I apologize in advance if this column offends anyone but we do, on occasion, need to talk about intimacy and how IC can impact that. For those of you who know me, you know that I'm very direct about the issues that we struggle with. I believe that IC can strengthen rather than weaken our [...]
When we are prescribed an antibiotic, we are under the assumption that the antibiotic is going to kill, and only kill, bacteria that might be causing an infection. What if that antibiotic also kills mammalian (human) cells... cells that are imperative to our life and our body functions? Researchers now believe that this is exactly [...]
Not sure what you can take to ease your sore throat, cough or flu symptoms without triggering an IC flare? Every few years we survey patients to find out what works best for them. This year, more than 100 patients shared their best cold and flu tips and strategies. In general, products containing honey were, [...]
When I was first diagnosed with IC, I was 13 years old and it was the early 1990s. The internet wasn’t really around. My symptoms slowly subsided over the next few years then came back full-force when I was 23. By then, it was 2002 and the internet was everywhere. Online support groups were now [...]
The IC Optimist is the quarterly magazine for IC Network members. It offers a variety of curated content from "Meet the Expert" interviews to feature stories, self-help tips to the latest research and clinical trial announcements. Learn more about our memberships here! In this issue: #1 - Meet the Pelvic Pain Expert - Dn Interview [...]
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 [...]
