that Patricia is being FORCED to have this procedure!!!!!!!!! And, to punish her on top of it by decreasing her pain meds.... It is a disgrace to the medical field. :shake:

Dana W.

[Betsie]

Agreed Dana.........

[rubjen]

I WILL DO THE TRIAL @ 10am AFTER MUCH RESEARCH .MY URO DID NOT PUSH ME INTO THIS. AFTER 13 YEARS AN SO MANY MEDICATIONS, PATCHES ETC THIS I HAVE ELECTED TO TO TRY, YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH THIS BOARD HAS REALY HELPED ME ,AS THIS IS NOT SOME THING YOU WOULD DO JUST TO DO. IT IS NOT FOR PAIN IT IS FOR FREQUENCY & URGENCY.I WISH YOU THE BEST AN PRAY YOU FIND YOUR ANSWER. AS FOR ME I AM EXCITED THAT TOMORROW IS HERE.
RUBY JEAN

[ICLori]

Ruby Jean, wishing you good luck on your surgery tomorrow, I'll be thinking of you and praying for you, and I sure hope you get the best results possible, I hope the Interstim works great for you and gives you your life back. We have to stay hopeful.

Blessings, Lori

[Dusty]

Thank you for your sharing of my pain with me. I don't see this as a problem that I cannot overcome also. I am a strong woman and this has only made me stronger. I am not one that requires sympathy in life as my line of work before I could not work was with the deaf,blind and mentally disabled. I adore all those people and to be sympathetic would of accomplished nothing with them. However I am empathetic to help the best I can and my heart goes out to those in need over this interstim. Yes my body has gone through much because of it. I appreciate your comments....please don't be sad though. I think just learn from it like we all have and others have. Interstim is being marketed in many cases for the wrong reason. In my case I went from diagnoses to interstim within weeks. I was told it was the only thing for IC.
I have listened to others say they were told it was for pain. It is not the only thing for IC and it is not the device needed for pain. I have the Hunner Ulcers a bladder entirely full of them. It did not help my pain as a matter of fact it made matters worse for me in the bladder. It put my bladder into spasms that would drop me to the floor. I had such nerve pain shoot down my leg I would drop to the floor.. I have a severely injured left leg that will forever be like it is. I cannot raise it or do like others do with your legs. My damage is also internal as it caused a degree of paralysis in the spinal cord area,tailbone and inside vaginally and so on. The disease of IC and the Hunner Ulcers I could of lived with easily. I now have a problem added to a problem. I live with it because that is the hand that was dealt me and I have not other choice. Just like you have read on here how I helped my husband die of cancer on the ranch...a man that served his country well, was a highly decorated Marine, and a rancher. A gentle kind man beyond words who went through much due to that Agent Orange they sprayed on our troops in Nam.
So he endured the consequences of something that never should of been either. He was strong and true to his way of life to the end when he died at home in my arms on the ranch. I learned much from this man in the face of great adversity. I learned much from this man facing something that could not be stopped..cancer. He and I went through something that was beyond our control and did so with dignity and respect and honor. With the interstim it was out of my control. I could not get the doctors to help me. I could not get them to take it out. I could not believe that a surgeon that put such a device in would not take it out. That question I cannot answer for myself so I cannot answer it for the rest of you. I can tell you that both my surgeons that operated on me have private jets..and fly where ever when they want to. I can tell you that back in 2000 my generator alone cost over $10,000 and the surgery with it to put it in is well over that. I can tell you that I had 4 revisions and those surgeries were well over $20,000 each. I can tell you that I had numerous reprogrammings to the degree of several times a week. Those programmings cost from $175.00 to $200.00 per programming that took less than me being in the surgeons office half hour tops..and that was with him coming in and out of the room. When I could not longer walk and saught help neither one of these surgeons that put this in would take it out. I to this day will never understand that as a doctor takes a oath and as far as I am concerned he/she better follow it. I turned to friends and family for help as we searched nation wide for a doctor to take it out. All we got was refusal after refusal as soon as they heard there were lawsuits. As one lady said above they won't touch you with a ten foot pole. That was devastating to me and friends and family...as they watched my ability to walk decline. All became angry and desperate for answers and help. My help did not come from either surgeon that put it in or from Medtronic. We finally resorted to looking for a neurosurgeon to take it out as I felt safer that way. We made no mention of the lawsuits or anything else..just asked if he knew how to take one out..he had never put one in but had used a similiar device for pain control so he knew he could take it out. He told me due to the extreme damage and repeated surgergies on the spine area and those sacral nerves he would not go for the lead wires..he would see if he could pull them out...he couldn't get them so he cut to the right of my spine and got them that way. I asked him to clean the device and seal it in a medical case for me and he did. I still have the device. Had this device been removed from my body I would not be in the shape I was or am in now. I can understand those who don't understand why the doc that put theirs in won't take it out. I was in shock and dismay over that with myself as well as friends were. I just couldn't believe it. What a wake up call for me. I have never trusted the medical field since. I try and do my best to give all my new doctors the benefit of the doubt, but I always carry in the back of my mind a little bit of fear. I do not know why doctors are pushing this. I have my opinion on that.
