pain in morning?

[sciencechick]

Has anyone ever noticed that their IC pain is worse in the morning and right before bed? I was thinking that maybe I was waiting too long at night to get up and pee (my bed is too cozy and warm) and that was causing me morning pain. What could it be in the evening? Is it just that I run all day and once I stop, I notice it more? Does anyone else go through this?

Jen

[tcbc1989]

I have the same problem...mornings are rough..especially when I am trying to get the kids ready for school. And then about 6PM- while I am trying to prepare dinner, help with homework and anything else that needs to be done before they leave for karate....I have to take my pain meds at 5PM or no one eats!!!
I try to keep myself well hydrated with water which seems to help with the pain, but everyday is the same....I thought it was just me!
Tina C. hi

[tigger_gal]

Tina,
I think we have twin bladders scream ggggggrrrrr ya know they do heart transplants, liver transplnats they can reattach fingers, toes, and, arms and legs... why can't they do a bladder transplant????? ok needed to get that one out!
hope your feeling better :) I just got up will feel somewhat better in an hour....
Brat

[auntiedeb]

I feel worse in the afternoon and going to bed for some reason maybe cause I am on my feet all day. Hope you feel better soon.

[firstmate]

I can certainly relate to you, Deb. I feel fine in the morning, sometimes just tired if I didn't get a good night's sleep. The afternoons and evenings are my worst. I feel, though, that putting my feet up usually helps.

[Katrina]

Same here. I thought at night it was my body getting and being at a weaker state and morning from holding it and being more acidic (since also haven't eaten for hours). Both not good times theese days. I have tried taking some calcium every morning at nght, is helping with the morning pain...(maybe I need to rest more?? to help for the nighttime?)

Hope you find ways to relieve some of that pain.

[readingmom]

I thought that I was alone on this too. Mornings are worse for me. Now that I think about it, I used to take a little baking soda in water in the a.m. Maybe you can try that, Deb. I just try to get moving. Also, taking a bath in the morning can help, if you are able to do that. Christie

[liz2]

Morning are not my best time either. At night when I first get in bed I have trouble. I have to give my body time to settle down.

[CoyoteMystro]

I dunno why, but I also have more Bladder pain in the morning hours and right when I'm trying to sleep.

It upsets me so much because I'm so tired, but as soon as I lay down in the bed, my bladder just feels like I gotta urinate so strongly, even though it's empty and I have a catheter to void the urine if it gets full. Thankfully the pain goes away fifteen to a half hour later.

I even take pain medications before I go to sleep to help it but it doesn't make the pain go away completely. frown

[ICyuck]

I read somewhere once - wish I could remember where - that inflammation in the body is worst at night and early in the morning because that is when the body's cortisol production is at the lowest. Cortisol is the anti-inflammatory the body makes. That's why people often have the worst allergy symptoms at night and in the morning too, because the body's natural anti-inflammatory/calming chemical is at its lowest then.

Love, ICY

[ICyuck]

I didn't find the article about cortisol production being lowest at night, but I did find an article that kind of explains about the role of the adrenal glands with cortisol production and thought this might be of interest to some people because of the recent research done on cats showing cats with IC to have much smaller than normal adrenal glands and a lowered production of cortisol and other adrenal chemicals in response to stress....

XXXXXX

Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune disease is a process in which the white blood cells of the immune system attack one or more parts of the body as if they were the enemy.

This disorder is much more likely to occur in people with Adrenal Fatigue and can range from mild to life threatening.

Cortisol, one of the primary hormones secreted by the adrenal glands, normally exerts anti-inflammatory control over autoimmune reactions, but in autoimmune disease, cortisol levels are inadequate for the degree of reaction taking place in particular tissues or locations in the body.

This is one of the reasons why strong corticosteroids (prednisone, prednisolone, etc.) are used with all diseases involving inflammatory processes, including autoimmune diseases. These drugs imitate the anti-inflammatory effects of cortisol, although unfortunately with some very serious undesirable side effects. In Adrenal Fatigue, cortisol output drops below normal, making the body more susceptible to autoimmune and inflammatory reactions.

