Febuary 2006 (Detrol LA trial)

The pain and pressure in my bladder continued. It seemed like no matter what I tried, I could not get myself to feel any better. By now, I was waking up 6 times or more a night to go to the bathroom. I had a frequent need to use the bathroom during the day as well, sometimes as often as every 20 minutes. I began to find that even walking down the stairs of my 3rd floor apartment difficult. By the time I had reached the bottom, I felt the urge to go the bathroom again. I was stricken with fear and anxiety every time I had to leave my house. Would I be able to tolerate the pain? Where would I go to the bathroom? What was happening to me? How would I be able to work? Sleep deprived and depressed, I called my GYN again. Fearing that I may be acquiring a "neurogenic bladder," she referred me to a urologist. My first meeting with this particular urologist was less than desireable. Unsure of what my actual diagnosis was he remarked, "We can always put in a sacral nerve stimulator to calm down the nerves." Thanks. He COULD NOT give me a diagnosis, but he COULD recommend surgery. Nevermind the fact that surgery is what put me in this situation in the first place! Opting for more conservative methods I asked, "What are my other options?" The urologist prescribed Detrol LA for a spastic bladder and stated, "Sometimes this kind of thing just goes away." The urologist was kind enough to give me a four week sample pack and a presciption. "Try this for six weeks and come back," He said. After three weeks of taking the medication, I knew it wasn't working. Not only did I still have an almost unbearable urge to urinate, but the medication so severely relaxed the bladder that I began to have severe urinary retention. I stopped the medication and chose to wait the remaining three miserable weeks for my follow up appointment. My efforts were devoted to trying to tolerate this bladder problem and hold onto my life.