Eating Right I So Hard

[HOOP]

:ignore: HI TO ALL OUT THERE WIHT IC. I JUST FOUND OUT IN JUNE THAT I'M IN THE THRID STAGE OF IC AND THEY TOLD ME THAT EATING THE RIGHT FOODS WILL HELP IN THE PAIN NOT BEING SO INTENSE.

WHAT I LIKE TO KNOW IS HOW DO YOU DO IT? I HAVE ALWAYS EAT WHAT I WANTED AND IN SAYING THAT I NEVER WAS BROUGHT UP IN THE HEALTHLY EATING HOUSE. WE ALWAYS EAT OUT AND BOUGHT LOTS OF JUCK FOOD. I'M FINDING IT HARD TO STAY WITH IT AND TRYING NEW FOODS IS SOMETHING I HAVE A HARD TIME WITH. I MAKES ME FEEL LIKE GETTING SICK :toilet:

IF ANYONE HAS SO IDEAS THAT YOU THINK MAY HELP, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW.

THX
TO ALL HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY AND NIGHT.

HOOP

[Just Mary]

Hello,
I just got the news a few weeks ago, and agree the diet is hard, but I have already found out it helps.

I have been eating a lot of low fat cream cheese. I also have been baking a lot of sweets (I know, not so good for me). There is also a No-Mato sauce on the ichelp.org site that is not too bad. It needed some zing, so I added some yellow tomatoes.

You know what is really good. Get a beef roast and put it in the crock pot with some garlic and a bit of s&P and some veggies. Tastes real good in about 8 hours.

I also sauted some shrimp in butter and garlic with broccolli (sp).

I got out all my unused cookbooks and have been trying to modify recipies. You also might want to go to a health food store to get "natural" products.

Good luck.

[Sarojini]

:welcome: to the ICN. I'm sorry you have IC!! I agree the diet can be very difficult sometimes, but it is usually worth it. Most IC patients find significant relief once they eliminate certain foods from their diet. You can take a look at the Patient Handbook at http://www.ic-network.com/handbook for the IC Diet. I also recommend the cookbook "A Taste of the Good Life: A Cookbook for an Interstitial Cystitis Diet" by Bev Laumann -- it contains lots of information about why certain foods bother IC bladders and lots of recipes that are IC friendly.

good luck!! :grouphug:

[kadi]

I was the takeout queen before IC. One thing that has made the diet much easier is once you get a few recipes you really like, double/triple the recipe & freeze it in individual portions. That way you don't have to cook every night. I have spinach soup, potroast, beef/barley soup, chicken soup, & homemade calzones in my freezer right now & I just pull out a different tupperware each worknight & add a salad & fresh fruit (pears, blueberries, or dates) for dessert:) It gets easier once you figure out what your trigger foods are!! (That's the hardest & longest part) I actually eat way better now than I used to.

[XoChelsey03Xo]

I understand about the diet part. It is extremely hard. Actually since I've been trying to stick to this diet, I've lost a lot of weight. One thing you can use is Prelief. You can buy it in your local drug store. It helps takes the acid out of foods that you aren't suppose to eat. Sometimes it is just hard to aviod foods with acids in them. I usually just take Prelief. I have been on Prelief for about a week in a half. The pills seem to be working so far!! Chelsey

[HOOP]

thx for the reply that is got. i find it hard in nova scotia to find info and items that can help. books are also hard to get. that is why i love the fact that i found all of you on this site that know what it is like.

[katie75]

I am still trying to figure out what I can and cannot eat. I feel the best when I dont eat much of anything (sad to say). I have lost 15 pounds in the past 2 months because if i eat something bad, i get pain and then that makes me not hungry. It seems like some days all i eat are saltine crackers with cream cheese on them. I just ordered 2 books that are all about "natural healing"- based on the Alkaline diet. I am currently reading them because i cant go on not eating. I have been taking the prelief and it does not work that well for me. I tried Elmiron but the side effects were too much for me. It really stinks because I am single and i DO NOT COOK. I too was the queen of take out, and would just grab whatever if i was hungry. Now, I cant do that so i just dont eat. I hope this Alkaline diet works. It does seem to contradict some of the IC diet though. There is just so much information out there and not everyone is the same, so it has been pretty overwhelming for me the past few weeks. I had a really bad flare up yesterday and then it turned into an anxiety attack. The pain not only effects me physically but mentally. I am wondering if this is normal? I go to my Uro next week. I took anti depressants several years ago and i dont want to take them again (i gained a lot of weight). I just found out a month ago I had IC and I am just really overwhelmed with it. I read stuff and it frightens me. I have so many unanswered questions. Is this a progressive disease? Am I going to feel worse as time goes on? This forum has been great, and any input will be appreciated. Thanks everyone! :grouphug:

[carebear22]

The diet is super hard. I always ate healthy food, but even a lot of that food is "bad" for IC. I loved coffee, beer and chocolate though, those were my 3 weaknesses and now I don't have any! I'm trying out different foods right now. Once I changed my diet, it helped so much. Last weekend I slipped and drank beer and ate some "bad" foods and I paid the price for 4 days, wowszer, it was awful!!!
So I don't have much to offer except I know how you feel, it is really depressing sometimes, but controlling your diet and not having pain/flare-ups is so worth it!! Good luck!!

