Some comments below prompted me to write this blog. There are so many emotional struggles with IC and I think they are all important to understand.

The first and most obvious struggle is quickly and thankfully becoming less and less of a problem-that is, to be believed that something real is wrong. More and more recognition is being given to IC. In the last couple of decades, there was not as much attention or credibility given the condition and people were given heartless suggestions by their doctors regarding their condition- assigning blame and shame to the symptoms. I have heard stories of patients being told they needed to have more sex, smoke cigars, and deal with their anger. I am not suggesting they have no anger or other feelings, but am suggesting that IC is a very real physical problem that needs real treatment. And, addressing any emotional issues should be adjunctive and not primary in treatment.

Among the non-medical community, family members and friends continue to be perplexed by their loved one’s ailments, and are often not only not offered support but in some cases are pressured by judgement over their new dietary and lifestyle restrictions. They may not understand why the IC would cause so much oversensitivity or how this could even be. They may not understand why their loved one cannot cheat on their diet-not even once for fear of the painful consequences. Their sexual partner may tire of waiting for their once fulfilled sex life to return. This may lead to hopelessness and depression on top of a situation that already has lead them to such feelings. This of course, is compounded by any accompanying disorders the person with the IC may also have. IC is often accompanied by other chronic and misunderstood conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Vulvadynia, IBS, and  Fibromyalgia. 

Less commonly, patients with IC have faced other serious conditions such as cancer. But, as we have seen from the posts below, these brave people do exist. It is difficult to understand how much pain one must ace in his or her life.
 
If we turn back the hands of time with many of these people, we can see a common background is often that they come from mothers who did not nurture them adequately-that did not hug them enough, or tell them how much they were loved, that did not spend enough words building his or her self esteem. This dynamic will often impact the nervous system which then in turn will effect the intestines, leading to poor digestion and constipation. Once the gastrointestinal changes have set in, how the person (usually still very young) handles it will determine what comes next. As time passes, anxiety often occurs and feelings of inadequacy lead to a tendency toward overachievement. Sound familiar? The pain of one’s past is not typically left there, but, is carried along side them through their adulthood, continuing to effect their developing IC.

Once the condition or conditions hit all the emotional pain of the past along with the struggle to be heard in the present and the pain of not knowing what will become of the future come descending onto this one person who feels-all alone. It is overwhelming to say the least.

I am not suggesting that this is everyone’s path with IC, but, it certainly is a typical depiction of the past and present of many. One can come to this point in his or her life and ask, “why have I been dealt this hand?”, or one may embrace this juncture of life as a fork in the road and decide to choose the higher path-the path that involves hope, and positivity, and courage, and realize that this may be an opportunity to make many positive and wonderful changes in life that may have a very significant impact on improving the quality of their own health and the health of their family. In turn the healthier you will change the cycle of the past and the future of your own children. Regardless of the outlook, people with IC face many obstacles-some that cannot be helped, some that, with more understanding perhaps could, but, the one thing that they share without question-they are brave people trying only to recapture what was, what is, and what will be.