Forums:
I have questions regarding frequency. I was wondering if anyones frequency has resolved with treatment. It is one of the main issues I deal with having IC.
Recently it has been very inconsistent. I have been on stage one diet for 3-4 weeks now. I can usually sleep 4-5 hours a night straight ( with little sleep after that ). This is an improvement from the 2 hours of sleep I was getting for about 8 weeks prior to this. During the day though, the frequency varies. One day I was going every half hour consistently with 12 ounces of voiding. . The next day it was 3, sometimes 4 hours apart, with 8 ounces of voiding. then the next day it was an hour apart. Yesterday I was going about three hours apart but voiding 14 - 18 ounces each time. But by evening I was voiding every hour.
I was wondering if the frequency improved for anyone further along in their treatment to the point where frequency wasn't even an issue for them any longer. And if their bladder capacity improved immensely also.
Thanks ,
Sue.
I wanted to add that I
I wanted to add that I usually have to use the bathroom anywhere from 7 - 12 xs a day and that is with trying very hard to hold things in and to space out my bathroom visits.
I would not try to hold it
I would not try to hold it when you have the urge to pee. Dr B advised me against it. Even if you have to go frequently, it is better for your bladder just to go, especially if there is pain involved with holding it.
Things will get better for you as you move through treatment. I know it's tough to wait for your first appointment. It will be here before you know it and you'll be headed down the healing path. :)
Lisa Ann,
Lisa Ann,
I will heed your advice. I was trying to hold it in because my doctor said I should try to increase the time between bathroom visits. I hope I haven't been doing more damage to my bladder.
Thank you,
Sue
I suffer from ONLY frequency.
I suffer from ONLY frequency. Intense, annoying, sleep-depriving frequency.
Pico, your story sounds very much like mine when I first started. But I can't say it's really better for me. I had some alcohol/sugar slipups 7 months ago, then again this New Year's, which not only set me back, but put me on an entirely different track. This combined with the fact that I've been flirting with List 4 makes for pretty high frequency.
I actually think back to my first 2 months with Matia as the absolute best in my recovery. I almost immediately started being able to sleep up to 4-5 hours per night; and go up to 3 hours during the day. Then the slip ups and the list 3 just put me in a perpetual state of peeing every 30-60 minutes daytime and 60-90 minutes nitetime. On weeks when I've been more discplined, I'll start going 2-3 hrs between voiding day and nightime.
But here's the thing. I know that my frequency is directly correlated with my sticking to the diet (or not). So it's not like I think the treatment's not working. I know that when I've stuck to the diet resolutely, I have seen steady improvement. When I start to get lax, the improvement declines. It's funny, you'd think that'd I'd learn and I'd never cheat again, but I just go crazy when I feel too limited. Matia and I have discussed this. I just accept my "truth" and allow myself little cheats (not sugar/alcohol-- those are major slipups that I do not take lightly, I mean things like bread and fruit) so that in the long run, I'll stay on the right direction. It'll take a little longer, but that's just my path. Sigh...
The bottom line is: The treatment works. Just have faith in the process. It took me about 9 months into treatment for me to finally see enough pattern to finally believe that the process works, whether you see it or not.
I saw that you messaged me. Message me if you have more questions, I'm happy to answer :)
Another thing I wanted to
Another thing I wanted to mention is that Matia says that often time for gals like us, frequency improvement will be one-sided: skewed towards either day time or night time. So that if you improve greatly during daytime, there's a likelyhood you won't improve in the night time department for quite some while. And the reverse is true as well.