Stress does not cause IC, but if you have IC, stress can cause a flare. Physical stress and mental stress can lead to flares. Remember, every flare will settle down and worrying about it only prolongs the discomfort. Understanding stress and how to minimize it is the best way to limit the intensity of your flares.
IC is a chronic condition causing bladder pressure, pain and sometimes pelvic pain. Stress is not the cause of IC, but it can trigger a flare up. When you stress at a flare, it only prolongs it and increases the intensity of the pain. Reducing stress is the best way to limit IC flares and their severity.
Stress by itself doesn't cause UTIs, but it can make you more susceptible to infections and other illnesses by harming your immune system. Stress can also trigger or worsen urinary tract symptoms — even if you don't have a UTI. Your urinary system is vital to your overall health.
If you suffer from high stress levels or anxiety, you might also develop a urinary tract infection. Can stress cause a UTI? Not directly. However, stress can increase your cortisol levels, which can affect your immune system and make you more prone to infections.
The cause of interstitial cystitis (IC) is unknown. Researchers are looking at many theories to understand the causes of IC and find the best treatments. Most people with IC find that certain foods make their symptoms worse.
Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) has several well-known comorbid psychiatric manifestations, including insomnia, anxiety, and depression. We hypothesized that somatoform disorder, which is a psychosomatic disease, can be used as a sensitive psychiatric phenotype of IC/BPS.
Stress and anxiety affect the bladder in several ways. Both cause muscles in your body to tense up (mostly due to increased adrenaline), and the bladder is essentially a muscular sac that also tightens with stress. Additionally, your pelvic floor is comprised of muscles that can tighten, compressing your bladder.
Feeding wet food only and increasing your cat's water intake can also help to dilute the urine and reduce irritation of the bladder wall. The best way to try and prevent recurrence of stress cystitis is to reduce stress and anxiety.
Being active and getting yourself up and moving is important when you have interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). Regular exercise helps maintain your heart, lungs, muscles, bones, joints, bowel, and brain function.
The commonest cause is bacteria entering the bladder through the urethra (pictured). This happens because the openings to the urethra, vagina and anus (bowel) are close together in women, and bacteria can get into the bladder easily. Sometimes, cystitis can be triggered by sexual intercourse.
In the early phase of IC the symptom flares are intermittent in most patients. Over time symptoms increase and pain cycles may appear and last for 3-14 days.
Most patients need to continue treatment indefinitely or the symptoms return. Some patients have flare-ups of symptoms even while on treatment. In some patients the symptoms gradually improve and even disappear. Some patients do not respond to any IC/BPS therapy.
Dimethylsulfoxide — Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is a liquid medication that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). DMSO is put into the bladder through a temporary catheter and is held in place for approximately 20 minutes, if possible.
stress affects urinary bladder function and has been reported to exacerbate signs/symptoms of urinary bladder dysfunction in overactive bladder, interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, bladder outlet obstruction, and spinal cord injury-induced bladder dysfunction.
Psychological Causes
Your emotional and psychological state can have some effect on the physical systems that maintain bladder control, which worsens as bladder control problems worsen. Some women who suffer trauma or surgery to the pelvic region are more likely to keep their pelvic muscles chronically tense.
Chronic psychological stress can affect urinary function and exacerbate lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunction (LUTD), particularly in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) or interstitial cystitis–bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS).
Magnesium - Magnesium has a variety of effects in the body. It can help relieve constipation, reduces inflammation, supports muscle health and can help reduce anxiety in some studies. Obviously all of these are potentially beneficial to patients with IC!
Amitriptyline is the medication most commonly prescribed for interstitial cystitis. Elmiron is the only oral drug approved by the FDA specifically for interstitial cystitis. It improves the bladder lining, making it less leaky and therefore less inflamed and painful. The full effect may take three to six months.
Though the most widely used antihistamine to treat IC/BPS is hydroxyzine, some people with IC/BPS find relieve from Claritin, Benadryl, and Singulair.
Bladder instillation for interstitial cystitis (also called a bladder wash or bath), a procedure in which the bladder is filled with a therapeutic solution that is retained in the bladder for varying periods of time, from a few seconds to 15 minutes, before it is drained through a catheter.
Symptoms such as pain in the pelvic area, needing to pee frequently, and the burning sensation when urinating are common in most patients, however, the intensity and duration of IC flares can vary from person to person.