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| Interstitial Cystitis |
| Interstitial cystitis is a chronic disorder of bladder function characterized by frequent and urgent urination and bladder and pelvic pain, aggravated as the bladder fills. |
| Like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivities, it is yet another one of our chronic and subtle late-20th century health problems, whose causes include iatrogenesis, environmental factors, poor diet, and something akin to a cultural "spirit sickness." All of these disorders are prevalent in the industrialized world, with the U.S. topping the list with the most sufferers. |
| Even a decade ago, those with such disorders as Epstein-Barr and cytomegalovirus infections, as well as those with interstitial cystitis, were generally treated as if they were suffering from "yuppie burnout"self-obsessed hypochondriacs who should simply get back to work and shut up. Since 90 percent of those with interstitial cystitis were and are women, the most frequent response was tranquilizers and other antianxiety agents. These women had "neurotic bladders," were probably neurotic themselves and were best dealt with by shunting them over to the garbage collectors in psychiatry. It took the work of a physician-sufferer, Vicky Ratner, stubbornly educating her profession and the public about the disorder, to finally start to get medical recognition of the disease. The organization she founded, the Interstitial Cystitis Foundation (ICF), estimates that, as of 1995, the average person sees seven physicians before the condition gets correctly diagnosed. |
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