question about the burning

[linz]

i get the burning feeling really bad exactly one week after my periods finished. this month i thought i might have escaped it as my period lasted for 3 weeks (damn stopping the pill and messing things up!!) but can I ask, the burning sensation most IC'ers feel, it doesn't affect the way you feel when you actually pee right?

for me at least it's just a constant heavy burning weight in the bladder (which adds to the urgency and frequency), and i get NO relief even as i'm peeing or just after. I've read the tips in the thread a few messages down but I've never heard of most of the things people are talking about to relieve this! my doctors/urologists don't really have anything helpful to say (and i've seen them ALL!).

does anyone else get this after their period? it's completely unavoidable for me and usually lasts a week or two, which means I usually spend 2 weeks living like a hermit. how do people manage work with this feeling? i haven't worked in years and can't ever imagine being abworle to do so being in flare for at least 1 week a month and usually quite a few bad days inbetween. i'm on amitriptyline and oxybutynin(these might be called something else in america), and take prelief (i can't get elmiron here). and i stick to the ic diet, avoid certain products with chemicals that irratate me, and bathe in baking soda on bad days - by the way, how much baking soda do you guys usually use for this? and how much do you fill the bath to? (ie, 20%, 50%, etc)

also things on the outside "down there" don't feel sore as such but everything feels very very sensitive, is this normal?

Happy hugs for everyone, hope anyone in flare finds relief soon!

Linz

[poetgirl]

Hi Linz,

Most of the burning sensation I experience occurs immediately after urinating -- and that burning feels like it spreads to the point where my bladder starts spasming. (It's not the same kind of burning you get when you have a UTI.) Sometimes that feeling will dissipate in a few minutes and other times it can last for a few hours. It was definitely worse when I was menstruating each month (now I'm on a 4xs a year regimen and it's so much better.) I spent about half the month in pain. It wasn't severe enough to keep me from working, but I can also telecommute from home on those days where I don't feel well enough to come into the office.

Have you tried taking Calcium Citrate (one of the brand names here in the States is Citracal)? I take two tablets per day and it really helps. I would say that about 20% baking soda solution per bath should be sufficient. I've also read (but not tried it) that you can dissolve a tablespoon of baking soda into a glass of water and drink it, and it's also supposed to help.