First Flare in Years, Damn that Mucinex DM!

[dottiepark]

I am not new to the forum or IC, but my pain has been under control for years even with lots of cheating on the diet. But a doc recommended Mucinex DM for a cough and I took three doses and I woke with horrible pain, spasms, pressure. I bumped up my Urelle and added in some baking soda and the pain is down to a dull roar but I am seeing my uro tomorrow to see what else they can do for me.

So peeved...I looked up Mucinex DM and that was supposed to be an okay med with IC. Mucinex D, with decongestant, is the bad one. I'm an amateur diagnostician...I wonder if the Mucinex, a product that thins mucus, goofed up precious the mucosal lining in my bladder I have been cultivating for 12 years with Elmiron?

[ICNDonna]

I hope you will feel better soon. Thank you for sharing your experience. With this being the "cold" season, it's good to know which remedies can be a problem.


Donna

[mbhbarb]

Hi. So sorry to hear you are in pain again. Maybe you will find out it is a bladder infection -- that's what I've always hoped for when a flare comes along since that's much easier to remedy than IC is. That's an interesting thought about mucus thinners; I hadn't thought about that and will think twice before taking any cough medicine that includes one. I hope your appointment goes well and that you will be feeling better soon.
barb

[cmclien]

Hi, Hope you feel better soon.
Just an FYI, I take mucinex-d every day, doesn't seem to effect me personally....I have taken it for a couple of years. The "D" part is just sudafed which I can take too alone. The rest is guiaffenison which is the thinner, it is often recommend as a treatment for VV too.
I don't take the syrup, what are the ingredients in it? The syrup DM might have something else in it for the cough that is bothering you???? just wondering.

[ICNDonna]

We are all so very different. I can't tolerate sudafed. When I catch a cold, I'm pretty well stuck with toughing it out --- and whining a lot.

Donna

[sailawaygrl]

DM is usually dextromathorpin for cough. I know that other's with IC are able to take mucinex and I can tolerate it also. I don't think I have seen the Mucinex DM. I take a store brand that Walgreens sells, it isn't the long acting and has only guaffisen (sp?) in it. Not much good to you now, I know but maybe that one would help.
You can also buy the liquid store brands of Robitussin, there is one with only guaffisen in it as well. That is the only thing I am comfortable taking when I am sick. I am not so worried about my IC as drug interactions with other meds I take.
I hope you find relief soon.
Sandra

[dottiepark]

These were the 12-hour tablets...the DM is for dextromethorphan...and I know others can take this stuff without problem. The doc had me take two before bed...maybe the dose was the issue, who knows. But seriously, I forgot how much I have to avoid on the IC diet...I know the obvious stuff, like acids, but dang I forgot about the soy and just had a cheese sandwich on multigrain bread. Oh please may the IC gods have mercy on me!

mbhbarb, funny how you start rooting for bacteria! I do the same thing.

Thanks for the sympathy, folks.

[dottiepark]

Doubling up on Elmiron, more Urelle, a little Cipro, and PT. Fingers crossed....

[chhhb]

So sorry you are having such discomfort. I've had IC for twelve years, too, with only a handful of bad flares. I'm in one now due to allowing my gynecologist to lower my HRT dosage to drastically and it brought on a terrible flare that I'm getting instillations for. We're all so different as to what can trigger a flare. I also can't take Airborne for colds. Tried it for a couple of days not realizing that it has tons of Vitamin C and it really put me in a terrible flare for days. We live and learn, I guess, and I do appreciate your putting it out there about Mucinex DM. Take care and hope you feel better soon.

[dottiepark]

Chhhb, hope the instillations do the trick for you. Thank God I am feeling better with the meds.

[chhhb]

Thanks so much. Walking around in pain while trying to function is so, so difficult. I get my next instillation on Tuesday morning and can't wait for the relief it gives, even though it's been temporary, so far. I want my old life back! Remission is a wonderful thing!

[zyphia]

Flares

I have been skipping here and there, reading different threads and dropped in on this one because the title caught my eye: FIRST FLARE IN YEARS. I hate to sound like a dummy, but to the best of your ability, can some of you describe how your flares feel? I know mine (if they are in fact flares) are a burning, pulsating sensation in my bladder and my pelvic region feels like it is on fire, and I feel like I want to stick a lidocaine coated pipecleaner up my urethra to numb it so the burning pain will go away. I want to sit on the toilet, and sleep on the toilet so that when I have to pee every 10 minutes I won't have to make my way to the bathroom (I also have Parkinson's) to struggle with that task. I wonder if this is a flare in the same sense that you are having them? Maybe I am not having flares at all? Any replies are appreciated.

[dottiepark]

It's been 15 years and while my symptoms are well controlled by meds, I have never been in remission. After an appendectomy I went on a drug holiday...I lasted three weeks before the pain started up again.

Zyphia, I am sorry you have so much pain and frequency, too. I just have pain, no frequency or urgency. Wouldn't you call it a flare if your symptoms increased wexponentially? My everyday pain (burning) is down to a 2 with meds...I call it a flare when the pain goes up past 6, and last week I was at an 8. There was some lower abdominal pressure, and spasms after urinating. I feel the pain mostly in my urethra, but I think it is just the way my pelvic floor is wired. Uro said my pelvic floor wa tight, so I'll be doing PT, too. What are you doing for your IC?

[chhhb]

Flares

Mine feel like burning and stinging in the bladder and urethra. Also, a lot of urgency. I get relief for a while after going but as the bladder begins to fill with urine again the pain returns. Sometime the pain can even feel sharp, depending on the severity of the urgency. My bladder will actually feel like its locking up when I try to go, expecially during the night. Not a fun thing to go through for weeks or months on end.

I hope you will be feeling better soon. I know how hard it is. I've been in a flare for almost two months with not many pain free days during that time. I hope the bladder instillations help soon. I've had four and the flare is still not letting up for more than a day or so after the instillation. I has to get better, though, because it always has. I'm trying to hang onto that right now.

Good luck!

[mary124]

Hope you are feeling better now, if not, take care and get lots of bed rest!
I can take Mucinex DM without any problems but like Donna said we are all different. Maybe it was the dosage (?) 2 tablets. I don't know. I know that I can take also the Mucinex D -but with caution. Sometimes it causes my hear to race.