Faces of IC
The Healthy Body, Healthy Mind
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October 31 is National Interstitial Cystitis (IC) Awareness Day


We know that the symptoms of IC can be challenging to diagnose and that the journey to diagnosis can be long and frustrating because symptoms are often mistaken for other pelvic conditions, such as urinary tract infections. When your life is affected by a chronic condition, the search for solutions can make you feel desperate, alone and afraid. If the symptoms you are experiencing are due to IC, we want you know that there is hope.

To help unmask the condition and raise awareness about the physical and emotional burden of IC, Ortho Women’s Health & Urology™, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., together with the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health (NPWH), invite you to join us in recognizing in the first annual National IC Awareness Day on October 31.

Click on one of the photos below to read messages from patients who suffer from IC and who understand what it is like to live with a chronic condition. Be prepared to be inspired!

In addition to experiencing painful physical symptoms, people with IC often struggle emotionally, especially those people for whom it may take years to be diagnosed. To learn more about the emotional burden of IC, Ortho Women's Health & Urology conducted the first IC patient survey* involving 589 self-reporting patients with IC (click here for the survey fact sheet).


Some highlights include:

  • 58 percent said their IC diagnosis took more than a year, and 56 percent reported seeing three or more healthcare professionals before diagnosis.
  • Approximately one third of survey participants reported being told their condition may be primarily psychological, and one fifth said they were referred to a mental health professional.
  • IC patients are affected emotionally - reporting feeling frustrated (95 percent), annoyed or angry (85 percent), depressed (75 percent), alone/isolated (67 percent) and embarrassed (67 percent).

Whether you suffer from IC or know someone with IC, focusing energies on getting a correct diagnosis and finding effective treatment is the first step to getting on the road to wellness.

Don't know where to start? Click here for a free brochure that explains the condition and common symptoms, as well as steps you can take to be given a correct diagnosis sooner.

It's easy to feel alone when you have symptoms that, at times, make living a normal life seem almost impossible. You are probably anxious to get on the road to wellness as soon as possible. Today, you can take action.


*About the Survey


The "Unmasking the Many Faces of IC" patient survey was conducted online by KRC Research from September 14 - 28, 2007. A total of 589 self-reported IC patients responded to the survey from a database of patients who had opted in to receive IC-related communications. Nearly all respondents were female (98 percent).