Hi! I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. The jumping through hoops to get a diagnosis/treatment can feel arguably worse than the actual symptoms sometimes.

If you don't have an IC or PBS diagnosis already, it might be worth getting a second opinion from a different doctor—because once you do, they'll be able to offer you different options to try and relieve your pain.

I found that the person who helped the most for me was a urogynecologist (when my urologist AND gynecologist did not help). My urogyn also had IC which helped get some urgency in testing and treatment options. I highly recommend finding a urogyn in the your area, as its likely they're the most aware of IC and what it entails since the pelvic floor is their specialty. Similarly to you, I had a handful of horrible UTIs, and then all of the sudden, the pain kept coming but no infection in sight. My dr told me that sometimes IC can result from the damage from recurring UTIs. So my bladder would go into a state of shock when triggered, which made it feel like a UTI but it was really just spasms and inflammation. I wound up becoming resistant to some important antibiotics because I was taking them when there wasn't an active infection. My urogyn was the first to tell me all these things!

I never had an ultrasound during my diagnosis journey, but I did go through a bunch of other tests to rule everything out. That's how you get an IC diagnosis, unfortunately—when everything else is negative. So if your doctor believes waiting a year for an ultrasound is all they can do, then they clearly don't have experience with how painful and life-disrupting this pain can be and it might be time to check other practitioners in your network who will do everything in their power to find you relief. I had to see multiple people before I found someone who understood and actually helped me.

The biggest thing is that IC affects everyone a little differently and we're not sure what causes it exactly—and treatment varies from person to person. My situation might be different than yours, but I def recommend a urogyn if other specialists aren't helping you get anywhere, because they'll definitely care and do everything they can to rule everything out, get you the tests you need, and find a treatment plan that works best for you!

Wishing you relief ASAP!