LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Cystitis: Interstitial Cystitis
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Interstitial Cystitis (IC) has no known cause. Mostly affecting women, symptoms of IC include urinary frequency, urgency and pain. Diagnosis is difficult. However, once achieved, dietary measures, medication and physical therapy focusing on the pelvic floor can provide a great deal of relief for sufferers.
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Interstitial Cystitis (IC)... known as Painful Bladder Syndrome, is a condition that results in recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and the surrounding pelvic region. The symptoms vary from case to case and even in the same individual. People may experience mild discomfort, pressure, tenderness, or intense pain in the bladder and pelvic area. Symptoms may include an urgent need to urinate (urgency), a frequent need to urinate (frequency), or a combination of these symptoms. Pain may change in intensity as the bladder fills with urine or as it empties. Women's symptoms often get worse during menstruation.
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Cystitis, the inflammation of the bladder, is usually secondary to ascending urinary tract infections. Other organs such as the kidney, prostate, and urethra, may be involved. Acute cystitis is characterized by frequent and painful urination. Chronic cystitis occurs secondary to some other lesion with possibly pyuria as the only symptom. Interstitial cystitis is a chronically irritable and painful inflammatory bladder condition. It is not known what causes it. Most commonly seen in women between the ages of 30 and 70, this disease is not life-threatening, but the extreme pain can be intolerable.
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People who suffer from Interstitial Cystitis or acute cystitis will be interested to learn that a morning cup of coffee may be affecting their symptoms negatively. Coffee, regular or decaffeinated, is a well known bladder irritant and can cause tremendous discomfort for people who have urinary tract disorders. Here are the top 5 reasons that kicking the coffee habit can improve your symptoms and your health!
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[L]ine oral treatments for interstitial cystitis include tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines and pentosan polysulfate (Elmiron). No placebo-controlled studies with tricyclic antidepressants have been performed, but these medications have been found to be beneficial in several open-label studies.24 Tricyclic antidepressants block pain arousal and are widely used in pain clinics for their pain blocking effects. Other medications that may reduce the symptoms of interstitial cystitis include sedatives (for improved sleep) and medications that inhibit nociception. Some of the most commonly used tricyclics are amitriptyline (Elavil), doxepin (Sinequan) and imipramine (Tofranil), administered in dosages of 25 to 75 mg at bedtime. These agents may be started at very low dosages and gradually titrated up until symptom relief is obtained or until side effects become bothersome. Use of hydroxyzine (Atarax), an antihistamine, is based on the hypothesis that histamine released by mast cell degranulation may be responsible for symptoms of interstitial cystitis.
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Roberts et al (2003) calculated the community-based incidence of interstitial cystitis. The age-adjusted incidence rates were 1.6 cases per 100,000 women and 0.6 per 100,000 men (P = .04). The median age at initial diagnosis was 44.5 years (range, 27-76 y) in women and 71.5 years (range, 23-79 y) in men (P = .26). The median number of episodes of care-seeking for symptoms before diagnosis was 1 for women and 4.5 for men (P = .03). The median duration from the onset of symptoms until the first diagnosis was 0.06 and 2.2 years in women and men, respectively (P = .2). These findings suggest that the incidence of interstitial cystitis in the community is extremely low.
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Interstitial Cystitis