By Richard White
After four years of suffering from the symptoms of interstitial cystitis (IC) along with a variety of medicines, surgeries, diets, and doctors, I resolved to find the doctor who could possibly help me. I did find him and I have been free from IC symptoms since.
Going back -- in 1999, I first developed IC symptoms which consisted of frequent urination (at least once every 90 minutes), voiding three to seven times after retiring at night, frequent pain, and unbearable pain if I delayed urinating. I saw a number of specialists, was put on a variety of medicines, underwent hydrodistentions and cystoscopies, and tried various diets, but nothing was effective. As you know, IC drastically diminishes your quality of life, so I made up my mind to do research and try to find a doctor who could possible help me. I didn’t care if that doctor was a 1,000 miles or more away, if he or she could help me, it would be well worth the trip.
I was able to find a doctor whom I thought could assist me. He is Dr. Christopher Payne, a highly recognized specialist in the treatment of IC at Stanford University Hospital in California, and a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA).
I was examined by Dr. Payne in May 2003 and he noted that I had a very serious case of IC with extensive bladder ulcers. The following month, I underwent a cystoscopy and hydrdrodistention by Dr. Payne. Two months later, I started on a DMSO cocktail, once a week for five weeks. Since then, I have a DMSO cocktail once a month, take 75mg of hydroxyzine before retiring each night, and am free of IC symptoms.
In the past I have received calls from a number of people with IC symptoms and I tell them what I did. Some, even to me as a layman, have obviously been misdiagnosed, and many refuse to leave the doctor who has been unsuccessfully treating them for a long time, sometimes for years. Trust me, not all doctors have the same expertise.
Posted May 26, 2009