We’ve long passed those days when we believed that IC was an incurable bladder disease. Today, we consider IC/BPS a pelvic pain syndrome that can involve structures beyond the bladder, often the pelvic floor muscles. Dysfunctional pelvic floor muscles can trigger all of the symptoms we normally associate with the bladder, including frequency, urgency, pressure [...]
Back in August of 1999, I was a 20-year-old college student excited to marry my high school sweetheart. I had bladder issues from the time I was 3. I was diagnosed with IC when I was 13. When I was 15, my husband asked me to be his girlfriend. As time went on, my symptoms [...]
September is the most important month for the IC movement. This is the time that we gather together, share our stories, educate our communities, seek out patients who are suffering in silence and work, as a group, to raise awareness about IC/BPS, one of the most and misunderstood medical conditions. Each and every day, IC [...]
(By Jill Osborne) School has started here in California and for children and teens with IC it can create a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. Will they be given restroom access? Will they have teachers who support them? Will they make new friends and fit in? Will the bus ride be comfortable? Your goal as [...]
IC patients, especially those struggling with recurring flares, often wonder if they could have a chronic bacterial or fungal infection that is not being detected through traditional urine testing. A new, affordable and far more sensitive urine test, Next Generation DNA Sequencing, is now available that can identify both bacteria and fungi in a patients [...]
Though my IC (i.e. bladder pain) officially began when I was 32, I spent much of my 20's struggling with many of the conditions we now know are related to IC. I had vulvodynia in high school and college that felt like a painful yeast infection. Despite many trips to the doctor, they rarely found [...]
We are delighted to announce that the Summer 2018 IC Optimist is now available. This expanded issue of our magazine not only covers all of the highlights of the 2018 American Urology Association meeting but also sets the stage for our 2018 IC Awareness Month Campaign. All subscribers can now download their copy from their [...]
While IC patients are frequently in the bathroom to urinate, sometimes the very medicines recommended to help the condition cause another bathroom-related problem: constipation. And constipation causes increased discomfort in the pelvis, which is the last thing ICers need. According to the Harvard Medical School, some of the medicines that can cause constipation, especially in [...]
Are you struggling to maintain your job? Are you being denied restroom access?? Taunted for having to use the restroom? You are certainly not alone but thankfully there is a law that can help! The American's With Disability Act has helped tens of thousands of disabled people maintain their jobs and careers. Under the ADA [...]
While swimming is one of the best exercises you can do when you have IC and/or pelvic pain, think twice before using a hotel swimming pool or spa. The US Centers for Disease Control released a startling new research study that tracked infections and chemical trauma from swimming pools from 2000 to 2014. There were [...]
