Uro visit, 3 months post-Interstim

[rjyoon]

I finally was able to tell my uro today about my sleep improvement & fibromyalgia improvement once I had the Interstim set at the right level. He was pretty happy.

Now he says that it could take a year for the pocket to stop aching (& that's when I could wear jeans again). Not that it would've affected my decision, but that's the kind of thing I like to know beforehand.

He wouldn't make any specific calculation as to how long the battery would last. I thought once the settings were known, it was possible to predict the battery life. He just gave me a canned range of 6 - 8 years. I know that sometimes they last longer (I've heard of 10 years), so I won't take his estimate very seriously.

Because I don't need reprogramming, he said I could see him in a year & just call in for prescriptions in the meantime. Does anyone else go for such a long time between visits? It seems odd.

It doesn't seem like I've had the Interstim for three months. It still seems like I just got it.

[codyryonwoodward]

Hi rjyoon I am so happy your unit is working so well for you. I have had mine since Sept 2001. Right now it is turned off. Difficult time. But, yes my Uro also said the same. I also Have alot of reprogramming and he still told me that. Best of luck to you with the Interstim. :thumbsup:


Patricia :hi:

[Snuph]

have had my interstim for four years now. I see my uro every 6 months. After the four year mark he has you complete every year a seven day voiding diary to monitor changes for battery. I get my Rx from my gp.

[mtpockets]

Dear Rjyoon, I've been following your progress with interest.
I'm on my 9th day of the Interstim Test. My baseline for urinating was 60 times per day and with the test it is only down to 45 to 50 times per day with lots of pain at the spot of entry. I noticed that you said the Dr said your pocket might ache for a whole year. Did it ache during the Test???? Mine sure does.
Did you go directly from the test to the implant, or did you have a staged implant in between???
I am very eager to hear from anyone doing the Interstim at whatever stage they are in. I need to know if anyone else with such severe urgency/frequency has had better results than me or if this is all I should expect from it.
I have tried EVERY other treatment...6 years of series of bladder installations & I recently was hopitalized for several weeks & had major surgery for complications of my IC.
Please, if anyone can give me more info please respond as soon as possible. Thanks

[littlebear]

Hi Rjyoon, I'm so happy to hear that things are going so well for you and that so many of your symptoms have been improved. I know that everyone is different, but, if you wouldn't mind sharing this information, I'm wondering what your settings are? Congratulations on all your good news (interstim plus wedding and honeymoon!). Enjoy! Best wishes little bear

Hi Patricia, I'm so sorry to hear that you're having such a difficult time. Let us know how you're doing. We're all rooting for you! Best wishes, little bear

Hi Mtpockets, I think I read another post of yours on another thread and will answer that one there (because it includes something about pain on the left side)--but I'm hoping that you will get lots of responses all your posts! Best wishes, little bear

[rjyoon]

littlebear: The truth is that I don't know what my settings are. The uro isn't into sharing that information easily (he talked about it when re-programming, but at too fast a rate & I couldn't take notes while holding the antenna over my Interstim) & hates answering my questions, so I don't want to ask. Sorry I don't have a better answer.

mtpockets: I'm trying to remember when the pocket aching started, but I'm not sure. I think the pocket pain from surgery just morphed into aching at some point. If I'm understanding what you mean, I went from staged implant to implant (didn't have the old-style trial with temporary leads). Glad my Interstim information is useful to someone.

[littlebear]

Hi Rjyoon, Isn't it odd the way that different Drs handle this so differently? The long and the short of it, though, is that you're feeling better and that's what really counts--so, no worries about not being able to tell me your settings. Everyone is different anyway, I'm just curious to get a sense of what kinds of things seem to be working for folks (and the range of what works seems to be really, really wide). Also, so many of your posts over the last few months have been so very helpful to me in so many ways. I really appreciate all of your posts. I hope that all is well with you. All my best, little bear