Hello everyone, at the age of 70 Ive recently diagnosed myself with IC, the usual p[ainful burning from bladder until I empty bladder which stops it for a while.
generally wakes me 2 or 3 times during sleep.
have had IC on and off since I was a baby, got no understanding or help from docs at all, eventually tried bi carb soda wiich didnt help, recently taking another urinary alkaliniser which does help a bit

now, just knowing what my problem is reduces it for me
at one stage the burning continued even with bladder emptied, saw urologist who obviously knew nothing about IC and he cysterscoped me but found nothing wrong, he forgot to mention about trying bicarb soda, also.
wasnt at all easy to live with it for the 70 years, mostly convinced that no one else knew what was wrong
also recently needed prostste surgery and my burning was a mystery to them
fortunately the burning all the time didnt last long
have self help book 'the IC survival guide' and am reading it