Until recently, healthcare professionals didn't know much about interstitial cystitis (IC). Many patients were told that their symptoms were all "in their head" or that nothing could be done.
Although more and more healthcare professionals are gaining awareness of IC, this condition often goes undiagnosed for a long time.
One reason delays in diagnosis are common is that IC shares similar symptoms with many other conditions. Sometimes patients who have IC receive ineffective treatment because their condition is mistaken for something else. Unfortunately, without proper treatment, the symptoms of IC can become more severe. So it is important to make sure that your healthcare professional considers the bladder and IC when diagnosing your symptoms. Remember to mention all of your symptoms to your healthcare professional.
Here are some of the conditions that are often mistaken for IC in women and in men.
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Women:
Urinary tract infections, commonly called UTIs, affect millions of people each year, especially women. One woman in 5 will develop a UTI during her lifetime. Signs of a UTI can include the urge to urinate frequently, pain or burning during urination, and an uncomfortable pressure or pain in the pelvic area. UTIs are caused by bacterial infections in the urinary tract. Most of these infections occur when E. coli bacteria, commonly found in the intestines and colon, cling to the opening of the urethra and begin to multiply. Other times the infection can result from bacteria transmitted during sex or use of catheters - or tubes - that are placed in the bladder during medical treatment. Healthcare professionals commonly perform urinalysis to identify the presence of a urinary tract infection.
Many women experience recurrent UTIs, and take multiple treatments without relief. UTIs and IC share many characteristics. They can cause similar symptoms such as pain during urination, the need to urinate often, and pelvic pain. If you have been treated for recurrent UTIs with antibiotics but are still experiencing recurrence of these symptoms, you should ask your healthcare professional whether it might be IC instead. To obtain an accurate diagnosis, you may need to see a gynecologist.
Endometriosis occurs when tissue from the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, grows outside the uterus, where it is not supposed to grow.
Patients with unresolved, chronic or persistent endometriosis often report chronic pain, usually in the pelvic area or lower back. They may experience painful urination, especially during their periods, and pain during or after sex. Other common symptoms of unresolved endometriosis may include painful or heavy periods, painful bowel movements during menstruation, and fatigue. Most of these symptoms are similar to the symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC).
But treating the endometrial tissue—or even removing the entire uterus—often does not relieve a patient's pain. So something else may be the source of the chronic pelvic pain experienced by women diagnosed with unresolved endometriosis.
Unresolved endometriosis and IC share many characteristics.
They cause similar symptoms, they are hard to diagnose, and they often occur together. In a study of 60 patients at a regional pelvic pain center, 80% of women had both endometriosis and IC at the same time, which is why treating the endometriosis alone often may not relieve the pain.
If you continue to have pain even after trying different treatments for endometriosis prescribed by your healthcare professional, you should ask your gynecologist to investigate whether your pain and need to urinate often may be IC.
Vulvodynia is chronic pain in the external female genitalia, including the vagina, the labia, and the clitoris. The pain of vulvodynia may feel like a burning, stinging, irritation, or dull ache around the opening of the vagina. However, there is no infection or disease causing the pain. Like those with chronic pelvic pain, patients with vulvodynia often report symptoms very similar to the symptoms of IC. They may have chronic pain in the pelvic area, including the lower belly, the vagina, the perineum (the muscle between the vagina and anus), and even the inner thighs. The pain may be continuous or intermittent. It may become more intense during a woman's period, during sex, or after sex. For some women, the pain is sharp and localized, while for others, it feels more like an ache or a burning sensation.
Vulvodynia and IC share many characteristics. They can cause similar symptoms, they are both hard to diagnose, and they affect different women in different ways. Vulvodynia is not well understood. Theories about what causes vulvodynia include recurrent yeast infection/sensitivity and injury to the nerves of the vulva. IC may be a cause of vulvodynia for many women. If you have been diagnosed with vulvodynia, you should probably ask your healthcare professional to investigate whether a cause of your vulvar pain may be IC.
Cervicitis is an inflammation of the cervix. It is a very common problem, affecting more than half of all women during their adult lives. Cervicitis is usually caused by infection, sometimes by sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, Chlamydia, or herpes, and sometimes by other organisms like Streptococcus (strep). If the cervix is irritated by a cervical cap or diaphragm, even normal vaginal bacteria can cause cervicitis.
Some symptoms of cervicitis can mimic IC, such as vaginal pain, pain during or after sex, and a feeling of pressure or heaviness in the pelvis.
Other symptoms of cervicitis may differ from the symptoms of IC. Cervicitis can cause abnormal bleeding, either after sex or between menstrual periods, or a vaginal discharge that may be fairly heavy. Your healthcare professional will usually find an infection that is causing the cervical inflammation.
Simple cervicitis typically heals with treatment if the cause is identified and treatment is available for that specific cause.
If you have been diagnosed with chronic cervicitis that is not responding to treatment, maybe there is another cause for your symptoms. Ask your healthcare professional whether you might have IC.
Overactive bladder occurs when abnormal nerves send signals to the bladder at the wrong time. This makes the muscles squeeze without warning, and can cause patients to lose control of their bladder. The symptoms of overactive bladder, including the need to urinate often or suddenly, are similar to some of the common symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC). In a small study of 98 patients who had been diagnosed with overactive bladder, more than half of them actually had evidence of IC. The study was conducted by doctors at a center that specializes in pelvic pain and bladder control, and the results were presented at the 2003 International Congress of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons.
Most of the patients in the study did not report the pelvic or bladder pain that is commonly associated with IC. All of them had suffered from the symptoms of IC.
The need to urinate often or suddenly can be caused by several different conditions, including overactive bladder and IC. If you have been treated for overactive bladder with exercise, medication or surgery and you still need to urinate often or suddenly, you should ask your gynecologist whether it might be IC.
Men:
Chronic unresolved prostatitis is an ongoing, disabling condition that is common in men of all ages and ethnic origins. The primary symptom is pelvic pain and/or the need to urinate often—symptoms very similar to those of interstitial cystitis (IC).
Chronic unresolved prostatitis is also like IC in that healthcare professionals often can't find an infection or pathology that is causing the pain and the need to urinate often. Patients may be diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain and chronic unresolved prostatitis.
Healthcare professionals have noticed the similarities between the symptoms of chronic unresolved prostatitis and IC.
Chronic unresolved prostatitis and interstitial cystitis share many characteristics. They can cause similar symptoms. They are both hard to diagnose, partly because they affect different people in different ways.
If you have been diagnosed with chronic unresolved prostatitis and are not getting relief from your symptoms even though you and your doctor have tried different treatments, you should probably ask your healthcare professional to investigate whether your pain and need to urinate often may be IC. To obtain an accurate diagnosis, you may need to request a referral to a specialist such as a urologist.
Overactive bladder occurs when abnormal nerves send signals to the bladder at the wrong time. This makes the muscles squeeze without warning, and can cause patients to lose control of their bladder.
The symptoms of overactive bladder, including the need to urinate often or suddenly, are similar to some of the common symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC).
The need to urinate often or suddenly can be caused by several different conditions, including overactive bladder and IC. If you have been treated for overactive bladder with exercise, medication or surgery and you still need to urinate often or suddenly, you should ask your healthcare professional whether it might be IC. To obtain an accurate diagnosis, you may need to request a referral to a specialist such as a urologist. Your symptoms may actually be caused by interstitial cystitis.
