The experience of the IC patient population in general has been a devastating one. And their experiences are similar to those of other patients who have chronic diseases that have only recently been acknowledged. Endometriosis, vulvodynia and chronic fatigue syndrome are just a few that come to mind. Instead of getting help, these patients have too often been told that they are crazy. So have some of the care givers who have tried to help them.
Medical history is replete with such examples.
Semmelweiss, an Austrian physician who lived several hundred years ago, was the first to realize that midwives who delivered babies had a much lower infant mortality rate than doctors who delivered babies, because the midwives washed their hands in between deliveries, and the doctors did not. Washing hands avoided the transfer of bacteria from one woman to the next. Semmelweiss was ostracized from the medical community because his ideas were considered too radical. Patients who are told their suffering is not real frequently give up on hope and on life. Like many people suffering from chronic conditions that are not well recognized or understood, they do not get adequate medical care and often have great difficulty getting disability benefits.