nerve stimulator implant

[bladderpain451]

My gyn is sending my urologist a letter referring me for a nerve stimulator implant. He says I can control when I pea and when I don't. What does that mean? It sounds so weird. Does that mean I will not feel the need to pea until I push that button? Would it stop the pressure & misery I feel? I wouldn't dare consider such a surgery just for incontinence, it's the pressure & constant urge to pea that drives me crazy.

[ICNDonna]

I think probably the implant being recommended is the interstim. There are forums discussing this.

Hugs,
Donna

[bob04951]

You need to make a list of questions and take it with you for your consult, and do some research before you let anyone cut on you. You don't want to suffer from retention on top of everything else. Do check out the threads here on the interstim, if that is what it is. Go in informed.

[bladderpain451]

Thanks, it is an interstim. I couldn't remember what he called it, but that was it. I already have retention off and on from UTI's. That hurts, I definetly wouldn't want that all the time. I don't want an invasive surgery like that, and I don't want an implant in me. I'm not even sure of why I am having the pressure and urgency so bad. There is a possibility that the OAB condition & IC neither one is causing it. Treatment for both conditions hasn't helped.

[Sarojini]

The Interstim just blocks some of the aberrant nerve signals so you don't have to pee every 5 minutes. You still feel when your bladder is full and you should still be able to urinate on your own, in the normal way - you don't "push a button to go to the bathroom." If the Interstim works properly, you should not have retention, but of course there are some cases where the settings are wrong, or the wrong nerve is being stimulated, and this can lead to some retention, so if you do have the procedure in the future, make sure that if you start to retain you call your doctor ASAP. Please head over to the Neurostimulation forums on this site for more detailed info

[bladderpain451]

So it helps frequency and/or retention? I do not have retention issues causing frequency. I feel the need to pea even if I don't need to go, typically horrible once I lay down. I am going to the bathroom more for whatever reason I am having the bladder pressure. No one is quite sure why I have the pressure. I don't think I want surgery again, I have scars from the perineoplasty and still have pain there sometimes. I think I've had one too many pelvic surgeries already. My other gyn didn't seem to understand why he is even recommmending this. She said it's possible my intestines could irritate my bladder, I told her I know the ic wasn't doing this, but it's all really just a guessing game. They can't tell me why it's there for sure. But she did say she'd refer me over to a pain clinic but wasn't sure if they'd be able to help or not. Bugs me badly she said the urodynamics didn't show the incontinence and when they had me cough, I leaked urine, I don't get it. I also don't get why I can tell something bulges down into my vag wall and they say I don't have a prolapse. I think part of my problem is from where I have irritable bowel, and partly having issues with surgical scarring, and maybe a mild cystocele is there they don't want to deal with. I don't know. I guess I'll have to find another doctor to re-evaluate it to make sure. I wish I could just trust what I'm told but I know good and well I have incontinence and that test would have shown stress incontinence. I just don't get it.

[bubbe1]

nerve stim.

So it helps frequency and/or retention? I do not have retention issues causing frequency. I feel the need to pea even if I don't need to go, typically horrible once I lay down. I am going to the bathroom more for whatever reason I am having the bladder pressure. No one is quite sure why I have the pressure. I don't think I want surgery again, I have scars from the perineoplasty and still have pain there sometimes. I think I've had one too many pelvic surgeries already. My other gyn didn't seem to understand why he is even recommmending this. She said it's possible my intestines could irritate my bladder, I told her I know the ic wasn't doing this, but it's all really just a guessing game. They can't tell me why it's there for sure. But she did say she'd refer me over to a pain clinic but wasn't sure if they'd be able to help or not. Bugs me badly she said the urodynamics didn't show the incontinence and when they had me cough, I leaked urine, I don't get it. I also don't get why I can tell something bulges down into my vag wall and they say I don't have a prolapse. I think part of my problem is from where I have irritable bowel, and partly having issues with surgical scarring, and maybe a mild cystocele is there they don't want to deal with. I don't know. I guess I'll have to find another doctor to re-evaluate it to make sure. I wish I could just trust what I'm told but I know good and well I have incontinence and that test would have shown stress incontinence. I just don't get it.

Hi,
I have a cystocele too, and it does cause feelings of pressure and some leakage,(sorry)! Has anyone suggested or evaluated you for a pessary? I haven't needed one as of yet but if the cystocele gets worse, that would be my next step. It's pretty non-invasive and if it doesn't work, you just take it out. Also, have you been checked for a rectocele? That can also cause pressure.
Just some thoughts.
Do have a long talk with your doctors and don't be shy to ask questions.
I hope you find your answers.
Laurie

[bladderpain451]

I just had a retrocele repair back in July. It's fine except there is some scarring there from the perineoplasty. It didn't stop the pressure. My other Gyn doesn't even know why the other gyn over her was recommending this implant, there is no way I am going through with that. I have not been recommended a pessary because they said that I don't have a bladder cystocele, I kind of wonder if that is true, maybe it's mild and they don't want to do surgery on a mild cystocele. Because when I bare down, I see a bulge and I know that is not normal. My urodynamics showed an abnormal shape in my bladder, I think maybe there is a tumor in there. I'm not worried about it being cancer because they said my urine cytology was fine. My IC might be worse than I thought. I'm having an in office cystoscopy next month. I'm afraid to do the one where they put you to sleep, because my pelvic muscles are weak from all these surgeries and I am not willing to take the chance of another prolapse. I hope they will be able to understand that and I don't lose my doctor because I backed out of that surgery. I haven't had any incontinence since I started using Elmiron, who knows, maybe it'll clear up. Are you getting your cystocele fixed? That is a horrible thing to have to put up with. It's so insane with me, I just want to constantly pea when I lay down, and I feel like I need to ram something up in me to stop that pressure. How in the world do you deal with it? It drives me crazy.

