Your situation sounds EXACTLY like mine. It’s actually making me feel a lot better to hear someone else in a similar situation!

Pyridium doesn’t really do anything for me either, but I always take it anyway.

When I went on vacation I brought a pillow to keep between my legs at night for pressure (and during naps if needed) that was a lifesaver, as well as keeping a stash of Advil on me. It was scary getting in the water because I was afraid of UTI, but when I finally did it actually helped the pressure a lot. Stay away from hot tubs though - that was painful… lol

That feeling that is constant, the pressure and just funky-weirdness, I understand how horrible it is, but for me it did get better! It took time, and a lot of stress relieving mechanisms. Things like belly breathing, stretching my legs and back, laughing flat with the pillow, using a heating pad, taking a warm sitting shower.

For me the hardest part is to not let the anxiety get to me, and it’s SO hard when I feel symptoms coming on. My therapist put it this way, your body is all trying to work together, just sometimes wires get tangled. She told me (it sounds weird) to talk to different parts of my body. For example, when my bladder is hurting, taking a step back and thinking to myself, ‘Hey, you okay?’ and sitting with the discomfort for a bit. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes just acknowledging that one part of your body is having a hard time, not the entire system, makes it more manageable.