BOTOX Injection #3 -Notable Success

VascodaGama said:

Wishing you long lasting improvements
Lion1

I am pleased to read about your improvement. Many of our comrades will benefit from your informative posts. Incontinence weighs very much in the thoughts of many when choosing a treatment.
I believe that my success in having no problems since surgery was due to the extensive caution of my doctor’s protocol regarding the after surgery care. I was “allowed” to leave the hospital only after taking off the catheter and that was done only after live imaging tests indicated a complete “cure” of the sphincter’s “V” shape neck.
Four days after surgery I was feeling fine and wanted to go home but discharge from the hospital were under the “orders” of my urologist. I am grateful that such happened. I never experienced incontinence but the first dribbling ten minutes at off-catheter.

Wishing you long lasting improvements
VGama

BD said:

Botox blues after your Jan. 24 treatment
Lion1: I realized that Jan. 24 had come and gone and was going to post a question to you today re the Botox #3 results . . . but then saw your February 3 posting saying that even the 500 units didn't work. What a bummer.

You may recall in our previous discussion I was asking about InterStim vs. Botox (and other effective treatments for severe incontinence) for the two years following my RP (robotic) in January, 2009, and I was headed over to The Cleveland Clinic (Florida) on Jan. 14. The specialist there recommended (1) The external electrical stimulation of the nerves around the bladder (called the Urgent [that's the name for the equipment] percutaneous tibial stimulation); (2) The InterStim (similar, with battery-operated box implanted in you if they find it works), and (3) Botox injections.

I chose #1, mostly because it's external! Except I just found out that it's really not, for they inject the electrodes in an area around the ankle (!) adjacent to (not into) the tibial nerve; but the tibial nerve reportedly is what carries the electrical impulses upward to the nerves around the bladder.

Regrettably, I haven't started this treatment method yet, because of a communication mix-up, so I'm not happy that three weeks have already gone by, before the start of this semi-external regimen, which is once a week for twelve weeks. Once we get it started (or finished), I'll let you know whether or not it has worked. I'm still on 5-6 Depends a day.

When you said you were going to talk with your MD in March about electro-therapy, were you talking about the one I've chosen (semi-external stimulation of tibial nerve), or #2 above, the InterStim?

Sorry to read that the Botox didn't work for you, because that may eliminate #3 for me -- but of course I realize that everyone's different.

All kinds of good luck on your quest -- and I'll keep you posted. BTW, I hadn't known about the semi-external electrical stimulation approach until it was posted as a reply to my original question on this Discussion Board -- it hadn't been even mentioned by any of the three MD specialists I consulted (before going to The Cleveland Clinic). Also, maybe you should know that I have been told I have both stress incontinence and urge incontinence (over-active bladder), and the CC MD said the latter predominates -- so I guess that's one of the reasons for trying the semi-external electrical approach first. I also wonder if it doesn't work, how the InterStim (which sounds very similar) would.

BD