[quote=“DoctorGeoff”]
I said I would come back on this one.
Just over a month of taking Betmiga/Milabegron.
I am now getting up at night just once (maybe twice) and the interval is looking more like every four hours (from two hourly).
Still a little bit inconsistent, but good enough to warrant doing a second month.
Continence clinic on Wednesday - be interesting to hear what they think.
I went for Betmiga rather than one of the anti-cholinergics they suggested because the a-c side effects were not acceptable.
Potential sight disturbances are not welcome when you are the only one who drives, and stability disturbances do not go well when you already have stability problems.
Geoff
[/quote] Sounds like good news, with Betmiga, Geoff! Do hope it continues to improve. Afraid l suffer terrible side-effects from nearly all meds prescibed for MS. l say MS - l think most of them are for Parkinsons/Epilepsy/Bi-Polar and HIV!
Many years ago - the urologist prescribed me oxybutinin - the dry mouth etc caused me to keep gagging - and l could not talk to anyone. l told the specialist to take it himself before he prescribed it to another patient.
Like you l need to keep driving - and meds like baclofen/tizanidine/gabapentin/pregabalin all left me in a ‘cabbage state’ Could not stand - let alone get out and into a car and drive safely!!
I have been using Tolterodine Tartrate for years now. It works fairly well, and I’ve had no problems with it.
Thanks for feedback Geoff, and I am glad the medicines are compatible with you.
continence clinic have not replaced any meds for me after 3 sets off bad side effects. They recommended referral to urology and maybe looking at Botox injections. Although I will mention Betimiga. At the moment I have asked for a delay on the referral as I want to get over muscle biopsy wound first, and to see if there is any other reason as to why my muscles reacted so badly to this family of drugs. I have an appt back at continence clinic to reassess what the next step is to take in July. In the meantime I know where ever public toilet is in the country, lol, or that’s what it feels like 
Hi poppyseed,
The continence clinic recommended two drugs from the family you reacted badly to - but they wrote to my GP to prescribe.
I told him that the side effects were not acceptable and suggested Betmiga.
He was happy to prescribe Betmiga.
Perhaps you should talk to your GP and see if you can get a month’s supply as a trial. It does not seem to be aggressive in its action, and it was really about the third week that I noticed that I was not getting up so often in the night.
The accessible public toilet issue is a different matter.
Look up Wheelmate. This is an app for Android devices that will tell you where the nearest toilets are. There is an online version that works as a journey planner (but also think of Macdonalds and most major supermarkets in your hour of need).
I also have a copy of the PIE Guide (Concise Blue Badge Road Atlas) which is not up-to-date, but is also well worth the cost (about £10-£12 from memory).
I wrote the above, looked up Wheelmate, discovered that the NHS now has an app store, and it is there (and here).
http://apps.nhs.uk/app/wheelmate/
I have mine running on an Android tablet, but it should work on a lot of smart-phones as well.
Geoff
Thanks for the tips Geoff, invaluable
i will look at App Store.
The Continence Clinic was interesting yesterday.
Nurse was not put out by me being on Betmiga - just sufficiently pleased by the results to discharge me.
I probably come into the category of “Normal for Age”.
One thing she did say was to continue with Betmiga for four months total before thinking about stopping.
She did make a comment about the cheapest of the “other” drugs being the one with the worst side effects.
poppyseed, it looks like Betmiga could help you. At least my urgency is now calmed down enough to plan for journeys of more than 30 minutes.
Good Luck
Geoff