Interstim is done
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Archives1
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@ltapilot, that's GREAT NEWS!
God has truly been blessing you in this. I pray that things continue to get better and better for you.
I don't remember seeing you post anything about having a "REZUM" procedure to shrink the prostate. (“Transurethral needle ablation with steam”.) I had that done in July 2019 and it has helped me. Just as my doctor promised, it continued to improve over the following year. Of course, this is only for guys with enlarged prostate issues.
God has truly been blessing you in this. I pray that things continue to get better and better for you.
I don't remember seeing you post anything about having a "REZUM" procedure to shrink the prostate. (“Transurethral needle ablation with steam”.) I had that done in July 2019 and it has helped me. Just as my doctor promised, it continued to improve over the following year. Of course, this is only for guys with enlarged prostate issues.
Archives1
Staff member
maryandersen said:
I hope it goes well for you! Getting the test leads implanted was uncomfortable, but not terrible, and I'm glad now that I did it. Are you doing the test that runs a few days, or the one that goes a couple of weeks? Mine was the shorter one, and my improvement wasn't that dramatic for the test, but they told me that any improvement during the test indicated I'd be a good candidate for the final procedure.
I'll be praying for you! Please let us know how it goes.
Archives1
Staff member
I got the bandages off Wednesday as scheduled. I had assumed there were stitches, but the doctor used glue instead so nothing to remove. The incision is right under where my belt sits, so she padded it with gauze after the bandage came off, but I haven't had to continue with that.
So far, everything seems pretty good. I had a bit of a rough day Friday with several bouts of urgency, but no leakage.
One interesting thing that the doctor told me is to just set the intensity and forget about it. I'd been turning it up a bit at night so it was just below the threshold where I can feel it; when I'm lying down, it takes just a little higher setting than when I'm sitting or standing. She wants me to leave it at the same setting, though, rather than turning it up and down. So I've been doing that.
Once I've got a good baseline, I may try some of the other programs. They vary mostly in which electrodes they use, according to my urologist. As she explained it, the lead has four points along its length that are the actual electrodes, and some of those will sit closer or farther from the nerve, and some will end up being more effective than others. She suggested I switch programs two at a time to start - I'm on #3 now, so I could go to #1 or #5, then once I find one that works better, go up or down by one to fine tune it.
One thing that's been unexpected is that the lump under my skin where the device was implanted is visible. My understanding is that it goes away in time, but it's a little startling seeing an extra lump on my hip when I'm standing in front of the bathroom mirror! It's a bit of an odd feeling to be able to run my fingers over the area and feel the outlines of the device, but it's not painful, and the lump isn't visible once I'm dressed. It's just one of those odd things that I didn't expect, but perhaps should have.
So far, everything seems pretty good. I had a bit of a rough day Friday with several bouts of urgency, but no leakage.
One interesting thing that the doctor told me is to just set the intensity and forget about it. I'd been turning it up a bit at night so it was just below the threshold where I can feel it; when I'm lying down, it takes just a little higher setting than when I'm sitting or standing. She wants me to leave it at the same setting, though, rather than turning it up and down. So I've been doing that.
Once I've got a good baseline, I may try some of the other programs. They vary mostly in which electrodes they use, according to my urologist. As she explained it, the lead has four points along its length that are the actual electrodes, and some of those will sit closer or farther from the nerve, and some will end up being more effective than others. She suggested I switch programs two at a time to start - I'm on #3 now, so I could go to #1 or #5, then once I find one that works better, go up or down by one to fine tune it.
One thing that's been unexpected is that the lump under my skin where the device was implanted is visible. My understanding is that it goes away in time, but it's a little startling seeing an extra lump on my hip when I'm standing in front of the bathroom mirror! It's a bit of an odd feeling to be able to run my fingers over the area and feel the outlines of the device, but it's not painful, and the lump isn't visible once I'm dressed. It's just one of those odd things that I didn't expect, but perhaps should have.
Archives1
Staff member
@ltapilot
So you have 5 channels to choose from? I only have 4. That is something else I have to look forward to after mine is replaced. Exciting!
They told me they have 99 programs available, but only load 4 at a time on my device. On one occasion the sales rep did something special to my programs, I don't know what he meant by that, but it sounded like he had the ability to customize the wave patterns and pulse timing or something like that.
