Well Treatment 3. I was a little bit more worried about going to get the treatment this time which surprised me. The stress ball was great and it does help. If anything the catheter this time was less noticeable than last time but you still get a little gasp but it isn't painful.
So I did the turning for 15 minutes a side - this to ensure that the vaccine gets to every part of the bladder. My friend's son, who is a Doctor, stated that the reasons are quite easy to explain. Most patients prefer to do the turning regime rather than to Bungee Jump which also has the same effect :-) Well it made me smile!
So I kicked in the "Cunning and Devious" plan and after the turning and a piece of toast (you shouldn't have Ibuprofen on an empty stomach), I had 2 Paracetamol and 2 Ibuprofen. This left me 30 minutes after which I voided the BCG stuff and took the usual precautions with bleach etc. I started drinking water just before this and had a pint by the time I needed to go again. I also laid down in bed this time and slept until I woke needing to go. I had been asleep for about 2 hours.
The side effects kicked in again after about 4 1/4 hours but this time without the ferocity of the week before. As you can imagine it is pretty upsetting to see blood and clots in your urine but the treatment is meant to do that. The stinging started up again but without the intensity of the week before. At only one point did it really hurt and that was passing a rather large clot - I found a good swear was useful at this point. I was able to take some more pills four hours later and that really helped again. I didn't need to go with the frequency or the urgency of last time and so that also helped.
I set up the bathroom with a few books and magazines and a CD player as last time I seemed to be holding out squatters rights. Again this time I was able to visit and not spend a long time in there. So all in all the "Cunning and Devious" plan worked. If anything I may hold back the first lot of tablets until later so that I can get it nearer to the time when the side effects kick in.
So - perhaps a plan of action and also knowing this is about to happen can help you to work on this. It was nowhere near as bad as last weeks which came on so fast and with such ferocity I didn't know what had hit me. This morning, there is some slight stinging and a little soreness around my middle but other than that it is fine.
Finally still be prepared for a little leakage even after all of this but it was minute compared to last week and simple precautions of some cloths on your bed and some old underclothes sort it out.
So, half way in my treatment, 3 down and 3 to go. I feel so much better this morning, I am up early, have had breakfast and my first coffee since Sunday :-)
