Possible diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis

[pinkmingo4]

Hi! I've been having problems with lower abdominal pain for the past 2 years with it progressively getting worse. I've seen GI doctors and tried medicine for IBS with no luck. I spoke with my doctor just the other day and he mentioned that I could possibly have Interstitial Cystitis, so I've begun researching it and just wondered if anyone else had similar symptoms.
I have daily abdominal pain and the strange part is that it only hurts after I've been laying down (so every morning when I wake up , or when I wake up from naps or have been laying on the couch watching tv) It hurts bad enough to the point where I dont want to move but I know once I get up it goes away. About 2 years ago it was occasionally know its everyday. Also over the past 6 months I've started having urinary frequency sometimes feeling the need to go after I just went. My doctor suggested doing a potassium tolerance test to check for Interstitial Cystitis since I've had a CT with contrast of my abdomen and it showed nothing and I haven't had any relief from Librax (which I was on for possible IBS). I dont have any bowel symptoms just the abdominal pain and urinary frequency.

If anyone else has experienced anything similar I'd love to hear about it...I was reading some posts and it seems like lots of people on here are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for your help!

[mlzippy7]

Hello and :welcome:!! Glad you found us!
I hope you find the answers you are looking for!

[hdb1982]

Itis very possible you have IC. There is one thing you can do on your own to kinda let you know if you are on the right track. Try the IC diet, if your symptoms improve or lessen it is a good indication that you might have IC. Though not everyone with IC is diet sensitive. I have maybe 4-5 triggers. Other than that I can eat and drink what I want. The PST your dr mentioned is also a less invasive procedure that can also let you know if you are on the right track. If you do have a reaction you can schedule further testing to get more confirmation if need be.

I truly hope you don't have IC. Please know that we are all here for you to answer your questions the best we can based on our own experiences. Please don't hesitate to ask anything. When I first joined I almost felt bad b/c of the amount of ?'s I had but there is a lot of info to take in with IC and the more I know the more proactive I feel in my own medical treatment.
Please keep us updated as to what you and your dr decide to do. Are they at least treating your pain in the meantime while you await diagnosis? :welcome: to the ICN and here is a :grouphug: for you. I know how overwhelming this can feel but know that we truly are here for you!

[ICNDonna]

It sounds like you have found a good doctor. I hope you hve a diagnosis soon. It's always easier to deal with a problem after the problem has been identified.

Sending healing thoughts,
Donna

[SharonA]

:welcome: to the ICN... :)

[Claredale]

Another welcome to the IC! I too would suggest that you have the PST test done.

Have you read over the patient information on this site? There is information right under the top of the page. You will get some great information there too. And yes, freq is definitely a symptom of IC. When I am lying down is pretty much the only time when I can notice pelvic pain and pressure now, but it has decreased quite a bit. I hope that you don't have IC, but it's always better to figure out what is actually going on.

Hugs, T83

[leelee88]

Hello and :welcome: To the ICN.. I am glad you have found a Dr who will listen to you.. Your symptoms do sound like IC.. Esp with going to pee and still feeling like you have to go.. Just listen to your Dr and read up on IC as much as you can! Also I strongly suggest the IC diet. There is link on my sig that has the Patient Handbook it has alot of helpful info..

[pinkmingo4]

Thanks everyone for the welcome messages and support! I've been looking through all the different sources on the website and doing a lot of reading and learning. I'm going to try and cut out the major no-no's on the IC diet and see if that helps out. I'll keep you all posted about the testing and results. Thanks again for all the great information, I truly appreciate it!