For me... bacteria

[cathy02]

I feel for me it is bacteria. I have had several UTI's over the years. I also had 1 that was severe and went on and on. Another that went undiagnosed for 2 months because the lab said I didn't have one, and then when it didn't go away I went to another dr who used a different lab. I thought it was urethritis because I had that many years before. I found out the first lab only did urinalysis and not a culture. This was before I became bladder savy and insisted on cultures because I now know that mine don't show up on urinalysis. I know that after the last 2 infections my bladder never went back to normal. It always felt a little strange and I wasn't urinating as fully.... or I would feel a bit of a tickle/twinge. This went on for 5 years... then wammo.... those feelings became more much pronounced and finally the IC diagnoses. So for me I can correlate the change in my bladder after the last 2 infections... it just wasn't the same anymore. Regarding mast cells or autoimmune disorders with the bladder going on, I guess I feel the bacteria was the trigger to the downfall, and those things may then set in once the damage is done. Sometimes I think that there are bacteria in the bladder that go under the radar and are so low level that they may go relatively unoticed that do damage the bladder. I also feel that many of us have many common threads... such as yeast, stress, structural problems,IBS, that may contribute to the enviornment that perhaps "lets" the bladder become vunerable. But who knows. I also feel that where there are so many of us that do and don't respond to the same treatments, that perhaps the bladder gets affected by bacteria and is damaged differently and reacts differently, hence the inconsisitency of some treatments working for some and not others. Well,those are just my thoughts. I wish I knew for sure... as do we all.

[debdohairdo]

This is a tough one...likewhat came first..."the chicken or the egg" I know that I had bladder problems as a child and I have had many UTIs before and after my hysterectomy.But, i truly believe it is caused by the fact that on top of the uti's and 2 abdominal cut from hip bone to hip bone surgeries, I really did not have constant pain and acheness until after the last surgery. I know that after your uterus is taken,your bladder naturally falls..its a gravity thing. In my case it was noted on the cyctoscopy that my urethra is hamburger,mangled and kinked. This constant inflamation obviously is painful, but also has led to Ic as well. Just my thoughts [img]smile.gif[/img] ))) Debbie