Pregnancy & Interstim?

[A. Marie]

Hi - I'm new to posting and to this site, so I'm going to go ahead and apologize right away, because chances are I'm posting this wrong. But hey, I'll give it a shot. I am recently married and my husband and I are thinking about children. My goal is to get my body as healthy as possible, as I am anticipating that pregnancy will be tough. However, I've heard from my doctors that some women experience remission during pregnancy. Has this ever happened to anyone? I have a pretty serious case, and I'm told it's not likely that it will happen to me. I have an interstim device and have been doing as much research as possible on interstim and pregnancy. Have any of you with the device been pregnant or are thinking of getting pregnant? I am just really worried about it, I know I will turn it off, but I'm worried about other complications. I'm also worried about complications with pregnancy and IC in general. I have a lot of nerve damage and was told I will have to deliver by C-section. If anyone is willing to share, it would be really helpful to hear how others approached this. Also, if you know where I can find any good research, that would help a lot. Thank you and take care.

[tigger_gal]

The only thing I can offer is that you are correct about turning off the stim during pregnancy.
Welcome to the boards, you will find a wealth of info with in these pages.

[LeeAnn]

One of my OB/Gyn's told me that I could stay on Atarax, it's an antihistamine and she said it's perfectly safe for pregnancy (according to her). But I've never had kids and she told me this before I started taking all the other meds I'm on (and I'm on a lot).

[barbiegrl]

Okay I am new to this and so I hope this works. I 23 and was implanted with my interstim in January. I was told prior to getting the interstim that I would not have any problems getting pregnant all I would have to do is turn off my interstim. Can anyone tell me why you have to turn it off to get pregnant. NOTHING was explained to me.

[dancemomof2]

Yes you will have to turn it off, and some do have great remission with pregnancy. I am the newbie angel for pregnancy and am here by PM or my email is below and also a link to my patient story with some of my pregnancy story. Let me know if you need anything.:angel:

[dancemomof2]

I just spoke to my Rep and the long and short story is that it hasn't been studied yet. So it is just safer to turn it off. Hope this helps.

[ABliske]

I also have severe IC, but i don't have an interstim. I just wanted to say congratulations on your marriage and your decision to have children. I just decided the same!!!!! I'm 27 and have been married 2 years. I was really scared of pregnancy but I recently saw a high risk pregnancy doc and he said that I can stay on my meds, except the anitbiotics. I was pretty amazed. I really can't wait to have a baby! My good friend has a gorgeous little boy who's 6 months. Maybe we can share our stories and keep in touch throughout our pregnancies! Best of luck to you!
How long have you had the interstim? Maybe if it has to be off you can take pain killers in place of it. Not all of them are restricted during pregnancy. I don't really know how to post a private message, but I'm curious about why you'd have to have a c-section. I've never heard of the nerve damage you mentioned.
Lets keep our fingers crossed for remission!!!!!!!!

[theclownster]

Hi there! My urologist suggested at some point that I try the interstim, yet I am somewhat hesitant and reluctant. The reason being I do well with the medication that I am on and live a mostly normal life with that. So, my thoughts are, why mess with something that is non-invasive and is working for me. I do have the occasional flare, but for the most part I eat pretty normal and live pretty normal, which is a blessing. In my eyes, I think interstim would be something I would try if the meds were not working and since they are, I'm not even going there. Anyways, another factor that played in this decision is that I asked my OB/GYN about it and she suggested I not even think about it until I was done having children. My hubby and I want to get pregnant soon and she didn't advise me to have the interstim while pregnant. She said that it just complicates things and could put me at a higher risk if I needed emergency surgery (c-section or otherwise) and it just didn't make her too comfortable. My uro let her know that they would just shut it off, yet she said she still didn't like the idea. She wasn't saying it wasn't okay, she just said she wasn't comfortable with it - so I went with that.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

[ICNDonna]

For Jennifer: Even those who have had tremendous success with the interstim will agree that it is a last resort and should not be considered until all other treatments have been tried and failed.

You are wise!

Donna

[dancemomof2]

Yes Donna, it was my total last resort and then it took me 6 months to decide it I really wanted this or not. It is not right for everyone and not a rush choice.

[theclownster]

Thanks Donna! I appreciate the support and confirmation that I made the right choice. I do quite well with my medications and don't feel like I'm in the "last resort" part of my treatment. For the most part, some people have no idea I have IC because I'm doing so well on my medication (unless I have a flare).

Thanks again! I really appreciate it!
Jennifer