Understanding pain and coping in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome

Abstract

The results clarify the complex and unique process of self-regulation in women with IC/BPS, implicating cognitive and coping targets, and highlighting emotional regulation. This knowledge should help clinicians understand and manage these patients' distress and disability.

Anxiety severity does not influence treatment outcomes in patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome

“…IC symptoms mainly manifest as pain . In addition to suprapubic or lower abdominal pain, patients with urinary frequency, nocturia, urinary urgency, incomplete bladder voiding, and dyspareunia often are considerably affected, with symptom severity being irregular, intermittent, recurrent, or persistent .…”

“…Another study reported that IC/BPS was associated with not only increased risks of subsequent health care‐seeking behavior for anxiety, depression, and insomnia but also with a higher degree of depressive and anxiety symptoms compared with controls . The disease affects the conscious status of IC/BPS patients, as symptoms can cause feelings of anxiety and apprehension about going outside, sleep disturbance due to voiding frequency and nocturia, and sexual intimacy . However, many doctors do not focus on IC/BPS patients' mental illness, subjecting them to numerous ineffective trial, and error treatments that typically cause more depression and anxiety.…”

“…Patients’ negative perceptions of their disease may exacerbate their physical disability, leading to poor emotional adjustment and a disease‐centered outlook, which in turn can cause further social isolation and mental illness. In addition to treating the disease itself, the issue of self‐regulation should be addressed . Therefore, doctors who treat IC/BPS patients should understand the disease's impact on mental illness and take measures to help relieve patients' emotional distress so they can resume a normal life.…”

“…11 The disease affects the conscious status of IC/BPS patients, as symptoms can cause feelings of anxiety and apprehension about going outside, sleep disturbance due to voiding frequency and nocturia, 1 and sexual intimacy. 12 However, many doctors do not focus on IC/BPS patients' mental illness, subjecting them to numerous ineffective trial, and error treatments that typically cause more depression and anxiety. Most of the relevant published studies assessed their correlation without discussing the association of anxiety severity on therapeutic results.…”

“…In addition to treating the disease itself, the issue of self-regulation should be addressed. 12 Therefore, doctors who treat IC/BPS patients should understand the disease's impact on mental illness and take measures to help relieve patients' emotional distress so they can resume a normal life. IC/BPS is often considered a disease in which patients "suffer in silence," meaning that they appear healthy even though they are suffering from severe pain.…”