[bubbe1]

stim implant

I just had a retrocele repair back in July. It's fine except there is some scarring there from the perineoplasty. It didn't stop the pressure. My other Gyn doesn't even know why the other gyn over her was recommending this implant, there is no way I am going through with that. I have not been recommended a pessary because they said that I don't have a bladder cystocele, I kind of wonder if that is true, maybe it's mild and they don't want to do surgery on a mild cystocele. Because when I bare down, I see a bulge and I know that is not normal. My urodynamics showed an abnormal shape in my bladder, I think maybe there is a tumor in there. I'm not worried about it being cancer because they said my urine cytology was fine. My IC might be worse than I thought. I'm having an in office cystoscopy next month. I'm afraid to do the one where they put you to sleep, because my pelvic muscles are weak from all these surgeries and I am not willing to take the chance of another prolapse. I hope they will be able to understand that and I don't lose my doctor because I backed out of that surgery. I haven't had any incontinence since I started using Elmiron, who knows, maybe it'll clear up. Are you getting your cystocele fixed? That is a horrible thing to have to put up with. It's so insane with me, I just want to constantly pea when I lay down, and I feel like I need to ram something up in me to stop that pressure. How in the world do you deal with it? It drives me crazy.

Hi,
I know the pressure can be miserable. I find that a heating pad helps, especially at bed time. I think it relaxes the muscles. I use a microwavable pad, and put it down on my lower abdomen. I know though that there are wearable pads too, I believe you can purchase them from this site. Maybe that would help a bit.
My pressure comes and goes,not sure why, but it does seem that my bowels have something to do with it. If I keep things soft ,and don't strain at all to go, then I have less pressure.
I am not having my cystocele repaired at this this time. I would want to try the pessary first as that is fairly non-invasive and easily removed. For right now, I am just living with the cystocele. BTW, the way my doctor showed me that I had one was to have me bear down while on the exam table. She then had me put my hand down and I could feel the cystocele bulging out of my vagina.
Have you considered getting another opinion from a different doctor? If you're not comfortable with the docs you have seen, that might be a way to go.
I wish I had more to offer.
Sending a hug,
Laurie

[bladderpain451]

Forgive my bluntness but if I was to get any effect from a heating pad, I'd have to shove it right up in my vagina because my connective tissue has nothing to do with the pressure. I've tried a heating pad, cold packs, putting a pillow between my legs, propping my legs up, sometimes I thought maybe I should just get some pillows and take a nap on my toilet, but that would still be hard to go to sleep. I tried getting my doctors to let me use catherization at bedtime, but they wouldn't. They wouldn't give me B&O or valium suppositories. An urge to go even when you don't have to go is horrible. I am getting referred to a pain clinic so I'm extremely happy about that. I still have the pressure but the urgency isn't so bad. When they did my IVP on the 30th, I did a laxative prep, and the colon cleanse relieved the urgency somewhat. At least enough, that I didn't want to bang my head in the wall anymore. So I guess anytime it gets crazy crazy, I might try a colon cleanse. I know my intestines are partially to blame, but I still feel like something is pushing into my urethra. I have had constant rectal pressure too since the IVP prep. I did another colon cleanse since, but I can't say I'd recommend it to anyone, it makes you dehydrated. I was told a pessary can cause UTI's. You might want to ask other people using this, if they are okay with it. My bulge only comes half way down, it's not no where near to the point of coming out, I figured maybe that's why the gyn said it was okay. I might end up having my PCP recheck it but I think I will wait and see what is causing the abnormality with my bladder first. If I have one, it's grade 1 or 2. Yours is like a grade 3, pretty bad, I would want that fixed if I was in your shoes. The surgery isn't bad if you don't have to get it done over and over as that can cause scarring, but if you can avoid lifting and stuff, it would probably be okay. Let me know how the pessary works for you, if I do find out I have another prolapse, I might try that too.

[bladderpain451]

My gyn did the urodynamics and talked like it didn't show incontinence, I leaked a couple of times during coughing but I guess during filling of my bladder, I was able to hold it without leaking. Still, you leak with a cough, how do you not get the diagnosis of stress incontinence. I don't usually leak all over myself if I sneeze and it just randomly occurs, but I have a cold right now and everytime I sneeze, I am peaing on myself. Now how do I really not have stress incontinence? I've had it run down my leg a few times it was so bad.