However, thirty to sixty percent of IC sufferers find at least temporary relief from specific medical treatments. Generally, oral treatments are less effective than intravesical therapy. A problem associated with the use of oral medications is that they are secreted in the urine, either unaltered or as inactive metabolites. These drugs produce varied results, demand that the patient take a strict regiment of pills, and offer short and long-term side effects. This type of therapy avoids some of the problems associated with oral medications because with intravesical therapy very little of the medication is absorbed into the bladder mucosa.
Systematic absorption is therefore limited.
This seems to protect the bladder wall from acid burn from urine. Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese practice involving needles, reduce pain and urinary frequency while increasing a sense of well-being and relaxation. There is a wide variation in patient response to this treatment. Some find significant improvement, while others find none at all. Some patients find relief from a variety of Chinese herbs.