What do the terms "pain", "frequency", and "urgency" mean to you?

[cgirard]

I'm interested to know how people are using the terms "pain", "urgency", and "frequency". I am not sure I have been using the terms right, so I'm curious what others think.

For example, some people say they have frequency, but no pain. If this describes you, what does it feel like when you have to go? Is it uncomfortable, or does it become painful if you hold it in? Can you delay it or hold it in?

For those who say they have urgency, how does sensation from your bladder feel compared to the sensation when your bowels are full? (Assuming you do not have bowel dysfunction as well.) Is it uncomfortable or painful? Do you feel like your bladder is contracting, like it's painful, or just like it's full?

For those who have pain, do you have any pain/discomfort when your bladder is completely empty? Is your pain only associated with bladder filling/urination, or do you have some baseline level of pain round the clock, no matter how full your bladder is?

Up until recently, I had always described my biggest problem as urinary frequency and urgency. But then I realized that the sensation from my bladder is extremely different from my bowels. If I have to go for a #2, it's not uncomfortable at all; however, if I hold it past a certain point, I feel contractions. On the other hand, when my bladder fills, it is uncomfortable/painful right away, and there are no sensations of contractions. There is an "urgency" to urinate, but that's just me urgently wanting to make the pain stop; I never feel like I'm going to leak or even like my bladder is contracting. I think this "urgency" I experience is different from the "urgency" in the way the word is usually used, which has to do with bladder contractions.

As strange as it sounds, I guess I just didn't realize what I am feeling is pain. I've had this condition so long that I probably started thinking this is how my bladder is supposed to feel.

What do you all think? How have you been using these terms?

[GriffsMommy]

I think this is a really great question. When I first was diagnoised I had trouble with the term urgency.

For me frequency is that I am going to the bathroom constantly. When I would say that I am having a frequency flare it is because I am going every 5-10 minutes and sometimes more often. There is usually at least one part of the day where I have the increased frequency. On a day like today when my bladder is really upset because of my period I'll probably have increased frequency all day.

As for urgency as I mentioned above this was the hardest one for me to grasp. For me urgency means that I have the urge to go almost non-stop. I don't have this all the time thank goodness. I do know that for some people this is their main complaint. I know it drives me crazy when I feel like I have to pee all the time, even when I just went and I feel so bad for people who have this symptom day and night with no break.

As for pain, I have so many different kinds. Holding it too long will def cause me increased pain. The holding it itself is painful but usually after I go then I have even more pain and spasms due to holding it. I can hold it for a very long time but I am going to pay for it afterwards so I never hold it if I can avoid it. My pain can also be stabbing, shooting, aching, cramping. It doesn't always feel like it's just my bladder. I can have pain in my whole pelvic region, my lower back, my upper thighs, my butt. I however have more than one problem going on here. I have IC, endo, PFD and pudendal nerve problems. I must say though it is vary rare that I don't have some level of pain in one of those areas and if I don't it doesn't usually last very long.

Everyone is so different with IC though so you might get 10 replies with 10 different definitions of urgency, frequency, and pain. I hope this helps.

[sickofmybladder]

Great Question -

Frequency - I am constantly going

Urgency - That feeling where if you don't go right now you will not make it.....

Pain - This varies so much.....burning, cramping, just pain in general -

I actually did not think I had frequency - until after I was dx'd and started keeping a journal - silly me thought everyone went that often :loco: -

[leelee88]

I am glad you asked this, because I think we are going to have a few differant responses on what people define urgency as:

Here are the two definitions of Urgency:

1 : the quality or state of being urgent : insistence
2 : a force or impulse that impels or constrains : urge

For me when I have to go, I have a strong urge that I have to go right then! But I can hold it. The pain will get so unbearable that I have to go or I will double over in pain to the point I can't walk.

Now, I also have an "URGE FEELING". But for me it is a form of nerve pain but in some people it could be your bladder having spasms making you feel like you still have to go.

The definition of Frequency:

Frequency is a measure of the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.

For me frequency means when I go (pee) more than normal, Which is I believe about 5 times a day. I go around 10 times a day so I have frequent trips to the bathroom, Now when im flaring this jumps up to alot more.

