no hope..

[sammi_sam5186]

hi my name is samantha and im 25 years old.. i have been suffering from ic for around 15 years or so.. i always knew that something was wrong and when i was very young i remember taking medicine for my bladder. when i was a teenager is when the pain really started.. i knew something was wrong but at my house we didnt go to the doctor so much so i just dealt with it.. looking back on it now i dont know how i did it but i know it destroyed alot of my teenage years.. my whole life i have been dealing with going to the bathroom every 15 to 30 minutes and being in tons of pain.. when i was 23 i had my son and after that i started landing in the emergency room about twice a month in total unbearable pain.. i would try not to go til i could no longer take it because i have no insurance.. they would always write me a prescription for antibiotics that never ever worked and some pain meds.. a few times i would have to stay for a week or so to get antibiotics through an iv... always put off as an urinary tract infection.. well about 4 months ago at another visit at the er the doc told me that i may have IC and i need to go see a uroligist asap.. i started researching and all of the symptoms i have.. so i made an appointment with the urolgist.. 200 dollars may not be alot to some but to me its a whole lot.. i work alot and barely get by so it was very hard to afford it but i did.. the doc told me he is pretty sure its ic but he needs to do a bladder instillation treatment which all together is gonna cost 3,000 bucks.. there is absolutly no way i could afford that.. and ive tried to get on tenncare but i dont qualify.. so that leaves me to where im at now.. always in a ton of pain.. the kind to were i cant move sometimes and i keep dropping weight .. i miss work over and over and im stuck right now because the doctor tells me thats the only way he can help is if i get it done.. i dont know what to do?.. anyone have any advice??.. i feel so new to this although its something i have dealt with forever.. i feel as if there is no hope....

[nineteenwinters]

I am sorry to hear how much you have suffered.

Have you tried making dietary changes? The IC diet can be found on this website. That would be something you can do that really won't cost you any money. Also, have you tried baking soda in water? There is both relief in drinking some in water (if you can tolerate it) or mixing a 1/2 to a cup in a warm bath and soaking.

[ICNDonna]

I'm so sorry you're finding yourself in such a position. Will the doctor's office work out a payment plan for you? Many will. I just hope you are able to get some help.


Donna

[KarenAnne]

I hope you can get some help soon. I agree that the diet is very helpful.

[dyno]

I completely understand the insurance situation. Please read, read and read some more on this website. There is a lot of information and some of it may be helpful to you until you can afford other treatments.

The diet really helps a lot of us and then there are some other things you could try that are not prescription.

Hopefully you and your Dr. can work out something so you can get the treatments he wants to try. Hugs.

[sammi_sam5186]

thanks everyone for your relpies and support... ive been trying the diet thing for little while now cuz i read about it on here when i first started my research and i have to say that now that i cut acidic foods and drinks out the pain isnt so frequent.. its still very rough everyday all day it seems now.. but im hoping to raise the money for my treatment.. crossing my fingers