Does IC feel like this to any of you?

[IHAVETOGO]

I have my 2nd appt. with the Urologist on Tuesday. I have had three urine cultures so far. Been on two rounds of treatment, Septra and Augmentin XR (both provided relief for a short time). Urine tests have comed out with only trace amounts of leukocytes and something else but no red blood cells in urine. They did further testing which took two days and no bacteria. My last urine test was yesterday. Only thing was urine was very alkaline. That's because I take Protonix for GERD.

However, today from 6 am to 9:30 p.m., I have went to the restroom 28x!!!! I feel like I have to go so bad onlly to sit on the toilet and have a few drops only. I did take some Uristat.

Is this what IC feels like? I am quite worried!!! Please let me know if any of you have felt this way.


angela

[IHAVETOGO]

Please accept my apologies. :bow:

[Annie2]

Hi, Angela. :welcome: to the ICN! You will find this site full of valuable information and very helpful and supportive people.

I take it you have NOT been diagnosed with IC. Right? The symptoms you describe are those experienced by some ICers but there are many other things that can cause the same symptoms. One thing you said stood out to me. You said your urine is alkaline. When urine is alkaline, a true infection is a distinct possibility. Infections are usually a little less likely if urine is slightly acidic.

There are two kinds of tests the doctor usually does for infection. One is "dip stick" test. That is a basic urinalysis that checks for certain things in the urine that indicate an infection might be present. It is just a quick test done right in the doctor's office and gives you results immediately. It is not extremely accurate and only tells if there might be an infection. The only way to tell if there really is an infection is to do a full urine culture. This involves sending your urine sample to a lab, putting your urine in a culture dish, waiting a couple of days to see if bacteria grow and then checking to see exactly what type of bacteria are present, if any, and which antibiotic would be best to get rid of that kind of bacteria. The results of this full urine culture are not available right away. You have to wait a few days to get these results back from the lab.

Most of the tests you describe here sound like the quick one done in the doctor's office. The one you said took a few days was probably the full urine culture. Sometimes, if an infection is just getting started, the full culture results can come back negative. However, if another full culture is done just a little later, the bacteria will have had more time to grow and this second culture will then come back positive. You said you had a culture done yesterday. Was this a full culture and you are still waiting to get the results? From what you have said here, I would guess that is the case. If that is true, there is a chance you really do have an infection.

How long has all this been going on? I wouldn't be too quick to jump into thinking it is IC. I know the symptoms are very uncomfortable and waiting is hard. If this second urine culture comes back negative for bacteria, then I think you would want to talk to your doctor about other things that could be causing your symptoms as well as IC.

I hope the Uristat you are taking will help provide you with some relief. And I hope you will find there is no cause for concern about IC and that you are quickly back to feeling great!

We are all here to help one another. Though we are not physicians and can't give medical advice, we are glad to share our IC experiences and will do our best to answer questions you may have.

[ICNJess]

Hi there,

Annie already gave you some great info, but I would like to share my experience with IC with you. I am not sure if you have this or not, so please keep in mind this was just my IC.

I would pee upwards of 40 times a day, and I'd have it worse at night. I would run to the bathroom to just get a few drops out. My bladder ALWAYS felt irritated and it was a NIGHTMARE!!! If I sat very still and relaxed my bladder as much as humanly possible (and that included leaning forwards and just waiting) eventually some more urine would make it's way out. Ughh...

Good luck to you, I am not saying this is typical of IC because some ICer's don't have that, but that was just my story. I hope you don't have IC!

Hugs,
Jess

[vm]

That does sound a lot like what my symptoms were like. :( As Annie said - there are other conditions that can lead to similar symptoms so it's important to work with a good uro to find out what is causing all your discomfort. Good luck. :kissing:

[~*~Christine~*~]

:welcome:

That sounds like a bad flare you got there! The best thing to do when that happens is either take some pain medication or/and use a heating pad
Besides that, it's just an annoying thing ICers have to "put up" with :headbang:

[ICNDonna]

It does sound like what you "might" have is IC. However, there are other possibilities so it's a good idea to see a urologist towards a diagnosis.

The Patient Handbook at http://www.ic-network.com/handbook gives information on symptoms and diagnosis, as well as many treatment options. I do think putting yourself on an IC diet (it's in the handbook) to see if it helps with symptoms. You'll want to stop drinking sodas, coffee, and acid juices at least. Many times infection patients are advised to drink cranberry juice, which can help prevent infection, but are usually the worst possible thing for interstitial cystitis.

Sending healing thoughts,
Donna

[emilyrose197377]

:welcome: to the Icn. I know how you feel I am the queen of retention. You are in my prayers.

