Cellular level

I think there are alot of reasons why people feel bladder pain and probably many different triggers or causes. The end product is severe pain and poor quality of life in many cases. The trigger may not turn out to be bacterial. I had never had a bacterial infection but i had had 2 kidney stones with one requiring cystoscopy removal about 20 years ago. I think my problem probably goes back 20 years. I also have ibs. There is definately a link. The stories are similar in many cases and different in many others. I think that singer people are predisposed to certain conditions and a perfect storm occurs, a stressfull life event, a virus or bacteria, anti biotics and changes to the bladder lining at a molecular level. The eventual answer will probably be different in different people and not 1 common cause. Treatment may become standardized once they work out how to rebuild the bladder living using stem cell technology. Stem cells will probably provide the answer

I don't mean to be opposite, but I believed kidney stones were a known source of bacteria. I remember a urologist telling me kidney stones shed low levels of bacteria and part of the IC/PBS diagnosis process is to rule out kidney stones.

Hey dantheman, have read most of your many posts. Are you taking pain meds? I have been told they only help 30% and I have found that to be true. But hey a 6 or 7 beats a 9 or 10. Big time. I know a man with IC who gets kidney stones also. He is doing well with Amitriptaline sp? The lucky guy. My brother has kidney stones, but no IC. He is a small animal vet, so back in the mid 70's, I asked him what he did with his cats with IC, and he cheerfully replied, "put them to sleep." You can imagine how this made me feel in my early 20's. You mentioned reading Dr. Parsons. I got to meet him at the NIH meeting in the 90's and he answered all my questions. I felt that he was considered the wise old man by other researchers. Dr. Tony Buffington is a vet and does cat IC research. You might be interested in reading his most recent papers.
You have to hang in there. And talk to a LOT of people before you consider having your bladder taken out, promise me. I am a glass half full person since getting IC, but I am more encouraged than I have ever been. IC Queen

Every single person I have ever spoken with tried to figure out what happened just before symptoms began to give them the disease. Several people, who didn't know about feline IC, swear they caught the disease from their cat.

I have cats but they don't have ic nor does my wife or my 7 brothers and sisters or mum. Truth is no one knows if this is one disease or dozens of different diseases which end up causing the same symptoms. Think about it, there are only so many things that a bladder can do when it is feeling sick. It can become inflamed, wee alot, spasm, become irritable. Regardless of what caused the problem what is needed is a multi disciplinary approach so that they can work out what to do to turn off the bladders wacky response. They might work out what causes hunners ulcers and fix that type of ic but not the non hunner type. Still, i ask my self what is non specific inflammation and why is it any different to any other type of inflammation.