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Hey everyone,
Long time, no post! So I've been on Elmiron since I was diagnosed mid-February. But I feel like the only thing that offered me pain relief was avoiding certain foods and drink. A month ago, however, my doc put me on Detrol LA to help with my frequency/urgency (I was going about 12 times a day). So far, it has helped more than anything else. I'm now going a more normal 4-5 times a day, and my pain level has dropped significantly! I'm even able to have comfortable, pleasurable sex again! (Sorry...TMI...but I'm just so excited to have some normalcy back!) Has anyone else had success with anti-colinergic drugs?
Now that spring is rolling around, my allergies are starting to get worse. Does anyone who takes anti-histamines for their bladder find that it helps with seasonal allergies as well?
Also, I've mentioned a couple times on this forum that I occasionally get very intense abdominal pain after eating - probably around 3-4 times a month. I did finally get things checked out (or am in the middle of getting things checked out). First, I did an intestinal permeability kit - anyone else done that? It involved fasting for 8 hours (night) and then collecting your morning urine and putting an amount into a test tube. Then I had to drink this nasty concentrated simple sugar drink and plenty of water, and collect my urine for 6 hours. You then put a portion of that sample into a second test tube and send it to a lab in North Carolina for analysis. Still awaiting the results.
My doctor also thought it could possibly be gallstones. The pain is right below my sternum and hits me after eating especially greasy meals. Its intensity is crippling - I have to curl up in a ball and breathe shallowly because moving anything makes it hurt even more. It only lasts about 20-30 minutes after eating and when the intense pain stops (feels like someone is stabbing me with a knife and then twisting it around and around), a dull achy pain persists for several hours afterwards. If it does happen, it almost always happens after dinner. It's been going on since August, but what made me really get it checked out (besides the sound advice of you guys on the forum
), was one morning a couple weeks ago the pain started after eating a large bowl of grape nuts (have no idea if that's related). It was weird to have it hit me in the morning, but even stranger was that it lasted for at least 8 hours. It was horrible but VERY motivating to set up an appt to get things worked out. I had some bloodwork done last week and I have an ultrasound of my liver scheduled for tomorrow. Should get the results back from the bloodwork on Tuesday. I called my mom to talk about it, and she said both her mother and one of her sisters have had their gallbladders removed. My grandma had hers removed the old-fashioned way, but my aunt had her's removed laproscopically.
A *small* part of me fantasizes that it IS gallstones, and that THEY are the reason for my pain (referred??). But the fact that I've had so much success with the Detrol seems to confirm that something is indeed up with my bladder. Interestingly enough, my mom also has bladder problems (ANOTHER one of her sisters was bonafied diagnosed with IC via hydrodistention several years ago) - and started experiencing vulvodynia recently. Her doctor put her on Ditropan (very similar to Detrol I think), and she said it helped her a lot both with frequency and vulvar pain.
I shall keep you guys updated as to the abdominal situation once I get some more answers. I'm scared and nervous - I'm not sure I want to use up my vacation days to have a small organ removed from my body :/
Long time, no post! So I've been on Elmiron since I was diagnosed mid-February. But I feel like the only thing that offered me pain relief was avoiding certain foods and drink. A month ago, however, my doc put me on Detrol LA to help with my frequency/urgency (I was going about 12 times a day). So far, it has helped more than anything else. I'm now going a more normal 4-5 times a day, and my pain level has dropped significantly! I'm even able to have comfortable, pleasurable sex again! (Sorry...TMI...but I'm just so excited to have some normalcy back!) Has anyone else had success with anti-colinergic drugs?
Now that spring is rolling around, my allergies are starting to get worse. Does anyone who takes anti-histamines for their bladder find that it helps with seasonal allergies as well?
Also, I've mentioned a couple times on this forum that I occasionally get very intense abdominal pain after eating - probably around 3-4 times a month. I did finally get things checked out (or am in the middle of getting things checked out). First, I did an intestinal permeability kit - anyone else done that? It involved fasting for 8 hours (night) and then collecting your morning urine and putting an amount into a test tube. Then I had to drink this nasty concentrated simple sugar drink and plenty of water, and collect my urine for 6 hours. You then put a portion of that sample into a second test tube and send it to a lab in North Carolina for analysis. Still awaiting the results.
My doctor also thought it could possibly be gallstones. The pain is right below my sternum and hits me after eating especially greasy meals. Its intensity is crippling - I have to curl up in a ball and breathe shallowly because moving anything makes it hurt even more. It only lasts about 20-30 minutes after eating and when the intense pain stops (feels like someone is stabbing me with a knife and then twisting it around and around), a dull achy pain persists for several hours afterwards. If it does happen, it almost always happens after dinner. It's been going on since August, but what made me really get it checked out (besides the sound advice of you guys on the forum
), was one morning a couple weeks ago the pain started after eating a large bowl of grape nuts (have no idea if that's related). It was weird to have it hit me in the morning, but even stranger was that it lasted for at least 8 hours. It was horrible but VERY motivating to set up an appt to get things worked out. I had some bloodwork done last week and I have an ultrasound of my liver scheduled for tomorrow. Should get the results back from the bloodwork on Tuesday. I called my mom to talk about it, and she said both her mother and one of her sisters have had their gallbladders removed. My grandma had hers removed the old-fashioned way, but my aunt had her's removed laproscopically.A *small* part of me fantasizes that it IS gallstones, and that THEY are the reason for my pain (referred??). But the fact that I've had so much success with the Detrol seems to confirm that something is indeed up with my bladder. Interestingly enough, my mom also has bladder problems (ANOTHER one of her sisters was bonafied diagnosed with IC via hydrodistention several years ago) - and started experiencing vulvodynia recently. Her doctor put her on Ditropan (very similar to Detrol I think), and she said it helped her a lot both with frequency and vulvar pain.
I shall keep you guys updated as to the abdominal situation once I get some more answers. I'm scared and nervous - I'm not sure I want to use up my vacation days to have a small organ removed from my body :/
Janie
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