[myra33]

The diet rocks! :woohoo: I still have not been officially diagnosed, but I started on the diet about 5 weeks ago. At that time I just finished 3 1/2 agonizing months of flareups, and in-between flareups I had moderate discomfort. There was almost immediate relief on the diet. I found out quickly that caffeine was my biggest problem, and I was a 5-6 cup-a-day tea drinker!! The rest of my diet consisted of all the triggers - fruit, tomatoes, onions, chocolate, and occasional alcohol, and other things as well.

Eating out is a big problem, and all of the ethnic food I love so dearly is no longer part of my diet. :mad: Occasionally I backslide into chocolate (a wee bit) and a few other things. So far my slight digression has not produced any major flareups, although I always know when I have been a "bad girl".

You have to make a choice: 1) make an effort to control your eating and the things that trigger episodes, or 2) suffer. There is no middle ground. Yes, some months down the road you may begin to reintroduce the foods you eliminated and you will find then what works for you and what does not. You have to remember that only YOU are in control - no one else is going to do it for you.
Good luck!
Myra

[redmowii]

I to was recently diagnosed and found the diet totally hard. I lost aprox 15 pounds because I would hardly eat. I started the diet and it totally helps. I find parties the hardest. I go to a party and everyone has exactly what I want and can't have. Totally not cool. So now I go to party's full, and then just end up snacking on what I can have. I also have big problem's when I go to my home town to visit the family. They don't know what to cook to help me with my diet. They do try though. I always end up slipping when I'm home.
I also think I have trouble realizing what the pain is actually from. For example, you hit your finger with a hammer. You instantly know you don't want to do that again. Or, I eat something I shouldn't, three hours later I figure it out. I think because the pain isen't instant I have a harder time sticking with the diet.
I also ate out a lot before I was diagnosed. I still can eat out, but I find it easier if I go to sit down restraunt. I can look over the menu and usually find one or two things that won't be a problem. The breakfast menu usually has more things than dinner. I also think my IC is mild compared to what some other people on this site describe. I'm in pain but I can still function. I have found that with time I can control better. I know when my weak points are, and take care of them with white chocolate. It will get better. I hope you find it soon.
Redmowii

[katie75]

I relate to you Red in the fact that I think I have a mild case compared to some of the pain and symptoms I have read on the forum. I am in pain, but can still function. Sometimes when the pain is more than normal i get anxiety attacks because i dont know why its happening. I feel the same way about trying to figure out exactly what triggers the pain. I know I should be writing down everything I eat, and the time and then follow up with notes on symptoms or pain etc. My family is trying to when I go over to eat at my parents and even some people at work get it but I find myself saying "no" to a lot of foods I am offered. Today I went shopping and my back just starting hurting me like crazy and I had to leave. I wonder if its got to do something with the IC. I never had back problems before- they started several months ago. I even went to the ER one night (i thought i was having a kidney stone since they run in my family). This was back in October, and i told them all my other symptoms (urgency, frequency,bladder hurting, and just not feeling well). They said i didnt have a UTI and i was probably just having back spasms and sent me home with Vicodin. The vicodin definately helped, and I felt better while i took it. I finally went to the URO in November when my regular doc told me i just needed to stay on antibiotics the rest of my life! All 5 urine tests i took were negative, and he still said that i must have a UTI. He said he wouldnt recommend me to a URO because all they would do is a cysto and usually they "dont find anything". A big FAT whatever to him now! The cysto/hydro i had showed i have a bladder capacity of only 600cc. I did sleep 11 hours on Friday night and get this-- I ONLY WOKE UP ONCE TO USE THE BATHROOM! I couldnt believe it. Usually i can go 7 hours and get up once. after that i get up every hour.
I am sorry to ramble, i just feel like getting it all out. I too take care of my weaknesses with white chocolate- i bought a bag of white choc chips and take a handful. i can eat some chocolate, just not a lot. A chocolate donut almost drove me insane once. I LOVE chocolate, but oh well. I also love coffee, tomato sauce (and i am Italian) and McDonalds but they all put me in pain. Chinese food does it to me too- even if it says no MSG. I LOVE Indian and Mexican food too. Bye bye. Its so crazy how eating just one wrong thing can do you in. I found out that the monterey jack cheese i thought would be safe isnt. I ate one slice and was in pain an hour later. i was so surprised! Learn something new everyday. Ok, good nite and thanks for listening everyone!