some questions for all you guys

[Rebeccanne]

I have had very very bad bladder infections when I was in high school (4 years ago) I was constantly going to the doctor with bladder infections. I was put on a lot of antibiotics and those helped for awhile, but the infections always came back. The doctors weren't sure why I was getting them, and why they kept coming back. So I had to have an ultrasound and a xray. They never figured it out, and I basically stopped complaining about it because I was sick of going to the doctors all the time.

It has been off and on the past few years. Sometimes there will no pain, and sometimes it will hurt for awhile when I have go to the bathroom.

Well 6 months ago I got married. My husband and I waited ot have sex until our wedding night. So I had never had sex before. I lost my virginity that night, but couldn't do more because it hurt me and i bled alot. During our honeymoon we tried to have sex many times, but it always hurt so bad. 6 months later, we sitll haven't been able to do it. When we try, I feel immediate pain inside, and it burns, and there is so much pressure ( alot feels like it is on my bladder)

so after a lot of problems with the military doctors ( he is in AF) I finally decided to go see one because I believed I had a bladder infection. It turned out I had no infection, but my doctor told me she believed it was IC. I still have to go to several more doctors to find out for sure... but she told me of this web site, and i have been trying to find out more.

I wonder if I do have it. Everyone seems to be in such immense pain... I am always uncomfortable, and it hurts when I go to the bathroom , and hurts VERY much when I try to have sex... but its not excruciating all the time. Is it possible I still have it?

what is the next step? How do you actually find out if you have IC? I am going to be sent to a urologist who knows about IC in my area... so what will he do when he sees me? How will he diagnose me? Will he do tests on me? and if so, what kind and what do they entail?

Are there different severities of IC? :help: thanks for your help in advance. I appreciate it

[Babs RN]

Rebecca,
Where are you guys stationed? I am also a military wife and have IC. My hubby is currently in Iraq. What you need to do is make sure you are enrolled in Tricare Prime. They will assign you to a PCM(primary care manager)who you can make an appt with and ask for a referral. If they don't have the facilities on base, they will send you to a civilian doc. I'll be glad to help you in any way.

Hugs,
Barb :grouphug:

[Rebeccanne]

HI- well, We are stationed in Aurora CO. And I am already enrolled in tricare prime, and after seeing the doctor, she told us to make an appointment with my PCM, who will then refer me to a good urologist in the area. The soonest appointmen we could make is for the 12 of April, so I have to wait!!

[Babs RN]

Good, I'm glad you're at least on the right track. My dad is retired AF so I know both sides of the fence. There are usually two kinds of IC--ulcerative and non-ulcerative IC. Most people have the non ulcerative and have pinpoint hemorrhages. The ICN patient handbook on this site is awesome and the diet helps alot too. Let me know if I can answer anything else.

Hugs,
Barb :grouphug:

[VickiB]

Hi Rebecca and welcome!

Yes, it's definitely possible to have IC and not be in horrible pain all the time. Before being diagnosed I'd bounce back & forth between feeling perfectly normal to feeling excruciating pain. It came and went and never made a lick of sense to me. Sex certainly caused problems. Like you, I was treated with antiboitics for bladder infections which seemed to return with a vegence. While researching my situation I believe I came across this site once or twice. After reading so many posts of people in constant pain I thought No, this isn't what I have because I don't feel awful all the time. But now I know better, it was IC all along.

So, if you do have IC, and it certainly sounds like you may, I want to say diagnosis can be a great thing. Because then you can begin being treated for this and hopefully get your symptoms under control. How Uros go about this seems to vary a bit, so it's hard to say what your doctor will do. Seems most just do a consultation first, take your history and discuss possible future options. The handbook is a great place to familiarize yourself with everything IC: http://ic-network.com/handbook and many of your questions will be answered there. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to try the IC diet while you wait for your next appointment. (It can be found in the handbook too) Many of us have found it to be really helpful in reducing our symptoms.

Hang in there and let us know how things turn out for you!

Vicki

[ICNDonna]

I'm glad you will be seeing a urologist --- once you know what's going on, you can begin treatments and hopefully feel better.

Donna

[Sarojini]

I am also glad you'll be seeing a urologist soon so you can find out what's going on! It sounds like it could be IC (you don't have to have excruciating pain every day to have it -- in fact, some people just have some frequency and urgency of urination!), but you are doing the right thing to go to the urologist to be checked, because many things can have symptoms similar to IC.

Good luck :grouphug:

[Amyinagony]

:welcome:
I agree with the rest, getting answers for whatever is going on is the first step. If it does turn out to be IC (it does sound like it may be), know that you have ALL of our support....100%!!!
Good luck with your appt and please let us know how it goes.
Glad your were directed to this message board. SO MUCH information and GREAT support!!!! :grouphug:

[Dixiefireball]

hon i know how bad those nasty uti hurt i get one at least onces a mth that happens a week before my peroid and the week of and anti. just doesnt cut it. it will help but it want heal it until my peroid is gone which makes it more painful :( i'm now on a low dose of anti. at night my last urine test came out neg. the first one i had neg in over three years boy was happy. I even made a thread about it i was so happy.

My doctor doesnt' have a clue to why i have these infection either but honest i didn't have these infection until i got married and started haveing sex that is when they started full blast. then when i got preg. it got wrose. later on i found out i had I.C with hunners

sending you hugs and prayers
Rhonda