Kim

[IHAVETOGO]

:rolleyes: No, I have not been diagnosed with anything as of yet. On July 16th, I was diagnosed with a bladder infection. However, when they did the more extenstive testing, it only showed trace amounts of bacteria (I had taken antibiotics previous to the initial testing).

This last time, my new physician (who had the bedside manner of a doorknob!) said he would not run the extensive test unless the immediate test showed results. His answer was to return in two weeks if it was still bothering me. Two weeks!!!!

I called my urologist and will be seeing him on Tuesday. It's Saturday now and God only knows how I will make it to Tuesday. We are selling our home and our having open house today and tomorrow. I have to be out of the house for three hours each day. Yesterday I went to the bathroom 28x. I am cringing at the thought of this occuring today while I am out of the house! I'm not a fan of public bathrooms to begin with.

My husband has been pretty insenstive about the whole thing. I think we are both under a lot of stress with buying one house and selling this one but he can't understand that I truly don't feel good. His response is "Well, go to the doctor". No duh!

Anyway, I will keep of you posted!

Thanks again.

Angela


p.s. Depends seem awful tempting right about now!

[Sarojini]

Yeah, I had that kind of frequency/urgency too. I used to go to the bathroom between 25-35 times a day, but luckily, with treatment, that number has dropped significantly. I also had/have a lot of bladder pain. Like the others said, IC is different for everyone -- some just always "have to go", some just have pain, and others end up with both!

I hope you can get this sorted out soon. Good luck at the urologist's office and I hope you can get some answers there! :grouphug:

[Annie2]

I think I better understand what is going on. Thanks for clearing that up! Pardon me but I was a little slow on the uptake last night. It was late but I didn't want to go to bed and leave your post unanswered. I have to agree with the others, it does sound a little more like IC now but there is still a chance you do have an infection or something else causing your symptoms. Only a doctor can determine that.

Moving is such a stressful thing! We ICers know how much worse our symptoms can become when we are under lots of stress. Even people with healthy bladders can have increased frequency when their stress levels go up. I know you can't just will the stress away, but doing all you can to keep it at a minimum will help. Listening to favorite music, taking a few minutes to put your feet up and read or watch a movie or taking a relaxing hot shower can help.

You have been given many good tips here and I just want to add a few more ideas. First of all, Donna gave you important advice about reading the Patient Handbook on this site. I would like to second this suggestion. Read and learn as much as you can, but don't try to read and learn it all at once. It can be absolutely overwhelming if you do that! Also, Donna suggested you start the IC diet right away and that is a great suggestion! For many of us, following the diet is the best self-help tool we have. Even if you don't have IC, your bladder is obviously irritated and following the diet will reduce irritation and, hopefully, help decrease your symptoms.

If at all possible, try and get your husband to accompany you to your appointment with the urologist on Tuesday. Many of us find our husbands become much more understanding when they speak with the doctor and hear what the doctor has to say. Also, you might want to print some info on IC and bladder problems and ask your husband to read it.

If, over the next few days, you would keep a voiding diary (just a simple record noting the time of day each time you have to void and an approximation of the amount you void ---a few drops or a couple of ounces etc), take it with you to your appointment and show it to the doctor, it will help him to understand the severity of your symptoms. If your husband goes with you, he can verify that this diary reflects what's going on with you. I hope you have a good urologist who you feel comfortable working with. Unfortunately, some urologists are more focused on male issues and tend to just brush us off as complaining women. Having a voiding diary (and hubby with you, too, if possible) might help to make the doctor take you more seriously.

Have you tried using a heating pad? Some of us find that a heating pad placed over the bladder is very soothing to the bladder and calms it down a bit. One last suggestion, drink lots of water! Many of us immediately think we should drink less to cut down the number of times we have to run to the bathroom. If we do that, however, our urine becomes more concentrated and that just increases the irritation in the bladder which then signals us to empty it more often.

I certainly hope it turns out you do have an infection that can quickly be taken care of! Please keep us posted and let us know how you are doing.

[Prinny Joy]

I'm so sorry that is what you are going through. Before I was diagnosed, that is what it was like for me. I got to the point where I stopped flushing the toilet so much cause I went so often and didn't want to waste so much water. It was making me crazy! After I got the intersim, the frequency got better, at that point I did have pain but wasn't as bad as the frequency. Hope that helps as I know what that feels like. PEACE and JOY JOY JOY

[Mikaela]

I have not been officially diagnosed yet but that is about how I feel. NIght time is the worst for me. I have missed a week and half of work... I am sure they do not understand. Waiting to get an appointment with urologist... pfttttttttttt might take like 6 months I am told. Meanwhile I am going insane. OK sorry.. didnt mean to sound so pathetic. Take care everyone!!