Alternative remides available here in Oz

[*Jelly*]

Hi all,

I'm in brissy, and it's good to know there are others around with the same probs here. Basically, I was hoping we could share any alternate and over the counter remedies we have used to help treat our IC. I myself havent been diagnosed, but have had the symptoms for at least over 6 years now. From reading these boards, alot of things available to people oversea's arent here. So I was curious to see what others had discovered, for those who arent on any meds or suspect they have IC, to help manage in the meantime.

Myself, I've tried Ural, Citravesent, and Citravesent lite. Pretty much any urinary alkalinzer available at the chemist. Also antacids such as tums, and gavison. I've tried the ethical nutrients brand of urinary tract support, calcium citrate, blackmores herbal diruretics, Uva ursi herb capsules, oh and there was a product called urease a while back, but was discontinued. It was available at coles, to help with the symptoms of cystitis.

All these have helped but soon seem to stop doing much after a while. I need some new stratagies. Anyone found anything else?

[MarthaB]

Hi I'm in Brisbane too, I have also tried ural with terrible effects, my bladder burned like hell, also I just finished a bottle of urinary tract support, it did nothing, tried gaviscon and mylanta again nothing, I should mention that I have not been diagnosed with IC as yet, I'm going to try another urologist, do you know any good ones in Brissie??

[Rosalie]

Nice to meet you Jelly and another Brisbanite!
I tried Urinase, a herbal remedy, and it helped for a while and Im not sure if its still on the market. It went off during the 'Pan' fiasco.
My greatest stand by at the moment is the old bicarb in water trick. But because of the high sodium I try not to take it too often. I have Urethritis not IC but what works for IC works for me.

[ISONormal]

Can I jump in on this Aussie get together? How about: Pepcid, or Tagamet? Have you tried anything like that? I would imagine you all have that in Australia, right?

[Rosalie]

I haven't heard of either of those Isonormal,. Maybe some of the others have.

[MarthaB]

:) I agree that baking soda helps urethral burning, but it does absolutely nothing for my bladderpain, and that is my biggest problem at the moment, I need to find a good uro, one that has knowledge in IC and knows of treatments available, my current uro says he knows about IC but I doubt it, I won't be going back to him, I know I have IC because I am pretty much in pain everyday, and I have all the symptoms of IC and I react to certain foods, I haven't posted any threads much because the amount of replies I get it's just not worth my time.

And I know also that statistics show that it can take an average of 5 years to get a diagnosis, and approx 5 uro's to finally get one, I am just on painkillers at the moment and find my symptoms worsening, I hope '' Jelly"' will reply and I hope she knows of a good uro in Brisbane.

[deviation72]

:) And I know also that statistics show that it can take an average of 5 years to get a diagnosis, and approx 5 uro's to finally get one...

Eeek! It took me just under 2 years for diagnosis from the onset of the chronic symptoms, but only one uro - the same one I see now. That's not to say I didn't see a multitude of other specialists (including 2 gynos) before someone suggested my problems might be bladder related....

[MarthaB]

:) Kirsten, I know some people are fortunate enough to get a diagnosis pretty quickly, I am talking overall statistics, it also really depends on the uro, my uro doesn't really know to much about IC I think, he said the last time I saw him that of the 85 percent of people diagnosed with IC, less than half really had IC, it turned out to be something else,

[deviation72]

Martha, give "Jelly" time, it's only been a few days since their first post and not everyone gets internet access on a daily basis like us fortunate people. I myself often find it difficult to find time to regularly check in here...

Edited to add, 1.30pm: Fair enough Martha, glad you have heard from Jelly now.

[MarthaB]

:) It looks like I owe ''Jelly'' an apology she did send me an pm, and I am very grateful for that, thank you Jelly,

Kirsten, it is not that I didn't want to wait for an reply from ''Jelly'' but I was on late last night, and I knew she was actually logged in, so I send a pm hoping she would reply, but she must of logged of before she received it, and I just got a bit frustrated,

[angel08]

Hi :)

I am in Sydney and have just seen my second Uro here who I didn't like at all.
So my hunt for a nice understanding female specialist continues!

