CAN you have a FLARE but not HAVE URGENCY??

[bluetou]

I am so confused....???

I have been trying to do a natural path to healing with what the doctors say is IC. I have yet to be officially diagnosed. I was suppose to have a bladder distention IN SEPTEMBER...I cancelled...to October...and then I cancelled again....

I am a bit leary to have it done....anyway....I am thinking of rescheduling for Early December, but still not sure. I guess my question lies in the fact that some of you ladies have shared that you have had the distention and still the diagnoses came back as inclonclusive...??

ALSO my urgency is non exisistence. I went from peeing every 20 minutes for almost three months ....to now only peeing every 2 hours.

I question if I have IC sometimes...but I do have a sore lower abdomen...BUT along with this I have this RAWNESS in my vagina. I did a vinegar and water soak ( I DO this after intercourse or when I feel a yeast infection may be coming to help ward it off), and when I did it two nights ago IT BURNED inside my vagina...it was WICKEd painful!

I am following a strict diet, not eating from the foods that will flare me, and my diet remains the same not changing it too much.

I was on UNDA drops which seems to have helped a lot with the frequency and did help with the pain a bit...but now the pain is back...??

Almost like a bruised feeling where my pubic bone is....I do have a bit of pain in my vagina lips and inside I am red and raw. (I had sex two nights ago, and this did not help)...it was not rough, very gentle....I am so confused as to what my problem is!???

Yesterday I felt nauseated and almost felt like throwing up cause of the discomfort down below.

I take no pain meds as I like to feel what it is I am experiencing. I did lay down a bit (somethign I NEVER do)....and it did help a bit...?? IS THIS IC???

ugh...I see my gyno in three weeks....MY CYCLE is also every 21 days...and this past cycle I finsihed, (had brown discharge, then started up again with some red dischrage...?) really odd??

I plan on getting my hormones checked too at this gyno visit.

SO MY QUESTION IS...CAN YOU HAVE AN IC FLARE AND NOT HAVE THE URGENCY TO PEE??? JUST THE PAIN IN THE LOWER ABDOMEN? VAGINA DISCOMFORT? BUT NO URGENCY??? MY PEE IS NOT HOT, NOT HURTING TO PEE, BIG FULL pees?

Can not figure it out.....?? help??

thanks, kind regards
Peace :pray:

[Briza]

To answer your question: absolutely. Many times I have suffered with just pelvic/bladder/ back pain but no frequency or urgency. And if I'm not experiencing extreme frequency and urgency, then I usually void large volumes. I don't what 'large' is, as I haven't measured it ever, but definitely I know the difference between my normal voids and when I have what one member callled "dribbilitis."
As for your vaginal pain/burning/rawness, it seems many IC patients suffer from some sort of vaginal pain...however, you might look into the Vulvodynia forum and do some research about Vulvodynia and Vulvar Vestibulitis. What you describe sounds awfully like Vulvar Vestibulitis....there is a bit of difference between it and Vulvodynia. There are meds and treatments that can help with both and with trial and error I have come up with a pre, during, and post sex regimen that helps me prevent days to week long sex-induced flares. I will try to find my post about that and I will repost it in the Vulvodynia forum and pm you the link.
AND OWWWY...I'd refrain from putting any vinegar down there. I have IC, V, and VV and just the thought of putting vinegar down there makes my vagina cringe. You might not want to put anything down there for a while til you figure out what is going on.
IC and Vulvodynia and VV patients tend to especially intolerant to all kinds of stuff down there. I can tolerate only 3 things that I know of: lidocaine gel, Femglide lube, clotrimazole for yeast.

Ziplocs of frozen veggies, ice, a cold can of soda, or ANYTHING cold applied between the legs should give you some very good relief in the meantime. You know you're hurting...please don't suffer more because you want to feel the hurt:)

As for the discharge, I dunno? Good question for the dr, as well as some questions about V and VV. Some doctors also call it vaginismus...which basically means irritation of the vagina:bonk:

21 day cycle, yikes...has it always been so short? I am pretty lucky as I have a 35 day cycle but unfortunate that the longer cycle seems to come with a longer pms cranky nobody wants to be around me time :evilsmile

[Briza]

here's the link...I just posted the thread in the Vulvodynia forum
http://www.ic-network.com/forum/showthread.php?p=456765#post456765
hope this helps

[JennaS]

Tanya,

Heck ya!! I have been in a mean flare since August and I have no urgency or frequecy. I only void about 5 times a day and dont get up at all during the night. But my bladder pain is horrible. Its like a constant fire. I am on Lyrica for my relentless pain, but urgency is not a part of my IC at all.

Jennifer

[bluetou]

Thank you Briza for your reply and link. I did check it out and will certainly follow some of your suggestions.
I wonder about Advil....I was reading that it may cause a flare...so I take it you are good to use this? It does not bother you? I have yet to experiment. I would like to be able to take it...so maybe towards the end of next week I will try it to see ....I have to work tomorrow till Wednesday....so will try to take an Advil Wednesday evening and see what happens....

It sounds like a lot of my symptoms point to vv....I see my gyno in three weeks. It is so frustrating, our diets are limited as it is...and then to have them limited even more...ugh...brutal.... JUST BRUTAL....

Thanks so much for your response, appreciate all the info you shared.

Thanks Jennifer for your reply....I wondered about urgency and flares...?? I was thinking I was getting lucky and that maybe I really did not have IC....oh the guessing game continues....I am still in denial......not healthy....I need to smarten up...

thanks ladies!!
Peace
:pray:

[Briza]

yes, I can tolerate ibuprofen and alleve just fine, many other IC patients can,too,,many others say they cannot. Good idea to try it when you have off:) Also may help to take it after eating something IC safe so your tummy isn't empty. But it absolutely has been the best thing for my sex-induced inflammation. I don't take it a lot, just for those types of encounters and menstrual cramps.

[Flowerchild]

Yes! I can have a flare with little or no urgency.

[rosezclark]

Your symtoms are the exact as mine! I have no urgency or frequency at all. All I feel is burning, hot, raw... This is still IC? I am just as confused as you. I use med's right now because I tried the all natural way and the pain was just to much to handel. Good luck to you!

[BT2008]

Absolutely! I have been living in a 5 month flare... and my frequency comes and goes (anywhere from every 15-30 minutes, to being able to hold it for more than an hour).

Oh yeah...and I also wish I could tackle IC the natural way. But the severe pain is way beyond too much to handle without med relief.

I do wish you lots of luck with trying to go natural...

As a note: After my hysterectomy, I was determined to "go natural" and not take synthetic hormones. But within a few days, I experienced several severe hotflashes...and I immediately caved in. I have since tried to "go natural" on several occasions through the years, but the hotflashes and mood swings were so bad, I have always gone back to my hormone patch!!!