How often do you perform the instills?

[sugar]

Just curious....
My original uro who prescribed and showed me how to do home instills gave me instructions to do the instills 2 or 3 times a day as needed, so I did that for a while (and keep getting utis).
Then I saw Dr Evans in Greensboro, and he said 1x day only. I've read that some people only do them once or twice a week. I feel like the instills help, but am wondering what the reasoning is in the amount of them. Any one have any ideas or been given reasons by your uro? Can you do them more often if you flare? Thanks!
Annette

[tigger_gal]

I a, getting them once a week for 6 weeks, my uro said I can use use it 2 times a week for 6 weeks.

[kadi]

Usually I do them 3x a week, up to daily if flaring. Sometimes though, I have good stretches where I won't need any for a week or so... I've been doing them for 2-1/2 years though, it took a while before that happened.

[L. Thomas]

My urogyne said to do them as often as I needed. That included more than once a day if necessary. I started with 3-4 weekly and increased to daily for several months. Now I do them about 1 a week, sometimes longer, some times sooner.

He said it was better to be ahead than try to catch up.

[GriffsMommy]

The NP who taught me how to do them told me to do them three times a week and to slowly taper down to doing them less often. The thinking was that you use the rescue instills to help you feel better until your oral meds kick in. Problem with me was I had been on my oral meds for ages and they weren't making me feel any better.
When I started seeing a pelvic pain specialist he told me to do them 2 times a week until further notice because he thinks my bladder is really inflammed and will take a long time to calm down. I sometimes do them slightly more often if I feel that I am flaring really badly or I'll do my 2 for the week closer together if my bladder is really having a tough time.
I have no idea if or when I'll get to the point that I can just do them on an as needed basis.

[Lishypaz]

I was told to do the instills up to 3X daily. I am on 1 macrobid (low dose) daily on the even months and then an alternative antibiotic (low dose) daily on the even months to avoid UTIs. I average probably 3 times a week, but during flare-ups (usually after long work weeks or when I am not paying as much attention to my diet) I increase the amount of instills. I make sure that the catheter is sterilized and use plenty of lidocaine to lubricate it and make sure I am completely emptied first, and I haven't gotten a UTI in about a year. Trust me, though, I got lots of UTIs and lots of other problems the first few months I did them. I also started with just a couple a week, but now I am allowed to just work with what I am feeling. My husband helps, because when I was doing them alone, I was too rough and made the urethra bleed quite a bit. I know that the antibiotics constantly are a little controversial, I do use bifodophilus (sp?) everyday as well as yogurt to lessen the chances of a yeast infection.

Good luck! Prayers, always for all!

[sickofmybladder]

Sugar -
I do my instillations 3x per week - I also just saw Dr. Evans (first visit - and I am so much happier with him then my previous doc) and he said I could continue with this frequency.

I can't imagine doing them anymore often though - in my case - I think I would get too "irritated".