[JJRAY]

After about 3 years of suffering most of the symptoms I've read about IC..i think i've finally found out that IC is what i suffer from. I've been to the doctor, had tests, and was told there is no infection present, and that my prostate was fine, but the symptoms were still there. But NOW, after reading about IC it fits the symptoms i experience to a "T", even down to the sparatic degree of symptoms of "getting better"...then back to "getting worse"...and even other associations with IC mainly to due with sinus/resparatory symptoms..amazing! I could have written the article myself. I wonder if anyone has ever followed the theory that "stress" could be the culprit in many cases as to the onset of IC?? I wonder about this because of the tremendous stress I was under at the time my IC symptoms first occured 3 year ago. Any thoughts ??

[UroDoc]

Stress definitely plays a role in exacerbations of IC

[Dori]

I would have to agree that stress seems to be a major factor around the onset of my worst episodes. Example: This past year my father was diagnosed with esophogeal cancer (stage 1 "barely there, we caught this early"), went through chemo/radiation, scheduled for surgery Sept 19th, 2006 & never left the hospital following the surgery. Emotionally it was the hardest year of my life & physically matched with severe pain. I can't tell you how many flare ups I had traveling back & forth to Texas. I vividly remembering having to take pain medication on flights to be able to sit for 3 hours.

During the days of "he is not going to recover" my lab work showed blood in my urine. I remember having to plan a flight until I was physically up to it. All this time my GP was just prescribing Macrobid in large doses. I went to the lab so much that I am getting bills from insurance in addition to my co-pays. I seriously thought maybe it was my uterus/ovaries that was the problem so, I scheduled an appointment with an OB/GYN who at the visit reviewed my symptoms & did a pressure test. We held out again for lab results which showed nothing (pap smear included this time). One day out of the blue I get a call from a nurse, "He was dictating your chart when he realized that your symptoms could be a condition called IC & he would like to run a test." He ran the test just over a week ago & I was instantly diagnosed through the potassium/catheter method. Fastest test results ever. I am just learning about this condition, but it is a relief to find out a cause for the severe pain & understand what is causing it.

My Daddy past away August 8th. Since that time I have experienced pain very consistently. On my worst emotional days my tears are generally accompanied by pelvic & lower back pain/spasms. My OB/GYN appt was September 3rd & was tested/diagnosed October 2nd. Onset of pain & urinary tract battles goes back 6 years. Stress? The 6 years directly corresponds to age of my first child.