Pain management and urgency under control but need help with...

[Alex1981]

FREQUENCY!

I am a 25 yr old male with a mild to moderate case of IC. Like the above title states the pain and discomfort associated with IC is mostly gone but I need help with frequency. I am currently taking Ditropan XL but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. I avoid all IC flare-prone foods and limit my daily liquid intake but still find myself using the restroom a bit too much. I work at the court house and need to be pee-free for about 3-4 hours at a time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Alex from FL

[ICNDonna]

I know it may not make sense, but I actually have less frequency if I drink a lot of water --- by a lot, I mean at least six to eight cups of water daily.

Donna

[Alex1981]

I know it may not make sense, but I actually have less frequency if I drink a lot of water --- by a lot, I mean at least six to eight cups of water daily.

Donna

My uro advised me to only drink when I am thirsty and I've tried that, and in the past I've also tried drinking the recommended 6-8 too but neither has really worked.

[Trishann]

I am like Donna, it may not make sense, but drinking more water help with the frequency. Infact, if I don't keep myself flush out, I can't stay off the

Trishann

[**Angie**]

I'm a huge water drinker too. If I don't drink enough my urine becomes to concentrated and is more irritating to my bladder. I read somewhere that you should drink 1/2 your weight in ounces. Am I making sense?? I weigh (pretend weight ) 100 lbs so I should drink 50 oz a day. Urelle seems to help me too. Along with using my TENS unit. I can keep the visits to the bathrm down quite a bit with that combo. Good luck.
angie

[Alex1981]

I'm a huge water drinker too. If I don't drink enough my urine becomes to concentrated and is more irritating to my bladder. I read somewhere that you should drink 1/2 your weight in ounces. Am I making sense?? I weigh (pretend weight ) 100 lbs so I should drink 50 oz a day. Urelle seems to help me too. Along with using my TENS unit. I can keep the visits to the bathrm down quite a bit with that combo. Good luck.
angie

Sorry I am still new to the world of IC. What is Urelle and what are TENS unit?

[**Angie**]

Urelle-it is used to treat the discomfort, pain and urinary urgency/frequency and it turns your pee blue
TENS Unit--is a pocket size portable battery operated device that sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the body to block pain signals. You attach electodes to your body to send the impulses. I put 2 electrodes on my bladder and 2 on my lower back/hip area. You need a prescription to get a TENS. I found that for me it doesn't blk a lot of the pain signals but it does work for urgency/frequency.
angie

[**Angie**]

There was a little trouble with getting them to pay for the TENS--my Dr wrote a letter telling them that it would be more cost effective to purchase the unit instead of renting and that it would cut down on the amount of pain meds I need. My Dr wrote the prescription but I actually got the unit from my Physical Therapist (she had it in her office) and she showed me how to use it. She got the unit from a supplier. They don't carry them at a pharmacy. I also order my supplies (electrodes only last about 10 to 14 uses). I call them and they send me my order and bill my insurance then send me the remainder of the bill. I pay 20% for supplies. The TENS itself was covered in full--about $800. Hope that answers you ?'s.

[Portia17]

alex

there are so many new meds out now for bladder problems. I would call the urologist and see what he recommends

good luck
mary

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Pfd

Have you considered going to a uro who really knows about Pelvic Floor Dysfunction or it might be easier to read the definition on this board or in Dr. Robert Moldwin, MD's book. Usually the treatments or PT and/or valium. Many times pelvic floor problems can contribute to IC like symptoms.

I wish the best in finding an answer. It is extremely hard to work with IC.

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[wishfulthinking]

FREQUENCY!

I am a 25 yr old male with a mild to moderate case of IC. Like the above title states the pain and discomfort associated with IC is mostly gone but I need help with frequency. I am currently taking Ditropan XL but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. I avoid all IC flare-prone foods and limit my daily liquid intake but still find myself using the restroom a bit too much. I work at the court house and need to be pee-free for about 3-4 hours at a time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Alex from FL

So, Alex, have you found anything yet to ease the frequency? I'm experiencing similar symptoms, with the pain mostly gone now after 5 months. I'm looking for something 'natural' rather than pharmaceutical.

[BrookeB]

ALEX------THere are actually a few things that helped me. The first thing was I was going 60 times a day and when I started taking the freeze dried aloe vera pills I worked my way up to 12 a day and went to 30 times a day and that combined with the other things I will mentioned kept me down to 15 times a day on a good day. The other thing that can help me is uristat or get pyridium with an RX. The other BIG help is my diet, it is much stricter than other diets. Only organic, only drink organic milk and water with a ph of 7 (Evian and most spring waters) NO acid, no preservatives no spicy. It is hard to follow but VERY worth it. I am sure the diet you are following is horribly strict but I was desperate to do feel better as you are too. Although most of the diet problems I have are usually just urgency which for me can cause lots of pain after a while. Then the last step was getting an interstim implant. Which I have had for almost 4 years and I LOVE IT!!!!! A miricle for me! Changed my life! All of these things combined helped me. They are all worth a try. The thing I have learned with having IC for 5 years is trial and error and I have found a formula that works. The only time I have pain or urgency is if I have something else wrong medically like an infection or colon problems and kidney problems. If I eat a pear with more acidity it might make my day horrible, etc. I really hope that there is one thing here you can do that will help you. Ditropan XL never helped me at all. But the best thing to do is get information on-line from people and if their syptoms and problems seem alike go to your DR with that information and see if he can help you incorporate them into your life in a formula that works. Let me know if any thing helps. I am also 25.

brooke

[Trying2Cope]

FREQUENCY!

I am a 25 yr old male with a mild to moderate case of IC. Like the above title states the pain and discomfort associated with IC is mostly gone but I need help with frequency. I am currently taking Ditropan XL but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. I avoid all IC flare-prone foods and limit my daily liquid intake but still find myself using the restroom a bit too much. I work at the court house and need to be pee-free for about 3-4 hours at a time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Alex from FL

Alex,

Not to be too blunt, but have you had a prostate exam lately? I was also having some frequency problems and it turned out I had a slightly enlarged prostate, which can cause frequecy problems. I can't remember what I was taking for it because it was so long ago, but your urologist would be able to recommend something. The pill I took also helped a bit with the burning in my urethra.

I hope this helps.

[Katrina]

http://icandme.9.forumer.com/index.p...t=0&#entry2586 on treating frequency
think it helps to figure out the cause? Do you have a shrunken bladder? Do You have any retention?? Are you having bladder Contractions?? Stress Incontinence or Over Active Bladder??? Pelvic Floor Disfunction?? (You may have more than one cause)

as a male I would lean is there some retention going on? antispasmodics may make some retention worse if you do.

A lot of my frequency was spasms and retention...I tend to bladder train a lot out of lazziness so my bladder capacity is ok.
http://icandme.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=6 pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) learning to relax the muscles treatment options symptoms of PFD and more