How to manage Painful Bladder Syndrome(PBS)/Interstitial Cystitis(IC)
In April of 2021, I was struggling with what I thought were recurrent UTIs. I had been suffering for years, but this time was different than all the times before. Nothing was working, nothing was providing relief, and the nights were sleepless. I remember crying day after day, not knowing what to do and how to manage. Sitting on google, Pinterest, and in Facebook groups looking for answers. Every doctor’s appointment led to more questions. I would schedule the appointment complaining of a UTI; they would test my urine, determine it was negative, still prescribe antibiotics, and send it out for a culture. A few days would pass, and they would call me back, letting me know that the culture was negative.
Is this you? Have you been struggling for weeks, months, YEARS? Let me walk through the process of how I found relief. Be sure to check out this post about how I got diagnosed with PBS/IC (Painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis). Click here
After discussing my issues with a doctor and friends, I decided to find a urogynecologist. When I finally had my appointment with my urogyn, it was determined that I had painful bladder syndrome, or it’s also known as interstitial cystitis. I highly recommend finding a urogynecologist in your area if you struggle with urinary health issues. After my diagnosis, my doctor gave me a ton of information about what to do to help relieve my pain. She also told me I needed to go on an elimination diet.
Suffering from frequent UTIs and want a supplement system that actually works? Click here to learn more about Uqora.
I started my elimination diet the next day. My doctor explained to me the importance of the elimination diet was to figure out what was inflaming my bladder. Essentially this was done to see if I had any “allergies” to the food I was eating. The elimination diet was challenging. Before I started eliminating things from my diet, my lower stomach was inflamed, and I looked extremely bloated.
For the first two weeks, I cut out coffee, tea, caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, anything acidic, processed meats, yogurts, chocolate, artificial sweeteners, pizza, tomatoes, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, salad dressings. I mean, you name it, and I eliminated it, according to the list provided to me by my doctor. During those two weeks, I ate cooked green beans with minimum seasoning, chicken breast with minimum seasoning, and salads with olive oil and avocado. I’m not going to lie it was awful. I was still miserable and still in pain but also very hungry. I didn’t drink coffee in the morning, which was BY far the most challenging part for me. I would wake up in a haze and drink water. Again, I can’t express enough how terrible these two weeks were.
Close to the end of the two weeks, I did find this helpful IC/PBS cookbook that I will link here for you. That would’ve made getting through the two weeks a little easier, but I didn’t find this until close to the end of the two weeks, but I did use it going forward.
At the end of the two weeks, a few things happened. First, my stomach was a normal, not bloated, not pregnant-looking belly. I was still dealing with UTI-like symptoms, but the inflammation had gone down significantly. I wasn’t using the restroom as much as I was before, and I could sleep throughout the night without having to get up to go to the bathroom.
During the third week, I started to introduce things back in. Day one, I tried coffee. I was dying to get coffee back into my routine. After one day, it was clear coffee was a no-go for me. I researched and found a low acid alternative, but I also read that cold brew coffee has less acid, so I bought a pitcher to create my own coffee cold brew. At first, I was using coffee creamer in my cold brew, I found out that was a trigger for me. It was a lot of trial and error in the first few weeks that I started re-introducing things back in.
Looking for relief from frequent UTIs? Click here to learn more about Uqora.
Another major trigger for me was soy. You would be shocked at how many things have soy in them. This was a major learning curve, but once I figured it out, I managed. When you start an elimination diet, there is a lot of trial and error until you figure out what works for you. For me, it’s about managing my triggers and avoiding foods that inflame me.
Every day with IC/PBS is about learning what works for your body and what doesn’t. Without starting with the elimination diet, I wouldn’t know what triggers me. Every meal would be like Russian roulette and that’s not fun when dealing with chronic pain.
Another key player in dealing with my PBS/IC is taking a daily probiotic/vaginal supplement. I came across a company called uqora. This company came about through a woman who was also stuck in the rut of frequent UTIs. Uqora was built with help from physicians and urologists. My favorite part about Uqora is that on their home page, they debunk the cranberry myth. This is something near to my heart because for years I would be told to drink cranberry juice and take cranberry supplements and every time, I did nothing but make my bladder angrier. Uqora offers a complete system for urinary health. They have a full spectrum of urinary health products that help keep your bladder biofilm and vaginal microbiome in balance.
For cheat days, I use Prelief (click here for Prelief). I take this before eating an acidic meal such as pizza or particularly acid foods. You can check out my storefront for my go-to items for relief in a pinch.
How people manage their IC/PBS is usually personal to that individual; however, most of us contribute our success to the diet change, daily probiotics/supplements, and medication from our doctors.
For me, the top steps I would recommend for a woman struggling with frequent UTI symptoms would be as follows:
1. Find a Urogynecologist to do testing and determine if you have PBS/IC
2. Do an elimination diet
3. Take daily supplements/probiotics – such as Uqora
4. Talk to your doctor about medication
5. Explore alternative medication such as Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
I hope this post helps you find a way to manage your symptoms. If there is any other information you are looking for from a personal perspective on my experience with diagnoses today please feel free to send me an email.
Be sure to check out these related posts:
Could your recurrent UTI’s be PBS/IC?
6 Remedies for Instant UTI Relief or IC Flare Relief
What to expect with an Endosee Office Hysteroscopy
The best soap for your vagina
