Anyone use flomax?

[mom_in_ma]

I wasn't sure where to post this, so I just picked a category that seemed to fit a bit.

Anyway, have any of used flomax? If so, what was your experience? I've been struggling with retention (which means all of the typical ic drugs make it worse!). My uro mentioned flomax last week and I'm wondering if it has helped anyone with retention issues.

[ICNDonna]

Flomax is one of the medications that helps to relax the muscles to make it easier to urinate. It's frequently used for men with swelling problems, but also works for some women who take it. If flomax doesn't work for you, there are several other meds that take similar action.

Donna

[mom_in_ma]

Donna,
Can you give me the names of some of those meds? I can't take the typical oab meds as they all make me retain significant amounts. Thanks.

[ICNDonna]

The ones that immediately come to mind are hytrin and cardura.

Donna

[Sarojini]

Robin -- also realize that these are not OAB meds and are a completely different type of med. This class of medication is known as the alpha-blockers; they were first introduced as drugs to lower blood pressure. They worked by relaxing the smooth muscle that lines the arteries, and that makes a bigger "hole" for blood to pass through, thereby reducing pressure on the artery. Eventually, someone somewhere realized that this could work on other types of smooth muscle as well, not just the blood vessels.... and one of the things they tested it on was the bladder neck, since that is a smooth muscle too.

It generally works... the drug relaxes the bladder neck and the muscles around it and makes it easier to urinate. It is sort of a REVERSE OAB med ;) As Donna said, these drugs are usually used in men with enlarging prostates, but some women benefit as well.

I tried Flomax myself. I feel it helped a little bit, but not enough to justify the expense in my case.

Good luck!

[mom_in_ma]

Thanks Jen. This is actually the type of drug that I think I need. I tend not to have frequency issues with my ic unless I'm REALLY flaring. Mostly, I have pain and retention issues. All the OAB meds and antidepressants cause severe retention for me. The pressure I get comes from the fact that I'm not completely emptying out and I have irritated nerves to boot. The uro mentioned flomax last week and I'm thinking I might give it a try.

I'm a little learly about the fact that it's meant to lower blood pressure as my bp is normally 100 or 60, which is low enough! Oh well, I see the uro tomorrow, so I'll talk to him then. Maybe he has samples!