During the holiday season, it can be easy to get overwhelmed, stressed, defensive and frustrated when you are dealing with chronic pain and/or bladder discomfort. You have rights too and here's our list to help you on this journey. From the ICN family to yours, we offer you comfort and support. You have a [...]
Have you had a cystoscopy, certain that your doctor would find a severe bladder disease (or perhaps even cancer), only to be told that it looked perfectly normal? You then asked, "What's causing all of my bladder pain?" Your doctor might have shrugged in response, said "We don't know?" and prescribed yet another bladder [...]
A new study found that lactoferrin (bLf) is remarkably helpful at calming the bladder wall and preventing IC flares. Thirty one patients with an active history of IC flares in the previous six months used lactoferrin (Valpalf®) for 17 weeks.(1) Out of 31 patients, 28 women experienced no IC flares after treatment while only [...]
Last Spring, a routine mammogram revealed cancer in my left breast. Call me stunned. I was not prepared to hear the words “you have cancer" nor did I have the skills to handle the stress that a diagnosis of cancer would trigger. I felt overwhelmed and incredibly angry. I asked my surgeon “Why me? Why now?” [...]
Butternut Squash Pear Soup When you think of bladder friendly veggies, pumpkin and squash come quickly to mind, especially with the onset of Fall. This all-time favorite soup is incredibly easy to prepare and the perfect accompaniment to a grilled cheese sandwich. If you like a creamier soup, feel free to add your choice [...]
Wisps of fragrant barbecue smoke drifting over fences, the sublime sweetness of a ripe melon slice, and the sound of laughing kids running through sprinklers– this is how we like to remember the last weeks of summer and the first days of Fall. For much of the country, late September and early October are [...]
This special issue of the IC Optimist is one of our biggest to date with a wide variety of articles, some of which were my way of coping with a sudden and completely unexpected diagnosis of breast cancer last May. I was hoping to spend the summer with trips to the beach, hiking and [...]
Every September, the IC community rallies together during IC Awareness Month to educate, empower and support the many patients who have suffered in silence at home alone. This year, we hope to reach patients who are struggling with treatment and/or not responding to typical bladder therapies. Why? Because IC symptoms are often the result [...]
Dr. A. Lenore Ackerman (UCLA) is a rising star in the IC/BPS research community. Her specialty is the study of the microbiome, the bacterial communities that live within our body and, to our benefit, the urinary tract. In 2023, she was the first to suggest that some patients with IC/BPS and bladder pain may [...]
If you have spent much time in an IC support group or forum, you’ve undoubtedly seen some patients share that they have a curve in their spine, known as scoliosis. It’s been a point of discussion here at the IC Network for the past 25 years. We now understand just how and why scoliosis [...]
