Definition:
Interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome is characterized by experiencing pain in your pelvis ranging from discomfort or mild burning to severe pain, letting you think that you have a urinary tract infection.
The pressure or pain in your bladder awakens you, not letting you get a good night's sleep and the first thing you will do is find the nearest toilet location.
Diagnosis:
Interstitial cystitis may be difficult to detect for its signs and symptoms resemble those of other disorders.
Doctors use series of tests such as through potassium sensitivity tests, cystoscopy and through urine tests.
Treatment:
Various treatments or combinations of treatments may be tried in order to relieve the symptoms of interstitial cystitis since no treatment works for everyone.
It may be through bladder distention which is done by stretching the bladder with water or gas and such procedure may be repeated if the response is long lasting. It may also be through oral medications that may help relax your bladder and block pain such as antihistamines which provide relief from symptoms for some people. And lastly, through nerve stimulation using mild electrical pulses, relieving pelvic pain and reduce urinary frequency in some cases.
Symptoms and Signs:
Chronic pelvic pain, pain in your pelvis (suprapubic) or between the vagina and anus in women or the scrotum and anus in men (perineal), frequent urination occurring both during the day and during the night with small volumes of urine each time and pelvic pain during sexual intercourse are among the signs and symptoms of interstitial cystitis which could vary from different individuals.
Causes:
What causes interstitial cystitis is when communication or signals from the pelvic nerves of the bladder to the brain gets mixed up the moment it's full, letting you urinate more often with smaller volumes of fluid as compared with most people.
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