The last Uro has put me on,

Tagamet 200mg although it's still too early to tell if it will work as I have only been on it 1 week 2 x day.
Am also on Zyrtec 10mg 1 x night
Prelief ( although it makes me feel sickly)
Ural sachets 4 x day
Ditropan 5mg 2 x day
For pain I am on Tramadol as I need it.

I have also recently seen a Homeopath to help me with some natural treatments and I am considering Bowen Therapy soon too. Have decided there is no point in hanging around waiting for help to come to me! Have to get out there and find relief!!!!

[MarthaB]

:) Hi angel, I looked at the meds you are taking, how do you go with the ural?? I had a lot of bladderburning from it, I just finished a bottle of urinary tract support but found it did nothing at all, my husband suggested I go and see a homeopath, but I don't really believe in it to be honest, but to each their own.
I hope you can find a nice female urologist, it seems that most of them are male, by the way have you been diagnosed with IC?? oh and I am also on tramadol for the pain, I'm one of the lucky ones that don't experience side effects,

[angel08]

Hi Sheebah,
to be honest I think I will stop the Ural after this box as I just cant bear the taste, not too sure if it helps just took it to see what would happen really!

Maybe I will give the Urinary Tract support a go.....you are right why is it that all Uro's are middle aged men? If any one can pm me with a female Uro's name in Sydney that would be great!

I have been diagnosed with IC since October last year. Was not even aware of side effects on Tramadol, did try Codalgin Forte for a few days but I got chest pains from that so stopped, was very scary.

[MarthaB]

Hi Angel, yes tramadol, or ultram same thing different name can have serious side effects, my husband cannot tolerate it because his whole body itches all over, here is a link to the other side effects,
http://www.medicinenet.com/tramadol/article.htm,
also I use to take zoloft for depression and it too can be harmful if taken with tramadol, it can cause seizures, tramadol is also a mild antidepressant.
I have also used codalgin forte, but had no side effects with it.

[delie]

hi, can't believe there are some IC'S from Brizzy. I"ve had no luck with the uro, the one I had just told me to go home and live with it. There is a female uro working at greenslopes private I have the number at work with post it (wo"nt be back at work for 3 days). I did some resarch and asked by GP to put me on Tofranil (old style anti depressant) has helped with the frequency and pain, diid"Nt want to take Elmiron as has to many side effects and is not on the PBS list. Not going to bother seeing any more Uro's my GP is more helpful and listen's to me and is willing to prescribe what I ask. Do you guys know of any support goups in Brizzy? take care all delie

[deviation72]

Hi Delie,

Good choice with the Tofranil - have been on it nearly 4 years now and have gone from a total wreck, in constant pain with no sleep and 10+ trips to loo per night, to much reduced pain (some nights none at all) and only 2-3 trips to loo per night. If that doesn't work (give it a bit of time), try Endep, the other tricyclic antidepresant some of us Aussies are on. At least both Endep and Tofranil can be prescribed by a GP while you wait to find a decent uro who doesn't send you home to "live with it". That is [B]disgraceful. IC is not something you live with and it's medical professionals who dismiss it that makes it so much harder to get a diagnosis in the first place here!!

Good luck with it all,

[*Jelly*]

I should keep a closer eye on threads I start, whoops sorry everyone :) :bow: Anywho, I'm also back on tofranil, atm on 35mg, and using alternative therapys as well to try and help. But I need to go back to my gp again, I need to try something new for the pain. Without tofranil, its impossible to manage really so im grateful for that, but yeh, each time I walk into a pharmacy I hope I find something new to try.

Deviation72, does endep do the same sort of job as tofranil? can they be used together, is it better than tofranil? just curious, I want to try whatever I can to help with the pain. Officially i'm undiagnosed, my bladder appeared normal in a cysto and hydro I had, but I have the burning (damn my urethra :headbang: ) and frequency/urgency, for over 5 years now. Had another test recently, no uti's (if we had a dollar for everytime we had to pee in a jar..lol) Its driving me crazy. Also Im wondering how you guys handle work, like what do you do? Im jobhunting and this is disheartening.

