Stress and adhesions

[jsruby]

I read somewhere that if you have an infection and are under a lot of stress your body is not able to correctly heal itself. Instead, adhesions can form where the tissue attaches incorrectly to the wrong tissue, or something like that.

I think that I had a UTI but at the time I was under a lot of stress, my boyfriend left me for a little while and my employer said they wanted to fire me. I was crying a lot at the time. When I had a meeting with my employer I started to cry and I noticed that my "UTI" got worse after that and never improved (4 months).

Did this happen to anyone else? UTI + Stress = IC?

[mom_in_ma]

Big time. Stress is my biggest trigger! In fact, when this whole thing started for me years ago it was in the midst of substantial stress. My latest flare (after s significant remission period) came on the heals of a horrible miscarriage and the illness and death of my MIL. I think stress and hormones played the biggest factor in it's return.

[sami4]

Adhesions

I just had a laproscopic hysterectomy and have never had any abdominal surgery, yet they found tons of adhesions. The doctor told me that they can form from many things, are very painful, attach organs together that should not be together. They can be caused by many things including uterine procedures.
Sammi

[ICNDonna]

Adhesions can be caused by injury, even a fairly minor one. I had them, but mine were from a previous surgery.

I know that stress can be a real trigger for IC pain, but I honestly don't think stress can cause IC.

Donna

[Smokey]

Nobody knows at this point what causes IC, so stress can be one of them. I know when I had the first ic symtoms it was after I had a bad uti and at that time I was under alot of stress not knowing what was going to happen to my job. Stress does awful things to our body!!

[purpleviolet]

when to look for adhesions

What symptoms would one have to have to cause a doctor to even suspect adhesions were playing a part in IC. ? I'm past menopause and my periods were manageable. PV

[ICNDonna]

For purpleviolet: When I was being diagnosed with IC, I had an exploratory pelvic surgery to try to find a cause for my pain. They found that I had severe adhesions covering all of my pelvic organs. Getting rid of the adhesions absolutely decreased my pain level. That was over thirty years ago and the adhesions have not, to my knowledge, recurred. When I had lap surgery to remove my gall bladder, there was no sign of them.

Before I had the adhesions clipped, I could not even stand up straight. It was like my abdominal muscles were in a permanent charley horse. My adhesions were from an abdominal hysterectomy --- I had an incision from belly button to pelvis.

Donna

[soccermom32]

I'm not sure of the link. When my IC symptoms started I had a very bad staph infection in my bladder in Nov 2006 and never got better. At the time, I was under enormous stress b/c one of our very good friends died in a car accident at 29 in late Oct 2006. He was the first friend I had ever lost, I didn't handle it too well. In Sept/Oct I was going through 2 lumps on my breast that I had convinced myself were cancer. It took weeks to get a mammogram and ultrasound to diagnose it wasn't cancer. I was SO worked up and freaked out.

So yes, I guess there could be a link between stress & IC.

I am currently trying not to worry about things I cannot control. Cancer, accidents, my children's health.....I can't control it so I'm pushing all bad thoughs out of my mind.

[Lenee]

I had an hysterectomy too and had adhesions within a year that attached my bowel and left overy to the vaginal cuff and together. I started with pain not long after the hysterectomy and have never had it resolved since. I had the adhesions removed about a year after the hyst and then had exploratory surgery last year which was about 3 yrs after they lysis of adhesions and they hadn't returned. It wasn't until the disproved the adhesion theory that I had them start looking for other pain causes and I was diagnosed with IC. I also wonder if nerve damage doesn't play a role when you've had surgery. In regards to stress, I have been stressed for long periods of time due to pain (for the past 5-6 years) and when my stress level gets even more elevated I have added pain. I believe my hyst or the lysis might have had a role but if it was stress I could believe it since I didn't handle the need for my hyst very well either. I don't know if this is medically true or not but I think I heard that your body creates more acid when in stress mode would that end up effecting the bladder? You'd think it would. Just a thought.

[ngazerro]

Hi,

I had a hysterectomy when I was 24. I had already had three boys. I was fine but I did get some UTI's. When I was about 29 I started having problems with pain which I had cysts on my ovaries. Then at 31 I broke out with cronic hives for two years. The two years prior to that was a very stressful period of my life. The hives finally went away and I started having more of what I thought was ovary pain. At 36 (july 06), I had my ovaries out and they did say they were wrapped in adhesions. I never felt better, so I went back to the doctor because I kept thinking I had a bladder infection. Finally he sent me for a ct scan thinking stones. They found a mass where my right ovaries was and removed it Dec 06. I still never felt better so in Jan. 07, they finally sent me to an URO and I was dx was IC after an hydro. Stress does make my IC worse but I don't think it caused it. Who knows ?