Interstitial Cystitis (IC)
or Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS)
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Interstitial Cystitis is a condition of the bladder that typically results in frequent, painful, or burning urination. Recently, in the United States there has been a move to call this Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS), and Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS) in Europe. We do not know what causes IC/PBS. Research is starting to help us understand more about the condition. The Interstitial Cystitis Association is a great resource for IC/PBS patients. One page of our new patient questionnaire is the Pelvic Pain and Urinary Frequency Questionnaire, which is a screening tool for IC/PBS. Anything that causes pain in the pelvic and abdominal area (bladder, reproductive organs, endometriosis, bowel, etc) increases the pain of the other organs. For example, if you hit your toe with a hammer, it hurts. If you break your toe, it hurts. But if you hit your broken toe with a hammer, it hurts more than twice the amount of either alone. This is one reason it is so important to diagnose and treat both IC and endometriosis when they are present in pelvic pain patients. Endometriosis and IC have been referred to as the "evil twins": Either one will lower the pain threshold of the other. A significant number of patients with pelvic pain and endometriosis have Interstitial Cystitis (IC) or Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS). There is no known cure for IC/PBS, but there are many treatments. This is a disease that can be treated with traditional medicine (Elmiron is an FDA-approved medication for the treatment of IC/PBS), as well as an integrative approach. Depending upon the severity of your symptoms, prescription medications will often be used in conjunction with glucose regulation, diet, food allergy treatment, the elimination of environmental exposure, etc. |
