start of symptoms

[heiwalove]

question:
how and when did your symptoms begin? did something happen to trigger your ic (UTI, trauma, etc), or did it seem to come out of nowhere?
thanks.

[peachycajun]

Hello....

As far as my IC...it came out of no where...as far as I know. I can't seem to link anything I did or that happen to me to start it.

Sorry if that didn't help.....

danielle

[VickiB]

I'm really not sure when my IC syptoms began, except that it was a long time ago. I had frequent UTI's since I was a teen. By the time I was in my later 20's I had the same pain as I'd had with the UTI's, but the urine cultures started coming back clean. Eventually I just quit going to the Doctors because I knew they'd just tell me there was nothing wrong with me and send me back home. It was a good twenty years later that I tried another Urologist and he diagnosed me with IC.

On a side note,..I was on the phone with my sister the other day. She'd gone in for her yearly physical and I asked if she "passed". She said all's well, except that they gave her a prescription because the urinalysis showed she had a bladder infection. I said OH Geez! I hope it's not too long that you have to deal with that! I could tell by the pause she was confused by my reaction. She asked why & I said doesn't it hurt???? She said no. Off & on through out her life she's had bladder infections but never knew it until she was at the doctor for something else and they'd checked her urine and found the infection. She's never had pain, frequency, pressure or been at all uncomfortable with her UTI's. Can you believe that??? I was speechless!!!

Vicki

[SharonA]

IC came on suddenly. One day I was fine...the next.:yikes:

I really think it had to do with the amount of stress I was in at the time. Major, unrelenting family problems that had to do with my mother and her healthcare. :headbang:

[kelly McC]

Mine came on after I had a kidney stone crushed! As far as I know that is when it all started.
Kelly

[ICLori]

Mine came on after I had a major infection which went to my kidneys and was a result of or ended up as, a kidney stone. The irritative voiding symtpoms did not go away once the infection cleared, and I was quickly diagnosed with IC. I have numerous criticisms of Army docs and especially the first uro who diagnosed/ treated me but I have to say he was on the ball when it came to diagnosing me immediately, I didn't have the wait most people have and I wasn't called nuts or anything although he did minimize my pain and didn't believe how often I was voiding (shrug).

Blessings, Lori

[Sarojini]

Mine was pretty sudden too. I didn't even have many UTI's at all. I can remember, however, periods of frequency that always resolved themselves... I remember my mother telling me once when I was about 8 years old that I was like a puppy, having to pee on something every three feet. I think it's funny now, but at the time I was LIVID, because, darn it, I had to GO!!! :)

Then this December, one day I was okay, the next, BAM... urgency, frequency, pain.

*sigh*

[andcohen]

I also can not ever remember having UTI'S while i was younger.My first symptoms started when I was about 19yrs old. I can recall that I would have to pee several times at night before I went to sleep, but once I was asleep I was ok. It was about 12months later that frequency started through the day & then about 12months after that the pain really started. I have usally found things worst at night time( I suposse because you are still & trying to relax you become more aware of it)

[sleepyangel30]

My IC started with a uti and yeast in the bladder at the same time.

[blue]

I don't know what triggered my IC! I do know it began with frequency, and no pain. Now, I have pain!

[glowstrz]

I had my first UTI...it cleared up and then the IC came on. The dr said the UTI didn't trigger it, but it seems many women have found this.

[vm]

I had UTIs growing up. But, my IC started one month after my second c-section.

[rjyoon]

Mine came out of nowhere. It started very gradually with increased frequency. I don't think there was any precipitating event -- too bad, I'd like something to blame!

[ICNDonna]

Mine started following abdominal surgery.

Donna

[Iris]

Mine started after I had kidney stones, and then I was going through a very stressful time, and whammo, along came lots of pain and final diagnosis, IC. Iris.:yikes: :flower:

[starrygirl]

I started having UTIs when I became sexually active. I finally learned that each and everytime after I have sex, I immediately have to jump up and go pee - even if it's just a tiny amount of urine, it's enough to 'wash out' any germs that were forced up my urethra during sex.

I haven't had a UTI for several years (it's been so long I can't even remember how many years it's been). Suddenly, last April, I had a severe on set of UTI symptoms - itching, burning, frequency, urgency. The symptoms came out of nowhere and I can't put a finger on what triggered them. I was convinced I had a UTI, but I was absolutely SHOCKED when my urine culture came back clean! I kept getting worse and then my symptoms began including bladder spasms (felt like labor contractions) and a feeling that something was coming out 'down there.'

My family doc and uro both think I have an overactive bladder (OAB), but I have all of the 'classic' IC symptoms. I think I have OAB and non-ulcerative IC.

I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't found this site. The people here have been so helpful and informative. I've learned more here about IC than anywhere else.

Thank you everyone!:grouphug:

[lalarainbow]

I think mine was brewing for a long time but it was always chalked up to a small bladder or over active bladder.. I did not have pain then just frequency..Then I had a abdominal hyster/burch sling and that really stirred it up!!!!!...that is when the pain kicked in... It took over a year after surgery to be dignosed with IC...
~~Pam~~

[IBNPAIN]

I can't pin point any particular reason that IC may have started with me, only that I had frequent UTI's ever since I was a child and then it seemed like I had one that just never went away. I kept going back to the doctor for the same UTI for months at a time and he finally just told me it was in my head. It was almost a decade of the same before my primary doctor suggested IC and sent me to a specialist and he made the diagnosis. I do agree that stress sends me into a terrible flare and my latest one has been going on since about January and if I trace it back it started about the time I got my new little min pin puppy and my husband and I were always arguing about housebreaking her. I was such a wreck getting up with her every other hour and trying to keep her quiet so as not to wake him during the night. So I would think stress has a lot to do with it. It just seems to me they go hand and hand and if you can keep the stress level down the pain may seem less.