When you say adjusting by 1 or 2, I assume you mean to say 0.1 or 0.2, unless that has changed on the newer devices.
I rarely change mine now. I think it's now on channel 4 set at 2.4.
May God continue to bless your improvement!
So you have 5 channels to choose from? I only have 4. That is something else I have to look forward to after mine is replaced. Exciting!
They told me they have 99 programs available, but only load 4 at a time on my device. On one occasion the sales rep did something special to my programs, I don't know what he meant by that, but it sounded like he had the ability to customize the wave patterns and pulse timing or something like that.
When you say adjusting by 1 or 2, I assume you mean to say 0.1 or 0.2, unless that has changed on the newer devices.
I rarely change mine now. I think it's now on channel 4 set at 2.4.
May God continue to bless your improvement!
Archives1
Staff member
Mine has six programs at the moment - 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. I don't know why there's no 5. When I say the doctor told me to change by 2, it's the program number. What she explained was that, for instance, programs 2 and 3 are very similar, so if I'm on program 3 and want to change, go to program 1. Them I can find-tune it by going to program 2 if I want. They differ in which electrodes they use for various signals, so each one sends more or less the same signals, but in differing strengths because of the barying distance to the nerve.
Mine has been on program 3 since I got it two weeks ago, and on 0.5 since last Wednesday when the doctor told me that I don't need to adjust it all the time. I haven't charged the communicator or the handset since last Tuesday night, and the communicator is at 90% while the handset is at 45%. I'll probably end up being to charge the handset weekly and the communicator monthly. They both use micro USB, so I can charge them anywhere, even in the car. Pretty nice setup, really.
Because my intensity is so low, I haven't been turning off the device when I drive. I figure that at 0.5, the worst jolt it could give me isn't much. I haven't had any unexpected hold or anything like that. I will likely turn it off when I fly my balloon, though - I don't want to have something happen and have to answer questions from the FAA and NTSB about why I was piloting an aircraft without turning off my Interstim! That would be awkward.
The new version seems like a nice upgrade over the previous one. I have to wonder if the device itself is the same, and they just improved the user interface end of things. It's possible that you could upgrade to the new communicator and handset even before you have to get your device replaced. It also makes me glad I opted for the non-rechargeabke one - who knows how much better the technology will be in a few years when I need to get the battery changed!
God has definitely blessed me. I got to watch my best friend, whom I've known for over 30 years, get ordained as a priest this evening. That was the best thing I've gotten to see in a while!
Mine has been on program 3 since I got it two weeks ago, and on 0.5 since last Wednesday when the doctor told me that I don't need to adjust it all the time. I haven't charged the communicator or the handset since last Tuesday night, and the communicator is at 90% while the handset is at 45%. I'll probably end up being to charge the handset weekly and the communicator monthly. They both use micro USB, so I can charge them anywhere, even in the car. Pretty nice setup, really.
Because my intensity is so low, I haven't been turning off the device when I drive. I figure that at 0.5, the worst jolt it could give me isn't much. I haven't had any unexpected hold or anything like that. I will likely turn it off when I fly my balloon, though - I don't want to have something happen and have to answer questions from the FAA and NTSB about why I was piloting an aircraft without turning off my Interstim! That would be awkward.
The new version seems like a nice upgrade over the previous one. I have to wonder if the device itself is the same, and they just improved the user interface end of things. It's possible that you could upgrade to the new communicator and handset even before you have to get your device replaced. It also makes me glad I opted for the non-rechargeabke one - who knows how much better the technology will be in a few years when I need to get the battery changed!
God has definitely blessed me. I got to watch my best friend, whom I've known for over 30 years, get ordained as a priest this evening. That was the best thing I've gotten to see in a while!
Archives1
Staff member
@ltapilot
Sounds great!
I never turn mine off - even when driving. Bad boy!
But I have never had a jolt either.
The recharging would be great too. My remote control eats batteries like crazy. There is no way to turn it off. It only allows me to turn off the display, but it's still doing something that drains the batteries. Bad design.
Sounds great!
I never turn mine off - even when driving. Bad boy!
But I have never had a jolt either.The recharging would be great too. My remote control eats batteries like crazy. There is no way to turn it off. It only allows me to turn off the display, but it's still doing something that drains the batteries. Bad design.
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