Testing results

Just a quick note to add to yesterdays blog - so I had the urodynamic testing at UW Hospital on thurs which went fine albeit interesting and gave us clear results on what is going wrong. I'll spare the details of the various tests but afterward the urologist who at UW has experience working with spinal nerve bladder injuries came down and went over the results with me and laid out a plan. I was able to ask many questions and really liked this dr - I thought he seemed much more knowledgeable than the PA I originally saw back in June (and as ive said before I have nothing against mid-level providers I actually genuinely like alot of these providers). He explained that in normal people you would feel as your bladder is filling with urine and have control over this till it got to a point when you where near a bathroom. One of my problems is that I have no sensation what-so-ever of the bladder filling until it reaches the extended point where it is very full and then the only sensation (which I have known) is cramping which is essentially my alert that I have to void and it tends to be a urgent feeling for me. The other problem is that when I do go to the bathroom most people have no trouble they empty their bladder and are on their way and the cycle begins anew - in my nerve injured system I cannot void normally on my own and end up essentially exerting pressure to try and get the urine out which creates it's own problems and even with this I do not empty fully thus urinary retention. He recommended going back to self-cathing 3x's a day at minimum vs I had been doing 2 to make sure all urine is not sitting around and potentially causing problems. He advised against drinking any extra water/fluids other than what i'd normally drink and told me to stop the oxybutyinin which his PA started. Instead he started 2 meds - Detrol LA and Flomax both 1x a day to relax the bladder and make things easier. I will fup with him in 3 months have urodynamic testing again down the road and the expectancy is still that these nerves will heal just no one can say when. As I said yesterday I asked about the CSF fluid building up around my lumbar incision and he thought I should definitely ask my Neurosurgeon which I will do when she stops by before surgery tues morning,

I will ypdate on all the other things that have been going on including my niece having been here the past week and our family trip for the day to bay beach weds.
Enjoy this weather - God Bless,

Erica