Interstitial Cystitis

Dave Clarke, MD

“Interstitial Cystitis, also known as Painful Bladder Syndrome, refers to pressure or pain in the bladder, often accompanied by an increased need to urinate.

The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The pain can vary in severity, location, and its relationship to factors like the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, sexual activity, bowel movements, body movement, or other pain or illness in the body.

Emptying the bladder usually provides temporary relief.

If medical evaluations do not reveal any infection, disease, or injury, or if treatments fail to bring expected improvement, it is likely that the brain may be playing a role in generating or contributing to the symptoms.”

  • Why would the brain do this? Nearly always, one or more types of stress is involved even if this is not fully recognized at first.

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  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

    Experiences that would make you sad or angry if they happened to a child for whom you care.

  • Stressful Personality Traits

    Such as focusing too much on the needs of others, excessive self-criticism, perfectionism, lack of assertiveness, and many others.

  • Unrecognized Negative Emotions

    Such as anger, fear, shame, grief, or guilt.

  • Triggers

    Including people, situations, or events that remind you of stressful situations.

  • Current Life Stresses

    Such as work, parenting, pressure from loved ones, or major life changes.

  • Mental Health Challenges

    Such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress.

The good news is that all these sources of stress can be successfully diagnosed and treated.

To explore whether this applies to you, take the self-diagnostic quiz below. It consists of 12 simple 'Yes or No' questions. The more 'Yes' answers you provide, the more likely it is that the resources on this website can help.