Stories of Hope

Julie’s Story

Julie is a 44-year old mother of two living in Wisconsin. In her late 30s, Julie began urinating frequently and started to experience urinary urgency. At age 40, she experienced a horrible bladder infection, and her condition continued to grow worse. On a good day, she was going to the bathroom every 20 to 30 minutes – and on a bad day she was going every ten minutes.

 

In the past, Julie had enjoyed taking long walks. Because of her bladder control issues, Julie was soon only able to take short walks and would need to stop at neighbors’ homes to use their restroom. She became sleep deprived because every night she would have to get up each hour to use the bathroom. Julie had to take two medical leaves from her job because the condition became so bad.

Seeking Treatment

Julie tried various medications without any real sign of relief or improvement. She did not like taking the medications because of side effects and she didn’t even really think they worked. She started to feel as if she was confined to her house.

The Moment She Knew

Julie’s ‘moment’ occurred when she realized her condition was causing her to withdraw from society. Julie is a social person, and she got to the point where not only did she not leave the house, but she didn’t even want friends and family in her home. “It’s not just going to the bathroom a lot,” Julie says. “It’s an emotional issue that affected my confidence.” When Julie realized that she didn’t even want to walk out of her house and be a part of society, she knew it was time to find a concrete solution.

Life With InterStim Therapy

Finally, a nurse from Julie’s gynecologist’s office – who had helped Julie through many of her rough times with her bladder control problems – called Julie and recommended she try InterStim® Therapy.

 

The first day of Julie’s trial assessment with InterStim Therapy, she was surprised to go three hours without using the bathroom. Shortly thereafter, Julie’s doctor implanted long-term InterStim Therapy. Although Julie did not experience any complications, there are risks with InterStim Therapy, including a risk of infection, pain at the implant site, lead migration and others.

 

“I didn’t expect that level of relief or to respond that quickly” she says. “InterStim Therapy changed my life. I can now sleep at night, enjoy a cup of coffee and take long walks – moments in life that most people may not realize how much they would miss if they were taken away.”

 

Julie loves enjoying a cup of coffee – before it would severely trigger her condition. She now works on a teller line, a job that she also held prior to experiencing bladder problems. She loves her job because she gets to interact with people and deal with customers face-to-face. She would not have been able to hold the job before InterStim Therapy because she would constantly have needed to get up from her desk to go to the bathroom.

 

Julie loves now being free of medications. She enjoys being able to actually hold a conversation with people – before she could only think about going to the bathroom.

 

“InterStim Therapy changed my life – I was pretty much to the point of being non-functional. All I could do was cry. That’s not a life,” says Julie. “I thank God for technology. Twenty years ago, I would have a bag on my side at age 43. That’s what I thought I was going to have to do.  I struggled for so long, I hope my story can inspire others to seek treatment before they have to suffer as long as I did.”

 

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Ellen's Story

Ellen is a full-time Kindergarten teaching assistant in New York and is an active mom with four children under the age of 18. She also owns a part-time jewelry business with a friend. Working full time, owning a business and being a mom of four leaves Ellen little free time, especially to deal with bladder control problems.

 

Ellen’s bladder control symptoms started 10 years ago, when she was pregnant with her youngest son. At first she thought the urgency and frequency was due to the pregnancy. But after she had her son, the problems continued.

 

Teaching became difficult because she had to leave the classroom constantly to use the bathroom. School sporting events were even more challenging, because she would have to jump in the car and go to the nearest store or restaurant to find a bathroom. Worse than the inconvenience was the anxiety and fear she felt about not being able to get to a bathroom quickly enough.

 

Traveling also became difficult. The anxiety would start days before Ellen and her family planned a trip, when she would have to map out all the rest areas. As her symptoms progressed, Ellen was going to the bathroom more than once every hour, around the clock.

Seeking Treatment

Ellen’s gynecologist worked with her to try to find a treatment option that would provide relief. She was prescribed one medication, and when it didn’t work, she would try another, and then another. It got to the point where she felt like she was popping pills all day and nothing was helping. The side effects of the medications were almost unbearable for her.

Ellen's Moment

Ellen knew that after five years of pill popping and no relief, something had to change. She was dealing with side effects daily and felt as if she was just trading one set of problems for another. At night, Ellen would have to get up eight or ten times and was constantly exhausted. A spare bucket in the car was necessary for any travelling she might have to do. Ellen decided she had to find a new solution. She could not live her life in fear and embarrassment any longer.

