Just thought I'd post since I did a thread search and didn't get any response for "collagen". Since I have a vacation coming up, we tried a collagen injection at the mouth of the bladder to see if it would help with retention. The surgeon said she will use that with older patients who have continence problems, but aren't good surgery candidates. She warned me that at best it is usually only good for about 3 months, 6 months tops.
Well, it may have been worth a shot, but did nothing for me. It really didn't help at all. It's an outpatient procedure, general anesthesia. It was pretty mild painwise afterwards, but felt weird to be swollen "down there". Just as with a cystoscopy, it was a bit sore urinating the first couple of days. Once that initial swelling was gone, though, the leakage was back.
One other thing I noticed right after the injections was that I urinated more slowly, but it went in a more diffuse stream, which I wasn't too happy about. Any effect at all seemed to disappear within a week or so, so my own experience is that it wasn't worth it.
I am going for my 3rd injection in the morning, with my first one, it worked for a year, but has been known to work 2-3 years. If you have the right doctor you shouldn't have any problems. I had the same feeling of swelling, some burning while urinating, some discomfot, and a smaller stream which is due to the collagen bulking up the area.
The stream gets back to normal within a month, however the effects of the injection actually last longer, when you sneeze, cough, etc, you should notice very little to no urine leakage at all.
I got in trouble for not going ever 4 hours. But it felt good not having to go 20 times a day anymore. With or without the urge, I was told to try and pee every 4 hours anyway to keep from getting an infection.
I am thrilled with it, but it can take 2-3 injections over a years time, and your doctor may not of used enough collagen the first time, (better not enough than too much and cause a blockage), I would try another and see if that completes the problem.
StarDust
