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Treatments of Interstitial Cystitis
How is bladder pain syndrome (BPS) treated?
Treatment may include:
- Bladder training.
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To help your bladder get used to comfortably holding more urine, you can slowly increase the time between when you urinate during the day (not while sleeping).
- If you find you are urinating every 30 minutes, for example, you can set a schedule of going every 45 minutes during the day.
- If that works for a week, you may be able to increase your time to every 60 minutes.
- Slowly work your way up to 2½ hours.
- Physical therapy.
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A physical therapist can teach you exercises to relax the muscles in your lower belly, groin, and buttocks. You may want to look for a physical therapist who is specially trained in pelvic floor therapy.
- Medicines for pain and other symptoms.
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- Oral medicines (such as pills) include amitriptyline, pentosan polysulfate, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory medicines, and pain medicines.
- Medicines that are put into the bladder (bladder instillations) include dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or a combination of medicines, such as lidocaine, heparin, and sodium bicarbonate.
- Electrical stimulation.
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This treatment uses a mild electrical pulse to stop nerve pain.
- Other treatments.
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These include biofeedback, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), or acupuncture. These have been helpful for some people.
- Surgery.
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If no other treatments help, surgery might be done to repair a bladder problem. Or surgery may be done to stop nerve pain.
Your doctor may have you use a bladder diary to record how often you urinate and about how much urine is released.
Center for Female Urology and Neuro Urology
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