Mind-Body Connection?

[sissygirl]

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience: I have had episodes of frequency and urgency and burning on and off for the past six weeks causing me to post here a couple of times. My doc has referred me to a urologist, but meanwhile I'm experimenting with the IC diet, aloe, Celexa for anxiety, and acupuncture as I wait....Some days I am very comfortable, some days running to the bathroom all the time.

The biggest trigger for me seems to be stress--I can eat chocolate etc and feel fine, but if I get stressed it feels much worse. Xanax seems to calm down the symptoms for me in a way that Prelief, Pyridium etc does not. I had a day-long panic attack after starting on a too high dose of Celexa and my bladder was the worst its been--burning to the point I thought of going to the ER. The next day I was comfortable enough to ride my horse!

I know that this is no way "all in my head" as my symptoms are real and came out of the blue. I had white blood cells but no bacteria in my urine culture. But is there a version of IC that is most "nerve" related?--as in the nerves get hypersensitive as messengers?

As a footnote, I have had a few bouts of clinical depression/panic attacks, but, knock on wood, have been basically healthy otherwise. I'm 44 and had two healthy comfortable pregnacies since my first such episode. I have had two similar months-long IC like episodes like this but felt good for years in between. Symptoms went away completely the first with an in office cystocopy, the second episode went away eventually on its own...

Thanks for reading this!

[VickiB]

But is there a version of IC that is most "nerve" related?--as in the nerves get hypersensitive as messengers?

I don't know. I don't know if the medical community knows either. There does seem to be a connection between stress and IC flares. Not to say "it's all in your head" here, but perhaps what's in your head can set off hormone changes that then causes pain when it reaches our bladders? (Just an uneducated guess on my part)

I take it you're not yet diagnosed? It is very frustrating. I was always in a state of fluctuation before being diagnosed, bouncing between stretches where I'd feel pretty normal to episodes where I'd actually consider suicide. No rhyme or reason as to why these episodes occurred while years & years passed and the doctors I saw looked at me like I had two heads.

I've come to believe that diet plays a major role for me, but also stress, and even normal monthly hormone fluctuations. And there's not much I can do about that last one!

Vicki

[sissygirl]

I know what you mean about "no rhyme or reason"--or maybe I have not yet figured out the reasons. My symptoms seem to fluctuate hour by hour some days. And I agree that hormones I think play a huge role--my last similar IC-like episode happened after I stopped breastfeeding and this episode coincides with the start of perimenopause and its hormone wackiness....

I do feel better able to cope with this episode, in part because of all I have learned on this site! :smile tee

[bluetou]

I totally feel there is a "mind body connection" to IC. I know for a fact if I agonize over things in my life and make them stressful my ic is triggered. NOT only is my IC triggered but my lower back begins to ache also ..(lower back is a past injury...but comes alive with stress)

Our mind and body can work with each other to create harmony or against each other to create chaos. If you become stressed and you allow the mind to fill with drama and turmoil then your body reacts with a rapid heart beat, possibly high blood pressure....tightness will then form in the muscles (possibly shoulders stiffen up, your jaw clenches, your pelvic floor muslces contract...etc)....it is a domino effect....so whatever ailments may be plauging you all come out within the body triggering other ailments like lower back pain....ic pain...etc...

I can wake up and feel great with NO IC symptoms, and as the day goes on my bladder may get achey or sore...but if I take a moment to do some yoga or even just a moment to relax and breathe ...my pain slides away. For me personally YOGA allows my body the freedom it desires and craves to be free of stress and to release stress and brings normalcy back into what may have been a stressful moment in my mind/body....and I become painfree. For me personally YOGA has given me my life back....

Peace
Blue
:pray:

[Dakota]

I agree with all of you. I too believe there is a mind-body connection. I know that stress and anxiety are the absolute worse triggers for me. There are a few foods that I know will bother me, but most times it does not make a differnce in my pain level no matter what I eat. I would love to be on a low dose of Xanax, but my primary doctor won't prescribe it for me because I told him how good I feel on it. His answer was "ahh that's the problem, it makes you feel so good you just want more it". I think maybe I should look into the Yoga. I also am beginning to believe I have PFD and that stress must make all of my pelvic floor muscles tighten. I've had a hard time wrapping my mind around this, but from reading what others have written I believe it may be a good part of my problem which is constant urethral burning.