As for alternatives, im back on ural, though im also taking citravesant (same dealio) i just got sick basically of the taste of ural. Im used to it but i think its past that point you know where you're pretty much over it, though for now its helping some. I've tried baking soda, but thats harder to get down, big gag reflex for me :( Is there any medication I should ask my doc about thats good for treating the ureathral burning? ( and acts fast too would be awesome) Close to finishing my bottle of urinary tract support, and I dont think i'll buy another. Marshmallow helped once, then that was it. Need new idea's. I feel that its very limited here as to overseas the products we can get otc. I might try inner health probiotics again.

Sheebah, I find it strange that your uro hasnt heard of IC, I mean you'd think they would have right? How'd it go with dr winkle, after I gave you his details. Been able to see him yet? He's at the mater private, very friendly understanding guy, and is meant to be the best uro in brissy I was told, for anyone looking for a new uro. If you want a phone number, I'll post it. Im curious to see who you guys see as well, and if they're any good.

my apologies guys for not replying, I do reply to pm's quickly though :)

[MarthaB]

:) Hi Deli, and nice to meet you, I have had only the one uro so far, and he was very nice but I don't think he knows to much about IC, I also had a cysto/hydro done in the mater redlands private hospital, he did find a mild inflamed bladder and a small bladder, but he said it isn't enough to diagnose me with IC, so in the meantime I am only on painkillers ( tramadol) when I need them,.... could I ask you what uro you had in brisbane?? I can put him on my ''don't see him'' list haha
Another ICer from Brisbane ''Jelly'' gave me a number from the uro she is seeing in the mater private, .... my gp is reluctant to sent me to another uro at the moment, he wants to try other things, but I am getting fed up so I am going to ask him to refer me to another uro, ( the one Jelly has) .... Deli I would really appreciate it if you could post the number for that female uro in greenslopes, the more uro's I know about in Brisbane the better, and if she is female even better!


oops sorry Jelly didn't see your post , we must of crossed posts, my first uro knows about IC but not enough, he did see a mild inflamed bladder on my cysto/hydro and I have a small bladder, but it didn't seem to worry him, and didn't offer any meds!
I have also finished a bottle of urinary tract support, and it didn't do a thing, I won't be buying it anymore either!
I did a urine test again about 3 or 4 weeks ago, and I haven't bothered to get the result, I know what it will say ''negative'' as always, the weird thing is I always have microscopic blood in mine, hhhmmm :hmm:

[deviation72]

Deviation72, does endep do the same sort of job as tofranil? can they be used together, is it better than tofranil? just curious, I want to try whatever I can to help with the pain.

Hi Jelly,

Endep does do the same sort of thing as Tofranil but unfortunately they can't be used together.

Hope this helps,

[Rosalie]

:welcome: Delie to the boards.

I am on Endep and it has made the world of difference. Also, the bicarb while it is revolting to take, works wonders as a quick fix for urethral burning. My kids laugh at me cause they know when I've taken it...they here the loud Blugh!!!!! from the kitchen but I don't care what it tastes like if it does the trick! :biglaugh:

[delie]

hi guys, thanks for the posts, I stopped using ural because it had artificial sweeteners in it and I figure they would irritate the bladder. Sheebah give the tofranil a try its relatively cheap and has been around along time. I spoke to Dr Sandra Cabot about using tofranil and that I did'nt want to be on it forever, she said why it won"t hurt you. I aways concerned about taking prescirption medicine long term side effects ect. Dr Cabot also recommended I take magnesium complete and selenuim, more to build the immune system I think, also high dose fish oil. I also take Gota Kota which is available and Jones the Grocers West End, Medi Herb and again is quite cheap. It has been reported to heal bladder tissue. Jelly, I'm a social worker, everyone in my office is aware of my IC they saw me go from a fit gym going person to a total weck, I be crying every night in the car on the way home wondering how I was going to keep working and freaky out that I would"nt be able to, again thanks to the tofranil I can, don"t get me wrong its still there but more discomfort than screaming pain. i asked a nurse at work why no uro's were female she said it can be very physical and you need strengh for the guys stuff?? I will post the female Uro as soon as I am back at work.
take care. nice to hear from you delie

[MarthaB]

:) Hi Deli, I looked up tofranil and found it is a antidepressant, I just came of antidepressants after 11 years so I really don't want to go back on another one, also I found that tofranil has quite a few side effects and I also do not want to put up with that anymore, I had withdrawel symptoms with the zoloft I took for so long, and I am glad it's out of my system now, don't get me wrong I am all for antidepressants it saved my life, but after 11 years of the other stuff, I had enough.... surely there has to be something else available without horrid side effects??

