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I'm soooooo angry!!!
3 regular trials and 2 staged trials! I can't believe I put my body through all this for nothing.
Trial #1 was a disaster. procedure was pure hell. lead was too deep.
Trial #2 was okay. i had vaginal stimulation and it didn't help. I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HERE!!!!
Trial #3 was a disappointment. our goal was to achieve BLADDDER stimulation. had it on table, lead moved after i got up.
Staged Trial #1 was a bigger disaster. too much sedation. too much fluids. over distended bladder. extreme pain. long recovery. doctor was rushed. lead wasn't placed correctly. no stimulation
Staged Trial #2. procedure went smoothly for me, i was sedated well. dr had alot of difficulty repositioning lead. intense soreness and pain afterwards from all the poking and proding.
Xray shows the lead is too deep. Dr thinks suture came loose and lead migrated too deep. some vaginal stimulation. NO improvement in symptoms.
I would have stopped after trial #2, except I got determined that if we achieved bladder stimulation it could help my symptoms. I have NEVER thought that vaginal stim would help. Because I have had tons of PT and it never helped bladder. PT only helped my pelvic floor. Never helped my freq/urg and bladder pain. So why the BLEEP would vaginal stimulation help my bladder????? Can anyone explain this. I truly don't understand.
I thought that my Dr and medtronics rep were really listening to me about wanting bladder stimulation. I don't know how the communication broke down.
Now, It's been made clear to me that bladder stimulation has never been achieved with Interstim. Why did they want me to have a staged trial? I had vaginal stim in Trial #2 and it did nothing. Was it because I was pushing so hard? Now I have a huge scar. Not to mention all this pain and frustration. What the BLEEP was I thinking?
Interstim is NOT the answer for me. And it never should have been. I can't believe I've gone through all this for nothing. There have been so many complications and problems along the way. My Dr is out of town this week and I'm going crazy not being able to discuss this with him. Right now I'm just so mad I can't see past my anger. Most of all I'm angry with myself for pushing this so hard. I'm so desperate for relief I've been willing to put myself through anything and everything. I think it's time for that philosophy to change.
I can't wait to get this BLEEPING thing out of me. Monday can't come soon enough.
Oh, one more thing. Dr suggested that I try another setting. It made my urgency worse!
I edited this because I know my medtronics rep sometimes reads the boards. I don't want my frustration and needing to vent make this situation any worse.
[This message has been edited by Melanie (edited 04-03-2001).]
Trial #1 was a disaster. procedure was pure hell. lead was too deep.
Trial #2 was okay. i had vaginal stimulation and it didn't help. I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HERE!!!!
Trial #3 was a disappointment. our goal was to achieve BLADDDER stimulation. had it on table, lead moved after i got up.
Staged Trial #1 was a bigger disaster. too much sedation. too much fluids. over distended bladder. extreme pain. long recovery. doctor was rushed. lead wasn't placed correctly. no stimulation
Staged Trial #2. procedure went smoothly for me, i was sedated well. dr had alot of difficulty repositioning lead. intense soreness and pain afterwards from all the poking and proding.
Xray shows the lead is too deep. Dr thinks suture came loose and lead migrated too deep. some vaginal stimulation. NO improvement in symptoms.
I would have stopped after trial #2, except I got determined that if we achieved bladder stimulation it could help my symptoms. I have NEVER thought that vaginal stim would help. Because I have had tons of PT and it never helped bladder. PT only helped my pelvic floor. Never helped my freq/urg and bladder pain. So why the BLEEP would vaginal stimulation help my bladder????? Can anyone explain this. I truly don't understand.
I thought that my Dr and medtronics rep were really listening to me about wanting bladder stimulation. I don't know how the communication broke down.
Now, It's been made clear to me that bladder stimulation has never been achieved with Interstim. Why did they want me to have a staged trial? I had vaginal stim in Trial #2 and it did nothing. Was it because I was pushing so hard? Now I have a huge scar. Not to mention all this pain and frustration. What the BLEEP was I thinking?
Interstim is NOT the answer for me. And it never should have been. I can't believe I've gone through all this for nothing. There have been so many complications and problems along the way. My Dr is out of town this week and I'm going crazy not being able to discuss this with him. Right now I'm just so mad I can't see past my anger. Most of all I'm angry with myself for pushing this so hard. I'm so desperate for relief I've been willing to put myself through anything and everything. I think it's time for that philosophy to change.
I can't wait to get this BLEEPING thing out of me. Monday can't come soon enough.
Oh, one more thing. Dr suggested that I try another setting. It made my urgency worse!
I edited this because I know my medtronics rep sometimes reads the boards. I don't want my frustration and needing to vent make this situation any worse.
[This message has been edited by Melanie (edited 04-03-2001).]
if you were trying to reach bladder stimulation that is not the point of how the Intestim works. It works by stimulating the nerves that control your bladder which are not in the bladder they are in the sacral area specifically S3 and for some people S2 and S4. I personally would go crazy if they tried to stimulate the bladder! I know it's confusing but the bladder is not what is supposed to be stimulated just the nerves that control your bladder which happen to be felt in the vaginal area, butt, leg, and toe, and for some the rectum. In my heart I would get another doctor who is more experienced with the Interstim and who can help to explain some of the confusion to you. You can't have a perfect trial becasue there is no such thing and with all of the variables they gave you freedom to try and not enough time there is no way for you to see any static results.
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