The definition of Pain:

An unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder.

For me my pain is anywhere from the bladder to the pelvis and back, When I eat something I shouldn't the pain is in the bladder, its stabbing burning pains.
My everyday IC pain is like dull period cramps, that sometimes get stronger.
My back aches most of the time.

Now with a flare I can have any or most of these symptoms but they are more increased and severe.

[gigisgirl]

For me the urgency is the feeling that I have to go right now or else. I can be sitting at work doing something and then BLAMOO it hits me. If I don't go in the next few minutes it then causes frequency and pain. The frequency to me is the amount of times a day I'm going. It might be 10-20 if I'm not flaring, if I'm in a bad flare it's the few little drops that come out and as soon as you have flushed, pulled your pants up and washed your hands you need to go again.
The pain for me is everywhere. It's in my bladder, all over my pelvis on the left side and sometimes goes down my left thigh. My urethera hurts when I have to sit for long like at work or in the car. The pain goes all the way from my urethera to my vagina to my butt. I also have low back and tailbone pain. The pain with urgency and frequency together is bad. There are days that it seems like I can feel that little, itty, bitty drop come down from the bladder through the tubes (I guess the urerters) into the urerthera and out. And when it comes out it feels like peeing hot lava and razor blades.

[Katrina]

I agree with the others that this is a great discussion and that urgency can definatly be different to different people. For a long time I felt urgency was when I felt like I had to go now! don't make me wait or I may leak. There is the feeling of having to go....that can be because of a spasm so can be urgency...but it can also be because of other things so I tend not to call it urgency for that reason. I am one would rather it have a name all its own so that we don't get confused.

I think there are multiple kinds of pain....that too can be very confusing since IC can cause so many kinds of pain.

Frequency for me is going more often than is normal.

I totally agree that what some call urgency can be pain. Some times a spasm is painful...sometimes that feeling of having to go when it isn't from a smasm is the message your bladder is sending that something is wrong. When that is going on I would say that is pain.

I don't think there is a definate right or wrong here but I do think that it is an important thing to discuss to make sure that you describe to your doctor what is going on.

[Claredale]

I have never had a leaking issue, so I refer to urgency to the fact that I need to empty or my bladder will go into spasms if I don't. Lots of 2nd voids and not feeling empty.

T83

[Dreamlove15]

As I sit and think in terms of "PAIN" I can say that it hurts in my pelvic region. I sometimes have stabbing pains in my bladder, at other times its a pinching pain in my urethra. I have the feeling of peeing "glass" most days. Sometimes when im in a bad flare, I walk and it puts pressure on my bladder, causing pain. My back aches at times. I feel achy alot because of my fibromyalgia. I also experience burning.

As for frequency and urgency. I really only deal with frequency, I find myself going more often when im in a severe flare.

I think this IC business is almost individualistic...and everyone deals witha wide range of symptoms. The IC is so complex...I almost wish there was an answer. don't we all...:help:

[lnseagraves]

This is a great discussion. For me, pain frequency and urgency have almost totally different meanings between normal days and flare days. Normal days are days where there is little to no symptoms (comparably) for me and flares are a ridiculous mind-blowing increase of all of my symptoms.

Urgency: On most days I feel some urgency as soon as I even feel as though I have to pee (which is most of the time.) I can describe the urgency as an immediate pressure of urine right on the opening of my urethra. Like I'm holding it in my urethra and not in my bladder... Generally, I can (and do hold it) on normal days. however, after a bit of time the pressure turns into a sharp razor-like pain and I feel like I will have no control over my bladder in moments and I'll literally pee where I am. THAT's when I finally go to the restroom. When I'm in a flare, that pain is all the time.. more on that under pain.

Frequency: If any of you are wondering why I wait til the pain moment to head to the loo, the reason is because I ALWAYS feel some degrees of that pressure. I will never be out of the bathroom if I don't wait til the pain moment. So needless to say, I have to desperately use the toilet much more than the average person, which is what I describe as frequency. When I flare, you won't find me farther from the toilet than the bathtub next to the toilet in a desperate attempt to relax. When flaring, the frequency goes up so much that I can't sleep... I pee something (tiny amounts) at an average of more than every 5 minutes...

