Flippy - I Rant, You Read
Saturday, March 17, 2007
The Mysterious Case of the Magnificent Bladder Switch
I’m not sure when this story begins or when it ends. All I know is that somewhere along the bumpy road of my adulthood, someone switched my 34-40 year old bladder with that of a very very elderly woman. Now, I’m not incontinent, nor have I ever been on this journey. Although, the different between me and someone else in my shoes is that I was never stuck in traffic one minute too long; the verbose defense attorney’s closing statement was only almost too long during my jury duty; Las Vegas probably has more bathrooms per capita than any other city in the world; standing is a sure cure for what ails me; and, I work from home. You’ve all been subjected to my weird bladder symptoms, my uncomfortable descriptions of going out and having to worry about my bladder, instead of enjoying the Wranglers game, the 51s game, my nephew’s baseball games, my other nephew’s concerts, Mamma Mia, The Blue Man Group, and too many concerts at The House of Blues to mention. Also, many family get-togethers, which are uncomfortable for me to get to. I’ve missed so many baseball games because not only was the drive to them a crapshoot, but if there wasn’t a bathroom nearby, I would have to spend the whole game standing...which obviously was terrific when my herniated disc pain was at its worst.
On February 13th, I started taking one 7.5mg tablet of Enablex a day. This was after numerous invasive tests that found absolutely nothing physically wrong with my bladder. Of course, it was also after seeing numerous doctors who shrugged their shoulders when I told them my symptoms. When you’re in pain or have a temperature or rash, people care. When you have to pee too often, most people just think it’s weird (including doctors), but don’t have another thought about it, unless it affects them adversely. But still, the thought is that you’re not doing what they want/wish you could do, not that you’re suffering almost every day.
I got sidetracked with my pity party. Anyway, I started taking Enablex a little over a month ago. At first, I didn’t notice much except for the lousy side effect of urinary retention, which is kind of a cruel joke when you have urinary urgency. Kind of, “Hurry, hurry, hurry, get to the bathroom....concentrate, concentrate, gah, nothing.” Then, I noticed that after showering, I no longer desperately needed to pee when I sat down at my desk afterwards, or when we went to the store afterwards. I thought it might’ve been a fluke, but since that was one of the major problems (most people like to shower before they go out, but most people don’t have a bladder that rebels when they sit down in the car after that shower) that happened all the time, it seemed to be a good sign. It seemed that after each shower, the symptoms still stayed away. I started to feel better on trips out in the car. By no means perfect, but gradually getting better. I was also getting better while sitting on the couch watching tv. That usually isn’t a stressful situation, so I knew that the couch symptoms were never partially mental. I know that being in the car did have a mental stress component, which always made things worse. Stress in general made it worse, but worrying that it was going to be bad was a sure way to know that it definitely was going to be bad.
I can’t remember the last time I went to one of my nephew’s baseball games where I didn’t have to stand for half the game because my bladder was bothering me. Or, I had to know where the bathroom was. I went to my nephew’s high school baseball game today that was just a mile away from the house. An easy non-stressful trip. I could always go home if there was a problem, even though I’d been feeling pretty good lately. Well, at least bladder-wise. However, today, I went to the game and I sat. Through the whole game. I didn’t have to get up a single time. Plus, I was able to drive to the store afterwards. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. The pill is supposed to increase bladder capacity and block the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, which is primarily responsible for bladder muscle contractions. By golly, I think it does do that. I’m not cured, but I seem to be getting continuously better. That’s really all I can ask, and until I’m sure I’m fixed, I’d also like to ask for an aisle seat, thank you very much. Oh yeah, and one more thing, I’d really appreciate it if my stupid insurance would cover it. Does anyone who lives in the US, have any experience ordering prescriptions from Canada? I was looking at some prices and they’re SO much cheaper.
Here’s Kyle at bat. I’m pretty sure this was the at-bat where he fouled off like ten pitches before he got a hit. However, I wish I had a video of the great play he made at third. He jumped up and pulled a rocketed line drive out of the air, then dove back to the bag to double up the runner. He’s a lot of fun to watch in the field.
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That’s Wonderful!!
on 03/18 at 05:28 AM -
I am SO happy for you - reading this made me grin and.. well, WOW! Yay! Yay! Yay!
Dana on 03/18 at 06:40 AM -
That is such great news! I hope it continues to get even better with time. YAY, FLIPPY!
Helly on 03/18 at 08:55 AM -
I’m definitely happy for you. You must be so relieved. I am also furious that you had to beg for this help and that your insurance doesn’t cover it. Let me know if there is a way that I can help.
laurie on 03/18 at 05:56 PM -
Thanks for the support, you guys. I know it’s a weird thing to be so psyched about, but I apparently have a less than normal life.
Laurie, fortunately, even though it sucks that my insurance won’t pay for this, it’s only about $110/month. It adds to all the other monthly med bills, but it’s SO worth it. Even more than pain, this has affected so much of my social life. I mean, I don’t generally want to be overly social, but I like having the choice...and it’ll be nice to not have to worry about always getting aisle seats.
on 03/18 at 07:57 PM -
That’s great news, Flippy! I’m really glad to hear it.
Nancy on 03/21 at 06:45 AM
