Like most women with IC, I have an increase in pain and inflammation with my IC symptoms during ovulation.  Doctors are continuing to research the effect that hormones play on IC.  When my IC symptoms were severe I actually looked forwarded to menstruating as that was the only time out of the month that my IC went into "remission" and I felt almost normal. 

My biggest complaint now is pain and inflammation (pain and inflammation are always bosom buddies in the human body when something is wrong) in the vulva during ovulation.  A few years ago the pain and inflammation was so intense that wearing clothing was unbearable.  Unfortunately I had to go to work regardless but oftentimes had to leave work due to the pain and discomfort that I felt during ovulation.  This pain and inflammation during ovulation (when estrogen levels drop while progesteron levels surge) were lessened to tolerable levels when I was able to get acupuncture treatments done once a week (especially the week prior to ovulation).  Acupuncture is effective in preventing inflammation as well as helping in pain management.  If you are interested in working with acupuncturist, ask them about herbs which they can prescribe (usually drunk as a tea) to help with inflammation.  As always, do not take herbs of any kind unless you are working with a trusted doctor and/or licensed acupuncturist/Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor. 

I will end this blog entry by saying that I understand how uncomfortable ovulation pain can be.  Now, I'm off to brew some water for my herbal tea....
http://www.ic-network.com/iclifestyles/march02.html
http://acupuncture.blog.co.uk/2009/08/23/acupuncture-case-studies-acupuncture-can-help-interstitial-cystitis-6798920/