I found this post on Reddit about this person having found significant relief from Interstitial Cystitis due to 6 weeks of nerve block injections. She says her frequency is gone, the pain is 95% gone, and no bladder spasms. I included her complete testimony below. I also reached out to her to see if she is still getting relief from those nerve blocks. If she responds, I will update this blog post.
Hi all! I have dual endo/IC. My bladder symptoms actually led to my endo diagnosis but there was no actual endo in my bladder. Surgery didn’t help my bladder.
I did PT for nearly 6 months with little improvement. My PT begged me to do instillations but for various reasons—esp medical trauma around obgyn procedures—I just can’t do it. I’ve completely modified my diet and ONLY drink still unflavored water and light colored tea. Has barely done anything. Besides daily Azo, the only pharmaceuticals that touch it are high dose gabapentin and muscle relaxers but I can’t do that consistently.
Went back to pelvic pain doc and she suggested a 6 week course of nerve block injections. The shots are only a pinch and barely hurt! You are out of the office in 10 minutes.
I am on week 6 and this is the best I’ve felt since this all began over 2 years ago. The frequency is gone, the pain is 95% gone, and no bladder spasms. I don’t remember the last time I needed Azo. I’m not planning on going back to my old diet any time soon, but I feel so much relief. I hope that folks can keep this open as an option—it may really help for you.
Below is a screenshot of the actual post on Reddit.
TREATING INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS 