Yes....I Run Off A Remote Control

Since having two surgeries last April I have had a ton of questions about what type of surgeries I had and what it was for. At the time I was a bit hesitant to share everything as I was pretty embarrassed about the whole situation. Now that I am more comfortable with what is going on I will explain some things.

While living in Japan in 2005 I started having some female problems. The doctors there told me it was really nothing and that I was too young to have anything major wrong with me; I was 28 at the time. Well...they were wrong. Four surgeries in less than two years tells me that yes...there was something wrong and that they could have caught it had they been listening to me. I believe that had my issues been caught then, I would not be dealing with the chronic illness that I am dealing with now.

The surgeries I had in April were for Intercystitial Cystitis...aka...a chronically inflamed bladder. This December will be two years that I have been struggling with this disease. In April I had an Interstim device implanted in my back and also left buttock. In my back is a neurotransmitter that sends a continuous electrical impulse to my sacral nerves, the nerves that control bladder pain and functioning. In my left buttock between the muscle and fatty tissue is where the battery was implanted.

Here are a few questions that I have been asked over the past several months:

1. What does the device look like?  Below is the battery pack that was inserted in my left buttock.



2.  Can you feel the electrical impulses? Yes...I can. When I had the trial device I would even get a crazy jolt every now and again; especially when I bent over to pick something off the floor or when tying my shoes.

3. Where do you feel the electrical impulses? I'm not telling on the internet...LOL!! If you are that curious you can email me and I will send you a reply.

4. Can you feel the battery when you are sitting? I did at first, but not really too much anymore. I do notice that when the weather gets bad that my bottom aches in that area. When it bothers me I just rub the area. Yes...that means I walk around rubbing my booty; I don't really care what people think anymore. Ha...according to my son everything revolves around my butt....LOL!!!

5. Can you turn on and off the device yourself? Yes...I have a remote control that I always carry on me. I was a bit worried about the remote at first because I kept picturing Jake getting into my purse and saying, "Hey mom, what's this?" Then, press all the buttons and me getting zapped. However, the remote only works when placed over the battery itself. I will admit that was hard for me to get used to, especially in public; nothing like drawing attention to yourself and your booty. However, I got over this real fast...its life; nothing I can do about it. So…I’m not going to worry about what other people think; they don't know what I’ve gone through.  Below is what my remote looks like.



6.  Does the remote control when you go to the bathroom?  No...once the device is turned on I go through my day like I normally would.  All bodily functions continue to work the way they normally would. 

7. Does the device set off alarms at the airport and stores? Sometimes yes...sometimes no. At stores it depends on how close I walk by the theft detector. If I happen to set it off I pretend like I don't hear it and keep on walking....LOL!

8. Does it hurt when you exercise? Yes it does. So...I haven't done much exercising in the past six months. However, overall the pain has been subsiding so I am going to try running again. I feel so much better physically, when I do.

9. Does the device help with my disease? Overall...yes it does. I still have bad days...but...now my bad days are better than my good days when I didn't have the device. For example, it used to be that I could not go out to dinner with friends without having to go to the bathroom 6-7 times; sometimes more often. Now, I can sit through a several hour meal and not have to go at all. I also used to go to the bathroom about 25-35 times a day. Now...on a good day I only go about 8-10 times. My pain has also decreased. I still have pain every day but not like I used to. At one point, before treatment, I got to where I didn't even want to leave my house anymore.

Those are just some of the basic questions. I have to say that I would not wish this disease on my worst enemy. I still struggle physically every day, but I’m very thankful for the relief that I do receive from the Interstim implant.