Newbie... Newly Diagnosed with IC.

[amymomof3cuties]

Hello everyone, my name is Amy. I am so glad I found this forum and that I am not alone. Not that I like that anyone else is in pain (of course), but that other people understand.

Anyway... I was just diagnosed with IC at the end of August '07. I have been experiencing, what I thought was, frequent UTI's since 2005. Finally, I was referred to a Urologist in April. My doctor ordered the Urodynamics, Cat, and finally the Cystoscopy with hydrodistention. I am currently taking Elmiron 3x a day. It has been a month and I seem to be experiencing worse bladder spasms than ever. I've been fortunate not to have a bad flare-up for about 1 1/2 months. I just started taking Prelief a few days ago.

I get up about 4 times a night, so I really miss a good night's sleep. I would cut back on the water I drink, in the evening, but my bladder feels icky if I do. The most irritating (literally) thing now are the spasms and urgency... especially at night and when I'm out of the house. I get really depressed when I think about how trapped I feel. Everytime I go to the bathroom, I'm afraid of the burn I get during flare-ups.

[ICNDonna]

:welcome: to the IC Network. I'm very sorry you have IC, but glad you found us. You'll want to read the information in the Patient Handbook and get yourself on an IC diet if you aren't already. That single step can make a huge difference.

Sending healing thoughts,
Donna

[leelee88]

Hello and :welcome:
The more you ask here on the ICN the more you will learn, so ask away:smile tee ..

[GriffsMommy]

:welcome: to the IC Network. I'm sorry you were diagnoised with IC but glad you found out site. There is so much support and good info here.

[amymomof3cuties]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!:)

[tigger_gal]

:hi: :welcome: glad you found us. Ask your doc for some urised or pyridum these are anti spasm meds. Also hydroxizine will help your bladder.
hope you get a goods night sleep soon. btw.. it can take up to 8 months to get the full affect of the elmiron. it helps to replace the gag layer around your bladder.

[amymomof3cuties]

Thank you for the recommendations. I will definately ask my dr.

[SharonA]

:hi: and :welcome: to the ICN.

[hoping4acure]

:welcome:

Sorry you have IC, but as with the others, glad you found us. As Donna said, please check out and get on the IC diet.

Also what works for spasms is Proced (DS) ask your Dr. about that also. I found camamile tea to be relaxing and helped with the spasms a bit and my best friend was the heating pad :)

Good luck and ask away...

[lan]

Hi Amy. I am sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. Like some of the others have posted, Elmiron usually takes a while to work so you might want to ask your doctor about adding something like Elavil (amitriptyline) or hydroxizine. I take Elavil and it definitely helps me with pain/frequency (I know because I forgot to take my pill two nights ago and I noticed the difference the next day). I have not tried hydroxizine but I plan to ask my doctor about it because it seems to work for many. I am keeping you in my thoughts and hoping that you will be feeling better soon. Linda

[amymomof3cuties]

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I hope to see my doctor soon. I have *tried* to adjust my diet which has been difficult for me. I love spicy food so much!