Interstitial cystitis (IC)/bladder pain syndrome (BPS) is a chronic bladder health issue. It is a feeling of pain and pressure in the bladder area. Along with this pain are lower urinary tract symptoms which have lasted for more than 6 weeks, without having an infection or other clear causes.
Symptoms range from mild to severe. For some patients the symptoms may come and go, and for others they don’t go away. IC/BPS is not an infection, but it may feel like a bladder infection. Women with IC/BPS may feel pain when having sex. The more severe cases of IC/BPS can affect your life and your loved ones. Some people with IC/BPS have other health issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other pain syndromes.
The symptoms of IC/BPS vary for each patient, but the most common sign is pain (often with pressure). Patients with IC/BPS may have bladder pain that gets worse as the bladder fills. Some patients feel pain in other areas in addition to the bladder, such as the urethra, lower abdomen, lower back, or the pelvic or perineal area (in women, behind the vagina and in men, behind the scrotum). Women may feel pain in the vulva or the vagina, and men may feel the pain in the scrotum, testicle, or penis. The pain may be constant or may come and go.
IC/BPS sometimes starts with urinary frequency. Frequency is the need to pass urine more often than normal. The average person urinates no more than 7 times a day. He or she does not have to get up at night more than once to use the bathroom. A patient with IC/BPS often has to urinate frequently both day and night. As frequency becomes more severe, it leads to urgency.
Urgency to urinate is a common IC/BPS symptom. Some patients feel an urge that never goes away, even right after voiding. A patient may not notice or see this as a problem. In other cases, the onset is much more dramatic, with severe symptoms occurring within days, weeks or months.
