My personal belief...

[ltlmiss]

For myself, I think I damaged my bladder by taking 800 mg ibuprofen every night for a couple of years. I think it damaged the mucas membrane in my bladder in the same way it causes ulcers in people's stomachs. I think for everyone else that Interstitial cystitis is just really a general term for a damaged bladder. It could have been caused by whatever, whether it is antibiotics, bacterias, meds or just whatever was done in excess to the bladder.
I have been scratching my head wondering why I have been feeling a lot better, and I realized that I haven't been taken them (ibuprofen)lately because I am taking lortab or tramadol. My symptoms started at the time of taking all the ibuprofen, sometimes more than once a day for back pain and pelvic pain. Now that I am thinking about it so much I wonder WHY I had and have been having the back pain, like maybe I have a disc problem. Nothing was ever done to figure out why I was having so much pain, I was just prescribed lortab, even when I was pregnant, it was AWFUL then. No doctor has ever offered me an x-ray, or scans or anything. I think I really need to get to the bottom of this, the back pain.
This is what I think happened to me, I am no expert, but this is what my gut tells me. I think my bladder has been able to heal without the ibuprofen. OR... could the ibuprofen just be one of my "flare" triggers? Who knows????

[ICNDonna]

Ibuprofen is an irritant for most ICers. I think my IC is of traumatic origin, which fits in pretty well with your theory.

I also think there may be other causes, which makes it difficult for the researchers to pin down a single one.

Maybe one day soon the cause will be found?

Donna

[Dixiefireball]

Donna is right on the money Ibuprofen does bother many of us icer's.

I feel my IC pain in my back the lower bottom right in the center. My uro said that is because I have the hunners and the fact that my bladder is so thin at the dome he can see my bowels threw the bladder lining. Mostly all the damage to my bladder is at the dome causing me to have more lower back pain.
The reason I brung this up is I was wondering maybe you are feeling your IC pain in your lower back also? Please don't get scared thinking you may have a thin bladder or hunners (Unless your Dr has told you. You do have hunners don't worry about that.)
I would ask your Dr. if he thought that maybe some of your back pain is coming from your flares? Most of the time when I'm having a really bad flare I can feel it in the front and the back, but on reg days I have mostly lower back pain.

Hope you find your answers you are searching for. I also hope you will continue to feel better!

Best Wishes:
Rhonda

[ltlmiss]

Yes, I have low back pain, I asked my doctor today about it and she thinks it is refered, defered? bladder pain. She also thought that there was a possibility that I may have lupus; so I had some blood drawn today. I'm not sure what to think now. Tomorrow I go to the uro. and I will see what he says. Fun.

[Dixiefireball]

Hope all will be okay for you. it does sound like the lower back pain is coming from the bladder since my uro isn't the only one who has said it to one of their patients. Maybe I'm not as big of an odd ball as I thought. lol

I seen my uro on Oct 8th since all my kidneys where hurting. (i was born with three, I've had bladder surgeries since I was nine weeks old due to infections.)
he has order an cat-scan which I will have to take this Friday, and they drawed some blood in the office to check my CVC count.

sending you tons of best wishes for some good news! If you don't mind let us know the out come of your test.

Don't stop thinking of what if this caused this or that caused that? You never know when you will be right. Who knows your ideas may lead someone to be closer to a cure!
Rhonda

[ltlmiss]

Thank you Donna and Rhonda! I'm really think I know what happened to me, not anybody else, everybodys different. I just know that my health has gone downhill for the past 3 years. The reason why? I have a few guesses.
Rhonda, I am so sorry that you have gone through so much!