Clinging To Old Treatments For IC/BPS Could Hold You Back If you had been diagnosed with IC/BPS forty years ago, odds are you would have been prescribed antibiotics, given urethral dilations and/or referred to a psychiatrist under the mistaken assumption that IC was all in your heads. Twenty years ago, that same patient might have [...]
Do Patients Perceptions Of Treatment Success or Failure Match Clinical Trial Results? They don’t. When the American Urological Association created their Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment for IC/BPS in 2011 they ranked their treatment options based primarily on clinical trial results. Researchers in Canada and the USA sought to determine if these treatment [...]
When you struggle with IC and/or chronic pain and don't have access to traditional pain relievers, using an OTC pain relief pill may feel like your only option. Right? I, like most patients, turned to Advil and Tylenol to help reduce my bladder pain when I was first diagnosed. Seriously, IC can hurt terribly and if it's the [...]
Have you tried an OTC pain relief product? They may help! Topical treatments for pain relief have become quite popular. Sprayed or rubbed onto the skin over painful muscles and joints, they may have a modest effect at reducing pain. There are three basic types: Counterirritants use ingredients such as menthol, methylsalicylate, and camphor to create a burning or cooling sensation that [...]
IC patient finds relief by treating IC and pelvic pain with acupuncture (Loyola University Health System) At age 12, Rachael Fellers developed a debilitating form of pelvic pain that at times prevented her from standing, walking or going to the bathroom. Mrs. Fellers saw several doctors who determined that she had endometriosis. They unsuccessfully tried [...]
Ketamine Cystitis Linked to Bladder, Kidney, Liver, Sexual, Cognitive Dysfunction and Schizophrenia By Jill H. Osborne, ICN Founder Last week, a young man in New York called to discuss his newly diagnosed interstitial cystitis. After a few minutes on the phone, I asked him "Have you ever used ketamine?" Stunned, he said "How did you [...]
[break] [hr] [break] Editors Note - Most urology clinics have a nurse practitioner who works on the front line with IC patients who are struggling with flares and need treatment. The best ones are those who are kind, compassionate and interested in their patients. Jennifer Yonaitis Fariello MSN, CRNP has been a veritable angel to thousands of [...]
Prevention Magazine released a fabulous article, "Why It Hurts Down There", which discusses how pelvic floor dysfunction can be the cause of many pelvic pain conditions, such as IC, vulvodynia, constipation and so forth. It shares two compelling patient stories who, after many physician visits, finally discovered that the pelvic floor muscles, specifically pelvic floor [...]
Our latest IC Optimist patient magazine is being sent to our subscribers this week and individual copies are available for sale! In this issue: (1) Editorial: Sam's Philosophy of Life - We're proud to begin this issue with an editorial featuring the remarkable Sam Bern's, who lived life with great joy despite facing a terminal [...]
Physical therapist Isa Herrera (Renew Physical Therapy, NYC) has written her second groundbreaking book in the treatment of pelvic pain. Ending Male Pelvic Pain: A Man's Guide is the ultimate self-help guide for men suffering from prostatitis, recovering from prostatectomy or living with pelvic or sexual pain. Few resources on the market have provided such [...]
