Can the bladder repair itself naturally??

**ouch_a_lot** · 12-09-2007, 03:01 PM

My question is really in the title, can the bladder repair itself?

Your answers would be appreciated.

Thanks.

ouch_a_lot

**curlycue** · 12-09-2007, 04:30 PM

***ICNDonna*** · 12-10-2007, 03:26 AM

Anything is possible, but I've never heard of anyone with interstitial cystitis and a bladder that healed itself. Most of us do find treatment options that work, however, and most of us do feel good most of the time.

Donna

**annabella22** · 12-10-2007, 03:40 AM

Most normal bladders heal themselves, however, I think IC bladders are not able to do so. From what I understand of the new research on the APF (Anti-P..something Factor), IC bladders have this factor that does not allow the bladder to heal itself. But maybe with this research they will figure out a great way to fix this.

dreamy · 12-10-2007, 11:11 AM

I have heard about the protein that IC patients have in their urine. Why cant we all do the urine test to see if we have it? I wonder if it is even available.

**anewday** · 12-10-2007, 11:14 AM

I am wondering about the proten myself. When I went a few weeks ago complaining of a UTI, I had not bacteria in my urine, but I did have blood, ketones and protein. I assumed the protein was from my Lupus.

**mom_in_ma** · 12-10-2007, 11:48 AM

Hmmm....doesn't our bladder heal itself when we go into remissions? I know it's not common, but if it doesn't have the capacity to heal itself then there would be no remissions. Just my thoughts. When I was in remission, I could eat and drink anything I wanted with no problems.

**Claredale** · 12-10-2007, 11:58 AM

I had mild IC per my first hydro/cysto, then went into remission after a while for probably 1 1/2 to 2 years. I was doing great one day and that evening, I was in such a horrrible flare that I ended up being taking by ambulance to the ER. I really hadn't experienced pain before my remission, just pressure. After some treatments includind DMSOs, my doctor did another hydro/cysto and it was determined that it had progressed to severe IC. I feel great now during the day. I can pee over 10 ounces at a time during the day. During the evening and at night, I am not as fortunate, but it's still very manageable. I just take pain meds at night and before I get up. I would love to have the nerve to have the doctor do another cysto just to see what my bladder looks like, but I am afraid that it will either make me feel worse, and start flaring again, plus anesthesia just makes me so sick anyway. I haven't even approached him about it. I will ask him next month when I have my next appt if he thinks my bladder could be back out of the severe stage. I just wanted to note one thing though. Even when I was in remission, I stayed away from acidic foods (most of the time) and drank nothing but water.

Your question is a very good question.

T83

**anewday** · 12-10-2007, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Tracey83

I had mild IC per my first hydro/cysto, then went into remission after a while for probably 1 1/2 to 2 years. I was doing great one day and that evening, I was in such a horrrible flare that I ended up being taking by ambulance to the ER. I really hadn't experienced pain before my remission, just pressure. After some treatments includind DMSOs, my doctor did another hydro/cysto and it was determined that it had progressed to severe IC. I feel great now during the day. I can pee over 10 ounces at a time during the day. During the evening and at night, I am not as fortunate, but it's still very manageable. I just take pain meds at night and before I get up. I would love to have the nerve to have the doctor do another cysto just to see what my bladder looks like, but I am afraid that it will either make me feel worse, and start flaring again, plus anesthesia just makes me so sick anyway. I haven't even approached him about it. I will ask him next month when I have my next appt if he thinks my bladder could be back out of the severe stage. I just wanted to note one thing though. Even when I was in remission, I stayed away from acidic foods (most of the time) and drank nothing but water.

Your question is a very good question.

T83

Is it common to have worse pain at night and first thing in the morning? My most excrutiating pain begins in the evening (around 6 p.m.) and is horriable again first thing in the morning. My husband thinks I am "overexaggerating" because I am fine one minute and then 6:00 hits and I have to lay down with a heating pad.

**Claredale** · 12-10-2007, 12:18 PM

I have been that way since I came out of my remission around 1998. I know it sounds strange, but my doctor explained it perfectly for my mind to wrap around. During the day, I am busy and don't think much about my bladder especially if my pain level is not too high. In the evening is when I start settling down, so my muscles and mind start to relax, in turn my pain is more noticable. Back when I was in pain 24/7, and was on pain meds all day, I was taking Lortab, B&O supp, Soma, Valium and and amitriptyline and whatever sleep meds I was on. I was taking 5 to 6 pills just to get a "few" hours sleep. The closer it got to bedtime, the more my anxiety level was because I knew I was going to hurt and my urg/freq would be stronger (I went for a sleep study about this as well, so it very real!) When I would finally get to sleep, it was a vicious cycle of waking up in intense pain around 3 or 4 if I was lucky and I had to take the pain meds and B&O supp just to get a little bit more sleep which took at least 30 minutes to get myself settled back down. Back then, if I was able to stay awake and keep myself busy, I am sure I wouldn't have had the pain, but as you know, we have to sleep sometime. I don't take all the meds I did before, but I still take Lortab, my Prosed DS and something to help me sleep. I also have a Lortab and Prosed DS to take first thing in the morning right next to my bed, turn up my heated mattress pad, my 2nd best friend! and I watch the news for about 30 minutes every morning before I can move around, otherwise, I would not be able to function. I don't need anything but Prosed during the day for the last few months.