[sissygirl]

Hi Dakota--

I'm sorry that your doc won't let you consider using Xanax if it worked with you. I used it before when I had postpartum panic for several months and had no problem discontinuing it, though I know dependence and tolerance is a real concern with this drug. I know there are some other slower acting benzos that are considered less addictive.

I am using Xanax temporarily 'til I can get a therapeutic amount of an antidepressant (right now trying Celexa) into my system. While I know this condition:toilet: is real and would refuse to have a doctor tell me it is "all in my head," I know I get into a loop where the more anxious I get the more I have to "go" and the more I go the more anxious and run down I get. I also feel like my whole nervous system is in overdrive right now, including the nerves that control my bladder. I am hoping that understanding my thought processes and finding the right SSRI/antidepressant will help me break the cycle even if it is not the total answer....

[Pucca]

I also experience a definite mind-body connection with my IC, but not in a way that makes sense. The worst stress and anxiety I've had over the last two years did not flare my IC at all. But EVERY TIME I have an appointment with my uro, my bladder goes into a mini-flare starting about 30 minutes before I leave the apartment. It also does this at the dentist's office, and no, I don't have any phobias about dental work. The last time at the dentists, I had to pee as soon as I got there. And after I was seated in the dentist's chair waiting for him to come in, I had to go again. I was only there for a cleaning. I had to go one more time before I left! It was kinda embarrassing. The bathroom there is right across from the receptionist's desk. Oh, and even if it's something good that I'm anticipating, it flares then too, like at the dealership when I bought my car. I guess mine is more like "anticipation-induced" IC. It's really annoying!

[sissygirl]

Blue--

I have done yoga a bit in the past and enjoyed it. Are there any basic poses that are good for relaxing the bladder region?

I have been so interested in reading everyone's responses here!

[bluetou]

I would be more then happy to share some postures with you that would help the bladder. Any posture that takes the pressure of the lower abdomen are wonderful for the bladder, also postures that give the bladder freedom of space are also well appreciated by the bladder. I am a yoga practitioner and am also doing studies in alternative healings.

I posted a "utube" video link once before to restorative yoga postures, and for some reason they edited it....but....

What I can do if you wish is send you a private message of some yoga postures and links if you are interested, you let me know and I will gladly share some yoga with you.

Kind regards,
Peace
Blue
:pray:

Blue--

I have done yoga a bit in the past and enjoyed it. Are there any basic poses that are good for relaxing the bladder region?

I have been so interested in reading everyone's responses here!

[sissygirl]

That would be super! I have a friend who is getting trained as a yoga teacher and she could help me if I had questions about implementing your suggested poses. So please send away (I am new here but I assume you can do that through this site?). I bet others would be interested too!

[bluetou]

HI there! I have not forgotten...I just have not had the time to gather an email together for you. Please know I will get to this....before next week is over.

Peace
Blue
:pray:

That would be super! I have a friend who is getting trained as a yoga teacher and she could help me if I had questions about implementing your suggested poses. So please send away (I am new here but I assume you can do that through this site?). I bet others would be interested too!

[sissygirl]

Thanks--no hurry! By the way, I am trying and enjoying acupuncture, too, though too soon to know if it will help physically, not just mentally....

[sailawaygrl]

My IC is so stress related!! If I get upset within minutes I am doubled over in pain. My Dr mentioned something about a new study related to that also. I forget how he put it but something to the effect of "all of you people that need to go in a room and beat the heck out of something, instead of holding everything inside" AHHHH my description completely! I worry about everything, even things that "might" happen. I am going to look into a pain psychiatrist sp? or something in that area.

Sandra

[sissygirl]

I can relate...I am a champion worrier too, and am finding that, for me, being on a SSRI is already helping calm down body and mind. I somewhere read there are lots of seretonin receptors in the bladder: The same chemical storms may be making both my bladder and my brain anxious....which is not at all to say it is "all in my head"....

[sailawaygrl]

Definately NOT all in our heads but everything in our body works together. When one thing is out of order it affects all of our body, that's how I see it. Just my opinion.

Sandra

[Mrs. Peel]

I was on Celexa for a while, and one of the generics flared me like nobody's business. I went from asymptomatic to incontinent pretty quickly. It didn't work on the depressive illness, either.

I wish I had saved the bottle from it, because now I have no idea which company it was from.