self installation

[Michelle S.]

Hi everyone, I am new here and have a question. I am not familiar with the difference between DMSO and the other installations. My doctor has prescribed the following for me to mix together to do myself at home:

Marcaine
Heparin
Cytotec (dissolved)

Is this a rescue installation or the DMSO? I am really nervous about doing this myself. The first two were done at the doctor's office and I had more pain AFTER I urinated than I normally am in.

Any suggestions or anyone else's experience would be greatly appreciated. I just hate the thought of catheterizing myself. He wants me to do this until the Elmiron starts working.

Thanks!

Michelle

[Dixiefireball]

sounds to me as if this is a heparin rescue treatment. my heparin rescue treatments are of heparin marcaine and water.

things i would do to help the installments feel better.

frist mix everything together if it didn't come already in a mixer mine doesn't i must mix it. plus its easier to find that way.

ask your dr to write you an RX for latex free caths. even if you don't have a latex allergy for some reason latex seems to cause burning down stairs then we think its the treatment its self when indeed its was the cath we where using. I use ten french child size latex free caths. You may need a diff. sizes depending on what you and your dr thinks is best. if to small it takes longer and ups the risk for an infection so it must be one that doesn't cause pain and will still let out the urine that you drain and get the medicine in quickly.

relaxing help. in the beginning a mirror and a flash light may need to be used. laying down in the bathtub would be best so there is less of a mess to clean up afterwards, some even do it over the tolit in the beginning they just angle the flash light and mirror so they can see to drain all in the tolit then put in the medicine.

as i said before the key is relaxing.
If there is anything i can do to help you with this please feel free to PM me threw the ICN i will get back to you asap. I've been doing my heparin installments for over two and half years maybe even three years now. up until a week ago i was doing those four times a day. My uro cut me back last week until my bad UTI is gone. then i will increase back up to my normal treatment amount a day.

sorry its late and i hope i didn't foget something but if i did and you want to ask me please send me that PM. I'm more then willing to try to help.

b.t.w. :welcome: to the ICN family we are here for you we care, and most importantly understand.

sending hugs and prayers
Rhonda

[ICNDonna]

To answer your question about DMSO --- it's a specific medication that is sometimes used in bladder instillations. There are many different mixtures of solutions that are used.

Try not to be nervous about doing the instillations yourself. For me, it's far more comfortable to do my own. The first couple of times were kind of shaky for me, but after that it was easy.

Donna

[Michelle S.]

I finally did my own installation. I didn't really have a problem getting the cath in or anything. BUT I have been in much more pain for the rest of the day. This happened after the nurses did it in the doctor's office.

My symptoms to begin with are right lower quadrant pain that wraps around from the front to the back down in the hip region. I had an ovary removed and my appendix removed which didn't help at all. Later after a trail of doctors I was diagnosed with pelvic floor dysfunction. That diagnosis I believe is correct. I just about jump off the table when the doctor feels the pelvic floor muscles. It was all caused by tearing my hamstring (believe it or not!) several years ago and I left it untreated. It caused my pelvis to pull down on one side which caused the pelvic floor to go into spasms and basically quit working. I am in physical therapy right now. And I am being treated for IC but could it be that I don't have IC if the installations make me worse? The hypothesis is that the pelvic floor problem caused my bladder to become irritated because it was hanging in limbo with no support. I just don't know if it has developed into IC. Maybe it would have down the road.

The other thought I have is that maybe it is the bladder since the installations make the exact same place have 3 times as much pain. So maybe it has something to do with that area? I don't know. It has been a frustrating guessing game. I feel like I am closer than I was a year ago. I have been suffering with this pain for a year and a half. Right before I found this doctor I just about quit everything. I had went back to college as my children are in school all day now. Then I received the diagnosis and now I am slightly better and the hope made me able to make it through. I am still in a lot of pain on a daily basis, especially when I do the installations.

Anyone else have problems with installations causing their pain to be worse??

I probably went into too much detail in this section, sorry.

Thanks for the welcome! This looks like a great group!

Michelle