[delie]

Hi sheebah, totally understand, have you come across any of the sides about ***** *******, I have been interested for a while, google - interstitial cystitis a road to recovery - I have been thinking about giving it a go , figure it would cost about $3000 for year treatment - see what you think delie

[MarthaB]

:) Thanks Deli, I couldn't affort to pay for that treatment, I don't work so we are living on the one income, maybe I will find something else that is not so expensive, but thanks anyway :)

[delie]

Hi, yes it is expensive and I'm in two minds myself. Some other options are solving the interstitial cystitis puzzle by Amrit Willis available on amazon.com the books goes through an alkalizing diet with some success - http.www.icpuzzle.com. Also catherine ******'s book interstitial cystitis along the healing path available on Amazon.com - her web site http://www.ic-hope.com. Also www.evenbetternow.com. All look at natural ways.

Janell Munns female uro
private rooms
greenslopes private hospital
newdegate st
ph 3397 2634

I think the alkalizing diet is worth looking in to, tuff but

cheers delie

[deviation72]

:) Hi Deli, I looked up tofranil and found it is a antidepressant, I just came of antidepressants after 11 years so I really don't want to go back on another one, also I found that tofranil has quite a few side effects and I also do not want to put up with that anymore, I had withdrawel symptoms with the zoloft I took for so long, and I am glad it's out of my system now, don't get me wrong I am all for antidepressants it saved my life, but after 11 years of the other stuff, I had enough.... surely there has to be something else available without horrid side effects??

Martha,

I totally understand your feelings about anti-depressants. But while Tofranil is an antidepressant, it is one of the older class ones and is very different to the newer ones like Zoloft etc - believe me, I was on Effexor for a while and coming off it was one of the worst experiences of my life. The dosages of Tofranil and Endep for IC are also very low (usually between 10 - 50mg) - for depression they are much higher according to my urologist. I've heard that coming off things like Tofrail and Endep is very different than the new anti-d's. I have to admit I have never tried to come off Tofranil and given the difference I feel now compared to before my diagnosis of IC and going on Tofranil, I probably will be on it forever. I couldn't survive each day without it. For me its the difference between sheer agony, no sleep and horrendous frequency to now having pain only every few nights that is relieved by nurofen plus and a heating pad, more sleep and only 2 trips to the loo a night.

[delie]

Hi, I"m with you Kirsten I would not be able to manage without the tofranil. With tofranil at least I can live mylife. cheers delie

[MarthaB]

:) Hi, Kisten and Deli, I have to see my dr soon, so I will ask him about tofranil, I use to take zoloft 50 mg a day, I think is the lowest dose available, ....so what exactly does the tofranil do??..... I don't have frequency, but I have urgency, like it comes on really sudden and I have to find a toilet asap, during the night is terrible, on a good night I go maybe twice, on a bad night 5 times and I am bursting and it's very painful!
My bladder does get sore, but it's nowhere near as bad as before my cysto/hydro, that gave me a lot of relief!
I also have the urethral pain and sometimes the stabbing pain with it, but the baking soda takes care of that most of the time.
So do you guys think I will find relief with the tofranil?? I really do not mean to dismiss any suggestions you make, if you think the tofranil will help me I am willing to give it a try,

[deviation72]

Hi Martha,

For me, Tofranil reduced the urgency, pain and frequency - and by urgency I had exactly the same thing as you, and at night I would often go to the toilet, get back in bed, only to feel like I needed to go again badly. That is now gone. I have gone from 10+ trips to the toilet at night to about 2, I have gone from chronic pain that kept me awake most of the night and wasn't relieved by any pain medication to mild pain relieved by a heating pad and Nurofen Plus (most of the time), and the urgency is significantly reduced.

