Do these sound like the symptoms of ic???

[lucy-little]

I have been experiencing pelvic pain for nearly 2 years and am wondering if my symptoms could be caused by ic I have a constant feeling of tenderness, pain and pressure in my lower abdomen, near my pubic bone, sometimes a bit higher and deep inside my pelvis. It is on the right side. When my bladder is full it feels very sore on the right side and sometimes when the pressure feeling is very bad it feels like I have a full bladder and i want to empty it even tho my bladder is empty. The pain feels like I have something ulcerated and swollen deep inside my pelvis.Sometimes it feels lke the pain deep inside my vagina, maybe my cervix.( i have had recent normal pap smear tests) It can really hurt to walk sometimes and feels like every movement is more pressure on whatever it is that hurts. I also get a very swollen tummy. The pain is often worse in the evening and after a big meal, also premenstrually it can worsen. I had a laparoscopy in july this year because endometriosis was in initially suspected but nothing abnormal was discovered. I have also seen a gastro who said maybe i have ibs although I have no bowel symptoms as such. Could this be ic? I dont have any pain or burning during urination and I'm not sure if the pain is actually my bladder or not. Does anyone else have similar symptoms? And is it possible for the pain to be on one side only with ic? I would be really grateful for any responses. I am at my wits end :(

[musiclover]

I think there is a chance it could be IC. And maybe co-existing pelvic floor dysfunction like a lot of us have. But since IC is a diagnosis made on exclusion, you definitely need to find a urologist or uro/gyn that can check you for all the possibilities like UTI, bladder cancer (very rare), STDs, etc.

I have IC and I don't have pain upon urination, and many of us have experienced the swollen belly and call it IC belly. I used to have a lot of the pelvic pain you describe because I had co-existing pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD), but I had physical therapy for several months and so now that part is a lot better. But I still feel I need to urinate even when my bladder is almost totally empty.

If you are diagnosed with IC be sure to get a referral to a PT if they think pelvic floor dysfunction is present.

I know how scary it is when you are first trying to figure out what is going wrong. But there are treatments for IC if that's what it is, and this network has so much information to help you along the way. And once you start getting treatment, your symptoms most likely will begin to get a lot more tolerable than they currently are. You may have heard of the IC diet. That would be a good place to start while you are searching for a diagnosis, just in case it is IC.

I hope you feel better soon. :grouphug:

[Reannin]

Hi Lucy-Little. You're symptoms almost sound exactly like mine, and I was diagnosed with IC in September. My symptoms started as ONLY urgency and frequency back in July with no burning or pain along with urination.....just frequency and urgency. One month later, I started developing that pain you are talking about. I had a constant feeling of pressure and tenderness on my lower abdomen, along with a distended belly (what we like to call IC belly). My doctor, and many others on this board say it's inflammation of the bladder that is causing this.

I would get a tight, pinching, PAINFUL ache right smack dab in the middle of my pubic area, and it would wrap around underneath my buttocks area and around my vaginal area. Around my vaginal area, it fel like I had something pressing down into my vagina. I can only describe it like a baby's head is pressing down in there, ready to come out. I've never been pregnant, but I imagined that this is what it would feel like. I would think I need to pee (even though I was on empty) when I got this painful ache because I noticed my pain would go away ever so slightly after I peed. However, it would return almost full force five minutes later. I was miserable!

I know what you mean by the walking. Walking was TERRIBLE. I had a hard time doing it at times because I had so much pain down there, and I was feeling like it was making my pain and pressure worse. My pain DID worsen as the day went on. I was okay in the morning (not great), but by the end of the day, I was down right miserable. So, my symptoms DID increase as the day went on. I didn't really notice anything after a big meal. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm triggered before my period. A few months ago, I was feeling the pain on both sides. Now, after medication, all of the pain is gone from the right side, and I'm only having off and on mild/tolerable (yet, still very uncomfortable) pain just on my left side. I can't seem to shake that bit off. So, I know what you mean about the pain being only on one side. I agree with musiclover. This could be pelvic floor dysfunction....the hypertonic kind. ALSO....this could be nerve pain in relation to your bladder. PFD can also have a correlation with what's going on with your bladder......IC. Sometimes the two go hand in hand as I've read.

Here is the explanation to all of this (for me):
My uro says that it is nerve pain that was causing me all of this discomfort. I do agree that it is nerve related for me (along with possibly a few other things that light hasn't been shed on yet) because I can feel a pinching feeling in my left butt cheek sometimes. My uro says the nerve pain is coming directly from my bladder. After my research and reading these boards, there's a possibility I was clenching my pelvic floor muscles as a natural defense to the unrelenting frequency, urgency, and pressure I was getting. That then caused my clenched pelvic muscles to clench around my nerves (which are connected to the pelvic floor and bladder, and the pelvic floor "holds up" the bladder). I believe I was getting some pelvic floor dysfunction. I was prescribed Amitriptyline (Elavil) and Darpaz (Urelle) along with my Elmiron I was taking at the time. I can tell you that after a period of a couple of months, most of my tightening, pressuring pain is GONE. I don't know if I can give Elmiron credit because that med supposedly takes a while to work, but I believe it was the combo of Elavil and Urelle that has helped me out a lot with that pain you describe. But! This is what has worked for me. Everyone is different in how treatments help them.

Don't get me wrong, I still have mild, uncomfortable pain mostly when I'm standing for a while or driving in a car. I believe the vibrations of the car are vibrating on my already sensitive nerves, which thus travels through my pelvic floor, possibly causing my pelvic floor to spasm, and then causing me bladder discomfort. I still have an uncomfortable feeling that I have to pee, but my urgency and frequency is not as bad as it was at the very beginning of all of this. But, that darn feeling is STILL driving me nuts!

Anyways, after reading your post, I felt it was necessary to reply to you since your symptoms sounded similar to how mine were a few months ago, and I apparently have IC. I am not saying you have IC though since I am not a doctor, and only your doctor can accurately diagnose you. There's a possibility you IC.............or have PFD............or both..........or any other urological or gynological thing. DEFINITELY bring this up to your Uro, and I would suggest starting the IC diet NOW. I didn't do this in the beginning at the time I THOUGHT I had IC (before I saw my uro who diagnosed me)and I'm regretting it because I wish that I had gotten a head start on it.

I can't believe you've been going through this pain for TWO YEARS!!!! I think the one month I spent crying in pain was enough for me! What a trooper you are! I hope you get answers soon. Push, push, push for answers! I really hope my personal experience gave you a little help.