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Treatments of Interstitial Cystitis
How is bladder pain syndrome (BPS) treated?
Treatment may include:
- Bladder training.
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To help your bladder get used to comfortably holding more urine, you can slowly increase the time between when you urinate during the day (not while sleeping).
- If you find you are urinating every 30 minutes, for example, you can set a schedule of going every 45 minutes during the day.
- If that works for a week, you may be able to increase your time to every 60 minutes.
- Slowly work your way up to 2½ hours.
- Physical therapy.
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A physical therapist can teach you exercises to relax the muscles in your lower belly, groin, and buttocks. You may want to look for a physical therapist who is specially trained in pelvic floor therapy.
- Medicines.
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- Medicines taken by mouth (oral medicines) include amitriptyline, pentosan polysulfate, antihistamines, and anti-inflammatory medicines.
- Medicines that are put into the bladder (bladder instillations) are often combined with other medicines. These include medicines such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), lidocaine, heparin, and sodium bicarbonate.
- Counseling.
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A professional counselor can help you cope with pain, stress, and depression. It may also help to join a support group for people with BPS or chronic pain.
- Other treatments.
These include botulinum toxin injections in the bladder and acupuncture. These have been helpful for some people.
- Surgery.
If no other treatments help, surgery may be needed. It might be done to stop nerve pain or help with a problem like bladder distension. As a last resort, surgery may be done to remove the bladder.
Your doctor may have you use a bladder diary to record how often you urinate and about how much urine is released.
Center for Female Urology and Neuro Urology
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