Interstim Therapy

[EmptyNestMom]

Has anyone ever utilized this device/therapy to control bladder urgency? I am thinking of doing this and just wondered what people know and think about it. Any help would be appreciated!

[mbrogier]

You can't have an MRI with one in... I had a stroke that was preceeded by a TIA that was misdiagnosed because I had to have a cat scan instead of MRI.

I've had mine for over 5 years, and it changed my life for the better soooo much. I no longer get up 10 times at night to pee. Mine was put in for urgency/frequency from a bladder disease called interstitial cystitis, and that disease is very painful. (the bladder loses it's protective lining so you feel like you have a raging infection 24/7) My implant helped the pain tremendously, but it doesn't in everyone.

Sometimes I do have a little leakage still, but that is usually a clue for me that I have an infection or the kidney stone stuck in my kidney is moving around. I can't feel my bladder anymore, so sometimes I have to remind myself to pee. I'd rather not feel it that feel it all the freaking time.

The trial is essential. You need to see how well this unit works. You don't have to turn it up high enough that you can consciously feel the vibrations in your pelvis. There are different programs that change the duration and feel of the electrical signal, so the Medtronic person can make yours work best for you. Sometimes it feels like tapping and other times like a low amperage shock. (should NOT be painful, more like that area is asleep) Sitting down on the toilet was the best way for me to feel how the implant was working. I haven't had to have my implant reprogrammed in over a year. I never need my controller anymore although I do take it on long car trips just in case.

Mine was programmed so metal detectors don't set it off. I also used to get zapped if I got too close to the anti theft devices in the entrances of stores. That no longer happens, and I'm so glad that I don't have to pull my pants down to show the female TSA agent at the airport that I *don't* have a bomb in the back of my @ss. :rolleyes: They'd hand scan me and find that it beeped, so they'd not be happy until they looked at the scar. I've been hand scanned several times at Chicago and never had them find the implant. I don't bring up that I have one unless I get flagged by the machine.

I hope that the interstim works for you. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

[mbrogier]

PS, mark the area where your jeans, etc. waistband hits your lower back, butt area so that the urologist knows to put the implant battery pack lower down. (it will still be higher than where you actually *sit* on your butt.) Rubbing waistbands and chairs is an annoying but not painful feeling once that area heals. Sometimes it will get irritated and sore. If it works for you, the aggravation will be worth the discomfort from time to time.

My first implant failed (my doctor had only done 11 total and a connection was loose that would shock me). I lost a lot of weight between the first battery pack and second, so at the revision the new doctor (who did 3 or 4 of these A WEEK) put the implant really deep under the fat layer right on top of the muscle. I went from a size 14 to size 8 without having that implant sticking out because there was no fat between it and the skin. (you could see the outline of the pack when looking at my back.)

Oh, and ps, it looks like a cell phone on xrays and cat scans. Tell your technician that it's there so they don't get the crap scared out of them when they see it appear. Medtronic will probably tell you to turn the device off for scans and surgery, but my device has never interfered with any equipment (and I'm a cardiac patient that has been hospitalized on telemetry equipment several times) or scan. I've had over 100 cat scans, so if the device was going to be damaged, you'd me being Peter Parker would have had mine affected. :p