I have a second site now. It is specifically for everyone to be able to talk to each other. I have categories for medicine, surgeries, sharing your story, venting (Lord knows we all need to do that!), and a section for friends and family of us who have IC to talk. I have the categories up, I have posted in a couple of spots, but am waiting for answers about some things and would really like to have a discussion started. So I am very happy I know have this as my information site, and I also have a site made for discussion. There are other things on the site they are made to show what I do for distraction therapy. I haven’t done a lot with those yet, but it is a new site. I hope you all check it out!!  cathy.dbrundage.com

**All categories for my blog posts are at the bottom of the page on the left hand side** Interstitial cystitis (commonly abbreviated to “IC”) is a urinary bladder disease of unknown cause characterized by urinary frequency (as often as every 10 minutes), urgency, pressure and/or pain in the bladder and/or pelvis. Pain typically increases as the bladder fills and reduces after voiding. However some patients report pain with urination, often in the urethra. Patients may also experience nocturia, pelvic floor dysfunction and tension (thus making it difficult to start their urine stream), pain with sexual intercourse, and discomfort and difficulty driving, traveling or working. Research has determined that the quality of life of IC patients is equivalent to those with end stage renal failure. This is the definition of Interstitial Cystitis (IC) from the Wikipedia online encyclopedia. There is no known cause for IC, but there are some theories that have been put out. These theories are, IC is autoimmune neurological, allergic or genetic.

I was diagnosed with IC in March of 2006. I am starting this web site because when I was diagnosed, I found plenty of sites with information, sites where you could ask questions and someone would answer, but I never really found a true account of what I could expect. So, that is my mission. I want to let people know what to expect, talk to other people who have IC, hear their stories, and provide news links as to what is going on in the IC community. I have created a glossary of terms everyone should read; I will be updating it as we go. If you are unfamiliar with a word and it is not in the glossary contact me and I will add it! Also, this is a work in progress. I’m writing all the journal entries from at least a couple of years ago, and will start writing new entries once I am finished with those so people are not unfamiliar with what is currently going on. I also want to let everyone know I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I cannot provide you with medical advice. Also, every treatment for IC has a 50% chance of working. If something didn’t work for me, it might work for you.

There are many great doctors out there working to find out what the cause of this horrible condition is. Hopefully they will find it someday, but until then we have some treatments. Unfortunately, they don’t all work for everyone. So, until we have a cure, we need to deal with what we have. PLEASE, do not take everything as what has happened to me as what will happen to you. It may or it may not. Like I said with a 50% chance of treatment working, you might be one of the lucky ones. I also am trying to get some attention to the outside world about IC. Not many people have heard about it. So I’m trying to see if some funding can be brought in, I’m trying to write letters, and see what will happen. If anyone is interested in helping let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for visiting my site!

Cathy