Slab,
the best I can do is point you to my other posts concerning my experience, and direct you to the BCG article by Dr. Lamm on this site. I can tell you that my body's reaction was quite mild (in my opinion), consisting mostly of a flu-like feverish feeling, but without an actual fever. There were bladder spasms (sudden urge to urinate), and at times some blood and/or debris in the urine. Others have posted even more mild reactions.
I just finished up my intial treatment, so don't have much in terms of "vetran" suggestions. I will however tell you what seems to have worked best for me.
- Scheduled all my treatments for Thursday mornings so that I took only one day off when possible, and so that IF I reacted poorly, I could see the doctor on Friday.
- Stop eating or drinking two hours prior to the instillment.
- After the instillment, lay on your stomach for 15 minutes (Dr. Lamm's recommendation to displace the resultant bubble in the bladder); I requested from my doctor that I be allowed do this.
- Following the instillment, have nothing to eat or drink for two hours. Lay on your sides, back and stomach, rotating every 15 minutes or so (I called this my "rotisserie routine").
- After the first urination (and bleaching of the toilet bowl), start drinking PLENTY of water (for me, this was 13 ounces following each urination), and of course EAT! =O)
NOTE: have a dedicated toilet for the next six hours, bleaching after each urination.
- Six hours (or so) after the instillment, things should be pretty much normal.
- Taking a good nap at sometime after that routine helped me quite a bit; I recovered much faster when I was able to do so.
That was probably more information than you may have been looking for, but you may find it helpful. Other than the inconvenience, it was very managable for me.