Remarkable Patients With IC - Janice Schmidt, Winemaker at Estate 1856 Winery (Editors Note - How could it be possible that a winemaker could also have interstitial cystitis? But then, how could an IC patient be a lead performer on Broadway or serve as an F18 Squadron commander? How about the secret service officer who served in [...]
by Hope Engel I have had interstitial cystitis (1C) since April 2010. Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) and most likely pudendal neuralgia followed it's evil partner in pain not long after. Like all of my fellow IC warriors, I would like nothing more than for both to miraculously take a hike from my body forever so [...]
How You Can Help Barbara Flanigan and Her Search For the Cause of IC (Editors Note – I’ve wanted to share Barbara Flanigan’s story and theory about IC for many years. Barbara was the founder the first Interstitial Cystitis Association here in California in 1983. She has always had one key goal in her volunteer work, [...]
(Editors Note - The plight of men with interstitial cystitis has never been fully told due to the misperception that IC/BPS is a woman's condition. In our Spring 2013 IC Optimist, we published a dozen stories from men struggling with IC. A professional chef, Tom's story shares how difficult it can be for men to [...]
How One Patient Was Forced To Have A Treatment Without Her Consent (Author: Jill H. Osborne MA, President, IC Network) There is no excuse for what happened to a female IC patient THIS YEAR. Her primary care provider suspected that she had interstitial cystitis and referred her to a urologist in her community. She made [...]
Our latest IC Optimist patient magazine is being sent to our subscribers this week and individual copies are available for sale! In this issue: (1) Editorial: Sam's Philosophy of Life - We're proud to begin this issue with an editorial featuring the remarkable Sam Bern's, who lived life with great joy despite facing a terminal [...]
We were so happy to see The Doctors TV show cover IC earlier this week. IC patient Elizabeth Bingheimer was fearless in sharing her life with interstitial cystitis on live TV. Like many patients, Elizabeth shared that at one point she thought that she had cancer. She said "this pain is so severe, it has [...]
I am 40 years old and was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis and Fibromyalgia over three years ago. Previous to that, I recall chronic UTIs from about the age of 18 but for the last few years, my life has been like a roller coaster ride, not knowing how severe the pain and symptoms of urgency [...]
I was born on Oct 15 1974. My twin sister died at birth. Before I was able to leave the hospital, I had bladder surgery. On my first birthday, I had surgery again. In the third grade, same old story, bladder surgery again. I was also having many infections but the surgeon, Dr. Hammond, did [...]
One morning in late September 2003, I woke up and noticed some burning when I urinated. It was just like how I remembered a bladder infection felt. I had only two in my life, one around 1975 and 1985. With those bladder infections I had frequency, I could only pee a little at a time [...]