Hope this helps,

[MarthaB]

:) Thanks Kirsten, for the explanation, if you don't mind I would like to ask one more thing, what side effects did you get with tofranil, is weightgain a big issue?? I'm asking because I lost weight when I stopped zoloft, I am now back in a size 12 jeans with I haven't been able to do in years, :woohoo: , when I was on zoloft my weight just wouldn't shift, no matter what I did, I was never really big, never over size 14 but I was never really happy with the excess weight, so I surpose what I am asking is did you gain weight with tofranil?? what about you Deli??
thanks again Kirsten,

[deviation72]

Hi Martha,

To be honest, I'm not sure if Tofranil has contributed to my own weight gain, as there are a number of other factors about why I put on about 8kg a couple of years ago (that I an now again losing, hurrah!). I'm currently down one size after a concerted effort to lose weight, and have found it a little harder to shift the weight this time but I was blaming that on being mid 30s rather than on the Tofranil!

[Ronald]

Hi to all up the top end I am in Melbourne, I am a male and have had IC for 14 years I've been in hospital 27 times in the last 8 years for various procedures including BCG.
I am no better now than I was from day one, so I have given up on all the procedures and I just take pain killers. I still go to my Uro and he is very good and my local Doc.
I have had it very bad it even ruined my Prostate and I had surgery which has left me incontinent as well.
I now take "Oxycontin" which is the most powerful pain killer you can get here, it is a Narcotic Drug and has to be referred by two Docs. but it helps with pain which gets very severe.
I tried Elmiron but it did no good and was to expensive for me to buy.
So I just go on day by day and hope there will be something new in the future.

Hope the storms subside in Brizzy.
Good luck to you all and I hope something works out in the future.

Ronald

[Rosalie]

:welcome: Ronald
Nice to see another Melbournian on the boards. You sure sound like you have been through an awful lot to not at least have found something to help you. Have you tried the Ic diet or any of the other suggestions for help here on the boards?
I don't actually have IC but anything that works for IC works for my urethritis. Things like the bicarb soda in water, the heat bags and using a dohnut cushion got me though some difficult times while waiting for a diagnosis and eventually going on Endep.
Hopefully you will find some ideas that may help. One thing is for sure and that is the friendship and support you will find on these boards.
I noticed in your profile that you are interestd in digital photography. There is a forum on Arts, Crafts and hobbies and we have a very lively thread on photography. It can get off track at times but I have learned so much from the photographers there. We also post many of our pictures and would love to see you over there some time and see some of your work.
Its good at times to concentrate on something other than our bladders!

[*Jelly*]

Hey everyone. I've had problems accessing this site, why I'm not sure, anyone else had this as well? Anyway argh I'm in another flare :( went to the docs today, got antibiotics. I think they're helping, thank god. Spent most of today on the toilet, havent done that in ages, Legs were going numb from sitting there so long.

On the plus side I have a new job I start late next week, but this flares got me worried about it. Its a sales assistant job, my new boss seems quite nice. How does everyone here handle work? have you chosen to tell your employers? It's something i'm debating, I mean its not easy to tell someone this, especially when alot of them look at you like ure crazy.

Just looking still for some painkillers to try. Was going to try advil, but it has ibuproven, which is supposed to be an irritant. So im stumped. Are things like pyridium, Urostat available here? My gp's running out of idea's too, and im thinking of going back to my uro, even though I stumped him as well. They just dunno what I have exactly :S (my bladders normal apparently but i've had ic symptoms for 6+ years now) I'm positive my symptoms have progressed, as sex now sets off flares :( never has before. So i'm pretty unsure of the future for me atm. Dont know what to do.

Hope everyone else is managing and doing fine :)

[*Jelly*]

*warning big vent ahead*:lmao:, :headbang:

Actually, you know what, I'm kinda ****** atm. After waiting to hear from the Mater hospital for a 2nd cysto and hydro, which was meant to go down months ago, and hearing nothing, wasted months, wasted money on "alternative" therapies, and generally getting no-where slowly, I'm sick of it.

I DO NOT accept that I have to live with this pain, NO ONE has too. I've asked and asked for other treatments to try, but i'm told there's nothing, which is bull especially after reading all the different meds others take. Wheather whats available here is limited I dont know, But im sick of it. I want a good doctor, some answers and an official diagnosis on what I have. Its gotten worse from all this waiting and stuffing around. Now I have relationship worries on top of work and everything else.

