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Home/Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain

Self-help strategies for patients struggling with bladder, urethral, vulvar and pelvic floor muscle pain, including diet modification, flares, pain management, acupuncture, anxiety, stress, muscle tension, hormone fluctuations, work, traveling, driving, sitting, disability, SSDI, SSI and more

Cold & Flu Strategies For IC/BPS Patients

Flu season is in full force and particularly severe in North America leaving interstitial cystitis, bladder pain and prostatitis patients to wonder just what can they use to control and reduce their symptoms without aggravating their IC and bladder symptoms.  Remember that influenza is VIRAL, thus antibiotics will not help. An estimated 50,000,000 million antibiotic prescriptions [...]

By | 2017-02-27T22:01:30+00:00 January 25th, 2017|Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|2 Comments
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What’s the Worst Drink For IC/BPS Ever?

IC & IBS Patients Share Many Diet Restrictions Heather Van Vorous, author of First Year IBS, has written some fabulous articles for her website www.helpforibs.com. In one of her "Ask Heather" columns, she answered the question "What's the Worst Drink for IBS Ever?" Given the fact that IC and IBS are common in patients and [...]

By | 2017-01-18T12:01:36+00:00 May 13th, 2016|Diet & Food, Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on What’s the Worst Drink For IC/BPS Ever?
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What Your Potty Posture Says About Your Bowel Health

The Real Cause of Straining If you've struggled with constipation, IBS and a host of other bowel and bladder related issues, you may have found yourself using all sorts of techniques to empty your bowels. Some say squatting is the most natural position because it helps to straighten the lower bowel to ease the way [...]

By | 2017-01-18T12:01:55+00:00 January 27th, 2016|Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on What Your Potty Posture Says About Your Bowel Health
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Could IC Flares Be Caused By Candida?

New Research Study Finds Higher Rates of Candida Rather Than Bacteria During IC Flares One of the biggest challenges that both patients and physicians struggle with are the sudden, often unpredictable, flares which occur in most IC patients. Why do they occur? How do they occur? Are bacteria involved? Are they caused by eating the [...]

By | 2017-01-31T08:50:02+00:00 January 26th, 2016|Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Related Conditions, Research, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on Could IC Flares Be Caused By Candida?
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The Ultimate IC Friendly Bathroom

When I start a New Year, I like to get organized. It’s out with the old and in with the new and that includes my bathroom where, like most IC patients, I spend a considerable amount of time. Having IC is challenging and I want to make sure that I have some small pleasures that [...]

By | 2016-02-12T13:55:11+00:00 January 5th, 2016|Front Page Feed, Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on The Ultimate IC Friendly Bathroom
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Gluten, Food Sensitivities and IC

By Wendy Cohan RN & Jill Osborne MA It’s a problem no one feels comfortable talking about – always running to the bathroom! Bladder problems run the gamut – extended bedwetting in children, frequency and urgency in adults, stress incontinence after childbirth and in seniors, and difficulty urinating in older men. Perhaps most problematic of [...]

By | 2017-01-31T09:44:24+00:00 November 7th, 2015|Diet & Food, Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on Gluten, Food Sensitivities and IC
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OTC Topical Pain Relief Products For IC, PFD & CPPS

Have you tried an OTC pain relief product? They may help! Topical treatments for pain relief have become quite popular. Sprayed or rubbed onto the skin over painful muscles and joints, they may have a modest effect at reducing pain. There are three basic types: Counterirritants use ingredients such as menthol, methylsalicylate, and camphor to create a burning or cooling sensation that [...]

By | 2017-01-31T10:20:14+00:00 June 30th, 2015|Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Pain Care, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on OTC Topical Pain Relief Products For IC, PFD & CPPS
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Ten Reasons Why You Should NOT Self Medicate with Antibiotics When You Have an IC Flare

By Jill Heidi Osborne MA, May 28, 2015 When the symptoms of interstitial cystitis and prostatitis virtually mimic that of a bladder infection, it's only natural for patients and doctors to contemplate treating the urinary symptoms with an antibiotic. Go ahead! Admit it! You've probably raided your medicine cabinet in the middle of the night [...]

By | 2017-01-31T10:26:20+00:00 May 28th, 2015|Flares, Interstitial Cystitis IC/BPS, Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Jill's Journal, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on Ten Reasons Why You Should NOT Self Medicate with Antibiotics When You Have an IC Flare
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Acidiphilus and IC – Should we take it?

Taking a natural approach to the treatment of any condition, including interstitial cystitis, makes certain sense. And if you look at the American Urological Association guidelines for the treatment of IC, they embrace the use of nutraceuticals in Step One of their treatment guidelines along with other self-help strategies. But, we should not assume [...]

By | 2017-01-31T10:48:13+00:00 December 9th, 2014|Consumer Alerts, Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on Acidiphilus and IC – Should we take it?
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Is Interstitial Cystitis Caused by Anger? No!

Allright, I'm angry right now. Yes, ANGRY. Thoroughly and completely pissed. Why? Because, in 2014, an IC patient in the South of the USA was told that the reason that she had IC was because she was angry about her ex-boyfriend. Yes, he really, REALLY said that. This was after she had been diagnosed by [...]

By | 2017-01-31T10:50:02+00:00 November 26th, 2014|Awareness, Interstitial Cystitis Network Blog, Jill's Journal, Self-Help Tips for IC, Bladder & Pelvic Pain|Comments Off on Is Interstitial Cystitis Caused by Anger? No!
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