*hugs*
I was diagnosed in 2002. Really frustrating syndrome to deal with. How I cope:
-IC Diet. This one is a must for me, 100%, absolutely. And contrary to what people are saying above, NO CRANBERRY JUICE!! Dear god, no. Even thinking about that makes me squirm uncomfortable. I also have major problems with aspartame, MSG, alcohol and caffeine. I have to avoid all of those for the rest of my life unless I want a flare up! Other big no-nos for most IC patients are most fruits (especially citrus) and tomatoes. That said, this illness varies so much from person to person that your dietary needs may be quite different. If you are in the US, you can purchase "Prelief" (should be sold near Lactaid in the pharmacy) which is a dietary supplement that reduces the acid in a lot of things. I can drink some pops and juices if I mix in some Prelief, where I couldn't normally have them.
-Elmiron. This has been a huge help for me, though not everyone responds well to it. Took about a year for it to really kick in for me; takes most people 3-6 months or more. Basically, it is thought to re-coat the lining of the bladder.
-Antihistamines. I take Reactine daily on advice of my uro. The idea here is that some of the inflammation in the bladder wall may be due to histamines.
-Rescue instillations. These are baking soda, lidocaine & heparin, and my uro does a course of 9 over 3 weeks. These instills usually put me into a stable condition for 1.5-2 years.
During flares:
-pyridium (even though my stomach hates it...I have Ulcerative Colitis & IBS, and they loathe that stuff!!)
-strong painkillers if necessary
Hrm, as for DMSO...some people react well to DMSO, but a lot of people have problems with it. My uro is staunchly against it, but some uros swear by it.
I can recommend a great forum for IC help & advice if you're interested. Let me know and I'll PM you.
(edit: looks like MyChoice2bfit may already be recommending the same place, by the sounds of it!!)
Please feel free to ask any questions. I've been coping with this illness for years now and I always like to help people out with everything I've learned -- paying forward the advice people gave me when I was first diagnosed.
Good luck!!
EDIT: Oh, I forgot! In the beginning, I did "bladder retraining" -- basically, always holding my bladder 5-15 minutes past those "I HAVE TO GO NOW!" urges. Over time, my bladder doesn't panic so much when it gets full. I still go 10-16 times a day on average, but that's SO much better than it was when I was first diagnosed. I cursed my uro up and down (to myself) when he first suggested it, but it has made a big difference.