heparin contains benzyl alcohol?

[dminton]

My new doctor called my attention to the fact that the heparin sodium I have used for instills contains benzyl alcohol. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. Does anyone have any feedback? It also contains sodium chloride, and sodium hydroxide and/or hydrochloric acid to adjust pH.

I used this in the past because I didn't think about it, but now that she's questioning it, I wonder if this is the only formulation?

Diana.

[catlover2]

You have Heparin that contains preservatives. Preservatives can irritate your bladder. Baxter makes a 10,000U Heparin in a 1ml DOSETTE vial. The NDC# is 0641-0410-25. This Heparin is preservative free. I order 4 vials per instill because I need 40,000U of Heparin. If you need 5,000U heparin that is preservative free try NDC# 0641-0400-25. If you need 1,000 heprarin try NDC# 0641-0391-25. All of these are preservative free. The key is that they are in a SINGLE DOSE OR A DOSETTE vial. I haven't been able to find any other company that makes preservative free heparin.

[L. Thomas]

My heparine is the 10,000 unit dosette. It doesn't have preservatives. It is made of pig intestines though.

[dminton]

THANK YOU, CATLOVER! That is incredibly useful information!

And to L. Thomas, is yours Baxter also?

What I've been using is also Baxter, but obviously not preservative-free! I've been using 10,000 units per 1 ml, in a 4 ml vial.

Did you two notice a difference between the two types in terms of bladder irritation?

Diana.

[L. Thomas]

THANK YOU, CATLOVER! That is incredibly useful information!

And to L. Thomas, is yours Baxter also?

What I've been using is also Baxter, but obviously not preservative-free! I've been using 10,000 units per 1 ml, in a 4 ml vial.

Did you two notice a difference between the two types in terms of bladder irritation?

Diana.

Mine is Baxter. Baxter 10,000 unit dosette is the only hererin I have used.

[dminton]

Do you gals think it's important to also use preservative-free lidocaine and marcaine? The ones I have don't contain benzyl alcohol, but they do have methylparaben, sodium chloride, and "NaOH or HCl" to adjust pH.

I don't currently use sodium bicarb, but I am considering using it, and the same question applies. I don't know what all it contains.

Diana.

[jen74]

Wow, I was just reading the little bottle of heperin I have and it does not have any ingredients mentioned on it. It just says 20,000 usp units/ml and underneath that is says derived from porcine intestinal mucosa.
Would this mean there are no other ingrediants or preservatives added? It is kind of sick to think this med was derived from an intestine though.
Jen

[dminton]

Jen, it does sound preservative-free. But what about your lidocaine or marcaine or sodium bicarb? Are they also preservative-free? AND, I keep forgetting to ask, does your stuff outdate too soon because of no preservatives? It would have a much shorter shelf life, I would think.

[jen74]

Hi dminton.
Actually, my doc only has me using heperin,lidocaine and saline. The lidocaine I am using I believe does have preservatives. The package says that it contains 20mg of lidocaine hydrochloride, and sodium carboxymethylcellulose. It says sodium hydroxide may have been added to adjust the PH to meet usp limits of 6 to 7.
I am guessing these are preservatives. Do they have lidocaine that has no preservatives? Would that be just the lodocaine gel that is topical? The lidcoaine expires on 11/08 and the heperin expires on 11/08 also. I think they have a longer shelf life because they are in air tight containers as it is and are only used once after being opened.
I wonder why my urogyne does not use the biocarb or marcaine. The nurse said that lidocaine and marcaine are basically the same, just that maybe the marcaine is a little more longer acting. I do think the marcaine is stronger though than the lidocaine. When I had the marcaine instills, it gave me awful retention where I could not pee out the stuff and had to cath it out. When I did just the heperin/lidocaine instills, I could pee it out, but I notice I have more pain with just the heperin/lido/saline intstills. I had only one so far and will do a second one this Friday, but if I feel worse again afterwards, I likely will have to talk to my urogyne and see if I should stop.
Jen

[dminton]

Well, it's possible that perhaps the pain you are feeling is due to the cathing itself? The lidocaine jelly 2% is what I use to coat the outside of the cath, so it lubes and also numbs the urethra, where I have a lot of pain normally. Also some people are sensitive to latex caths.

The other thing is that the lidocaine liquid does not last as long. Those are the things that come to mind.

That's interesting to know that the heparin has a long shelf life because it is a one-time use packaging. That's good news.

Good luck and let me know if I can help,

Diana

[catlover2]

The Methylparaben (MP) in your lidocaine and marcaine is a big issue as well. MP is a preservative, and like all other preservatives it can irritate your bladder. There is a way to avoid this though. Order Xylocaine-MPF. MPF stands for Methylparaben Free, so it does not contain preservatives. Xylocaine is the brand name for lidocaine. Xylocaine MPF is not available as a generic, so it will cost more than the lidocaine with preservatives. If you use 1% Lidocaine try NDC#0186-0112-01. The 1% comes in 30ml single dose vials. If you use 2% try NDC# 0186-0242-13. The 2% comes in 5ml single dose vials. I need 16cc of Xylocaine 2% for each instill so I have to order 4 vials of 2% Xylocaine MPF per instill.

Once my crazy and hectic week is over I will start a new thread with info about preservative free injectables and how to order them.

[dminton]

To catlover,

I can't tell you how much you've helped me! I bet that I did build a sensitivity to the preservatives; last night I did an instill and after the initial burn that then gives way to relief, I had itching in my bladder after the burn, then some relief, then when the lidocaine wore off, I was terribly irritated. I had stopped doing the instills last November because I thought they had suddenly stopped working because I wasn't getting the same relief, just pain. I took an antihistamine last night and woke up feeling better.

Yes, I think a new thread about ordering preservative-free supplies is in order!

So, thank you thank you thank you!

Diana

[catlover2]

I forgot to mention the LoFric catheters. They are Latex free and they are self lubricating so you most likely won't need to use lidocaine on the tip of the catheter. I do use the lidocaine in urojets after an instill because the instill meds tend to make my urethra burn or it could be the vulvodynia. I can't tell the difference anymore, everything burns down there. I am a big fan of lidocaine.