cystocele complications due to cystoscopy

Submitted by annmarie on April 20, 2006 - 1:51pm
Body: 

Recently had a worst-case scenario involving a kidney stone the size of a quarter and the treatment used to remedy the situation. ESWL is "ok" EXCEPT the invasive cystoscopy used to place a stent from bladder to kidney--a "simple outpatient procedure" left me in the hospital for a week, catheterized and bound for a 2nd procedure due to a turned stent that effectively shut down the kidney which allowed my poor bladder to retain more that 20 ounces (yes that's not a typo!!)of fluid in the bladder/kidney and soundly re-activated my cystocele (my "gift" from 3 beautiful although difficult pregnancies!) causing me excrutiating pain and the inability to void, thus the catheter. I lost 10 pounds in the hospital and am not out of the woods yet as I still have a stent in for another week and need to have it removed via cystoscopy (cringe!!)again. My urologist tells me that he can "fix" this problem by lifting the bladder..I told him to leave my bladder alone and quit subjecting it to excessive liquids and poking and that I'll deal with this without surgery, thank you. I had found your site on-line and believe that you are most certainly on the right track with the posturing but need way more information. My doctor is interested in anything that I can provide him with as a surgery alternative as he is young and is still open to learning!!!(quite refreshing!) Any help would be appreciated. (I have been doing the "squat and pee" trick for some time and it helps though I still have the pressure and feeling that I need to put a strainer in the toilet to catch anything that may happen to fall out!! )

aprile

April 20, 2006 - 3:57pm

Hi Ann Marie,

I am so sorry to hear about your subsequent cyctocele complications due to the tests you had done! Believe me, I have been dealing with recurrent bladder infections for the past three months, (due to urine retention because of my cystocele.) But, I am partially to blame being that I have been off-track with my diet and water consumption (mainly drinking coffee and juice instead.) I just posted here about that. I am currently using D-Mannhose to help rid my body of the infection, instead of resorting to antibiotics again. Since, I now know that cystocle can cause urine retention, and subsequent bladder infections, I will NOT go to a urologist, what for? In fact, many women suffer from recurrent UTI's just due to the fact that our anatomy is different than men. The urethra being only about an inch long, and close to the rectum, we are more prone. I feel so bad for you, the tests the urologist put you through are beyond kind in my opinion. For you to be in the hospital for a week afterward, especially when he said it was outpatient and "simple". Simple for who? That's what I would have said to him!!! Yikes and Ouch! You really need to order Christine's book and video combo off this site and follow a good diet plan as well (look at me talking -- but I learned first-hand what a bad diet could do to me!) Also, I use the sea sponges for comfort. They are tiny sponges that are made for the menstrual cycle, but I wear them for comfort and support every day. I purchase mine through www.pandorapads.com. Listen, Annmarie, we are all in this together, and can support one another. Thank God for Christine....just read her book if you are even considering surgery. Her compelling personal story certainly changed my mind about going the surgical route. I only wish I lived closer to Albuquerque :( I would love to meet her!!! Be well, April

AnnW

April 21, 2006 - 11:08am

Wow, AnnMarie,

I can not imagine what you've been through. I think it's amazing and inspiring that you had the presence of mind to tell your doc not to lift your bladder and to now be educating him on surgery alternatives. Good for you.

I hope that you are able to take really good care of yourself as you recover from this ordeal. I know that you'll find lots of support and helpful info on this site. For instance, I think that Christine suggests peeing on all fours if possible. Maybe that would help for now?

Best of luck, and know that we are all here for you. Please keep us posted on your progress.
Ann

ctypea

November 18, 2007 - 10:47pm

I am so glad to know there is a website where I can know I am not alone with this problem. My four pregnancies led up to this, I'm sure! I saw a urologist about it and his office wants to do a cystogram on me also, but I am reluctant to have it done. My husband has just been through a horrible ordeal with wearing a catheter and having urodynamics studies done and he swears he will NEVER have that done again! It really makes me think twice about having anything like that done! I, too, have bouts of infections but I am otherwise relatively healthy. I am a diabetic and follow a low glycemic index diet religiously but I don't drink enough water. I just need to remeber that the water part is most important! Ann Marie, I hope your cystocele complications improve soon. ctypea

louiseds

November 18, 2007 - 11:37pm

Hi ctypea

Welcome. I can see that you really would like to manage this yourself, as we do here. Some of the tests these specialist do seem to turn into major interventions, which sometimes seem to cause more problems in themselves than the thing they are investigating, like Annmarie and the kidney stone that led to her stent problems.

I guess you just have to be convinced that they aren't just doing these tests to prove something to themselves that is 'bleeding obvious' to you, or that they are doing the tests to rule out things much more sinister than simple cystocele. Sometimes I think they are not very good at hearing what the patient has to say about what is happening in her body, and are inclined to take the Male Fix The Problem approach, regardless of the cost to the patient of finding out what the problem is in the first place, when the patient already knows what the problem is. Sometimes, IMHO it is better to leave things well alone and just manage them!

It is a judgement we have to make for ourselves, based on the answers our doctors give us to the questions we ask. There has to be some good quality answers at the end of it all, as we are the ones who take the time off work and lose pay, organise for our families to be cared for while we are out of the system, pay for the procedure (or health insurance), experience the pain and discomfort, often only to be told that it is all normal. Well, thankyou very much for that!!! GGGRRR!!!

Cheers

Louise