"Taking Back Your Life"
An open letter from Edward L. Davis M.D., Citrus Valley Urologic Medical
Group, Inc.
Welcome to www.ICaction.com. The
reason for this web site is to distribute as widely as possible current
approaches to the diagnosis, treatment, management, and life with Interstitial
Cystitis. The thoughts and opinions expressed on these pages reflect our efforts
to share the knowledge that we have gained from a practice that has more than
800 patients with documentation photos of the IC diagnosis.
It is my belief that IC is a complex of separate inflammatory processes that
can begin to show the first symptoms as early in life as bed wetting, problems
at school with being unable to control voiding, and the labeling that a child
has a "small" or "nervous bladder." Progressively these
problems appear to increase with the life demands of maturity.
Diet and hormonal changes can foster the emotional and physical environment that
makes the progressive nature of IC become even more evident. What appear to be
bladder infections or prostatitis enter the picture. The inflammatory process
that compromises the bladder lining begins to show it self as urgency, frequency
and pelvic pain. Taking antibiotics become a way of life and labels are extended to having
chronic bladder and/or prostate infections, or "over active bladder."
One hundred years ago a gynecologist identified and named a painful
ulcerative condition of the bladder lining. Until the past decade the medical
profession was satisfied that Hunner's Ulcers were a condition relegated to the
painful fate of elderly woman. No one to date has the answer as to how or why
this ulcerative process begins; the theories range from histamine release to
potassium leakage, but the progressive destruction of the bladder lining is very
real.
The challenge of IC is to learn your individual methods to
relieve the symptoms and reverse this process of bladder lining destruction. This web site is part
of the partnership that we believe will help you reach that goal. Our
commitment is to work with you to form the links you need to take control of
your life. We welcome you and look forward to you sharing your questions
and progress.
Sincerely,
Edward L. Davis M.D.
