IC 101: It's Not Just A Bladder Disease offers a new approach to the diagnosis and treatment of interstitial cystitis, bladder pain syndrome, hypersensitive bladder syndrome and chronic overlapping pain conditions. Recognizing that a "one treatment fits all approach" has failed millions, it introduces newly diagnosed and veteran patients to a new subtyping system that may help patients determine the actual cause of their symptoms. Patients who have had "normal" bladders for years will learn that structures outside of their bladder may be the actual source of their dysfunction. Patients with visible bladder wall irritation will learn the many potential, and preventable, triggers for bladder wall irritation and dysfunction. Years before they met, Gaye Grissom Sandler and Jill Heidi Osborne sought an answer to the pain that they struggled with. From skin sensitivity to bladder and bowel pain, they knew that their condition was not mental or emotional. After starting IC support groups thousands of miles apart, they were stunned to find other patients who shared their struggles. Now 30 years later, researchers have begun to connect the dots and it begins with a fundamental concept - that structures outside of the bladder may be responsible for their "IC" symptoms. Newly diagnosed patients will be given a more individualized and intuitive treatment plan that can actually reduce, if not heal, their symptoms. For the veteran patient who has exhausted all treatment options, it will open new doors of treatment and self-care. Published by the Interstitial Cystitis Network
