Hello my name is Melanie, I’m from Germany and I have Interstitial Cystitis.

IC also known as painful bladder syndrome - is a chronic condition causing bladder pressure, bladder pain and sometimes pelvic pain. The sickness is rare and the symptoms vary from case to case and even in the same individual. That’s why it's so hard to get diagnosed.

The bladder expands until it's full and then signals to your brain that it's time to urinate, communicating trough the pelvic nerves. With IC, these signals get mixed up and you feel the need to urinate more often and with smaller volumes… That's what the internet says when you goole Interstitial Cystitis. But it's way more than that… The most patients went through a rough time, much stress and a lot's of pain. My story is...

….I’ve lived in pain for almost 2 years before I was diagnosed, moving from doctor appointment to doctor appointment with no result. I feel pain like a bladder infection but with no bacteria in my urine... No one could tell me what I had and in the end the doctor said that I have mental problems and the sickness is not ''real'' and gave me anti-depressants and sent me to a psychiatrist... but my pain was real… it was like my bladder would hate me… The unfortunate truth is that even some urologists don’t have enough knowledge about IC. Especially in the countryside, and I’m not the first case where the patient was sent to a psychiatrist. Unfortunately a lot of patients have the same story as me...

I go on for years with pain until I find a special urologist in a clinic at a bigger city. At my first appointment (I needed to wait almost 9 month for it – with my pain.) He listened to me and did a lot of different (and painful) examinations. Under it also a special operation where they put you under anaesthesia and the urologist looks in your bladder and takes a piece of the bladder skin for a laboratory examination. In the operation he saw a bladder with a lot red bleeding scars. No bacteria, but bleeding scars all over my bladder. The typical Hunner's Ulcers. They are present in around 10% of patients with IC.

I finally got a name for my sickness. For my struggle and all the pain I’ve had in the past years. From then on I knew I wasn’t crazy, I was suffering a very rare sickness.

Imagine waking up in tears during the night because you feel like razor blades are going around in your bladder. When it was at it’s worst I had to go to the toilet up to 90 times a day and around 20 times at night, because I couldn’t stand the pain that the urine gives me in my bladder. I basically lived in the bathroom. My belly is bloated most of the time like I'm in the 7th month of pregnant.

Its not just that.. its also all the other struggles with the lower quality of life like: reduced bladder capacity, sexual intimacy problems, all the emotional troubles, depressions and may other chronic pain disorder like fibromyalgia...

It gives good times and bad times. In the end the doctors can’t help you so far, beside give you a lot medications and painkillers… I've tried a lot different things in all my pain periods. A lot different treatments. Some helped, some had lots of side effects or made it worse. In times with a lot of flare ups in my bladder region, the YUYU Bottle is my best friend and lifesaver. One thing I can definitely say is: one of the best cure during flare ups is release stress with a warmth on the belly and a cup of tea. And the pain will get better.

I've always had the problem that a normal hot water bottle is too small… Then I found the YUYU Bottle. I bought my first one around 1 ½ years ago and don’t wanna miss it in my life anymore! Nothing is so comfortable like this bottle. You can just lay it beside you or tie it around your waist. And the nice designs fit to every outfit. In winter I wear it almost all the time. It keeps the heat very long.

I really appreciate all the work you guy's did to make our lives a little bit better.

I will recommend it to everyone. It’s a MUST HAVE for every IC patient.

I really hope that all the people with IC get diagnosed soon, find a good doctor, get a good treatment and will find out fast, what helps them the best during flare ups. But one I can say for everyone: GET A YUYU-BOTTLE as soon as possible ;)

From the bottom of my heart, Melanie