Elmiron

[BALDY4]

I went to a new DR. Friday (my old DR. moved back East) and this new guy asked how long I've been taking Elmiron, so I told him 4 years as my other DR. said I would probably take it the rest of my life. The new DR. says I should only be taking it for 6 months and wants to ween me off, I told him even when I'm about 4-5 hours late taking my mornig pill I start to flare up. He also said it cause bleeding and if i ever have surgery i would have to be off it. Has anyone else out there heard anything like this. I realy don't want to quit taking it as I've really been feeling pretty good latley.
Thanks for listening to me

[HillaryD]

From what I understand you can be on Elmiron the rest of your life as long as you are getting your liver enzymes checked. I do know that you do have to stop your Elmiron if you are having any type of procedures because the Elmiron thins your blood. I hope this has helped.
Hillary

[Sarojini]

As far as I know, you can take Elmiron for longer than 6 mos, but you do have to mention it to your doctors before you have any kind of surgical procedure. Elmiron (pentosan polysulfate sodium) is a heparin-like compound, and while it does not have as powerful a blood-thinning effect as heparin itself, it does cause some people to have longer clotting times.