Bladder Pain

Lower abdominal or pelvic pain may be caused by chronic bladder pain / interstitial cystitis (bladder pain syndrome).  Amanda truly has a passion for taking care of women with chronic pelvic pain; specifically interstitial cystitis.  She will offer comprehensive, compassionate care that is tailored to your specific symptom set.  At her private women’s health practice, experienced board-certified nurse practitioner Amanda Phelps-Jones, WHNP-BC, provides empathetic patient-centric care for bladder pain and its underlying conditions in the Evansville, Indiana office. Book your appointment online or call the office for help today.

What is bladder pain syndrome?

Bladder pain syndrome, or interstitial cystitis (IC), is a condition that causes pain in the lower abdomen. It may be intermittent or constant, and it’s common for the pain to recede after you urinate but steadily build up again as your bladder refills. The two main aspects of bladder pain syndrome are: 

Increased urinary urgency

Urinary urgency refers to a powerful urge to urinate immediately. This urge hits very suddenly and can be very inconvenient. People who experience urinary urgency often “map out” areas when they go out to eat or shop because they need to know where all the bathrooms are and how to get to them fast when they’re hit with an urge.

Increased urinary frequency

Most people urinate seven times in a 24-hour period, and they don’t have to wake up to urinate more than once overnight. With bladder pain syndrome, it’s common to urinate twice as often, or even more frequently than that, and sleep is usually disturbed multiple times at night. 

In addition, bladder pain syndrome can cause problems like severe lower abdominal pressure and painful intercourse. 

Are bladder pain syndrome and overactive bladder the same thing? 

While they can cause similar symptoms, bladder pain syndrome and overactive bladder are two different things. 

With overactive bladder, you have urinary urgency, which frequently leads to accidental urine loss (urge incontinence). Overactive bladder rarely causes bladder pain, which is the hallmark symptom of bladder pain syndrome. 

Bladder pain syndrome doesn’t usually cause urge incontinence, while overactive bladder can. So, if you leak urine with bladder pain syndrome, that symptom may be connected to another issue. 

How is bladder pain syndrome treated? 

Amanda uses a personalized approach to treat bladder pain syndrome. Most people respond to conservative treatments, such as: 

• Eliminating bladder-irritating foods like tomatoes, alcohol, citrus fruits, and coffee
• Stress reduction techniques
• Pelvic floor exercises
• Anti-inflammatory medication
• Drugs that reduce bladder spasms
• Oral supplements
• Bladder instillations
• Compounded vaginal pain suppositories

If conservative therapies aren’t effective, there are advanced options that can be discussed.  Amanda is strongly committed to working with you to find a treatment approach that fits your lifestyle and budget.

If you’re having bladder pain and are searching for symptom relief, Amanda Phelps-Jones, WHNP-BC, is here for you. Call the office or click on the provided online booking feature for empathetic care today.