hello. I’m Dr. Sangchul Hwang, who studies and treats autonomic nerves. This is a patient with interstitial cystitis who was experiencing severe urinary frequency of more than 30 times a day, along with pain in the pubic area. It wasn’t just that he was urinating frequently, but that he was always feeling uncomfortable in his bladder, and even after urinating, there was no cooling sensation and the pain and discomfort continued. These symptoms affected his sleep, causing him to wake up several times during the night, and his quality of life was greatly reduced due to the pressure of having to go to the restroom frequently, even when he was out and about or at work.
One of the characteristics of patients with interstitial cystitis is that routine tests often do not reveal any obvious inflammation or bacterial infection. This patient had undergone multiple tests, but no clear cause was found, and antibiotic treatment had not been effective.
Because urinary frequency and bladder pain are not outwardly visible, they are often difficult for others to understand, and patients often suffer alone for long periods of time. However, these symptoms can be changed through the nervous system and autonomic recovery process.
