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Article: The treatment and mistreatment of chronic "urgency and frequency"--gathering women's experiences about interstitial cystitis.
- Article from:
- Women's Health Activist
- Article date:
- March 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 National Women's Health Network. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1970 I had a bladder infection, hardly a cause for alarm. My gynecologist cleared up the infection with antibiotics but sent me to a urologist just to be on the safe side. Little did I know that I had just embarked upon a course of pain, repeated treatments, and frustration that would last for the next three decades. Between 1970-1975, I saw three urologists, all of whom had the same opinion: my urethra was too narrow to empty efficiently ("urethral stenosis"), and I'd have more infections ill did not have my urethra dilated periodically. The doctors said that, with the dilations, I'd be fine, and I believed them. It never occurred to me that I needed to know how other ...