Interstitial Cystitis or Overactive Bladder?

Hello,

After many years of having symptoms of urinary frequency and urgency my gynecologist said that she thinks I may have IC. She also diagnosed me with vulvodynia.

Over the past 4 years, I  have had numerous urinalysis tests done that come up clean. I need to use the restroom on average about once an hour if I am staying properly hydrated, but often restrict my fluid intake so as not to have to go so often, and I usually wake up twice a night to urinate. Sometimes I will feel the need to urinate even after I have just gone to the restroom. My doctor has since told me that restricting fluid intake is bad, as that makes your urine have a higher PH and will irritate my bladder more. I am unsure if I have IC, however, because I have never experienced any pain associated with urination. Just urinary frequency and urgency.

My doctor gave me a list of foods that are supposed to aggravate IC. While I do notice that I have to use the restroom more frequently if I am drinking a beverage with caffeine such as a coke, tea, or coffee, I have not noticed an increased frequency with citrus fruits. I am wondering if my symptoms sound more like IC or overactive bladder, and if there are any tests that can be done to make the correct diagnosis. Thank you so much for your time.

[kailau]

My mom was diagnosed with IC over 6 years ago.  She had symptoms for years that went unnoticed and had what she though was a UTI for months prior to her diagnosis.  She didn't always have the pain either, only during what we call a "flair-up" does she have pain.  The urgency and frequency with the night time frequency has been her usual issue.  The foods thing is all relevant to your own body.  Some stuff aggravates her bladder more than others.  Like for her, buffalo wing sauce and alcohol are really big triggers, but a coke or coffee won't bother it so much.  The first few years of her diagnosis was rough, she had to cut out all possible irritants from her diet, but it's definitely a manageable condition, and she's been off her meds for over a year now without any major issues.  She's been able to slowly introduce things to her diet to determine what is a trigger for her and just stay away from those things.  

Typically, gynecologists aren't the best people to treat bladder issues.  We live in Orlando, and there happens to be an IC specialist here who is both a gynecologist and urologist who has treated my mom for the past few years.  She was originally diagnosed by a urologist though.  There is a test that can be done to determine if you have IC.  With IC, there are very distinctive sores that develop in the lining of your bladder (which is pretty much what IC means).  The test is called a cystoscopy (which I have likely spelled wrong!).  You are sedated for the test so you won't feel it, and they insert a tube into your bladder, fill it with a medicated fluid, and take pictures of the bladder.  When your bladder is completely extended, you can clearly see the sores in the pictures, which will indicated the severity of the IC.  The worse the sores, the more intensive your treatment will be.  Typically, you are then catheterized for 24 hours following the procedure.  

The first cystoscopy my mom had showed really bad sores, so the put her on strong medications to help repair the lining.  Also, there are many medications like Ibuprofen and antibiotics and even some of the "overactive bladder" meds that aggravate the IC much like the foods.  The sores can heal, and the second cystoscopy my mom had, I believe about 2 years later, showed a HUGE difference and her condition greatly improved.  There is a great website called http://www.ic-network.com/ which has a TON of great info about IC.  I would see a urologist to have the test before starting any medication though.

Hope this helps!