I'd like to know more on good doctors, who to avoid, and prescribed meds to ask about here in brissy, and the rest of Australia too for everyone else. Has anyone gotten anywhere with doctors and treatments offered to them? Also, if anyone wants to get together and have a big whinge about this (like im doing now :P ) that would be great. I'm making sure i'm more active on these boards these days.

ugh I'm gonna go downstairs now and kick something. I'm 23, and this is clouding my future really.

[MarthaB]

:) Jelly, I'm so sorry that they are putting you through this crap, I wish I could give you a name for a doctor here in Brissie, but so far I am haven't seen anyone who knows much about IC, my dr is pretty easygoing and I asked him to put me on endep, ( it's the australian version of elavil) and he said ok, if you want to try it's fine with me! anyway, I have only been on endep since last saturday so I can't really tell yet if it's helping, but I definately sleep better, I'm only on the 5 mg to start with, and I can up it later on if I want too.
If you want me to give you the name of the doc i'm seeing, I'm happy to pm you, just let me know!

Ps, make sure whatever you kick is really ugly and you no longer want, hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, i've done that a few times and later regretted it, LOL :biglaugh:

[*Jelly*]

lol thanks Martha, ahh i've chilled a bit now, It was just getting to me, I hate flares that drag and you have no idea when the ends in site. I'm on tofranil atm, and i think it clashes with endep.

[Rosalie]

Jelly, next time you need something to kick, let me know and I'll send my hubby up there..you can kick him all you like..Hahahaa

[deviation72]

Hi Jelly,

Sorry to hear things have been a bit rough for you. I know how you feel - my first 2 years of living with IC was hell. But please be assured that eventually you will find the right Dr, the right treatment, and the right ways of dealing with it all. I mostly take Nurofen Plus for pain and it helps me... I didn't know ibuprofen was supposed to irritate! Its the only thing of the many pain meds (over the counter and prescription) that seems to work consistently for me. I also avoid things in my diet that irritate my bladder and that also helps enormously - have you tried elminating things that are quite acidic yet? [Sorry if you've already mentioned these things, its late and I haven't looked through the earlier posts]. I cut out all citrus juices, including my favourite drink, pineapple juice, and all citrus fruits, and have minimised my consumption of caffeine, tomatoes,and many of the other things in the IC diet, and it has really helped. Have you also tried using a heating pad over the bladder area? I use a small wheat bag that I heat up in the m/wave and that plus 2 Nurofen Plus will minimise any major flares, at least to the point of getting [I]some rest. Sorry if these are all things you are already trying.... I just hate to read on here about my fellow Aussies suffering when so many IC treatments aren't available here.... Do hang in there, and please know that everyone here (aussie and everyone else) feel your pain and will try and help you as much as they can. I was diagnosed in 2002 after nearly 2 years of symptoms and if it wasn't for the wonderful people here I don't know what I would have done.

[*Jelly*]

Rosalie, lol bit of a bother is he? well you have support here if he's not doing enough for you :)

Hey deviation72, thanks for the advice. Yeh I've eliminated very acidic foods from my diet for a while now. I miss soft drinks, but i'm better off without all that sugar really. My boyfriend drinks them alot and it makes me a little sad, but then again I can have icecream and he can't, so it's not that bad :lol:

I havent tried nurofen plus, just normal nurofen, which is good for other aches. I take it with some tums to avoid any irritation. (orange flavour tums are very nice, you can get them at coles as well as pharmacy's) I've tried advil, but foud even with water the capsules hard to swallow, anyone else found that?

Good news is though the antibiotics are helping, and I'm feeling very close to normal. Feeling up to my normal exersize routine, and much more confident about working tommorow. Made an appointment to see my uro, though its a little bit of a wait. I hope this keeps up when I finish the course of anti's, but we'll see. I'm glad for the good days I have. I'll work there as long as i'm able to. Thanks for the support :) I apprieciate it so very much!