T83

**Berkshire Road** · 12-11-2007, 01:50 AM

Can the bladder heal itself? I don't know. Do most organs heal themselves? It depends on what's wrong with them, generally. Some diseased organs can't be healed at all and have to be removed from the body.

I would guess that if the bladder healed itself naturally, there wouldn't be quite so many of us struggling with IC and painful bladder syndrome, but that's just my take on it.

**Trishann** · 12-11-2007, 10:29 AM

I sure do like the idea of the bladder healing itself. I would like to believe this is possible. But I think most of the medicine we are using now is to help us to get some kind of relief. Maybe in the future something will be found that can heal the bladder, that would be wonderful.

Sending hugs, Trish

**karen10** · 12-11-2007, 12:26 PM

Ok, I'm going to get technical here. Technically all healing is done by our own bodies. Meds are there to help with the symptoms, reduce the pain, inflammation, etc, BUT the body has to heal itself. That's why I like to encourage people by saying, it's not that we don't have a cure for IC, it's just not yet known. There's a difference. We can't say we don't have a cure if we don't even know what causes the problem!!

One of my studies in college included health/wellness and there we learned that any illness is an imbalance in our bodies. And it usually takes years to get to the point of illness. Until we figure out what it is, or what causes it, we keep trying different things. Western meds have traditionally tended to treat the symptoms while many other cultures attempt to eliminate the root cause, and it's usually a combination of things, including our diet. Medicine is changing though and more doctors are realizing the complexity of illnesses and are recommending more than just meds now. It makes sense it's multi-dimensional as many different things work for IC symptoms! One scary statistic I learned was that 100 years ago Americans were some of the healthiest people in the world, while today, we are some of the unhealthiest! So I'm wondering, what have we done differently to change that so drastically?

**anewday** · 12-11-2007, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by karen10

Ok, I'm going to get technical here. Technically all healing is done by our own bodies. Meds are there to help with the symptoms, reduce the pain, inflammation, etc, BUT the body has to heal itself. That's why I like to encourage people by saying, it's not that we don't have a cure for IC, it's just not yet known. There's a difference. We can't say we don't have a cure if we don't even know what causes the problem!!

One of my studies in college included health/wellness and there we learned that any illness is an imbalance in our bodies. And it usually takes years to get to the point of illness. Until we figure out what it is, or what causes it, we keep trying different things. Western meds have traditionally tended to treat the symptoms while many other cultures attempt to eliminate the root cause, and it's usually a combination of things, including our diet. Medicine is changing though and more doctors are realizing the complexity of illnesses and are recommending more than just meds now. It makes sense it's multi-dimensional as many different things work for IC symptoms! One scary statistic I learned was that 100 years ago Americans were some of the healthiest people in the world, while today, we are some of the unhealthiest! So I'm wondering, what have we done differently to change that so drastically?

McDonald's and Starbucks

I think fast food is the bane of America- and I am hooked on that stuff. I am swearing it off after this IC diagnosis and man it is HARD. It's like learning how to breathe a different way.

**Annie2** · 12-11-2007, 04:45 PM

Yes, the lining of the bladder can heal itself. It is believed the APF being produced by the bladder in an IC patient inhibits the growth of new cells and slows healing. APF research now is looking into ways to block the production of or the action of APF. If that can be accomplished, our bladders would then have the capability to heal completely. When we follow the diet and use meds and treatments, it helps to create a soothing and calm environment which allows at least some healing to take place in our bladders.

Many ICers do go into remission. I wonder, in the case of those who do go into long periods of remission, whether the bladder continues to produce APF? If not, what happened to turn off it's production? Just a quick guess ....it's just a GUESS...is that in their case the bladder has been able to heal, maybe because APF production has ceased or the bladder lining was able to heal despite the presence of APF. However, if something once again triggers the IC (physical stress....surgery...hormone imbalance...infection or what have you), the bladder lining once again is damaged and APF can once more slow the healing process.

Good and iteresting question, ouch_a_lot! There's lots of room for discussion here.