i have some questions...

[Libra84]

this is my 2nd time posting, the last time I got some good advice, so thank you very much for helping me out with that. I was wondering, If I were to go to a new urologist, and give him/her my history and all my symptoms would it be possible for him/her to give me a prescription for something like elmiron and see if it helps at all? or is it not possible to do anything about this problem unless I have the cyctoscope thing done?? my delema is I am only 21 and I don't have health insurance...so doctor visits and the like are very expensive for me right now. I am very certain that IC is the answer to what i have been struggling with. I really don't know how much I can expect to be billed for such tests. can anyone tell me what I could do, or what to expect?thank you so much for any help!

[ICNDonna]

Some doctors are willing to make a diagnosis based on symptoms alone, but not all will do so. You might ask about a potassium sensitivity test to determine whether or not it's IC. That could be done in the office so you wouldn't have the expense of a hospital visit, anesthesia, etc.

I hope you are able to find some answers soon.

Donna

[patricia1]

I agree with Donna. There are some doctors out there that dont want to put their patients through what they consider "Invasive" so they diagnose on symptoms alone. Like she also said there is a PST (potassium sentivity test) that is done in the office that diagnose's IC. With my diagnose I had this done first. Not to bad. The insert a cather. then insert either plain water saline solution or potassium. They dont tell you which one is which though. A true IC bladder will react to the potassium as it burns and hurts. Usually it is then immed. drained and some numbing medicine inserted to conteract the potassium.

I understand about the lack of health insurance and trying to get meds, diag and treatments. It is hard. Also if you cant afford the Elmiron you can try and get it through the company at reduce or free to you. It depends on your income. Also are you trying the IC diet to see if it effects your bladder in anyway. If not you can find it in the patient handbook link at the top of the page. Also you can purchase Prelief over the counter to help when you eat something you should not have eaten or drunk. People usually take it before their meals.