I hope you do ok with this stuff. It can really be comforting to come back to these boards for support and information, so keep coming back and take care of yourself.

Carol

[darlene]

Mine started with my very first UTI.

[SheriG]

I thought mine came out of nowhere when I was diagnosed in 2002, but as I thought back, I have had blood in my urine for at least 12 years, and also had occasional frequncy. I sure at that time, if I had been tested, I would have had IC...I still cannot think of anything that might have set it off...Best wishes, Sheri:kiss:

[BobbieB]

Mine started after I was taking Neurontin for about a week and half...no symptoms before that at all...the Neurontin was given me for a headache.

[kadi]

Mine started July, 2003. Mine started about 2 cycles after I quit a birth control pill I'd been on for 10 years. Started the week before my period. The day the bladder pain & spasms started was also the first day I took Wellbutrin. (Only took it 2-3 days because I thought the Wellbutrin caused it...). Symptoms cleared up after a week--doc put me on antibiotics/pyridium, even though there was no infection found... I felt fine for 3 weeks.

And the next month, right before period, it happened again & didn't go away...

[Cate]

Mine started when I was 27 and under extreme work related stress (happened overnight), the doctor did a urethral dilation and I went into remission until I was 32. I was again under extreme stress over my parents health and the IC came back. I do not have pain, just frequency/pressure and have never had a UTI, I was given Elavil and went into remission again. Abdominal surgery for my appendix when I was 35 seemed to trigger the IC again and that is where I am at now.

Would love to hear from anyone else with a similar story.

Cate

[lulu5]

My IC started after taking Wellbutrin this February-I only took it a few days because I thought the IC symptoms were a side effect of the drug. I have also had UTIs since I was eighteen, but only get them after sex:( I also fractured my tailbone in November of last year, but symptoms didn't start until February. We were building a house and I was finishing my masters as well, so major stress. I think it may have been a combination of factors.

[HeatherMac]

I always had bladder infections..then i started having kidney infections.... then last summer i was in so much pain and the fequency was horrible...every ten mnutes at it's worse... I also was going through an extremely stressful time.... I can't stress how much "stress" plays a role for me with this disease.... I just think about something stressful and it sends me into pain!

[steph4308]

I had ureteral reflux as a baby. Had corrective surgery after mega UTIs and antibiotics. I remember how good it felt to sit on a cold step at school so my bottom wouldn't hurt. Things heated up again when I got married, started bc pills and had sex. I was at a free Doobie Brothers concert on Navy Pier in Chicago (to celebrate our first anniversary) and only one bathroom way at the end of the pier or porta potties (nasty!). Didn't want to lose my seat at the concert. Got a flaring UTI and everything went downhill from there.

[michelleskw]

I had recurring bladder infections as a child, and all the way into adulthood. A year ago, I had hernia surgery. I was already experiencing what I later recognized to be IC symptoms. Now, a year later, I was just recently diagnosed, and I still have doubts about whether or not I ever even had a hernia...but I probably did.

[kristencan]

I would say giving birth, extreme stress, and the UTI's put the ball in motion of me. I really HATE this disease! It sucks if you love sports!

[MsSmiley]

My more noticeable symptoms came after having surgery to have a kidney stone removed. They told me I was so swollen, almost completely shut, that they had a hard time getting in there to remove it, then I had a stent for 10 days. I had a colonoscopy the day before my kidney stone pain started & I was in pain for 2 weeks with it. The day I went to the doctor he gave me 2 options: wait it out for it to pass & stay in the pain I was in or 2. Go in & have it removed, I chose the latter. He told me after I had woken up that I wouldn't have passed it b/c I was so swollen shut.

But looking back now, I have had problems even as a teen. Sex has always been painful,... I have only had 1 UTI, if that was even what it was. Back in '99/2000, I went thru hell with pain. My FP treated me for P.I.D. & other things which I cannot remember what, but nothing helped. I just started pretty much living with the pain b/c I felt like a heal constantly going to the doctor or I probably would have been diagnosed then.

It took me 2 major flares that put me literally down rolling on the floor to get help. One I didn't make it to the ER (thought it was a charley horse in my pelvis - only way I could find to describe it, even remotely), decided to go back home & the 2nd one was while I was at work & my twin sis rushed me to the ER (who treated me for a UTI). I am lucky my FP pretty much knew what was wrong with me after treating me for a UTI & PID AGAIN & nothing worked, at the end of last yr. He kept mentioning IC (which I had no idea what he was actually saying b/c the words were so foreign to me) & he wanted to rule out other things 1st so I had a pelvic ultrasound. When that came back normal we set up an appt with a Uro, which he knew exactly what to do & look for. I have been on Elmiron & Elavil since. Which I haven't seen any changes so far, if anything feel worse & more of the time.
My Uro asked me on my 1st visit when it started & if suddenly. I told him pretty much. He said IC doesn't all of a sudden come on. That & learning about IC is when I looked back & noticed it has probably been going on for quite awhile.
I better get to bed.
Marlene

[Plush]

Mine started after my mom died. She was in a coma for almost a year and the stress of seeing her suffer marked the beginning of my IC. However, I remember my mom having had bladder surgery when I was younger as well as always complaining about urinary frequency. Thus, I believe there is a genetic component as well.
Hugs,
Plush