Onset of IC after a TVT Sling Procedure??

[pestabrooke]

So happy to find ya'll. I had the TVT sling procedure on 1/30/07 and I have had trouble since. I was only able to go on my own a little bit starting last week and I am still using a cath here at home.

The mystery is that I have suddenly developed horrible urge incontinency and when I have to go it just pours out - especially if I'm sitting in my car. My doctor - my gyn - believes I may have temporary IC due to the surgery and the nerves that run from sacrum to bladder. He thinks maybe my bladder is not producing the right amount of "slim", causing the urges. I have the Oxy patch and I am having instillations (rescue remedies) twice a week that may or may not be helping. Why can't I go on my own when I sit on the toilet but I can't stop it if I'm anywhere else? Maybe this is mental.

I think I'm just getting better about controlling when I go and making sure I'm not stuck somewhere without a potty. Coffee is surly a morning trigger and I'm working on weaing off of caffine.

Does anyone else have experience with this type of IC? Is there hope that time will make this better. There is no bladder pain and I do not go too frequently - I just can't hold it when the urge hits.

Thanks to anyone who can help. I am learing a lot from the other posts.

Pam - age 47 - Lawrenceville, GA

[Katie14]

Pam, I'm sorry to hear of your problems. Do you think you could have an overactive bladder somehow triggered by the surgery? OAB is a common cause of urge incontinence. The oxy patch is for OAB but I'd ask your doctor if he thinks that could be contributing to your trouble emptying your bladder without a catheter.

I sympathize with you because I had problems after a TVT procedure too. I went home with a catheter for 4 days because I couldn't adequately empty in the recovery room. I had the catheter taken out on a Friday and then started having intense feelings of needing to urinate and not feeling like I was emptying by that Sunday. I went back to the office on Monday and had a residual after voiding that was too high and was told to self cath after each void until the residual was under 100. At home it was under 100 from the first time. I still felt like I had to go very frequently, at least every hour. If I tried to extend the time by a few minutes I'd break out in a sweat and feel nauseated. I was tested for a UTI and negative. This went on for about a month. I hated calling the office so frequently but I was miserable and it was clear by their reaction I wasn't recovering like the average patient . When I finally got in to see the doctor he looked back over his notes from the surgery and said that during the procedure my bladder had gone into spasm when they filled it. A cystoscopy is part of the procedure and I had the glomerulations that can be seen with IC that hadn't been seen with a previous cystoscopy a few weeks before. He said because of those and my frequency and urgency without a UTI I probably had IC. I've since been started on Elavil and Elmiron along with following the diet and am much better. I think the surgery triggered my problem.

I had my surgery a year and a half ago. If I keep my fluid intake up, as in 2 quarts a day, I usually don't have problems urinating. If a get behind on fluids I can sit there quite a while before I can start going and sometimes I still feel like I have to go when the flow stops. Or, I go in stages, like stopping and starting 3 times before finishing. I hear this isn't too uncommon in people that have had sling type procedures. Maybe someone else will tell their experience with this.

I hope you can get relief from this soon.

[pestabrooke]

Thank you Katie

Hi Kataie:

Thanks so much for that post. It sounds just like my experience. My doctor is very kind and patient and I'm going twice a week for instillations that I think are helping too. I have a follow up with him on 3/21 and we will seriously talk about taking the sling out. I'd rather go back to leaking when I cough and sneeze then be like this.

God Bless you.
Pam

[L. Thomas]

I had Transvaginal sling surgery. I was diagnosed with IC a few months after the surgery. My urogynecologist, who is an IC specialist, feels that IC is probably genetic and manifest itself after the badder is traumatized. That seems like that is what happened to me.

I do home instillations. One of my signals that I need an instillation is when I feel I always need to go to the bathroom. There are a lot of different instillation “recipes” .

Has your gyn suggested you see a urologist or urogynecologist? If your insurance will cover it, it might be a good idea. I would try to find someone who has had experience with treating IC.

[Katie14]

I agree that IC can show itself after some kind of bladder trauma or manipulation. I had some symtoms of IC prior to my surgery for example UTI symptoms without an infection several times over the years and my bladder couldn't tolerate things like tea and alcohol. I was referred to the urogyn for the UTI symptoms with no bacteria as well as for the stress incontinence. At that time he didn't think my symptoms were severe enough for IC. They were after the surgery. From what I've read this isn't an uncommon experience.

[sami4]

Nerve damage

So, your Doctor thinks the damage to the nerves from the sling surgery caused you to manifest IC symptoms which you probably had all along?
I beg to differ with Doc. My version is the damage to the nerves by the surgery and the technique used caused the bladder damage that resulted in IC. This in my mind is the same reason so many women mysteriously "develop" IC after abdominal, or vaginal hysterectomies. You cant cut around an area and not damage nerves, damaged nerves mean less blood flow, less blood flow, less ability to carry out the cellular processes that keep an organ healthy and disease free.
Sammi