Articles:
Treatment - medication (pentosan polysulfate)
Oral pentosan polysulfate (Elmiron) is believed to provide a protective coating in the bladder, but studies show it is not statistically significant compared to placebo. However, some studies have found that a minority of patients do respond to pentosan polysulfate.Section: Interstitial cystitis
Treatment - pain control
Pain control is usually necessary in the IC/PBS treatment plan. The pain of IC/PBS has been rated equivalent to cancer pain and may lead to central sensitization if untreated. Medication. The use of a variety of traditional pain medications, including opiates and synthetic opioids like tramadol, is often necessary to treat the varying degrees of pain. Even ...Section: Interstitial cystitis
Diagnosis
Diagnosis has been greatly simplified in recent years with the development of two new methodologies. The Pelvic Pain Urgency/Frequency (PUF) Patient Survey, created by C. Lowell Parsons, is a short questionnaire that will help doctors identify if pelvic pain could be coming from the bladder. The KCl test, also known as the potassium ...Section: Interstitial cystitis
Independence and invulnerability - coping strategies
Standards of masculinity can not only create stress in themselves for some men, they can also limit these men's abilities to relieve stress. Men and women have different ways that they appraise stressful situations and cope with them. Some men appraise situations using the schema of what is an acceptable masculine response rather than what is objectively the ...Section: Mens health risks
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome - prevalence
The annual prevalence in the general population of chronic pelvic pain syndrome is 0.5%. 38% of primary care providers, when presented with a vignette of a man with CPPS, indicate that they have never seen such a patient. However, the overall prevalence of symptoms suggestive of CP/CPPS is 6.3%. The role of the prostate was questoned in the etiology of CP/CPPS when both men ...Section: Prostatitis