Doctors may use cystoscopy to look inside the urethra and bladder. Doctors use a cystoscope, a tubelike instrument, to look for bladder ulcers, cancer, swelling, redness, and signs of infection. A doctor may perform a cystoscopy to diagnose interstitial cystitis (IC).
There is no best way to diagnose IC. A variety of tests may be needed. Urine tests will be done and imaging tests may be used to look at the different parts of the urinary tract and make sure everything is normal.
The clinical presentation of interstitial cystitis is similar to that of many other conditions commonly seen in female patients, including recurrent urinary tract infections, endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, vulvodynia, and overactive bladder.
As your bladder starts to fill, you may feel pain—rather than just discomfort—that gets worse until you urinate. The pain usually improves for a while once you empty your bladder. People with IC rarely have constant bladder pain. The pain may go away for weeks or months and then return.
There is no definitive test to make the diagnosis of IC. It is a diagnosis of exclusion. Evaluation usually involves a detailed history, review of old medical records/ urine culture results, physical exam, urine tests, and voiding diary. Abdominal/pelvic imaging studies such as ultrasound or CT may be used.
Common symptoms of interstitial cystitis
an urgent need to urinate. frequent urination that often produces only a small amount of urine. bloody or pink urine (hematuria)
Cationic metabolites in the urine of patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) might be responsible for initiating the process that ultimately leads to bladder pain symptoms, according to C.
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.
Symptoms begin before age 30 in most but an IC diagnosis is often not made until age 40. Genetics appear to play a significant role. It is important to consider these facts when evaluating women with “early IC” because correct diagnosis will result in proper therapy and reduced health care costs.
If you have interstitial cystitis, you'll receive the message to pee much more frequently, sometimes up to 60 times in a day, and the process of holding and releasing urine becomes very painful. For women, the pain in the pelvic region can increase in severity during the menstrual cycle.
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.
Cystoscopy is not required to diagnose IC/BPS but may be recommended in certain situations.
Urine analysis.
For this test, you collect a small amount of urine in a container. Your provider checks the urine for signs of infection, such as bacteria, blood or pus. If bacteria are found, you may also have a test called a urine culture to check what type of bacteria is causing the infection.
Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is thought to affect anywhere from 3 to 8 million women and 1 to 4 million men in the U.S. Emotional suffering, including anxiety, panic, depression and suicidality, is common in IC/BPS and known to make physical symptoms worse.
For about half the cases, interstitial cystitis goes away by itself. Among those who need treatment, most find relief and get their lives back to normal. Treatment is mainly about symptom control. It takes trial and error to find the right combination of treatments.
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.
Early prevalence research suggested that IC ranged from 1 out of every 100,000 to 5.1 out of every 100,000 in the general population; but updated epidemiologic research conducted in 2006 suggests that up to 12% of women may have early symptoms of IC.
Bloating. Bloating or swelling of the belly (“IC/BPS belly”) is a common complaint among people with IC/BPS. Excess gas and distention of the abdomen may worsen IC/BPS symptoms.
Flares triggered by food that can irritate the bladder, for example, will worsen symptoms within minutes or hours and can last for 1-2 days. Flares triggered by hormone fluctuations during ovulation might only last a few hours before subsiding.
There is no known cure for interstitial cystitis, although your OBGYN can treat it to control your pain and other symptoms.
A urologist is a doctor specializing in bladder diseases. Some gynecologists and urogynecologists (women's health doctors) also treat people with IC/BPS. Look for a doctor who has experience taking care of people with IC/BPS.