Life With InterStim Therapy

When Ellen’s doctor told her that he was offering InterStim^® Therapy and thought she would be an excellent candidate, she did some research on her own and thought, “This could be the answer I’m looking for so I don’t need to swallow pills anymore.”

 

Ellen had a successful trial assessment and received long-term InterStim Therapy. While she did not experience any adverse events, she was aware of the risks, including infection, pain at the implant site and lead migration.  The first day, the urgency and frequency subsided. She got up to use the bathroom only twice during the night, which made her realize that the therapy was really going to work for her.

 

Now, Ellen can finish a lesson at school and go to the bathroom when it’s convenient for her. She can participate in normal everyday activities with her children and friends. She even recently went golfing for the first time and was able to play nine holes without having to leave the golf course.

 

Ellen wants other women suffering from bladder control issues to know that if medication doesn’t work for them, or if they’re uncomfortable being on medication, it is okay to take the next step. “Walking into the unknown is scary, but talking with someone who’s been through it is one of the best ways to alleviate the anxiety,” she says. “I hope my story will inspire others to speak up about their bladder control conditions and gain back control of their health.”

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Lupe’s Story

Lupe is 56 years old and lives in Texas. Lupe’s mother experienced overactive bladder issues, and Lupe works in long term nursing care, so she saw how common bladder problems were. She almost felt as if she could “see it coming.” Lupe first experienced urinary problems on her honeymoon, and as soon as she realized what was happening, she burst into tears. Lupe was later diagnosed with urinary frequency and urgency.

 

Lupe says 99 percent of the time she could not make it to the bathroom without an accident. She began to wear large pads and always kept a change of clothes in her car because she knew an accident was inevitable. Lupe’s OAB affected her sex life – she had just recently gotten married and would have to go to the bathroom in the middle of sex. At her job, the restroom was five feet from Lupe’s office, and half the time she would not make it to the bathroom in time.

Lupe eventually had to quit her job because of her problems – her co-workers knew she was leaving because of medical reasons, but Lupe never shared with them what the problem was.

Lupe says the first thing she would do when going anywhere would be to look for the restroom. She could never enjoy herself while she was out of the house because she knew she would not make it to the bathroom. “The hardest part about everything was the embarrassment,” says Lupe. “And, there was always a fear of ‘What if…’”

Seeking Treatment

Lupe tried about five different medications recommended by her urologist, and none of them seemed to alleviate her problem. Lupe finally told her doctors that they weren’t taking her seriously. “You’re not solving my problem,” Lupe said. She was getting more depressed, and her first doctor wasn’t helping her the way she needed to be helped. She became frustrated and angry. She finally said to her first doctor, “Don’t give me another pill.”

 

Lupe then found a new doctor, Dr. Chris Smith. During her first visit to Dr. Smith, Lupe burst into tears because her problem had gotten so bad.

Lupe’s Moment

On the way to her first appointment with Dr. Smith, Lupe was walking from the parking garage to Dr. Smith’s office, and she had an accident before getting to the doctor’s floor to find the restroom. Lupe knew right then it was the moment that she had to do something. She was so tired and frustrated and she didn’t want any more medication or another urine test. She said,  “I was so, so tired of this. I was tired of hearing ‘let’s try this again.’”

Life With InterStim Therapy

During that first appointment, Dr. Smith offered Lupe Botox or a trial assessment to see if InterStim^® Therapy was right for her.  Lupe’s physician reviewed the risk of both therapies with her.  For InterStim Therapy, those risks include infection, pain at the implant site, lead migration and others.

 

Now that she has InterStim Therapy, Lupe feels as if she has a normal life again. She no longer has to wear large pads or keep a change of clothes in her car. She sleeps better at night – before she would have to get up every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom.  She was able to go back to work at the job she loved – her employer had even asked her to come back because they missed her when she had left. She can also watch her grandson play football and can sit through the whole game – prior to InterStim Therapy, she would spend the entire game in the bathroom. She now enjoys travelling with her husband and taking rides on their motorcycle.  She recently went on trip with her husband, driving 5,997 miles she wouldn’t have gone without InterStim Therapy. Lupe tells everyone about InterStim Therapy – she wants people to know what it does and how it has helped her; she says, “I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through.”

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Susan’s Story

Susan is a 64-year old active mother and grandmother. She is a majorette judge and enjoys singing and spending time with her grandkids. Due to OAB, Susan had to put certain aspects of her life on hold as she dealt with the inconvenience and stress brought on by always having to go to the bathroom.

