A great day!
And interesting to say the least. The urologist appointment was not what I was expecting - but definitely not as traumatic as I had imagined things really could have been! Frankly, it was a breeze.
When I was called in, I was asked immediately to fill a cup in the restroom. Then I was taken into the exam room. My eyes kind of did that pop when I saw the exam room had stirrups - in the ready position. Hmmm.... Then the nurse came back in (she was so nice and sweet - and she had an alexandrite engagement ring, too!) - and she told me that she was going to do an ultrasound to see if I had retained any pee. NO RETENTION! Woo-hoo! The urologist came in and he was a very nice, jovial, kind doctor. I liked him a lot right off the bat. So, he asked me some questions about what I'm experiencing and for how long I've been experiencing them. Which did start back with the exacerbation that I had last October.
Then ... he said he would have to check my bladder to make sure there wasn't anything that could be causing it like cancer. Ummm. I wasn't expecting that - and he said "don't worry, I won't look". I thought he was just making a joke - like how could you not look? He said the nurse would prep me ...
So he left the room, I took my pants/undies off, and then sat on the exam table with a sheet. The nurse came back in and she put this numbing gel on my pee-hole and then draped this other sheet that had a hole in it over me. So it covered everything but the pee-hole - I wasn't all exposed or anything. I was rather surprised by that, I didn't expect a drape like that.
But that wasn't even the biggest surprise. When she went out of the room and got the doctor, they walked in and shut off the light! I thought to myself - he wasn't kidding. He's a urologist and it only interested in urology. Hmm.
He told me that I'd be able to see everything on the screen next to me, and that was really cool. He started to put the catheter in and he said that it may feel uncomfortable - it felt just a little scratchy feeling, but not in a bad scratchy way. It didn't hurt at all, but you could feel it going up. Then he told me that he was going to fill up my bladder with liquid (probably just saline) so that he could see the walls completely. So I'm there watching my very pink bladder insides, feeling like I had to pee! He didn't see anything wrong - everything looked great!
So, it's just the MonSter. Basically, my bladder is very sensitive, and the smallest amount of pee that accumulates makes me feel like I have to pee very bad. Hence, my urgency and frequency. He prescribed Detrol which I am to take once a day in the morning. Usually, patients take it at night because they have to pee all the time when they're asleep. I don't. Maybe once or twice a week I'll wake up. It's the daytime that is the real issue - and very annoying. He gave me a 30-day sample bottle for free, and wrote out the prescription. He said that it will take at least a month for me to notice any benefits, and he wants to see me again in 3 months.
How cool was all of that! And with how non-traumatic the whole catheter camera thing was, I would tell anyone who needs to have it done that they have absolutely nothing to worry or be nervous about! Oh, and after I got dressed, the nurse gave me an antibiotic to take as a preventative. Because of the procedure, there is a risk of infection. This was just one pill and she had me take it right then and there. No prescription or anything. Very cool. They think of everything!
I'll tell you all about the bird adventure tomorrow.
When I was called in, I was asked immediately to fill a cup in the restroom. Then I was taken into the exam room. My eyes kind of did that pop when I saw the exam room had stirrups - in the ready position. Hmmm.... Then the nurse came back in (she was so nice and sweet - and she had an alexandrite engagement ring, too!) - and she told me that she was going to do an ultrasound to see if I had retained any pee. NO RETENTION! Woo-hoo! The urologist came in and he was a very nice, jovial, kind doctor. I liked him a lot right off the bat. So, he asked me some questions about what I'm experiencing and for how long I've been experiencing them. Which did start back with the exacerbation that I had last October.
Then ... he said he would have to check my bladder to make sure there wasn't anything that could be causing it like cancer. Ummm. I wasn't expecting that - and he said "don't worry, I won't look". I thought he was just making a joke - like how could you not look? He said the nurse would prep me ...
So he left the room, I took my pants/undies off, and then sat on the exam table with a sheet. The nurse came back in and she put this numbing gel on my pee-hole and then draped this other sheet that had a hole in it over me. So it covered everything but the pee-hole - I wasn't all exposed or anything. I was rather surprised by that, I didn't expect a drape like that.
But that wasn't even the biggest surprise. When she went out of the room and got the doctor, they walked in and shut off the light! I thought to myself - he wasn't kidding. He's a urologist and it only interested in urology. Hmm.
He told me that I'd be able to see everything on the screen next to me, and that was really cool. He started to put the catheter in and he said that it may feel uncomfortable - it felt just a little scratchy feeling, but not in a bad scratchy way. It didn't hurt at all, but you could feel it going up. Then he told me that he was going to fill up my bladder with liquid (probably just saline) so that he could see the walls completely. So I'm there watching my very pink bladder insides, feeling like I had to pee! He didn't see anything wrong - everything looked great!
So, it's just the MonSter. Basically, my bladder is very sensitive, and the smallest amount of pee that accumulates makes me feel like I have to pee very bad. Hence, my urgency and frequency. He prescribed Detrol which I am to take once a day in the morning. Usually, patients take it at night because they have to pee all the time when they're asleep. I don't. Maybe once or twice a week I'll wake up. It's the daytime that is the real issue - and very annoying. He gave me a 30-day sample bottle for free, and wrote out the prescription. He said that it will take at least a month for me to notice any benefits, and he wants to see me again in 3 months.
How cool was all of that! And with how non-traumatic the whole catheter camera thing was, I would tell anyone who needs to have it done that they have absolutely nothing to worry or be nervous about! Oh, and after I got dressed, the nurse gave me an antibiotic to take as a preventative. Because of the procedure, there is a risk of infection. This was just one pill and she had me take it right then and there. No prescription or anything. Very cool. They think of everything!
I'll tell you all about the bird adventure tomorrow.
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