Macroplastique/urethral bulking agents

Sling in 2007, failed after about 5 years.  As incontinence continue to worsen, I finally went back to the urologist who recommended Durasphere (urethral bulking agent).  Had the injection three days ago.

Day 1:  this procedure is expensive, even with insurance.  My co-pay is more than $1,000.  And, it involved going under general anesthesia.  Probably a mark of how desperate I was that I did it anyway.  The procedure itself went fast.  Woke up, no real discomfort other than a sore throat from the breathing tube (I thought).  Went home after an hour, with instructions to call the dr. if i was not able to urinate after 6 hours.  7 hours later, back into the dr. to be catheterized to drain my bladder since I was unable to pee.  The cramping was bad - the urge to urinate was there, but trying to go created wrenching cramps and no urine - similar to the way it feels in the throws of a terrible UTI.  Felt much better after my bladder was drained.

Day 2:  Most of the cramping has eased off, and I am able to urinate, with just moderate discomfort.  Unfortunately, I have to pee like every hour. My throat feels worse and I have a hacking cough.  It occurs to me this may not be from the breathing tube, it feels more like I brought a bug home from the hospital.

Day 3:  On the plus side, there is almost no discomfort urinating - kind of like just a regular person, no straining to empty my bladder, no cramping.  And, the coughing is not making me pee!!  On the down side, I definitely have some type of cold now so overall, I feel kind of crappy.  At this point, I am wishing I had not had the procedure done, especially when I keep reading about the long term effectiveness (because I am NOT doing this again).  Guess I will buy stock in Poise !!

So sorry you ended up with a cold but must be great not to be leaking!  Please keep me posted how ling it works for!

Day 7 - Interesting side effect, I guess.  While I can safely sneeze and cough, if I allow my bladder to get full enough so I have a strong urge to urinate, it seems to just release.  So still wearing pads, and trying to pay more attention to the least amount of urge to avoid embarrassing results.  As of one week, still really sorry I had this done.

Still regret the decision - at 3 weeks I am right back to leaking on pressure (sneeze, cough, squat), but now, I just randomly leak when my bladder is even a bit full.  I am still required to wear pads, am out $3,000 and a lot of discomfort.  I cannot imagine doing this several times a year, although my dr. did note that they might need to repeat the treatment.  No thanks!