For many patients, flares can be the worst at night when there are fewer distractions and it's much harder to ignore. Here's a typical flare. A patient may go to bed at 10PM and by 11PM they've woken up with a strong need to urinate. They might actually empty their bladder of, say, 1/2 cup of urine. They return to bed, to awaken at forty five minutes later with another intense need to void. Their bladder may feel very full, but when they try to urinate, only a teaspoon or so of urine comes out. They then return to bed, and sometimes within minutes, have yet another sensation that their bladder is very full. But, when they actually urinate, nothing comes out. They then struggle with symptoms of frequency and/or pain for the rest of the night, often resulting in little, if any, sleep. Sound familiar?? You are not alone!
Perhaps the most frustrating symptom is the "false" sense of fullness that drives you to the restroom over and over and over. Your bladder may feel so full that you desperately need to urinate but when you try, there is little if any volume. You might strain and strain only to get a drop of urine. (Straining is BAD! Don't do it!)
Why does this happen?? The bladder has two sets of nerves. One set controls urinary frequency (alpha afferent nerves) and the other, normally silent, nerves control pain signals (c-fibers). When the bladder becomes irritated, the first nerves that usually react and become irritated are the nerves that control frequency. Thus, when you have a flare, often the very first sign is increased frequency and a need to urinate. The pain nerves are much harder to activate but once they do turn on, they can cause overwhelming pain and discomfort. So... that "false sense of fullness" is really sign that you're in a major flare and that your bladder is severely irritated. And, yes, if you drink coffee or soda at this time, you're a fool because that will only irritate the nerves more.
This was from the website http://www.ic-network.com/
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