Pain: I associate a variety of pains to IC. The first, everyday one, would be the sharp pain I described under urgency. In addition to that I get what I would describe as a bladder "soreness." This is NOT a flare, my bladder just gets very very sore, and generally a heat pack will help it out. The soreness is a pulsing soreness more like a toothache kind of pain but in my pelvis. Usually soreness does not ever turn into a flare, for some reason. When I get the soreness symptom, my bladder also gets very hard. My hubby can even feel the difference when he puts his hand on my pelvis. Another general pain is in my urethra. My urethra can really start hurting, again like the razor-blades. I can get that as a general daily-manageable amount of pain. Unlike the similar razor-pain that I get when I need to pee, this is a hot pain that shoots up my urethra AFTER I pee. It is similar, but different... and usually manageable so long as I am very IC careful. When I get this pain, I will usually take a pyridium, and this pain is the only warning sign I get to an upcoming flare (when I even get a warning, which is rare.)

Flare Pain: For me, flares are very sudden, usually with no warning. They over 1000x's worse than normal IC symptoms for me. The razor-blade feeling turns into a hot knife feeling that goes from my urethra to my bladder, down my back and all the way to my knees. The urgency is so intense I can't relax & I rarely leave the toilet. It feels as though my bladder has gone into spasms... I have not had children yet but a bladder contraction is close to what I would explain the feeling as. I can't sit at ALL or put any pressure on my urethra. I can't stand due to more pressure on my urethra and the pain down my legs... It is an intense, sharp, hot adrenaline pumping painful experience that I would never wish on anyone. I can't relax or sleep when I have a flare.. usually, if I'm not on the toilet, I'm on the move, my adrenaline and urgency make my act almost hyper: I jump up and down in the same manner kids do when they think they'll pee their pants, or I curl up on the floor and my legs are in constant motion... It is horrible. Thankfully, I don't get them often...

[dreamy]

Frequency an urge to me means that no matter how much I go I still feel like I need to pee. I also have a horrible tickle scratching sensation with slight burning that make me feel a constant urge to pee. I can control when I go but it gets uncomfortable that no matter if I pee or not I still feel a strong urge to but I can hold it as long as needed. I havent really experienced a day where I felt like I didnt have to pee. Very upsetting. Hopefully after the right treatments Ill be able to. I am guessing this is what they call a flare.

[anewday]

I don't have frequency so much- I go about every hour or so, sometimes more- about 3 or 4 times at night. I do have urgency though- I have to go NOW, and most of the time it is painful. I always have a baseline pain, however it gets searing when my bladder is full. Also, I usually take a while to urinate because my bladder doesn't empty well- I have 3 or 4 "streams" typically. During my hydro/cysto my urologist said my bladder holds something like 800 cc in comparison to 1000 or more in a "normal" bladder. My pain in my pelvis gets so bad that sometimes it feels numb ( I know it sounds bizarre but it's true). I awoke a few weeks ago when all this mess started and I thought I had a UTI and was literally moaning in pain on the toilet while urinating. The minue I woke and moved I had a bladder pain and thought "this is not normal". I actually had to press hard against my bladder to walk from the toilet back to bed. I took GasX and that seemed to help some- perhaps gas was pressing on my already truamatized bladder (I have IBS as well).

[ouch_a_lot]

Frequency for me is going to the toilet more than others. Probably 10-12 times a day at the moment but I am drinking lots of water to help stabalise my condition.

Urgency - Hmmm, sitting on the motorway busting for a pee and knowing the next service station is miles away. Sitting down to start a moving and lo and behold I always need a pee.

Pain - constant mild pelvic pain.

[krisillis]

Frequency for me means at least 2 to three times an hour. And at night I'm going at least every 5 minutes. The moment I lay back down I feel like I have to pee (does anyone else have this problem?) Urgency is the sudden cramping shooting sensation that I have to go NOW! Often leak a bit at the same time.

Pain for me is so many things, its shooting, burning, searing, stabbing, aching, bloated, stretching, tearing. Constant. So intense you feel nauseated. I hope this helps.

Christine