Bladder blather

Lucky me, someone else cancelled their Interstim procedure, so I'll be getting mine April 7 instead of some time in July. That's good news, because the more I think about it, the more it seems as though I'm a hostage to my bladder.

I've been perusing some of the patient information/promotion materials I got about the device from my urologist, featuring accounts from patients who've gotten an Interstim. Many of them describe how their bladders were essentially ruining their lives, causing constant anxiety, preventing them from doing things they wanted to do, and leaving them isolated and grumpy. That sounds familiar. I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about peeing: Where's the nearest bathroom? How far away is it? How soon am I likely to need to use it? Can I make it there in time? If not, will I be able to put on a new pad? Do I have a new pad? Did I remember to leave some in this car?

Here's a frinstance: before I get the Interstim, I have to get an ultrasound of my kidneys and bladder. I'm having it done on Friday morning. The instructions are to fast for 12 hours before the ultrasound, and to drink 32 ounces of water an hour or so before going to the clinic. Drinking the water is supposed to help me arrive for my ultrasound with my bladder "uncomfortably full," according to the friendly people at the lab who called yesterday. It didn't really occur to me until after I'd hung up that I haven't really had an uncomfortably full bladder for a number of years, that my bladder tends to empty itself long before that point. So now I probably need to call back and bring to their attention that the reason I'm coming in for an ultrasound is that I'm more or less incontinent.

If this thing works, it will be very interesting to see just how different life becomes when I don't have to worry about pee and peeing.