LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Constant pain and frequent urination are common symptoms of urinary tract infections, but for some women, they can be signs of a bigger problem. 

When Dayna O’Con first stepped into the Baptist Health Urogynecology clinic she was having common UTI symptoms.

“A constant feeling of pressure in my pelvic area, burning and very frequent urination,” O’Con said.

She’d dealt with those for an entire year.

“The treatment for those was not helping or curing them,” O’Con said. “It was an ongoing problem.”

Nurse Practitioner Mandy Burton ran some tests and finally figured out the real problem.

“I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis,” O’Con said. 

Burton said it’s common for Interstitial Cystitis to be misdiagnosed as a UTI and some women just think it’s something they have to live with.

“When I tell them that we can help them you can just see the relief on their face and their shoulders relax and some of them even have tears in their eyes,” Burton said. 

For O’Con, that help was a treatment called bladder installations.

“That involves a catheter but you know you have to take the good with the bad so we put the catheter in and instill some medication into the patient’s bladder that allows it to kind of rebuild,” Burton said. 

After just six weeks, the pain O’Con thought would never go away, was finally gone.

“I’m 100% better,” O’Con said. “It has changed my life.”