Interstitial Cystitis and Relaxation

I have recently been realizing that I need to focus on some relaxation techniques to retrain my pelvic floor. I am constantly holding my muscles in a state of tension and I believe this is one of the primary factors involved in causing my bladder to spasm. This is a common problem among IC sufferes. I've known this information for a long time, I just didn't "get it" until now. I realize that increased tension can result in decreased blood flow and nerve conduction to the affected area. I believe that if I can learn to decrease tension, I may be able to improve my body's ability to begin to heal. Let me tell you, learning to "relax" is NOT easy. The feeling is so foreign to my body. The minute I let the pelvic floor relax, I want to tense it again. Tension feels normal, and relaxation feels oh so abnormal. With practice, I believe I can begin to make relaxation feel normal.

I am still doing the bladder instillations. I went to the doctor last week and he recommended that because I am not really feeling any relief, I should continue for another 6 weeks. Lucky me. There are an infinite number of things I would rather be doing than being cathaterized on a weekly basis. I decided I needed to take a week off this week. Next week will begin my second series of six more instillations. Hopefully soon I will begin to feel some changes.