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What is Elmiron? How does it work?
Elmiron is a medication used to treat interstitial cystitis.
Interstitial cystitis, basically means a chronic inflammation of the bladder. The patient with interstitial cystitis (90% women) will commonly experience symptoms similar to a urinary tract infection. Common symptoms include dysuria (pain upon urinating), increased urinary frequency (in some patients as often as every 10 minutes), increased urgency (the patient can't wait to urinate), and feelings of pressure in the bladder. The cause of interstitial cystitis is unknown. Symptoms vary from case to case and even in the same individual. People may experience mild discomfort, pressure, tenderness, or intense pain in the bladder and pelvic area. Pain may change in intensity as the bladder fills with urine or as it empties. Women’s symptoms often get worse during menstruation and they may also sometimes experience pain during vaginal intercourse.
Elmiron (chemical name--pentosan polysulfate sodium) works to treat Interstitial Cystitis by adhering to the bladder wall and forming a protective layer (supplementing the naturally defective glycosaminoglycan layer). This ameliorates the symptoms associated with Interstitial Cystitis.
How effective is Elmiron in treating/reducing the symptoms of Interstitial Cystitis?
Interstitial Cystitis is a complicated disease. Elmiron is the only current drug therapy. The studies showing effectiveness of Elmiron also vary, one study shows 30% of treated patients showed an improvement, while another study showed that 61% of patients showed an improvement after 3 months of treatment.
How do I use Elmiron? How long will I take it for Elmiron to work?
Elmiron is available as a dosage of 100mg. The FDA recommended dosage is 100mg three times daily taken on an empty stomach, usually 1 hour before eating or 2 hours after eating. It is important to note that Elmiron will not work immediately. Patients are advised to be patient with treatment. Treated patients may not feel any pain relief for up to 4 months (although this will vary with patients) while a decrease in urinary frequency may take up to 6 months. If after 6 months, no symptom relief has been shown, it is strongly recommended that the patient quit using Elmiron.
Is Elmiron safe to use? What side effects can I expect?
Elmiron is usually well tolerated. The reported adverse reactions have usually not lead to a patient having to discontinue treatment. Most commonly, the patient may experience include rectal bleeding (6.3% of patients) and the following which occur in less than 3% of patients:
-diarrhea
-GI (stomach) discomfort
-nausea
-alopecia(hair loss), if this occurs usually involves a small patch on the scalp and will grow back upon discontinuation of Elmiron
Who should not use Elmiron? Who should use Elmiron with caution?
1)Pregnant or nursing women-Elmiron has not been studied in these patients, therefore Elmiron is not recommended.
2)Patients at increased risk of bleeding. There has been an increase in bleeding in patients taking Elmiron, increased nose bleeds, bruising, and gum bleeding. Patients for whom increased bleeding risk may pose a problem include patients with GI (stomach) lesions, aneurysms, and hemophiliacs, amongst many others should be cautioned/warned prior to starting Elmiron therapy. Many times it may be safe and advisable to use Elmiron, however the patient may be advised to monitor for bleeding.
3)Operative conditions. Patients who may be undergoing a surgery should advise the physician that they are currently taking Elmiron as it increases bleeding risk.
4)Patients with liver dysfunction. Elmiron is broken down by the liver, patients with liver dysfunction are advised to discuss this with their physician prior to starting Elmiron therapy.
What happens if I overdose of Elmiron?
Seek emergency medical attention.
Where can I get more information on Elmiron?
For more information on Elmiron, Elmiron prescribed Patients, who are trying place an order for Elmiron from an online pharmacy store can place their prescription order at CanadaDrugsOnline.com which is an online Canadian pharmacy store.
SUMMARY
We hope you take the following points into mind when considering Elmiron therapy.
1)Elmiron is not a cure for Interstitial Cystitis, it will treat the symptoms.
2)It will not show an immediate improvement in your symptoms.
3)It is generally well tolerated, however, there exists certain patients who will not be able to take Elmiron (ex. patients at risk of bleeding complications).
4)Studies showing the effectiveness of Elmiron show varying effectiveness.
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