What to do to keep bladder from shrinking..

[Dees1977]

I had a hydro/cysto June 1st.. I had some pin-point bleeding..but a normal bladder capacity.. I am now on 50 mgs of Elavil at night.. Is my bladder going to shrink? How do I keep it from shrinking? This question may sound stupid..but I was just wondering. Thanks :loco:

[Katrina]

I think the best thing you can do is bladder training.....other than that take something that helps to coat the bladder....there are natural choices in the ICN store
http://www.icnshop.com/ Also Follow the IC diet. Bladder training isn't something I recommend if you are in pain though....
There is information on bladder trianing in the handbook http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/

There are not stupid questions.....and anything we learn that may help ourselves is way worth it. Remember everytime you ask a question here you may also be helping some people that haven't yet had the guts to join the board but are trying to learn.

:grouphug:

[K9wife]

The question is definitely NOT stupid....no questions here are! One of the biggest inconvenience factors with IC is the small capacity and frequent potty trips. There are quite a few resources here and on other websites about bladder training and how to do it properly. I guess the most obvious is drink, drink, drink, and hold it as long as you can...of course that means enduring some pain sometimes, and most of us don't like any part of that. My capacity is down right now to 25-50 ccs.....about the size of a baby's I'm guessing!
Be glad you have a good capacity, and enjoy every day of it!