Interstitial Cystitis Association
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Pain Management

This survey is intended to address IC patients' experiences with regard to receiving adequate pain management using opioid/prescription pain medication.

Period: January 15, 2003 -- November 21, 2003
Total Responses: 971

1. What is your gender?
Female (93.5%)
Male (6.5%)

2. What is your age?
Under 21 (2.5%)
21 - 30 (19.3%)
31 - 40 (26.0%)
41 - 50 (28.1%)
51 - 60 (15.7%)
61 - 70 (5.7%)
71 - 80 (2.5%)
Over 80 (0.4%)

3. Have you been diagnosed with IC?
Yes (92.9%)
No (7.1%)

3b. If no, do you experience the symptoms of IC (pain, urinary frequency and urgency), but have never been officially diagnosed?

Yes (100.0%)
No (0.0%)

4. How would you describe the level of your pain?
Mild (6.1%)
Moderate (19.7%)
Severe (33.2%)
Varies (41.1%)

5. Does the level of your pain vary from day to day, or does it remain at a constant level?
Varies from day to day (84.3%)
Remains at a constant level (15.7%)

6. Do you feel that your treating physician takes your IC pain seriously?
Yes (68.4%)
No (31.6%)

7. Do you feel that your IC pain is being treated inadequately?
Yes (47.8%)
No (52.2%)

8. Have you ever been prescribed pain medications, also known as opioid or narcotic analgesics, (Tylenol #3, Vicodin, Percocet, codeine, morphine, etc.) for the treatment of your IC on either a short-term or long-term basis?
Yes, on a short-term basis (27.8%)
Yes, on a long-term basis (14.8%)
Yes, on both a short- and long-term basis (20.1%)
No (37.3%)

9. If you are taking prescription pain medication, are you receiving this prescription through your treating physician or a pain clinic?
Through my treating physician (78.3%)
Through a pain clinic (12.6%)
Other source (9.1%)

10. If you are taking prescription pain medication, did you find that your physician was reluctant to prescribe these medications to you?
Yes (38.5%)
No (61.5%)

10a. If yes, do you feel that you needed pain medications, but that your treating physician was not willing to prescribe them to you?

Yes (80.9%)
No (19.1%)

10b. If no, was your physician willing to prescribe pain medications to you on an ongoing basis to be used as needed for your IC pain/flares?

Yes (85.0%)
No (15.0%)

11. If your physician was not willing to prescribe pain medication to you, did he or she refer you to a pain clinic?
Yes (20.7%)
No (79.3%)

11a. If yes, was the pain management specialist at the pain clinic able to help you to reduce your pain using prescription pain medications?

Yes (60.4%)
No (39.6%)

12. Have you ever been prescribed long-acting formulations of opioids, such as MS-Contin, methadone or Oxycontin to treat the pain of your IC?
Yes (16.2%)
No (83.8%)

13. Have you ever been prescribed a pain patch, pump, or other non-oral narcotic device to help you with your IC pain (such as the transdermal Fentanyl Patch, rectal suppositories such as B & O suppositories, infusion pumps that deliver pain medication to the spine, etc.)?
Yes (11.0%)
No (89.0%)

More information about pain mananagement.