Flares: How Long???

[sarahjmiller]

How long do flares last???

HOURS
DAYS
WEEKS
MONTHS????

Does a 'flare' consist of burning urination, because if it does, i do not have burning.

I only have pain/pressure from bladder to vag. area along with nausea if the pain gets bad. Been in pain for nearly 3 months now since last UTI.

thanks!!

[traceann]

Hi SarahJean! Unfortunately there's no specific "recipe" in what constitutes a flare, as we are all different (I promise you will get tired of hearing that, lol). Just because you don't have one certain thing, doesn't mean that it's not a flare for you...

In the beginning for me (I consider that the time leading up to diagnosis and after) it was one big long aggrivated bladder flare (a few months myself). It took a few weeks on the diet to start to get things at a managable level. The beginning is the WORST. Once I got things calmed down to a respectable level, I had flares that could last hours, a few days or even a week - depending on the offense, usually always were food related, the rest fell into the categories of hormones (pms), stress, sex etc.

Keep your chin up, most of us agree the beginning is the worst, since you are usually just starting the diet and the bladder is super sensitive and in rough shape, and you are usually just starting whatever meds your doctor puts you on.

Hope this helps a little bit!!!

Hope you are starting to feel better soon, I think all of us know exactly what you are going through, as at one point or another we too have been there!!!!!!

Hugs!

[SuperVixen404]

SarahJean I know exactly how you feel. I thought flares lasted for only days or a week or two at the most, and were mostly pain and burning. Well, this is my first real flare since 2002 and it's been going on since the middle of January (and still going strong). It's not pain really, just constant pressure on my bladder and the constant feeling like i have to urinate ALL the time. It's awful. Everything was normal for me. and then this. I was diagnosed when I was 19, but even then my symptoms were burning for no more than 3 days every few months, if even that. Now it's all of a sudden pressure and constant feeling to urinate (with anywhere from 2 to 6 oz usually when voiding, about every 1-3 hours). Talk about out of the blue. Something like this really does turn your life upside down I've noticed. I really am starting to think there's no end in sight and I will feel like this forever. I have limited hope now for myself, but I still try to stay strong. My beautiful 2 year old son keeps me going when things get really rough. He is truly an angel.