New Member - needs help and a Doctor

[laura W]

I am newly diagnosed with IC and am looking for a good IC Doctor near central Virginia - or D.C. Or North Carolina - Does anyone Know of a good IC Doctor near here?

I have severe pain at night. Does anyone have any answers as to why the pain is worse at night and what I could do to prevent it from getting soooo Bad!

Thanks for any help.

Laura W

[Katrina]

to the ICN! You came to the right place we are here to help and have a lot of ideas!
Doctor:

BJ Czarapeta, CRNP, CUNP, Urology Wellness Center, Fairfax VA (703) 591-5443. Website: BJ Czarapeta - Urology Wellness Center . E-mail: bjczar@dc.infi.net Interests: Non-surgical management of incontinence & interstitial cystitis. Review her ICN Meet the Expert Chat Transcript
North Carolina

BREVARD
Barrie Bodi, MD - Western Carolina Urological Associates, Building Four Medical Park Drive, Brevard, NC 28712 - Phone: 828-883-5858

https://www.ichelp.com/AskTheDoctor/...nregistry.html
Also you can search the ICN and ICA for support groups near you and contact the leader for ideas about a good doctor.

Are you "holding it" more at night? We also can have more pain at night because our bodies are tired. I recommend some calcium to help you through the night.

http://www.ic-network.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7562 this is thread of pain relief the second page has attachments I believe the last attachment is the list of pain relief ideas.

http://www.ic-network.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11535 This is newbie kit from the oldies to the newbies
http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/ this is an essential link for everyone with IC. It is very informative on meds, living with IC, and self help....take a look!!!

Are you following the diet? Are you making a chart as to when you feel worse and what is going on? Include what you did that day, what and how much you ate and dreank...how often you went...if you had any other symptoms, allergies, bowel changes, pain, bloating, burning, stinging, did you excercise?
Alternating heat and cold at the pelvis can help a lot.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or vents if you want.
I hope you feel better soon!!

[Sarojini]

I don't know how far you are from Greensboro, NC, but there is an excellent doctor there named Dr. Robert Evans. I see him and he is great. He is an internationally recognized expert in IC and really understands the suffering we go through, so if a trip to see him is possible you may want to try to see him.

As for why the pain is worse at night, no one is really sure, but a lot of us suspect it's because you don't have anything to distract you from the pain at night as you would during the day.

I hope you find a great doc soon

[laura W]

Thank you both so much for the info. I will call Monday to see Dr. Evans. He is 2 hours from me.

I don't really know how to discribe my pain. I feel like my vaginal area is brused and my pelvis is killing me. I'm going to get stronger pain meds. I don't lose sleep because I take ambien every night along with my percocet. I'm trying to watch what I eat but nothing helps and my pain seems to be getting worse. Is this how everyone feels?

Laura W.

[Katrina]

Well many with IC do have those symptoms ...IC often comes with some other illnesses and when you treat them all (even if just with information) it helps a lot. Vuvodynia is one that it sounds you may have...other extrememly common ones are Irital Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD)
Good luck with Dr. Evans! Please let us know how things go.
http://www.icnshop.com/ there are IC friendly things such as alternatives, soaps, foods, books, and many other things. It is a good place to take a look at. It includes a great book on diet called Confident Choices by one of our verry own JulieB.
http://www.ic-network.com/icchef/ online cookbook IC Since out of every treatment we have the diet helps the most people and often makes the biggest difference so the more info we have the better.