Hope everyones doing well still, and if your not, I hope we can all help :grouphug:

[MarthaB]

:) Hi Kirsten, I read your last post and noticed you take nurofen plus, I bought some yesterday and they seem to help somewhat, do you worry that they might cause stomach ulcers because of the aspirin?? I really appreciate your opinion on this,

[delie]

hi MarthB, sorry, hav"nt posted for a while, have been on hoildays, Ifound the the tofranil had little affect on my weight, as kirsten said its a old class anti depressant and has minimal side effects, alittle sedating at first but this settles quickly. I try to eat a very healthy diet anyway just need to start doing some exercise now as your metabolism sure slows down as you get older lots of luck delie

[*Jelly*]

I had my first day on my new job today. The job is fine, great boss, other people seem ok. My ic on the other hand, :shake: only there half an hour and it flared. Was just able to get thru the day, took god knows how many tums. came home and burst into tears. I feel bad at possibly wasting my bosses time. I wasnt nervous or worried about the job either. I dont know what to do now, apart from finding a temp job in an office where i'm sitting down not aggrovating the problem. Any advice guys? :help:

[deviation72]

Hi Martha,

About the Nurofen Plus, I do worry a bit about the effect it has on my stomach but always try to take it with food or on a full stomach. I wish I could take other things but nothing helps, not even Mersyndol/Panadeine Forte. Maybe I should be worrying more about using it all the time .... :hmm:

Jelly, I'm not sure what to advise regarding work. Would it have been first day stress? I tend to flare when I'm stressed at work. But I am lucky enough to have a mostly sit down job and an office of my own (and an old microwave and a heating pad for those day-time flares). Do pain killers help, as well as the Tums? I keep a stash of painkillers in my handbag and drawer just in case. Someone here (Rosalie, I think?) was talking once about a special chair cushion designed for people with bladder issues. I think they sell them in the ICN Shop... maybe you could use something like that on your breaks (if it's possible and not too embarassing, of course.) I'm sure others here will have better suggestions that might help a bit as well. Hope you're feeling OK soon,

[*Jelly*]

No it wasnt stress, as I wasnt worried. I'd been there before, and had an idea of what was needed of me. Pain killers dont do much for me unfortunatly. I might look for a sit down job, if im not running around all the time I can controll it better.

[Rosalie]

Jelly, I got my ring cushion at the chemist. It is meant for people with haemaroids but it worked wonders for me. The cushion is a blow up job so you can fill it to whatever amount suits you.
Alas, mine has sprung a bit of a leak at the moment and I have to reinflate it most days. Guess I'll just have to get another one. They are around $20. Hope this helps.

[MarthaB]

:) Thanks Kirsten, I found the nurofen plus helps for about 2 hours, and then I feel the pain coming back in full force, I've tried just about every painkiller, some work at first and then the body gets used to it and it doesn't work anymore!

Jelly, sorry I wish I could help, Rosalie's suggestion about the cushion is worth a try!

[delie]

jelly, sorry to hear about your difficult day at work, what meds are you on for your IC ?, you may have said but I have forgotten. My work can be tricky at times because I have to go on homevists and can get stuck in traffic wanting to go to the loo or at clients houses and having to use the loo all the time. Probably would"nt be able to do it with out the tofranil. Hang in there my first 18 months off IC were really rough but things have improved somewhat take care delie

[*Jelly*]

i've had this for 6 years, and I think it's progressing a little delie. Just on tofrail really, oh and on 2 antibiotics as well. Might give nurofen plus a go. As for the cushion, I think I have one of those, except made of foam. Gotta try what I can :)

[delie]

poor darling this disease does suck, is it worth increasing the tofranil I'm on 100mg, have you though about elmiron? delie

[*Jelly*]

100mg, hmm im only on 35. Do you get really bad dry mouth at all from the increased dose?

[delie]

hi jelly, no I don't seem to, (for depression they go up to 150mg, some times even 200mg) so 100mgs is not a huge dose, I found I was getting alittle depressed with the disease anyway. It does mean you go through them as they are only 25mg tabs, my doctor gets me double the amount at a time for the same price, has to phone somebody to do this, otherwise I have to go to the Dr to often, anyway might be worth ago, 50 mgs didnt cut for me nor did 75mgs, increase slowly so you can get use to the sedation - I get no side effects good luck delie

[*Jelly*]

ah so it makes you drowsy the increased dose? im sleepy enough as it is :lol: I'll talk to my uro about it when I see him. Yeh i've had a bit of depression, as im sure most of us have had with this condition.

[delie]

only at first jelly, good luck anyway delie