 

For several years, Susan was too embarrassed to talk to her family and friends about her constant urge to go to the bathroom and frequent accidents. She stopped going to see movies and even had to stop her work as a majorette judge.  She was fearful of having an accident at church. She didn’t know what was wrong and the problem kept getting worse and worse. She thought her bladder problems were something that just happened with age. After years of wearing pads, she had finally had enough.

 

Susan knew she had reached the end of the rope with her bladder control problems. She realized she couldn’t continue to live life this way and something had to change. Susan took action that day and called her doctor. She realized she didn’t have to live the rest of her life embarrassed about having an accident.

Seeking Treatment

Susan tried a number of different OAB medications and kegel exercises with no success. The medications did not provide relief, and Susan continued to have to wear pads and worry about accidents whenever she left the house.  

Susan’s Moment She Knew InterStim Therapy Could Help

Susan’s doctor told her about InterStim® Therapy.

Susan’s physician reviewed the risks with her, including infection, pain at the implant site or lead migration.  Her trial procedure was done in her doctor’s office. Susan noticed the device was helping her almost immediately.  That same night was an emotional night for Susan; she stayed up all night in complete disbelief that she had found something that was actually working! Susan quickly scheduled an appointment to receive long-term InterStim Therapy.

 

After living with InterStim Therapy for two years, Susan is experiencing life to the fullest. She no longer stresses about going to one of her grandkids’ baseball games or having an accident at church. She’s even been known to sit through two movies at a time. She tells everyone about her InterStim Therapy and how it has changed her life.

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Kathleen's Story

Kathleen is an active mom with three young children. She is a fitness enthusiast and active in her community, volunteering at her church and the local hospital.  A trained bio-statistician, Kathleen loves being a mom and appreciates going to the park, spending time with friends and knitting.

 

After the birth of her third child, Kathleen developed retention, the inability to empty her bladder. For months she was inconvenienced and embarrassed with constant self-catheterization, which involves placement of a tiny tube into the bladder to remove urine. She was in constant pain and didn’t even want to leave the house. As a young mom, Kathleen had to spend more time than she felt comfortable with away from her kids and in the restroom. During this time, Kathleen was also diagnosed with breast cancer.  She had to put her bladder control problems on hold and continued using catheters until she was cancer-free and able to focus her attention on overcoming retention.

 

Because of her bladder control problems, everything became more difficult for Kathleen. She had to plan ahead every time she left the house to make sure she had enough catheters. She had to be sure that her catheters were out of sight from company and out of reach from her children. Self-cathing in public restrooms was something Kathleen dreaded and avoided as much as possible, which sometimes even meant staying home instead of going out.

Seeking Treatment

Kathleen tried a number of medications and received no relief while at the same time experiencing some of the terrible side effects that went along with the medications, such as always being sleepy. Having to self-cath was not only painful and inconvenient, but also an embarrassment for Kathleen.

Kathleen’s Moment

Kathleen’s moment occurred on one of those days when everything that could go wrong did, and she just couldn’t handle it anymore. Her kids were being difficult, but Kathleen was looking forward to spending the day with friends. She packed a bag and was gearing up to be away from home for about seven hours.  When she arrived at the home of her friends, she realized she hadn’t packed any catheters with her.  A disappointed Kathleen had to change her plans and head home after only spending about an hour with her friends. That day, Kathleen realized couldn’t continue living this way.  Something had to change.  It was the moment she knew she had to face her condition head on.

Life With InterStim Therapy

When Kathleen’s doctor recommended InterStim Therapy, Kathleen was immediately willing to try it. Her doctor did a good job of explaining the device to her as a pacemaker for the bladder.  Her physician also reviewed the risks with her, including infection, pain at the implant site and lead migration.  Kathleen was pleased to learn that InterStim Therapy had been around for a number of years with a high success rate.

 

In April 2009, Kathleen had a trial assessment of InterStim Therapy to determine if it could address her symptoms. InterStim Therapy proved to be the right thing for Kathleen and she noticed it was working almost immediately. Once she received long-term InterStim Therapy, her days of self-cathing were finally over. She was no longer restricted by avoiding public bathrooms and planning out her trips outside of the home. She was finally free to live her life as carefree as she wanted to.

 

InterStim Therapy has changed Kathleen’s life in many ways. She even noticed a significant improvement in her level of intimacy with her husband – something that had been difficult in the past due to her bladder control problems. Kathleen, who was once embarrassed to talk to her family and friends about her bladder issues, is now happy to share her story with anyone who is interested because she doesn’t want others to suffer the way she did.

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