Interstitial Cystitis / full bladder, urge to urinate - my solution!

[sorebitz]

For the past month I had flare ups of what I thought was a sort of cystitis - I just constantly needed to wee. A couple of nights it stopped me sleeping altogether which was ghastly. I tried the usual potassium citrate sachets, but a couple of days later it'd be back again. I thought it was IC, until my daughter said she was feeling the need to go again immediately after her bedtime wee. I had never mentioned my condition to her.

Remembering something I had heard years ago I checked my washing powder. I'd bought a big box on offer a month ago (hmm), though non bio, it had blue specks in. This colour, I'd remembered, could be an irritant and there is an IC site which among other things advises people not to use blue toilet paper. So I switched to a non bio without blue specks (I heart persil), washed all our undies, and all is thankfully as it should be.

Unless you've experienced the symptoms of IC you can't imagine what a royal pain it is. So if this post helps even one person with suspected IC realise that their problem is the same as mine was, I'll be glad.

Equally if anyone has had the same experience I'd be interested; perhaps the washing powder manufacturers should just ban the blue?

Name changed to post this.

interesting thank you, I have suffered with recurrent UTI in the past and any little tip is helpful to avoid further problems.

Yes hope it helps someone! I'm amazed it's not more common knowledge - I'm not usually sensitive/ allergic to anything. Weird.

Is it just the powders do you think or would blue liquid detergents have the same effect? I suffer from intermittant cystitis but have never heard of this before.

Definitely avoid blue liquid detergents too. I've chucked out our blue washing machine calgon and am wondering whether to get rid of my Always sanitary towels as they have a blue patch. Also avoid blue toilet paper. It works for me - just wish I knew why!!

Most fabric softeners set me off in the same way - regardless of colour - Comfort Pure is the only one I have found that I can use.

Chitchat that's interesting, luckily that's the only one I've bought recently and don't use it on my stuff often. Do you have any ideas about specific ingredients? Wish I'd done more chemistry.

No idea. The fabric softener sheets (that you pop in the tumble dryer) are even worse.

How odd. I do wonder how many people never make the connection and just think they have weird bladder things going on. It's just so awful when it happens. -the not sleeping thing is really unimaginably irritating unless you've had it.

I know what you mean - my DMIL used the sheets and I thought I was going a bit crazy with these occasional outbursts (not on my clothing, but on the towels we used and on the bedlinen). Took me ages to work out what it was. I think it was also a gradual build up. The first time you come in contact with it you don't necessarily react, but continuous contact after a few days can cause the reaction.

I will now react from just using a towel that has been in the fabric softener. In hotels as a precautionary measure I 'air dry' my groin area, and always wear underwear/pjs in their beds.

I used to go through it whenever I visited and stayed with my DM. I had to rewash a towel and bedlinen because she uses fabric softener, and I always react to them. After many years she has finally accepted that I'm not making it up and she doesn't use it for anything I will come in personal contact with anymore (especially when I jokingly threatened to smack her hands when she kept stealing my clothes from my room to wash for me!!!)

I still use less of the fabric softener I can use than is recommended on the bottle.

For your info, a drop of tea tree oil on my finger and 'applied' will usually settle minor reactions.

Chitchat - very interesting story - and great tip!! Glad your DML came round to believing you, it's strange how people react with disbelief if they've had no experience if it themselves. Am hoping I won't need to try the tea tree - does it sting?! - but I'll repost if I do, and let you know if it works for me!

Really? Incontinence is a hobby horse of mine, and getting higher and higher by the day.

I've not heard of this - am wondering, do you get other symptoms? Like a rhinitus, dermatitis or a cough? Or, is it just the fanjo mucosa that's affected?

What on earth is in those wee blue bits? Strikes me as similar to the pink and yellow rice formthe takeaway...what is that?

No other symptoms whatsoever; but I don't suppose other parts of my body are so delicate and in such close proximity to clothing.

I have no idea what's in the blue bits! Just know to avoid them. It's not incontinence as such, more the constant urge to go (no leaks!), to the point that I couldn't sleep at times for having that need a wee feeling.

I think the takeaway rice is food colouring - was in a chinese cash and carry recently and red food colouring was clearly in great demand as there was stacks of it!

thanks for that! Am bemused as to what those blue thingies are...I shall pick a bunch of them out and rub them on DH's pants to see what happens!

Another tip regarding cystitis: if it has a bacterial origin, it can be helped massively by vitamin C. 1000mg-1500mg, twice a day has stopped mine in it's tracks. Works fast too.

That all sounds frightfully scientific, Ted.

Is it mainstream medical opinion?

Interesting stuff considering alot of us are vit d deficient in the UK

Exactly Ted, doesn't matter if it is mainstream medical opinion at all. If it works for you then hats off to you for doing your own research and finding something that works for you. As you say it can take a long time to change medical opinion and doctors are so constrained by their NICE guidelines these days.

Of course, if it suits you, that's fine for you.

I just wondered if there was good scientific evidence to support the health claim.

I suffer from Interstitial Cystitis and wondered why it has come back for the past 2 months after 9 months in remission even though I had kept ridgedly to the IC diet. After reading your comments I realised that I had changed from a yellow conditioner to a blue one so that could be the reason. I will change back straight away. Thanks

Probiotics work for me, but this it all very interesting.