Painful Bladder Syndrome Treatment Specialist in Arcadia, and Glendale, CA

Painful bladder syndrome, also known as interstitial cystitis, causes bladder pressure, pain, and pelvic pain. It is a chronic condition that causes pain that ranges from mild discomfort to severe pain.

The bladder is a hollow and muscular organ that holds urine. The bladder will expand until it is full and then will signal your brain that it is time to urinate. With painful bladder syndrome, the signals to the brain get mixed up and you feel the need to urinate more frequently, but only small amounts of urine are released.

Painful bladder syndrome most often affects women and can impact the quality of life. While there is no cure, therapies and medication can help.

The symptoms of painful bladder syndrome can vary with each person. The symptoms can also vary over time in the same person. The symptoms can be associated with menstruation, long periods of sitting, stress, exercise, or sexual activity.

The symptoms of a painful bladder include:
• Pain in the pelvis or between the anus and vagina
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Persistent need to urinate
• Frequent urination with small amounts of urine
• Pain while the bladder fills and relief after urinating
• Pain during sex

The severity of the symptoms will vary with each person and each person could experience symptom-free periods. Painful bladder syndrome can resemble a chronic urinary tract infection. Symptoms can worsen if a person does get a UTI.

The cause of painful bladder syndrome is not known. There are a number of possible factors that are thought to be possible causes. Even though the cause is not yet known, there are still risk factors related to this that are known. Painful bladder syndrome is much more common in women than in men. Age is a factor, with most people being diagnosed in their 30s or older. If you have a chronic pain disorder, such as fibromyalgia or irritable bowel syndrome, seem to be factors.

The complications that come with painful bladder syndrome can reduce the quality of life. The bladder wall can stiffen over time and this will allow it to hold less urine, creating a chronic problem. It will lower your quality of life due to frequent urination. The pain associated with it can interfere with work and social activities. It can cause sexual intimacy problems due to frequent urination or pain. It can cause emotional problems caused by lack of sleep due to the need to get up and urinate at the night.

Painful bladder syndrome cannot be cured, but there are ways that it can be treated. A urogynecologist will have a good understanding of what can be done to help. The OB-GYN & Incontinence Center specializes in OB-GYN and urogynecology. Treatments for painful bladder focus on relieving symptoms. This can be done by paying attention to diet and physical activity. Stress can be a trigger for painful bladder; learning to manage stress has been shown to help. Physical therapy or bladder retraining can be tools to manage the symptoms of the painful bladder. Medications can be used or in extreme cases, surgery may be necessary. OB-GYN & Incontinence Center can help you find the right approach to dealing with the chronic pain that comes with this specific health concern. For more information, call us or book an appointment online with our Gynecology/Urogynecology Doctor, or visit our clinic. We have convenient locations to serve you. We look forward to serving you! We serve patients from Arcadia CA, West Covina CA, Glendale CA, Whittier CA, Pasadena CA, Alhambra CA, and Baldwin Park CA.