Living with Interstitial Cystitis

This has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I am 22 years old and have just been diagnosed with IC It started off about 2 years ago with just waking up one time a night to go to the bathroom and it has become much worse since then. I have a moderate to severe case of IC and many days are not great.

I have not gotten a full night sleep in over 2 years and it makes me feel tired all the time. No one understands why I dread going to sleep at night, its that horrible feeling of discomfort and having to go to the bathroom from the time I fall asleep to the time I wake up(usually an hour later) There are times when I try to lay down and get up 15 times before I either fall asleep or just start crying. No one understands how it feels or what I am going through.

I have a lot of pain during sex, so pretty much that is nonexistent with me and my boyfriend. He has been great through all of this and has been very supportive and I don’t know if I could do this without him. I have been taking Elmiron two times a day for about 4 months, I feel better but not as good as I want to feel. I know there are going to be flare ups, but I just want to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I want to know there will also be days where I can sleep through the night. I hate when I can’t sleep, it makes me not care about myself. I don’t like feeling depressed, I am usually a happy person. I know there are lots of treatments, but I just wished I knew what worked so I could feel normal again.