Flare Up while on Elmiron

[mimi1027]

I have been on Elmiron since January and this weekend I started having pain and running to the bathroom all the time. Has anyone else had flare ups while taking Elmiron? Just seems strange to me after being on it for 6 months.

[lisabar36]

Hi, Elmiron can even take longer then 6 months to work. You also could have a UTI. It may be a good idea to be checked. I have been on Elmiron since September and I have had some flares. Wether it be related to something I ate, or a UTI. There are so many things that can cause flares. Even when on Elmiron certain things can cause flares. If I drink anything citrus I will flare, or eat anything that causes me problems. Elmiron doesn't prevent that. It acts as a bladder protectant and what it has done for me so far along with the IC diet, is less irritation to my bladder. I also never used to be able to have pears and now I can. I see some benefits of it. I have less burning. But I do still flare.

[mimi1027]

I have only seen my gyno for this and they performed a potassium test. I couldn't take hardly any of the solution before I started hurting.

When I was put on Elmiron the pain went away quickly along with me watching what I would eat and drink. However, since I was feeling so well, I started eating and drinking what I wanted with no problem. And so after 6 months I am hurting again.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that when I first started hurting in January I had been taking a lot of bubble baths b/c my daughter gave me some for Christmas. This past week I had taken bubble baths 3 days in a row, so now I am thinking maybe it is the bubble baths.

I have put a call into my gyno about these last 3 days of pain. My mom thinks I need to go see a uriologist.

But, what do you do to cope with the pain during flares? Just watch your diet and continue the Elmiron? It is just so frustrating to be in pain constantly.

[vm]

Oh, yes - you can definitely still flare while on Elmiron. The first few years on it I still flared, but what happened for me was that the longer I was on it the fewer and further apart the flares became. They also became less intense in nature.

I added back in dietary triggers when I had zero pain - so if I flared after feeling good for a time I would go back to the very blandest of diets.

I also found that I might flare from stress. But my biggie was UTIs - so you might get checked just to rule that out as a cause for your flare.

It's scary to flare after feeling good for so long, isn't it? Try not to panic, OK? :kissing: A lot of us on Elmiron still flared, but the longer we are on it the fewer they become.

[SharonA]

Welcome to the ICN... :)

The flare could very well have been caused by the bubble bath plus all the other things that have been suggested. So...you should go back to being careful with your diet, get checked for a bladder infection, and stop taking the bubble baths. Awww...the joys of becoming our own CSI agent. :wink:

I hope you will be able to figure out what caused this so you can get back to feeling better very soon. (((hugs)))

[vm]

Awww...the joys of becoming our own CSI agent.

I like that - too funny. :lmao:

[datsun]

I have been on elmiron for almost 15 years, and it has really helped me. when I first started taking it the flare-ups were more prevalent. in my case they became much less frequent as time went on. of course, i was very gradually increasing my dosage slowly over many years. my experience has been the higher the dose the better response. have had no serious side effects other than the higher the dose the more loose your stools are, which can be a problem at times. I am also very fastidious about taking it, as recommended, on an empty stomach and then waiting at least an hour before eating.