Bladder pain syndrome, or BPS, is a chronic disease that affects your bladder. It is also known as interstitial cystitis (IC). This is where the wall in your bladder becomes inflamed causing the bladder to be very sensitive. BPS causes frequent visits to the bathroom as many as 40-60 times a day in severe cases. It also keeps you up at night.

We have the best urologist at Doral Health and Wellness Urology Center that can help you with symptoms of bladder pain syndrome. You can contact us by visiting our clinic or visiting our website at https://www.urologistbrooklyn.com.

Symptoms

Symptoms of this condition can vary from person to person which can be mild, severe, or constant. It can change in a day, in a week, or sometimes, symptoms can linger for months or years. They might even go away without treatment. Some of the symptoms may be similar to a bladder infection. Common symptoms of this condition include:

• Pelvic pain, pain in the tummy, lower back, or lower tummy
• Pressure or discomfort as the bladder fills up
• Urinating in small amount
• The need to pee often
• For men: pain during orgasm or after sex, pain in the scrotum, testicles, or penis
• For women: pain during sex, pain in the vulva, vagina, or the area behind the vagina

For women, symptoms can be more painful during menstrual periods. The bladder pain can vary from a dull ache to piercing pain. Peeing could also make you feel a little sting or a burning feeling.

There are also factors that make these symptoms worse, like foods/drinks and stress, both mental and physical.

Causes

Although causes for BPS are yet to be completely understood, it may be related to other medical conditions such as:

• Defects in your bladder lining
• Presence of abnormal substances in your urine
• Autoimmune diseases
• Allergies
• Vascular diseases
• Other unidentified infection

Diagnosis

There is no definitive test to diagnose bladder pain syndrome. If you go to the doctor and complain about bladder pain with the frequency of going to the bathroom, the next step will be to rule out all the other infections and conditions. Your medical provider may run different tests like:

• Urine sample and urinalysis – used to determine infection so the doctor can treat your infection with antibiotics
• Biopsy of the bladder wall and urethra – to help determine or rule out cancer
• Cystoscopy – this procedure is used to examine the inside of your bladder. This could also rule out bladder cancer

Treatment

Although IC cannot be cured, there are many different ways to manage it. Treatments are aimed to relieve the symptoms. Bladder pain treatments can include:

• Diet – You may want to remove certain food and drinks that you’ve observed that made your symptoms worse.
• Exercise – Physical activity may help relieve the symptoms of BPS
• Reducing stress – Stress triggers symptoms. Learning how to manage stress makes living with BPS more bearable
• Bladder retaining – This a treatment that will help you retain urine in the bladder a little longer. This will help minimize the need to go to the bathroom more often.
• Oral medication – This treatment is for managing the pain brought about by BPS
• Bladder instillations – This treatment is to fill the bladder with liquid medicine.
• Surgery – Surgery is the last resort of treatment for BPS. This procedure may be used to remove parts of the bladder or the entire bladder. If you have already tried every possible course of treatment but the pain is still excruciating then surgery may be considered.

Bladder pain syndrome can bring a lot of challenges to the person with this condition. It affects social life, sleep, and even the ability to work. Despite all these, learning how to live with it and manage the symptoms could help you live a better quality of life.

If you or your loved one has symptoms of bladder pain syndrome, have them/yourself checked. You can schedule an appointment with Doral Health and Wellness Urology Center’s best urologist in Brooklyn. Our specialists will work with you in managing your condition. To schedule an appointment, please visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11212, or call 1-347-384-5690. You can also visit our website at https://www.urologistbrooklyn.com/.