Elmiron into the bladder??

[jackiew75]

Overwhelmed doesnt even cover it right now.

Dx'd this past week with IC, PFD and urine retention. Sent me on my way with NSAID's and neurontin.... NSAID's do nothing except give me heart burn and the neurontin made me a dope with a 14 hour headache. Called Uro on Friday and she wants me back to her office (60 miles away) to teach me how to cath myself so that I can lose the excess urine and do some sort of meds or something into my bladder at home???

The thought of putting anything near my urethra (I also call this my fire breathing dragon since I truly believe I pee fire) makes me want to cry. I have tried pyridium and that does not help. To make matters worse, I am having my period and it makes the pain worse....

Someone tell me what to expect.... I cant imagine doing this to myself at home.... Does anyone think she is jumping the gun on this treatment?

[vm]

You might take a look at this older post from Jill - it is so very comprehensive and she talks a little bit about the rescue instillations your uro is talking to you about:

http://www.ic-network.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24323

[ICmomx5g]

I know it is overwhelming. I have had a similar situation. the doctor tried to show me how to self cath (as I live an hour away too), but I was so nervous and in pain I poked myself and peed blood. Are you married? My suggestion would be to have your spouse learn how to cath you.

[Sarojini]

It does seem overwhelming at first, but self-cathing is remarkably easy to learn to do. Your doctor will go slowly with you and will provide all of the info you need. If burning is a big problem for you, make sure you ask if you can have lidocaine jelly for lubrication -- not only does it lube the catheter, it numbs up the urethra and makes the process more comfortable.

I've been doing home instillations of a mixture of heparin, lidocaine, and sodium bicarbonate for a few years now, and they really do help me a lot. I was a bit nervous about cathing myself too, but I did it on my second try. And, I've found that cathing myself is much less painful than having someone else do it -- I think we all kind of innately know how we are shaped inside, so we naturally use the right angle.

:grouphug: