Please can anyone help, my IC has come back.

[Sally32]

Hi,
I am in a bad state as my IC has come back after a year and a half of remission. I had IC for only 2 and a half years previous to my remission.
I dont know what made it go into remmision, but managing to leave to destructive relationship helped i think.
Well during the first 2-3 months being with my new boyfriend it was still bad , but the flares were becoming less frequent with less pain. Since then it totally went.
Now im really scared as im getting married this Sunday. For the last three days its come back! The same routine as last time. Starting off with stomach crams and then constipation now bladder pain. Because ive been taking amitryptiline for 3 years i dont get up at all mainly to pee at night. but the ami isnt helping now. I had even tapered the dose down to 25mg every other night. Now im taking 50mg a night and nothing...
My boyfriend thinks its wedding stress thats triggered a flare. I do get very tense generally and im very nervous about the wedding. do you think it could be this. It seems odd that i havent had any flares untill now..
Im so worried that ill be in pain on Sunday, and look miserable. My mother is generally unsympathetic saying its nothing.. and no worse than a bad headache.
I know my IC is mild compared to some others , but im getting depressed again..
Ive taken (in the last 3 days)
Ami
Pyridium (didnt help much)
Valium (helped a bit)

I live on antihistimines as im hyper sensitive and allergic.

Also, im very very allergic at the moment to some pollen in the air. (hayfever, sinusitis,)
I noticed that when im severely allergic, i can get pain in my bladder.
So im not sure if its allergy or tension (or both)

what does everyone do when they have a flare?
I have Tramadol but dont want to take it on the wedding day, as i get nauseas a few hours after taking it.

Please help, im starting to freak out a bit.

Sally.

[ICNDonna]

Hopefully on your wedding day you will feel less stressful. That happens to a lot of people. There's so much stress on the days leading up to the big day. I agree that stress could be a huge part of your current flare.

Sending warm healing thoughts,
Donna

[ad8123]

I had a short remission and I am out of ot completly now so I can sympathise and I am very sad for you. I agree with Donna though weddings are so stressful ( I was married 2 years ago). I was so sick the week before my wedding diareha, nausua headaches at the rehearsal I had to run out to puke! (it was really embarresing at the time but funny now I tell everyone). The wedding day I was great, calm and at ease, I think because the day had come and it was just so easy. Maybe you will feel the same way on your wedding day. If your remission is really over, it is ok, you did just fine before and you will again. There are so many treatment options do not give up (if this is the case), you CAN do it!

[ICLori]

I'm sorry you are hurting right now. I agree that stress can be a huge trigger! As maddening as it is, you will probably feel fine once the wedding is over with and you are able to relax.

In the meantime - is there a painpill that could be prescribed to you, which doesn't cause nausea, or perhaps could be combined with an anti-emetic or even an antihistamine which sometimes helps fight nausea?

Some uros use Atarax if they suspect their patients may have an allergic component to IC. Since you have allergies anyway, Atarax might not be a bad one to try, if your doc thinks it might help. Atarax helps many IC'ers with their bladder pain.

I think maybe for a rescue situation (just to get you comfy quick) you might want to ask your doctor for a pain reliever that works for you but does not make you sick, or ask if he can give you something to help with the sickness as well as pain. I find that I don't get sick to my stomach with Percocet the way I do with codeine etc. (plus I get hives with codeine but that's another story). A doctor told me once that he found that to be common among patients, that Percocet didn't seem to trigger nausea quite as often as some other meds. Although all of them can make someone sick, I guess.

It just seems like you kind of need something to get you through the wedding, then hopefully you will be much better and go into a nice long remission again when the stress dies down. If not, if the flare lasts a bit beyond the wedding, you might want to discuss with your doctor changing meds, or trying DMSO or other treatments until you are comfortable again.

I do find that heat helps me a lot when I am hurting bad. A hot bath, a hot water bottle or heating pad or those stick-on pads you can buy now that are portable heating thingees....all of those might help...

Also there is a product called Prelief that seems to help de-acidify the urine, takes the acid out of foods so your bladder won't hurt so much. If you can't find Prelief, some people find a bit of relief with a little bit of baking soda in a glass of water (but not if you are prone to high blood pressure, and don't do it too often even if your blood pressure is fine because it has lots of sodium) or even chewable TUMS.

I hope you feel better soon - just as you've had lovely, long remissions before, another one is coming soon, you just have to hang in there and try to get medicine that will help you be more comfortable, while the flare is happening! It will get better!

Blessings, Lori