Pregnant and miserable

[Palmpeony]

I am currently 7 weeks pregnant in so much pain. I had my first flare up at the beginning of the year that lasted over a month. I am now in the middle of my second flare that started a week ago on my birthday. I am waiting to get a cystoscopy in 2 weeks so I can finally be diagnosed and get a solution. My GP has a feeling it’s IC. Marijuana was the only that got me through my first flare up, it was a life saver. I’m at my wits end at this point, I’m nauseous from being pregnant and only crave certain foods that I most definitely can’t have with this problem. I bawl my
eyes out every single day and can’t get off the couch. I just lay with an ice pack between my legs and a low heat heating pad. I’ve been out of work for 2 weeks now the pains been that bad. I find myself scouring the web reading everyone’s experiences pregnant and not pregnant with IC. Sometimes it just makes my anxiety worse hearing some people say they’re in a constant flare pregnant. This is extremely hard for me considering this is my first pregnancy and my first experience with a chronic illness. I’ve always been a pretty healthy person, and I find myself grieving my life before this year. It’s really ruined the joy and excitement of being pregnant. My GP who’s had OB/GYN experience says being pregnant I am not able to receive any of the treatments or bladder instillations. I have no hope at this point and am extremely depressed. The pain and discomfort is making so angry at this point, I’m not even able to watch tv or read a book it’s been so miserable. I feel for anyone else that is going through this. I pray everyday this flare up goes away.

[mzyne]

In my experience with bladder pain and pregnancy - I had pain in the first trimester with the change of hormones. 2nd and 3rd trimester I had no pain. I have continued to have no pain and my daughter is now 3.

A big, serious life change is what helped me the most. Reducing stress and controlling my anxiety was the biggest contributor to my pain. I have had to work on the tension on my pelvic floor to learn how to relax that again.

Have you also had a urine test to ensure it isn’t actually an infection this time? More susceptible during pregnancy.

[ICNDonna]

to the IC Network. I'm so very sorry you are feeling miserable. If you go to Considering Pregnancy With Interstitial Cystitis - IC Patient Support Forum - Interstitial Cystitis, Bladder & Pelvic Pain (ic-network.com) you'll find many posts that may have some hints that will help you. My children were born before my IC arrived.

I'm sending warm hugs,
Donna

[icnmgrjill]

Dear Palm,

I am so sorry that you are going through this. IC patients have babies every year with some going into remission while others report flares. Have you found our pregnancy resource center?

https://www.ic-network.com/interstit...ces/pregnancy/

There is one paper published that talks about the risk to pregnant in patients who have flared. You might need to have your obgyn look at that. I will say that Elmiron is labelled safe for pregnancy but now that we know it can be associated with eye disease, that rating would surely change if this were republished. So, I would be cautious and talk with your doctor about that.

Also, remember that your bladder will be more sensitive at times, making following the diet all the more important. It could be that prenatal vitamins are triggering some discomfort in your bladder due to the Vitamin C. You could talk with your obgyn about perhaps switching to individual vitamins.

If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to give me a call at the ICN office. 800-928-7496.

Jill