Symptoms And Diagnosis Of Interstitial Cystitis

Pain And Voiding Test

A pain and voiding test may be used in addition to other diagnostic tests to help make an interstitial cystitis diagnosis in an affected individual. The primary symptom that characterizes interstitial cystitis is frequent pain. A physician will administer a series of tests where the patient is asked to fill out several questionnaires to evaluate what their baseline pain value is. The evaluation primarily aims to identify the patient's locations of pain, pain characteristics, intensity or severity of their pain, and to determine the factors that cause their discomfort and pain to become worse or better. Part of this evaluation is the physician inquiring about how often the affected individual voids urine. A consistent but infrequent pattern of voiding urine can indicate the patient is being affected by another condition or problem. A pattern of the individual voiding high volumes of urine can prompt the physician to also consider other urological disease and conditions besides interstitial cystitis that could be causing their symptoms.

Bladder Diary

A voiding diary or bladder diary can be an important tool for a physician when trying to evaluate a patient's symptoms, and if they are characteristic of interstitial cystitis. A bladder diary is essentially a log of several things an affected individual keeps track of over a timespan of three to seven days. The patient will record every instance of fluid intake during this time period and the amount of such consumption. The bladder diary also will include each time the individual voids their bladder of urine, the symptoms that occur during voiding, and the amount of such urine excretion. The patient will also log the date and time of any symptoms that manifest, as well as the activity they were engaging in when the symptom became apparent. Individuals are also encouraged to record their consumption of certain foods known to trigger the symptoms of interstitial cystitis. Many bladder diaries used for the purpose of interstitial cystitis diagnosis also include the frequency and severity rating of a patient's pain. It is also helpful when the individual records any accidents that involve involuntary urine leakage from the bladder.