“My symptoms first began when I was 14 years old and were frequent painful urination and urgency. The doctor did a dipstick test and said there was nothing showing up and so it was impossible for me to have a urine infection. She referred me to an STI clinic where I was told there was nothing wrong.

Things continued for years in this strain until at the age of 28 they took a sudden turn for the worse. I woke up one day with ultra-painful urination when I went to the toilet and found that little came out and before getting back to bed I felt the need to go again. I had extreme pain in the bladder and felt totally debilitated.

I went to hospital, expecting this time a urine infection would show for sure but was told there was nothing and a brief listen to my history led them to mention interstitial cystitis. I was referred to a urologist who said maybe I was worrying too much. He asked if I was an easily stressed person. I replied that as an ex-rugby player and amateur boxer who had done an extremely stressful job I was known for coping extremely well with stress.

I came to the LUTS clinic a broken man, urinating 15 times during the day even with restricting my fluid intake and often nine times a night. The bladder pain was so bad I could get no enjoyment from life at all. After an initial flare-up in symptoms when starting treatment I went on a surge of improvement and never looked back. Three years later I have my life back, can work under pressure again, enjoy days out at the weekend and am eternally grateful to the clinic.”