I had a comment yesterday by Mary suggesting Botox for my many trips and accidents with the bathroom the other night. Waking up to use the bathroom all night long. I’ve heard of this treatment option but I’ve never looked into it for the one thing she mentioned, you have to self catheterize. Patty concurred with that comment this morning too. However, Mary started me thinking. I would love not having accidents anymore. I would love to stop worrying every time I go out, “what if”. I’d love to stop wearing these pads. Most of my falls are from me rushing to make it to the bathroom. Maybe I should see what it really is all about.

Botox is only done by a urologist after you have failed on other medications. I’ve been on various medications for many many years. I think I will have no problem hitting that criteria. The urologist needs to perform a few tests as well. I believe they will check my bladder function and how much urine is left after I relieve my bladder. I’m sure on all counts my bladder would fail all tests. Qualifying for the procedure won’t be my issue.

The actual procedure is done in the doctor’s office under local anesthesia. After emptying the bladder with a catheter, a numbing agent is used to numb the bladder walls. That will take approximately 20-30 minutes. Then the doctor will inject the Botox into the lining of the bladder walls. The actual procedure seems pretty easy, it’s the next part, self catheterizing.

Not everyone needs to do this, it depends on the amount of urine still retained in the bladder after you void. If you can void yourself. Since Botox affects how the bladder muscles works, it may cause hesitancy after treatment since our nerves don’t fire right to begin with. Therefore the chance of self catheterizing is a high probability. That is my concern. My hands aren’t the greatest anymore due to numbness and I’d be worried that this would be very difficult for me. Not to mention my stomach would be i the way to view what i was doing. Those are my biggest concerns but do they outweigh the benefits? I think I might make an appointment and find out more.