I cannot believe a doctor would actually force someone into this as that seems so hard to comprehend...but if it is happening then it must be true. I can believe docs won't take them out when I read that as I experienced it myself. The pushing for someone to do this is beyond me. Had I had a doctor do that then I definately would of ran the other way..as my question in my mind would be why is he/she pushing this so hard?????????? Then my thinking would automatically turn to finacial on that one.
For those it has helped it is a blessing I am sure. It has relieved some of their agony and so on. My physical therapist I see for my spinal cord injury told me she works with many IC patients and therapy and t.e.n.s are used for that and it helps tremendously. I did not know any of that. I did not know there was a diet. I did not know there was Elmiron. I cannot turn back time concerning me. Just like my husband could not turn back time concerning him.
I can however deal with what was dealt me and go on. I make the best of everyday that I can. I live in horrible pain, but I can choose to let it control me or me control it. Yes much of life is different for me and has changed drastically and I have loss activities I so loved. That is what is sad for me. However I have gained new ones and try to fill the void with different things in my life now.
The biggest mistake being made with interstim is this business of pushing it.
This business of not removing it if someone so desires or if they run into problems. This business of constant reprogrammings and revisions.
The biggest mistake being made is not telling both sides of it so a person can make a educated decision and there are no unanswered questions later.
The biggest mistake being made is letting reps do the work or talk to the patient and so on to the degree a doctor would.
The major mistake being made is not taking it out when it needs out or the person so desires. No other medical device is so treated like this interstim is.
For the person going for the trials I think it is..I wish you the best of luck.
I hope it does bring you some relief. I cannot nor will I ever judge someone for going through with this. I do not nor will I ever say to someone you should of not done this. I cannot nor will I ever tell someone that they are doing the wrong thing. I can however be there for those who have had problems and can't understand. I can be there for those who are going for it also and wish you the best and be here if you would have something go wrong. It is then that it appears the doc boughs out and for that I am sorry and don't understand. It is your body and I would just watch it closely and if you see any of the signs of things you have read and heard about then make your decision on what you want to do next. For those that have doctors pushing it I feel sad for them as that is wrong. Their reasons must be selfish reasons and not in your best interest..a doctor that truely caries your best interest at heart would never push anything on you. And the lady who is being so forced..you have the right to say NO...a doctor is hired by you for the knowledge he carries to do the best he can for you..you go to him or here for that knowledge and then you make your decision on whatever it is.
Many people believe if the doc says it then it is gospel. My brother in law is a doctor in a different field of medicine and he told me a doctor is paid by you for his knowledge and the decision after he talks to you on a subject is up to you. I now do that for sure. I listen carefully, ask many questions and so on..then make my own decision.
You will never get the answers you are looking for until both sides of the issue of interstim is put out there for all to know. Until both sides are listed on the paperwork,pamphlets and so on. Until both sides are known..the good, the bad, the ugly if you will. Then and only then will there not be so many..."I wish I would of known." Would I recommend this to someone..no I would not. Will I condemn someone who gets it..no I will not. I wish you the best and hope for the best for you. People are here for you no matter which way this goes for you..and I am one of the rare ones that has the damage and won't flat out tell you on here..stay away from it and don't do it..that is your choice, that is your hope for help...I will take away no ones hope..as I always keep mine and when my husband had cancer we never let one day go by that we did not hope for a miracle and that he would live..never ever give up your hope no matter what your facing...hope is what helps keep us going.
Dusty