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Hi everyone. After numerous tests, I have had three doctors tell me that they are sure I have IC but I've not yet been officially diagnosed. I have just recently been able to get in to see a very well-respected female urologist that says it COULD be IC but that she wants to check other possibilities first before submitting me to painful, invasive tests. So far I've had 3 ultrasounds, too many urine cultures to count, 5 rounds of antibiotics and 2 CT scans (1 standard and 1 with contrast). I was PRAYING for a kidney stone but all tests came back "normal" or "grossly unremarkable."
I had never had any bladder problems before two months ago. No UTI's, no pain, no frequency -- Nothing. Then literally overnight, I felt the symptoms of what seemed to be a bladder infection. I did test positive for Ecoli and was hopeful for some relief with the antibiotics. When they (Macrobid) didn't help, I was given Cipro. Again, hopeful that that was what would do the trick but that didn't help either. We do know I had an infection but no matter what, the extreme frequency has never gone away since that first day of the infection. In two months, I have not had one moment that I didn't feel like I have to pee. OAB medicine helps maybe a little but I'm still in the bathroom every 30-45 minutes.
My uro suspected that there could be a stone stuck near my bladder that wasn't necessarily causing obstruction, but just irritation. Now that the scans show there is no stone, we know that it's something else. She told me that it could possibly be IC that I have but that in many, if not cases, people suffering with IC pee to get relief. She said that the bladder is irritated and it becomes more painful as the bladder fills up. I don't have the pain, pe se, but just feel like my bladder is full all the time, which is so very uncomfortable nevertheness. Uro said that a lot of IC patients with frequency issues will at least get a few minutes, even if only a very few, of relief after voiding. I don't. I've also not experienced pain after eating certain foods (I tried the IC diet for 6 weeks and saw zero change) and I don't have pain with sex.
I guess what I'm trying to find out is whether anyone reading this has just frequency issues and if so, do you get ANY relief after peeing? And does it feel like your bladder is burning or otherwise hurting as it fills up? I have gone as long as 2 hours when I've forced myself to hold it just to see if I can and I don't have incontinence and the discomfort level never really varies. It's pretty much the same whether I've just peed or it's been an hour. Just always feels uncomfortably full. We're trying more tests to see if it is IC or something else but I cannot understand how I could be absolutely fine one day, and then peeing 30-40 times a day the next (and since). I've heard IC can come on suddenly, triggered by some initial infections or event but my uro says that's not typical and I'm wondering if that has happened to any of you or if it was a gradual thing for you, with several episodes of UTI's or other symptoms popping up here and there for a while? Or did your IC just hit one day out of the clear blue?
Sorry for the long post but I am literally just trying to hang on right now. When I got the results of my CT scan today, I had a panic attack in the parking lot. I couldn't breathe. I've been crying at the drop of a hat for the past many weeks because I cannot wrap my head around the fact that this may be my life now. Any insight on the above questions would really be appreciated and maybe help me understand this all a little more.
I had never had any bladder problems before two months ago. No UTI's, no pain, no frequency -- Nothing. Then literally overnight, I felt the symptoms of what seemed to be a bladder infection. I did test positive for Ecoli and was hopeful for some relief with the antibiotics. When they (Macrobid) didn't help, I was given Cipro. Again, hopeful that that was what would do the trick but that didn't help either. We do know I had an infection but no matter what, the extreme frequency has never gone away since that first day of the infection. In two months, I have not had one moment that I didn't feel like I have to pee. OAB medicine helps maybe a little but I'm still in the bathroom every 30-45 minutes.
My uro suspected that there could be a stone stuck near my bladder that wasn't necessarily causing obstruction, but just irritation. Now that the scans show there is no stone, we know that it's something else. She told me that it could possibly be IC that I have but that in many, if not cases, people suffering with IC pee to get relief. She said that the bladder is irritated and it becomes more painful as the bladder fills up. I don't have the pain, pe se, but just feel like my bladder is full all the time, which is so very uncomfortable nevertheness. Uro said that a lot of IC patients with frequency issues will at least get a few minutes, even if only a very few, of relief after voiding. I don't. I've also not experienced pain after eating certain foods (I tried the IC diet for 6 weeks and saw zero change) and I don't have pain with sex.
I guess what I'm trying to find out is whether anyone reading this has just frequency issues and if so, do you get ANY relief after peeing? And does it feel like your bladder is burning or otherwise hurting as it fills up? I have gone as long as 2 hours when I've forced myself to hold it just to see if I can and I don't have incontinence and the discomfort level never really varies. It's pretty much the same whether I've just peed or it's been an hour. Just always feels uncomfortably full. We're trying more tests to see if it is IC or something else but I cannot understand how I could be absolutely fine one day, and then peeing 30-40 times a day the next (and since). I've heard IC can come on suddenly, triggered by some initial infections or event but my uro says that's not typical and I'm wondering if that has happened to any of you or if it was a gradual thing for you, with several episodes of UTI's or other symptoms popping up here and there for a while? Or did your IC just hit one day out of the clear blue?
Sorry for the long post but I am literally just trying to hang on right now. When I got the results of my CT scan today, I had a panic attack in the parking lot. I couldn't breathe. I've been crying at the drop of a hat for the past many weeks because I cannot wrap my head around the fact that this may be my life now. Any insight on the above questions would really be appreciated and maybe help me understand this all a little more.
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