Interstitial Cystitis - a chronic condition of the bladder characterized by urinary urgency, frequency and pelvic pain in the absence of bacterial infection or other definable pathologies.

Irritable Bladder Syndrome - uncontrolled contraction of the bladder wall (detrusor muscle) producing urgency and sometimes leakage (urge incontinence).

Mr Stefan Chmelik on Urinary problems - cystitis, Interstitial Cystitis, Irritable Bladder Syndrome, urethritis

I have been shocked at how many women (and some men) regularly suffer from pain or difficulty related to urination. Very often you go through a series of diagnoses, usually starting with cystitis and often progressing as the problem becomes long-term. Urine tests are frequently borderline or normal in chronic cases, although bacteria, cells or blood traces are sometimes found. Conventional treatment tends to be repeated courses of antibiotics, which I find often less and less effect over time. Surgical procedures are also sometimes suggested, but my experience is that these seldom resolve the problem satisfactorily. Drugs such as amitriptyline or gabapentin are also prescribed frequently for pain relief.

One important aspect to understand is that pain does not necessarily mean infection. Chronic (long term) cases of urinary problems may start with a real urinary infection, but the nature of the problem changes over time and antibiotics cease to be effective, as well as having significant health implications of their own. Interstitial Cystitis (IC) in particular gives cystitis-like symptoms, but is not in fact due to an infection. There are a number of important factors that I have found to be usually present in people with these problems. These include a phenomenon known as paradoxical breathing, a well as other factors. In my experience, it is essential for these issues to be identified and treated for lasting improvement to take place.

A Chinese Medicine and Integrated Healthcare approach has much to offer people with both acute cystitis and chronic urinary pain.

Dr Brian Kaplan on Urinary Problems, Cystititis, Interstitial Cystitis, Irritable Bladder Syndrome and Urethritis

All these problems can overlap and can produce symptoms that are most irritating and debilitating leaving a woman in some discomfort most of the time.

Orthodox Treatment: There are various drugs and surgical techniques that are used none of which are totally optimistic or produce consistent results.

Homeopathy: I have treated urethral discomfort and various forms of cystitis in women with very encouraging results for many years with homeopathic remedies. The remedy needs to be chosen carefully according to the details of the symptoms. A women who always gets cystitis symptoms after sex needs a different homeopathic remedy from a woman who has discomfort all the time. Nevertheless this is a condition well worth treating with homeopathy as most homeopaths will attest.

Autogenic Therapy: These conditions are often stress-related and when they are, a course of Autogenics can result in gratifying results.

Overall: These conditions, which are difficult to treat with conventional medicine, are well worth treating with an holistic approach. The New Medicine Group has taken a special interest in this particular group of problems. If you do not respond to a combination of the approaches listed above, I would present your case to the weekly group meeting and hopefully come up with alternative ways of treating you. We, at the New Medicine Group, are very keen to learn as much as we can about this troublesome group of conditions both from the medical literature and our combined experience.

go (select a condition)

go (select a treatment)