newly diagnosed and new here

[cookies]

wow it is great to know that am not the only going through this. would be even better if none of us were... but that is not the case. so I come here for support. i have really one question... has anyone ever been cured and been living out of pain? how long did it take? is there any medication that worked better than another?

[ICNDonna]

I don't know of anyone who has actually been cured, but many of us find that if we follow our IC diets and work with our doctors on treatments to help, we feel good most of the time. My IC was diagnosed 34 years ago and I do feel good most of the time.

Donna

[cookies]

really 34 years! I can't imagine, I have been really painfully sick for 3 years before I got diagnosed. Now that I am diagnosed I just want to be fixed yesterday. It is really a frustrating feeling walking into a doctors office, knowing that they can't fix you completely. Have you tried Elmiron? Did you get any of the side effects? I am scared of losing my hair, so I am thinking of interesting wig styles now.. do you really find that changing your diet helps?

[VickiB]

Now that I am diagnosed I just want to be fixed yesterday
I bet a lot of us felt that way!

Your post is similar to my first post to the boards five years ago. I was told no cure, but for most it gets better, and that's exactly what happened for me.

I did take Elmiron for two years, also started the diet at the same time. It wasn't long before I saw improvement (maybe three weeks?), and my symptoms continued to improve with each passing month after that. No hair loss for me from the Elmiron by the way!

Not knowing how much improvement was due to the Emiron or diet, plus the expense of Elmiron, I stopped taking the meds and managed my symptoms by diet alone, which worked fairly well. For that reason I have to say that at least in my case, diet does play a large role.

Vicki

[SharonA]

I was diagnosed in August 2001 and, on most days, I feel well. It took learning what my diet triggers are and taking 25mg of Elavil (Amitriptyline) every evening to get to where I am now from where I was in the beginning.

[Mrs. Peel]

I'm hoping that if I'm good (and if my danged inlaws fall off the flippin' planet), my bladder will heal from this initial flare and then I can work toward remission.

My IC was mostly dormant between my first flare at 10 years old and the big one at 50. I'm feeling confident that remission is possible for me.

Good luck, cookies. Science marches on!

[MissGlass]

you sound like me. if i can't have sex he wants "other forms of it". but who wants to do that after a huge arguement and he makes you feel like crap. i don't know what to tell you. they just don't understand. the best way i could describe my symptoms to him was like i had heartburn in my bladder. along with burning on my outside and one huge cramp that doesn't let up.