for massagedoula

[sabin]

hi emiyl
how r u doing? i tried sending u a PM but it says your inbox is full n u need to clear some messages before receiving new ones.
take care
sabin

[massagedoula]

I cleared them...please re-send your message! I'd love to hear from you. I went to Virginia Mason hospital to see Dr. Kobashi. Basically I was excited about seeing her because I wanted a female uro, but almost the whole time was spent with her male assistant, she only came in in the very end to say that they woud not see me as a patient if I did not get the cystoscopy done. So I am scheduled for a urodynamics and cystoscopy (no hydro) on June 3rd. I scheduled it for so long in advance because I really want to try some more options first, I didn't have such a good feeling from them, but I didn't have a bad feeling either...I just hated the fact that I felt rushed during the appt. and forced into getting a cysto under threat of not being able to be a patient. I have an appt. with UW Women's Urology dept with the ARNP there (I couldn't get a uro appt as a new patient) this friday. I will see how it goes. I have also ordered Cystoprotek from the ICN store and will start trying it when I recieve it. I know that I should get a cysto to see if there is anything else causing my pain like a stone or tumor or whatever...I just am really scared that it will make everything worse, especially since 2 doctors I have seen now previously have cancelled my cysto because they didn't want to "stir things up in my bladder"-because I am "sensitive to manipulation" as they put it. But I guess I will just do it...I'm resigned to getting the cysto, I'm not really getting better yet without it.

[sabin]

Hi Emily, thanks for the reply. i am sorry u r not feeling better yet.
i read your message abt wot happened at the other urogynaec's office and relied to it.i hope u recd that one.
itz surprising how dr kobashi would'nt see the patient if there was no cysto scheduled.thatz ridiculous man.
i donno if u should even go to her for your cysto anymore. why don't u try DR Fred Govier. as i said before he is really nice and the method he used might be less painful,u never know. for me the cysto was pain free and i want that for u too. lemme know wot u think.
so do u have all the same symptoms? are the PFD excercises helping u?
i really do not think u have a tumor or anything bad bcoz thatz very very rare and i think has something to do with family history as well.so i would'nt worry about that.
as for stone,i was worried abt that too when dr fred told me it could be a stone in my bladder or urethers or the kidney.he did'nt find any but would like to take a kidney x-ray to rule it out.
i seriously don't think u should get a hydro done at this point.hopefully things will settle on their own and u r trying new meds so mebbe that will help.
for me the main symptom these days is frequency,meaning i always feel like i have to go,even right after i pee, itz frustrating.
the burning comes n goes now n then.
can u ask your doctor abt urinox ? itz some medicine which turns the urine blue but it seems it has helped a cousin of mine tremendously.
i think getting a cysto is a good idea. at the very least it will give u peace of mind.
i donno much abt urodynamics but if your doc feels u should go for it,then get it done.
ok emily,u will be in my prayers
take care and have faith
hugs:)
sabin

[massagedoula]

I think that I am going to get the cysto (no hydro). I really don't think that if I get it at Virginia Mason hopsital that it matters who does it, I bet they all use the same technique. I am going to wait until I see UW Urology on Friday, then decide who I want to go with based on how good I felt with the doctors and what they offer. The reason I was given for them needing to do a cysto was that they said that if the just gave me Elmiron and sent me on my way, that if I had a tumor or stone or something then they would be liable for not checking first. Also, IC is a "diagnosis of exclusion" etc....do you REALLY think that a stone would make our symptoms so bad? I am very similar to you, frequency is my big problem. I just peed and now I have to go again.

[ICNDonna]

If you were seeing a doctor for a sore throat, your doctor would want to look at your throat --- in fact this would be necessary if you are to be treated appropriately. The same is true of your bladder --- your doctor needs to see your bladder to help determine exactly what is wrong.

Donna

[massagedoula]

I just know that some people are diagnosed by symptoms alone, and that the in-office cysto may not show anything much for many people. Again, I have to say that I have been scheduled for an in-office cysto twice now by 2 totally unrealated doctors. I got all ready for it, went to the office, and both times it was cancelled because they were afraid that it would make me feel worse, as one doctor put it, I am "very sensitve to manipulation." They came to this conclusion seperately for the reason that my symptoms started right after a Pap smear, and when the doctors did my inital vaginal exam I couldn't bear the pain of even that, and I screamed with the speculum. So...after having 2 doctors tell me that, and now hearing that the new one says I have to get it, I am still worried about it making me worse. Of course, the whole reason I am seeing a new doctor is because the other ones did not help me very much, so I know that I have to go along with it, but I can be wary and scared!

[ICNDonna]

I suggest you practice relaxing your abdominal muscles before the cysto --- I find that if I consciously think about relaxing those muscles and on breathing slowly and deeply, it helps make the cysto much less painful.

Donna