Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome (IC/PBS)
Interstitial cystitis, also called painful bladder syndrome, is a chronic condition that results in discomfort, pressure, tenderness, or intense pain in the bladder and pelvic area. People with IC/PBS usually has an urgent need to urinate, a frequent need to urinate. They may sometimes experience pain during vaginal intercourse. IC/PBS is more common in women than in men. Women’s symptoms often get worse during menstruation.
What caused IC/PBS
The causes of IC/PBS is unclear. Medical tests show no organisms in the urine of people with IC/PBS. Furthermore, people with IC/PBS do not respond to antibiotic therapy. Researchers are working to understand the causes of IC/PBS.
How is IC/PBS diagnosed?
Because symptoms are similar to those of other disorders of the bladder and there is no definitive test to identify IC/PBS, doctors must rule out other treatable conditions before considering a diagnosis of IC/PBS. The most common of these diseases in both sexes are urinary tract infections and bladder cancer. In men, common diseases include chronic prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain syndrome. In women, endometriosis is a common cause of pelvic pain. IC/PBS is not associated with any increased risk of developing cancer.
The diagnosis of IC/PBS in the general population is based on the
◆presence of pain related to the bladder, usually accompanied by frequency and urgency of urination
◆absence of other diseases that could cause the symptoms
Diagnostic tests that help rule out other diseases include urinalysis, urine culture, cystoscopy, biopsy of the bladder wall and urethra, and distention of the bladder under anesthesia.
What are the treatments for IC/PBS?
Scientists have not yet found a cure for IC/PBS, nor can they predict who will respond best to which treatment.
What can Traditional Chinese Medicine do for IC/PBS?
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are used to treat this condition over thousand years and still be widely used in China. Both Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can not just relieve the press, pain or discomfort in the bladder area, they also reduce the frequency and urgent to urinate. Treated by Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs can make the symptoms go away very quickly.
The following is the case i recently treated.
Female, 55, having IC over 3 years. Current symptoms: sever pain in the pelvic area, over 15 times to go to washroom in the daytime and over 5 times during the sleep. The pain was gone and the frequency to go to washroom was reduced by 25% after first treatment with acupuncture. The second treatment was with acupuncture combined with Chinese herbs. After drinking herbs for 5 days, all the symptoms was gone. The frequency to go to washroom was reduced to less than 8 times in the day and does not have to go to washroom during the sleep any more.
