How long before the interstim starts to fail

[EmmaJO]

Hi Everyone,I had my device implanted in Jan 2006. It has worked great for me and is still working. My question is how long does it take before it starts to fail and you need to have a new one implanted? I had mine for about 5 yrs. I havent seen a urologist in 5 yrs. I moved away 4 yrs ago. So just wondering when I should start looking for a urologist ?

[Madi's Granny]

You might need to start looking for an urologist who does interstims now. They say they can last up to 10 years depending on how high you have your settings. The higher the settings the shorter the life of the interstim battery will be. Hope this is of some help.

[ChrisNes]

I want to post about my doctor appointment and Interstim implant.

I have been put on a 3 month waiting list for a trial Interstim. The specialist I saw tells me that not only will it help with my IC pain, he said it would help with my chronic pelvic pain, my back pain and help my bowels. He said i am a good candidate for the device. He said it wold also help with my bladder leaking : )

The doctor at the Pelvic Floor Center in Minneapolis tells me basically I have nerves that are miss-firing and they are sending messages of pain to my brain. He says that these nerves some how start sending the wrong message.

I have PFD and CPP, my exam hurt but went fine.

I do not want to wait the 3 months if it will help me with all of these areas of pain.

The doctor tells me my Burch or what he called 'a bladder vault suspension' is still intact, he believes my bladder tack is also holding.. He doesnt want to go in and operate or remove the scar tissue. He says i am at the age where i should start menopause so when that happens the endometrosis will stop growing.

I had POP in 2002.

This doctor is going to try to set up some PFD pelvic floor PT : ) I live in Rural ND so this part may be difficult to get a PT with pelvic floor experience to come here. Diagnosed with PFD on 5/25/12.

I also had a bladder scope and the Dr. gave me some peridium s.p. to numb the bladder and an Rx of Tramadol...it seems to help some.

[Marissa322]

EmmaJO,

My first interstim lasted about six years before the battery went dead. My guess is that very few people make it to the ten year mark using the stimulation 24-7 like I do. I would probably go ahead and find a urologist just in case yours is getting close to needing to be replaced. Hope this helps

[Madi's Granny]

That was my uro saying that they could last up to 10 years. The nurse that does my reprogramming said they usuall last about 5 years. He is suprised that mine is still going after 5 years. But up until November of 2010 I had the settings very low. Now that they are up higher I maybe able to get at least 1 more year from it. I'm kind of looking forward to getting a new one. They are smaller and can be placed better and can hold up to 4 programs so you can switch them. The remote are even a lot better. I will be able to tell what number I have it set at. Right now I am just guessing. Being able to see the numbers go up or down you will know that it was turned up or down. Now sometimes I wonder.

[Sarojini]

My first Interstim was kind of a dud... it died after 3 years. My new one has been in place since 2010, and it's still working great for me, but I'm hoping it will last more than 3 years! I'm sure my insurance will get mad if I have to have a $20,000 butt implant every few years....