Is it poss to have IC if no history of UTIs?

[colleenco]

I am wondering if it is possible to have IC without ever having had a UTI or bladder pain ever before in your life? I had a UTI back on 3/7, was treated with 3 days of Bactrum, it went away. For one week I was fine and now I have been urinating about 2 times every hr. Went to the URO on Fri and was given a new antibiotic (levaquin) and Detrol LA, helped a little, I now pee once an hr. He told me to give it 3 weeks. Anyway, I have no pain or burning whatsoever and I have never had a UTI or UTI symptoms in my life (I am 30 y/o). Could it still be IC? Or something else?

[lnseagraves]

I think it could still be IC. My urologist doesnt think I've ever had a UTI, just IC flares. I have had frequency issues my whole life, but 4 years ago when I was in college I developed pelvic pain, some pelvic bloating and then one day woke up with MAJOR burning/ constant urgency/ frequency. I thought it was a UTI as I had never had one and I thought I was a wimp because I'd had friends with UTIs and they were never crying from the pain or anything. My roommate looked at me and said there was no way her UTIs were ever as bad as mine was and she rushed me to the hospital. They did the urinalysis and while I had the white blood cells, I did not have any nitrites or other sign of infection. They did a culture, and still no sign. That became the story of my life and my experience with IC. I always have frequency, now I always have a bit of burning too (but not excrutiating knife-like burning that my flares are characterized by). My flares are always hugely sudden and really bad, and they never ever show bacteria. So, as far as I know I have never had an infection and that was your question.

[mom_in_ma]

Well, it's possible it could be IC, but it could also be an infection that was resistant to the bactrim. I know it's scary. But, thankfully, you found a group of people here who understand what you are going through. Just in case, I would put yourself on the ic diet.

When I was first diagnosed, it all started with a low colony count uti. I drank lots of cranberry juice, which was the worst thing I could do! It made things so much worse. The diet helps.

[leelee88]

YES!!! I was dg with IC in Nov 06 with a hydro and I have only had 2 UTIs that I can remember..and I am 37...

[waterflow]

I never had a UTI before the IC happened. Never had any bladder problems before the IC happened.

[Berkshire Road]

There's no definitive evidence tying IC to a history of UTI's. There are fairly definitive tests for IC, though, such as the PUF questionairre, potassium sensitivity test, and cystoscopy with hydrodistension. If you think you may have IC, it's best to get yourself to a urologist and have one or more of those tests performed. My early symptoms were frequency only; pain developed years later. IC seems to hit people differently, so it's probably not a good idea to try to self-diagnose based on comparisons with other people's experiences.

Good luck to you, whatever it turns out to be.

[Sarojini]

Before I was diagnosed with IC, I had only had one UTI. It was very severe, and was in my kidneys before I knew it, but it was the only one I'd ever had.

Carolyn is right in that there are no scientifically sound studies indicating that IC is related to urinary tract infections, so it is entirely possible to seemingly develop IC out of thin air. She is also right that IC can present differently in different people -- in my case, I had experienced episodes of frequency and urgency since childhood (8 or 9 years old), and these became closer together and lasted longer as I got older. Finally, the pain began and I searched in earnest for a "real" diagnosis at that point.

It's best to follow your doc's instructions at this point; Robin is right that it could simply be a UTI that happened to be resistant to Bactrim, and now that you're on a different antibiotic you may begin to feel better if this is the case. If not, you want to make sure your urine has been cultured each time, and if it has but no bacteria grew out, then it's time to ask for a referral to a urologist who can perform the testing required to determine if you have IC or not.

[RAS6]

Hello Colleneco and Welcome!
I only had 2 UTI's before my IC diagnosis and both were during my first pregnancy (my Doctor said these were more common during pregnancy) I had to have several bouts of antibiotics even though my urine showed no signs of
bacteria before my Doctor reffered me to a urologist. My urologist then had me on another bout of antibiotics to rule out infection. Part of diagnosing IC usually includes ruling out other possibilities, including infections. Many IC patients do have a history of ITU's (in some cases it may have been IC flares though) while other's don't. I hope you get some answers soon. You might want to check out the patient handbook here. It was a huge help for me when IC was brought up as a possibility.
(((HUGS)))

[ladylin]

Hey, I have IC and I've only had 2 or 3 UTI, but I'm not even sure they were UTI, I think they just didn't know what it was, and then figured out that it was really IC.

[ICNDonna]

It is absolutely possible to develop IC without ever having a UTI.

Donna

[kadi]

When I got IC, I had not had a UTI in 30 years.