Rough Days!

            Having a rough day is just part of having a condition that is not curable.

    That being said I think its fair to say that when one of these days occur we have a few options on how we deal with it.  

• One: We get depressed, stay in our PJ's and do not leave the house all day. 
• Two: We rant, rave, scream and cry until we feel better, at least mentally. 
• Three: Cry some more. 
• Four: As the picture states, listen to or watch something that you know will help lift your mood.  Examples would be a Disney movie, your favorite TV show or listening to your favorite band.  Just remember that if you're having a rough day, slow or dumping boyfriend songs are probably something to avoid.  

   Personally today is a rough day for me and I have pretty much done one and two so far, number four I will after I post this.  But I want to make something clear about your rough days, and I'm telling myself as much as anyone else, it will end.

   I do not want to be one of those people who wallow in self pity because of something that really I can not control.  Sure, changing my diet has been great and it has worked, but like the doctor says it will never go away so we should at least on some level know we will have bad/rough days.  

  With this in mind I want to make two statements.

  Rough days, however long they last will end and I am here for everyone.  For support or if anyone needs to rant, rave, scream or cry.   I will listen.  

  No one who cares about you will judge you if you decide to give in and have a day in bed.  Of course personally being a mom of two, plus two dogs and a husband I do not have the luxury of crashing for the day.  But I am saying that if you can, why not?

  Since my family is known to suffer from depression I refuse to give it an ounce in my life.  I do not care if I have to watch every single Disney movie I have, I will not give myself over to the sadness or pity party.

  That being said this is my plan for today: 

• Yes, I am in PJ's but more for comfort reasons.
• Use my blog as a way to make my feelings known.  This is my way of ranting.
• Keep myself busy around the house, even when I am uncomfortable I need to do something to occupy my mind. 
• Drink lots of water.  When I woke up uncomfortable this morning I went through everything I ate yesterday and how much water I drank.  Not a lot.  So today I am making up for it by drinking as much as I can.  (This also limits how many late night cravings I have)
• Make healthy snacks to get my body back on track.  Yesterday I had Philadelphia Cream Cheese, that was the only thing different, which may have triggered my symptoms today.  

   Hopefully, this will turn my symptoms around for my fourth bladder wash tomorrow morning.  Fingers crossed.  

Snacking and Shopping!

Snacking & Shopping!

   I do not know about other people but I have noticed a couple of things since last week in regards to my condition and the dietary change that has ensued.  One of the main things is that once I put the kids to bed at night I am just dying for a sugary snack or soda.

  I have not yet been able to figure out why this is, but I have been able to find small ways to help the craving.  I am listing them for you: 

• Celery - I am not a huge fan of celery as I think its tasteless and chewy, but having that extra crunch goes a long way.  I also apply a bit of peanut butter which helps in the taste. 
• Sugar free gum - Can you say lifesaver?  Being huge on chocolate and candy, gum is a great way to help those cravings go bye bye.  
• Fruit - Having IC makes eating fruit a little more complicated, yet having a supply of banana's or whichever one works for you on hand will help your cravings when the sun goes down.  
• Referring to a reliable source for snack information - I am using this website to help me work out which food works for me and which do not.  (copy & paste link or simply go to www.ic-diet.com and click on IC Diet List)

         http://www.ic-diet.com/IC%20Diet%20and%20Food%20List.html

   With my suggestions you may notice a common theme.  Planning.  Unless you are super healthy, really like vegetables or already plan out your meals and snacks having these things on hand is unlikely.  I have tried for years to plan meals and have healthier snacks available.  It just has not worked out.  

  Want to know the secret as to why? 

  For me Laziness.  Pure and simple.  

  Planning meals is hard enough when you have a family of four, especially when everyone is very vocal about things they like and do not like.  Now let's throw in the fact that the hubby wants to cut back on carbs for summer and I have IC.

  Yeah, my first reaction was someone shot me now and put me out of my misery.

  Then an easy solution came to me.  I have a great resource, the website above, and since I do not know for sure all my triggers its always going to be a trail and error type situation.  I can roll with this.

  So today was round two of grocery shopping and it was a lot easier this time to avoid the sugary yummy stuff and stay near the vegetables.  Here was what I did: 

• Step One: On my shopping list I wrote Veggies - See list.
  When I reached the fresh stuff at the store, immediately, I pulled out my phone and checked the list online against what was on sale.  (If you do not have good interest while away from home I would recommend printing off the page)
• Step Two:  Knowing 100% what the kids and hubby will eat so nothing will be wasted.  I feel this is huge as I hate throwing away food because its old and not eaten.  Also vegetables can be hidden in recipes so if they do not like a specific veg try finding a recipe that disguises it.  
• Step Three:  Try thinking of recipes as you are viewing the vegetables or have a pre-made list of recipes you want to try.
  This helped me a lot this time around as before I even picked up anything I was thinking what protein would work with which vegetable.  
• Step Four:  Don't be afraid to try new things.
  This may be against rule two but trust me knowing we're limited now to what we can eat trying knew things is almost a given.  
• Step Five:  Once you've picked the vegetables, choose your proteins and what kind of carb you want to us.  
  Your recipe is finally taking shape and if you've done this correctly you should have already thought of at least four or five dishes to make/try.  

  

 ***Update.  This entry was made Friday and now we're on Sunday.  The recipes I made after have been a huge help to me.  I've been able to make really good meals and use the protein just as I wanted so the age old discussion of what's for dinner did not occur.
  The kids now love asparagus. 

Week One!

Week One!

   It has been a week since my diagnosis and life has been going a lot better, but slowly.  Here are some things that I changed immediately after my doctor appointment last week: 

• Cut out all soda.
• Cut out all candy and chocolate. 
• Change my fruit a day to bananas, instead of oranges. 