Cortisol not only affects the redness and swelling of inflammation but also influences the activity of the white blood cells. Cortisol can be viewed as sustaining life through two opposite but related kinds of regulatory actions: releasing and activating existing defense mechanisms of the body and shutting down and modifying the same mechanisms to prevent them from overshooting and causing damage or cell death.

If this regulation is defective during stress, as in Adrenal Fatigue when cortisol output is lower than needed, an animal can be endangered or even die because its defense mechanisms cannot react or because they overreact. When the body is stressed cortisol is also needed to restrain various physiological mechanisms, to prevent them from damaging the body. This damping down action of cortisol can also be seen in the way cortisol modifies the immune response to control the amount of inflammation in the involved tissues and suppress potentially toxic chemicals secreted by white blood cells, thus protecting the body from autoimmune processes and uncontrolled inflammation.

Cortisol is so important that when the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis cannot increase cortisol activity in response to stress (as in Adrenal Fatigue), these unrestrained mechanisms overshoot and can damage the body. For detailed information about how to support your adrenals read Dr. Wilson's book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome and check out Programs for Adrenal Recovery on this website.

[Peta]

I don't sleep much at night anyway. I have to go at least 10 times before I might fall asleep. I also have to move around to get comfortable so there is no pressure on my bladder. I do find that it is worse in the mornings. I often wake up in pain around 2am and then again at 3am, 5am and have to get up other wise I will kepp getting the sensation and pain. I have stayed away from taking sleeping tablet and I am trying other natural methods. I will have some success some day! Keep hangin in there.

Peta wink

[Peta]

I don't sleep much at night anyway. I have to go at least 10 times before I might fall asleep. I also have to move around to get comfortable so there is no pressure on my bladder. I do find that it is worse in the mornings. I often wake up in pain around 2am and then again at 3am, 5am and have to get up other wise I will kepp getting the sensation and pain. I have stayed away from taking sleeping tablet and I am trying other natural methods. I will have some success some day! Keep hangin in there.

Peta wink

[Zanni2]

For pain and inflammation I find Ibuprofen helpful. It's not perfect but it helps diminish my bladder pain and pressure to a minimum. For a bad IC flare-up I also take a Pyridium tablet and a couple capsules of Echinachia/Goldenseal. Recently I started taking a supplement of Glusosamine/Chondroitin/MSM every day. That's supposed to be good for inflamation but it takes time to work (about a month), but hopefully once it works then I won't need to take so much Ibuprofen.

I would also notice what foods, drinks and substances (if any) irritate your bladder. My enemies are spices, seasonings, caffeine and acids.

Tare care,

Zanni2 angel

[kadi]

Hello,
If I get up in the middle of the night to pee (which I usually do), I take my Elmiron with 8oz water then- spaces the pills out better (I'm a teacher & can't take meds in front of the kids - a problem when our breaks & lunch time are so rigid) & it has the benefit of diluting the urine so morning pain is much less... Also rinsing off during & after first urination in morning helps (perineal wash bottle).

I wouldn't be getting this much sleep if it weren't for the Elavil 10mg & Ditropan 5mg I take before bed, because my bladder spasms when I lie down. It does take a little while of lying on my side with pillow between knees & listening to audiocassetes to calm it down enough to sleep.

Good luck, hope something in here helps!

[yorkiegirl]

Your posts make a lot of sense. I, too, have a rough time in the morning, starting about 4:00 a.m. and increasing until I finally give up and get up. Uro told me that urine backs up into the bladder at night; he had me elevate my bed by 6". Hasn't helped at all. Personally, I think it's because I sleep soundly for a few hours without going to the bathroom as often as I do during the day. I've always thought that if I could set my alarm every hour and get up to void, the pain would diminish. However, I can't tolerate the sleep interruption. So I awake every morning in terrible pain. It feels like my whole body has been traumatized, I'm weak and shaky and in pain. Sometimes wears off, sometimes it's just a bad day all day.