Question: How do health care professionals treat IC?
Answer: Health care professionals treat interstitial cystitis (IC) in different ways. They will work with you to determine what treatment reduces or stops your symptoms. Your care plan may include

lifestyle changes
bladder training
physical therapy
medicines
neuromodulators
bladder procedures
surgery

While you try a treatment, your health care professional may ask you to fill out a form called a symptom scale. The symptom scale asks questions about how you feel. Your answers will help your health care professional understand how you respond to treatment. You may have to try several different treatments before you find what works best for you.

Lifestyle changes

Making changes to your daily life could help relieve IC symptoms.

Adjust what you eat and drink

Certain foods or drinks may seem to cause your symptoms to flare up. Avoiding these foods or drinks may reduce symptom flares. Keeping a food journal can help you identify which foods or drinks to avoid.

Stay hydrated

Staying hydrated is good for your body and your bladder. Talk with a health care professional about the amount of liquids that is right for you based on your health, activity level, and the climate where you live.

Quit smoking

If you smoke cigarettes, quitting smoking can reduce irritation to your bladder and improve your health overall. No matter how long or how much you have smoked, quitting smoking greatly benefits your health.

Be physically active

Activities like walking or gentle stretching exercises may help relieve your IC symptoms.

Reduce stress

Stress can impact your body in many ways. If you feel stressed, try relaxation techniques and other activities that may soothe you. A simple way to relax is deep breathing, which you can do anywhere.

Build a support system

The emotional support of family, friends, and people with IC can help you cope. Sharing your experience and becoming involved with others could help you to feel empowered and better overall.

Bladder training

A health care professional may recommend you try bladder training. Bladder training can help your bladder hold more urine, reduce pain and urgency, and help you to go to the bathroom less often.

Physical therapy

If you have IC symptoms or spasms in your pelvic floor muscles, you may be referred to a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor problems. The therapist will help you stretch tight pelvic floor muscles and keep them relaxed. If you have IC symptoms, you should avoid pelvic floor strengthening exercises, such as Kegel exercises, unless you are working with a physical therapist.

Medicines

If you have mild bladder pain, health care professionals may suggest over-the-counter pain relievers. They may prescribe other medicines if lifestyle changes, bladder training, physical therapy, and over-the-counter medicines don’t relieve your IC symptoms.

All medicines, even over-the-counter medicines, may cause side effects. Always talk with your health care professional before taking any medicines or supplements.

Neuromodulators

Though neuromodulators—or electric nerve stimulators—are not FDA-approved for IC, your health care professional may recommend one if other treatments for your symptoms don’t work. You can wear some neuromodulators outside on your body. There are other neuromodulators that a health care professional will place inside your body. Neuromodulators send mild electrical pulses to nerves to reduce pain and urinary frequency and urgency.

Bladder procedures

Bladder instillation

Bladder instillation, also called bladder wash or bath, may help relieve IC symptoms. A health care professional guides a catheter into your bladder and slowly adds a liquid medicine. You will keep the liquid medicine in your bladder for a little while and then release it. Your health care professional will recommend how often you should have this treatment. You may need several treatments before you feel better.

Bladder stretching

Bladder stretching, also called hydrodistention, may increase how much liquid your bladder can hold. A health care professional will first give you anesthesia to help you fall asleep and then stretch your bladder by filling it with water. Stretching may relieve bladder pain for a short time.

Botox

Though botulinum toxin type A, also called Botox, is not FDA-approved for IC, your health care professional may suggest using it if your symptoms do not go away with other treatments. Botox may help block the nerves in the bladder that cause pain and reduce pelvic floor muscle spasms. A health care professional will inject Botox directly into your bladder. You may need to repeat the number of Botox injections to relieve your IC pain long term.

Electrocauterization

Electrocauterization may help relieve the symptoms of Hunner lesions, a type of IC. The treatment uses an electric current to create heat. The heat is then used to burn, or cauterize, Hunner lesions in the bladder. Many patients with Hunner lesions feel relief from pain after this treatment. Sometimes, you may need more than one electrocauterization treatment.

Surgery

People rarely need surgery to treat IC. If you’ve tried all other options and your pain remains severe, you and your health care professional may consider surgery to enlarge or remove the bladder. However, these surgeries have a lot of risks and do not always cure the pain from IC.