Interstitial cystitis (IC)

So after surgery I have been having chronic UTI sympstoms for the past 4 years now and doctors just give me bactrim. I finally got diagnosed with Interstitial cystitis (IC). Does anyone else have it? It is common, 1 out of 77 people have it mainly women. I wonder if my surgey caused this? I never had this issue before and it is very bad. I now have a gluten intolerance that causes very bad flares where I can't leave the house for a couple of hours until I pee it all out.

Just curious if anyone else developed this after weight loss surgery. This past year has been the worst so far for me, I also have sever leg pain and tenderness from it but I still do my crossfit and muay thai. Trying to be stronger than a disease! ughhhh sucks though since there is no cure just things to reduce flare ups. I posted on here before asking if anyone had bladder issues after surgery but now I have IC so new question :-)

Hi. I also have IC. I am pre-op, though, so it was not caused by the surgery. I was convinced that I got it after a bad car accident. ( I had severe external bruising in that region from the car seatbelt. ) My urologist told me that if you have IC, you have always had it, just maybe didn't have symptoms or flare-ups. It is a very debilitating condition from time to time. I have done tons of research on it and it is funny because I have never seen anyone say that they had bad leg pain due to it. I also have that! It just radiates pain down my right leg that is just terrible!

I have tried every treatment known to man for IC, and I have just come to the conclusion that when I have flare-ups, there is really nothing that I can do to make it any better. It eventually gets better. Heating pads and sleep! I do get a perscription for a narcotic to help me on the really bad days. I only take them when I am really in bad pain. I am afraid of getting addicted or something.

PM me if you would like to talk more. I hope this helped somewhat!
Sheri

I was on Elmiron for a good while.  Did nothing for me.  How does it work for you?  I haven't tried Vesicare.  I will have to look into that. 

I know the feeling of wanting a bladder bag.  I was ready to have a bladder transplant!!  ( I read somewhere that they were trying bladder transplants.  It was either being performed on dogs, or they were using dog bladders.  Can't remember. )

I am hoping that some of the excess weightloss will help with the pressure on the area.

I don't know how old you are, but the only time I have TOTALLY been IC pain-free, was when I was pregnant or breast-feeding.  My urologist said it must be some kind of hormone that helps at that time.  Anytime I start having bad flare-ups, I tell my husband I need another baby!!

I was reading of a guy who had a new bladder grown from his own stem cells. Would be a great idea but they say since IC is auto immune disease it will just do the same thing to the new bladder. Blahhhh i would totally do it.

Weight loss made mine worse not better lol! I think it is because my stomach is so small things go through even faster. I thought that I had brief relief with the 5lbs of fat/skin removed in a tummy tuck but that hope lasted about a month....

I am on Elmiron now ($500 script!). I tried Vesicare but the side effects were so awful but man I wish I could have took it, the one day I was on it I felt relieved but it made me a complete vegetable and as if I was in a coma  in bed for 2 days.

This sucks, I told the husb I want a bladder bag and call it a day :-/ On top of it I had a tummy tuck almost 2 years ago and a revision done to it January 2010 and I have a mass that formed in my scar tissue that puts more pressure on the area so I hope I get tht removed soon. The joys of bladder issues. One reason I couldn't live in NYC anymore, bathrooms were never around when needed and traveling on the bus was just becomming impossible.

Did you have your operation yet? Did it make your ic any better?