Urologist Appointment Today…

Well, today I had my scheduled monthly visit with the urologist regarding my Interstitial Cystitis. 

Although my urinary frequency during the day has decreased a lot (from going every 15 minutes, I now go about every 30 minutes), I am still getting up at night a lot to urinate.  He just had me try Elavil again on a trial basis to see if it would help.

Unfortunately, it did nothing.  He said there really isn’t anything else they can do for me at this point.  He has tried everything:  DMSO treatments, stretched my bladder twice, Detrol patches, Elmiron, Elavil, Catherizing myself and using a numbing medication called Marcaine. 

I told him that I do not want to take anymore meds.  I was willing to just try the Elavil again on a trial basis to see if I could get some more sleep.  I think if the doctors could get my sleeping under control, everything else would improve tremendously.  This is the one area that no one yet has been able to help me with. 

It seems that no matter how much sleep I do get, it is never enough.  I wake up too many times to go to the bathroom or just wake up because of the CFIDS/FM biological clock thing that happens. 

I am defintely better than what I was with the Interstitial Cystitis though.  When I was first diagnosed the pain in my lower abdomen and pelvic area was excruicating and I could barely walk.  It felt like I was nine months pregnant all of the time and that I was about to give birth!  That is about the only way I can describe the pressure.  The pain – there is no describing the pain.  It is just unreal.  I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this pain was extremely unbearable.  I would call and beg the urologist for pain medication only to be given Ultram, which did nothing.  So at least I don’t have to go through that right now!  I have read that IC goes into a remission stage usually after about 18 – 24 months of the first severe flare up.  I guess that is where I am now, thank God!!