I know strangers on the internet shouldn’t diagnose, but will you strangers on the internet diagnose me please?!

[MrsGrindah]

I have a bladder problem that is driving me mad. First , it comes and goes but is currently in a flare up. My bladder feels sore and I need to go to the loo more often. It’s worse in the middle of the night. Alcohol definitely aggravates it but it can happen when I haven’t had alcohol too. No problem weeing..it not cystitis. Saw a doctor a few months ago who was very dismissive and said see how it goes.. it got better and now it’s back. Obviously I need to make another appointment but as it’s bad tonight I was wondering if anyone has had something similar.

Sorry no personal history of that. Go back to your gp and take a urine sample.

Also keep note of when and how long it happens each time.

It sounds like cystitis, why do you think it isn’t that? Cystitis didn’t always result in problems weeing or an infection. I experienced what I felt was interstitial cystitis for a few years. It is worth identifying triggers (such as alcohol, caffeine etc) and avoiding them.

Have you been checked out at the GP?

Is it different depending on which stage of your menstrual cycle you’re on? I have endometriosis and before I had a laparoscopic excision at some points in my cycle I had all sorts of weird bladder symptoms (including needing to wee urgently at night - or rather when I was lying down - and it really hurting if I needed to go). Turned out the endo had effectively gone all over the outside of my bladder and kind of started to stick it to other organs. The excision worked brilliantly, so if it is that it’s horrid but there’s often a lot that can be done to help.

I know someone with this exact problem. It was always worst at night and caused her a lot of distress. Her problem turned out to be food allergies, mostly various nuts, sesame, latex, and bovine protein.

Personally I find my bladder gets agitated with caffeine so I avoid that. It also seems agitated a day or so before I get a migraine.

I would definitely see your GP. They may well be dismissive, it took my friend a few years to get to the root cause. Try keeping a food diary to see if you can notice a pattern, then try eliminating potential triggers to see f that helps.

Go to patient.info and type ‘interstitial cystitis’ into the search, see what you think

Sounds like an upper uti

Thanks I think it could be IC or irritable bladder syndrome. found a good site that suggests lifestyle changes first - no caffeine, choc, tomatoes or citrus fruit for two weeks. The reason I did t think it was cystitis was I’ve had that many times but the symptoms this time are completely different. Dr was extremely dismissive so I want to try the diet changes first. ibuprofen helped last night too but I don’t want to take it every day