  For me changing the fruit I eat every day was hard because I love oranges.  Luckily I also have a soft spot for bananas so it was not the hardest blow and almost a quick solution.  

  Soda on the other hand, not so much.  

  Unlike most people I actually really like drinking water, but usually after I have already consumed 44 oz of diet soda or more.  Diet Dr Pepper is my weakness.  I admit it.  If it came down to suffering pain or having a soda, without a doubt I would reach for the soda.  Then the doctor said until we have my condition under control I should just avoid it.

  I honestly heard the words but it did not register.  As I sat in my car thinking about all the things that she had said I knew this would be one of the hardest.  I pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards the house, then passed the gas station.  It was not until I saw the gas station that my heart fell into the ground.
  I faced the situation that I thought would be no problem at all and I was stumped.
  Have a soda and suffer pain...again...or drive home without stopping and pretend gas stations do not exist for a while.  I freely admit that it took me almost a minute to think it through and then drove passed without looking back. 

  Now, anyone who knows me will understand soda is a huge problem for me, but nothing, nothing, compared to my love of sugar.  My family and friends know how insanely difficult it will be for me to give up something that I have to have.  

  People always joke about being addicted to sugar.  Well for me its not funny in the slightest.  

  My name is Alison and I am an addict.
  I am an honest person and will readily say that over the course of 24 hours in the past, I have eaten, two large bags of Caburys mini eggs and five creme eggs.  Not even 24 hours...more like 4 hours.  

  This first week had one challenge for me that I was super concerned about.
  The weekly grocery trip.
  On a regular grocery shopping trip I would pick up several chocolate bars, maybe a soda drink or cans, plus chips or cookies or anything that caught my attention.  I was spending around $250 on average with at least $50 of extra stuff that was either not needed or sugar that was not needed.
  I am some what proud to say that during this shopping trip I took some advice from online, that said at the store stay on the outside, as all the crap is in the middle.  I not only managed to avoid buying any sugary, yummy stuff but also cut our bill down by almost $100.

  The meals I have made this week have been touch and go.  I worked out that for now Ranch is a no go, white sauced pizza is a no go and small portions of Rice Pudding are all right, but more than two servings is bad.  (Sugar addiction coming into play there)

  To get my IC under control it is not all about diet right now.

   I have to have at least 8 total procedures, that they call a Bladder Wash.  Its not as scary as it sounds.  Basically they just insert a catheter, drain the bladder of pee and then, using the catheter, put a solution back in that you hold for around an hour to help ease your symptoms.
  Again my honesty can not let me say that it is not uncomfortable but that is what happens when you have a constantly inflamed bladder.  The only advice I can give is just once you have experienced the first time the next time is not so bad because you know what to expect.  Just take a deep breathe and remember its for your own good.
  So far I have had two of these procedures.

  The hardest thing I am noticing about this condition is that there are not many websites or information about recipes since every one is different and can react to different things.  The second website I included in my first post has been a great help to me as it lists a good starting point for bladder friendly foods that can be combined into a decent recipe.  I will try some and post my results at a later time.

  Thank you for joining me in week one.  

Finding out!

Finding Out!

   Every doctor visit is a pain.  We put off going as long as we can, even for the smallest of things, and even when we go our pride makes us believe we knew all along what the problem was.  Denial. 

   A brief medical history for me would be two c-sections for my beautiful children (2004 & 2009), gall bladder removal (October 31st 2014) and a hysterectomy (December 4th 2014).  I also have a long, long history of having Urinary Tract Infections or UTI's.  

   I remember having a particularly UTI when I young.  It was an extremely bad one and I could not have been older than 5 or 6.  Though I remember the pain vividly, I can not explain how it felt.  I can only say that I got to the point of not wanting to drink anything or going near the toilet.  Thankfully it was at some point cured though I do not recall details.  Having suffered for so long with them I did not know that it also a symptom for something else.  

   After almost a year of pain, two surgeries (gall bladder and hysterectomy) and one procedure my body was finally was able to communicate with me specific symptoms that the doctor needed to know.  If you are wondering what symptoms here is list: 

• Having to pee all the time.  (like once every hour/hour and an half)
• Abdominal pain.
• UTI symptoms such as pain when peeing. 

   Thanks to having the other health problems resolved and these coming forwards my doctor was able to give the diagnosis last week.   
 
   Interstitial cystitis (IN-ter-STISH-ul sis-TY-tis) — or IC (sometimes referred to as painful bladder syndrome) — is a chronic, yet treatable, condition of the bladder that affects both women and men.

   The key word that stood out to me as she told me about my new condition was chronic.  She explained that I will have this problem for the rest of my life.  Even though there is a way to treat the symptoms it will never, ever go away.  

   Sitting in my car after the appointment I went through many emotions.  I was relieved beyond words that I finally knew what it was.  I was happy because the pain would, for the most part, go away after changing my diet and some treatments.  I was disappointed as I have a deep love of food, especially sugar of any kind so I know it will be hard to deal with.  I was sad due to the fact that at anytime the pain could return.  

   Suffering from pain over the course of a year made me become a person that I did not recognize.  She was angry all the time about stupid things and depressed because no matter she did, the pain would not stop.  I have found a deep respect for people who deal with chronic pain and do not just curl up into a ball.

   My doctor was a great help in telling me what information to read, to join a support group and which websites to view.  If you have just found out the same thing I would recommend the following websites: 

  http://www.ichelp.org/support

  http://www.ic-diet.com/IC%20Diet%20and%20Food%20List.html

     As I am still new to having the condition I decided to start this blog to help myself and other people as well as by documenting my journey.  I am hoping to post at least once a week with updates and possible recipes.  I hope to have you along for the ride.