Hello peoples

[deviation72]

Hi everyone,

Just wondering how you all are, how things are going with your IC....

Update on moi:

-Busy busy at work (nothing unusual)
-Got tenure (my contract position became a permanent academic job) :woohoo:
-IC has been a bit better for 3 main reasons: taking 50mg of Tofranil (rather than 25), moved to a quiet house in a quiet street (from a noisy block of flats) and got a cat! Charlotte Bella (my kitty) is keeping me calm at night when I have a bit of pain... :cat:

Although I did have a flare up last week, so it hasn't gone into remission or anything... I wish! But it's only the second big flare in 3 months. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Well guys I hope you're all well.... we've been very quiet of late and they suspended the board for a while because of it. I hope to 'see' you all soon!

[George]

Hello,

It is nice to see that someone has been using this board again. I am so stressed at the moment in my apartment. I really want to leave my apartment and move to a quiet house with no noise like you have done Kirsten. Are there any other Aussies around the boards anymore?

George

[nss]

Hello :welcome:

I noticed that this board was deleted and asked Jill, Katrina and I am sorry I can't remember the other ladies name - SORRY, (bad IC memory), if they could please put up our Aussie section again and they did. THANK YOU. :woohoo:

Not much has changed still have IC. LOL

I just sliced off a part of my finger and am struggling with one hand. Not easy.

A cat sounds like great company, I would love a cat, but DH doesn't like them. Maybe one day.

George I did read your earlier post and hope you are coping alright. Did you ever manage to go to a support meeting ? I know there is a new one that meets about ever7 4 - 6 weeks in Pymble. I can get a phone number if you are interested.

Kirstin, Charlotte Bella is a lovely name, what sort of cat is she ?

I am still on my Endep and am doing well with it. Slight flare at the moment, but proabably hormonal. IYKWIM

I'm off to the Dr's to get my bandage changed.

Great to have this section back up and running.

Chat to you all later,

Nadia

[deviation72]

HI Nadia and George,

I am so relieved they put the board back - I was going to email Jill about it today!

Thankyou for giving this back to us :)

I see a few of us are still around, floating in the other forums. They should pop in and say g'day soon...

Nadia - my cat is a normal domestic short hair, a silver striped tabby. She is so gorgeous! I'm sorry to hear about your finger, I've done that before and OUCH!! Hope you get better soon!

And George I hope your apartment situation works out.... I lived in apartments for 10 years so I know the ups and the downs of all that.

See you all soon,

[Rosalie]

Hello everyone!
I've been away so long that I didn't even know about our board dissappearing. Its great to hear from you all.
Kirsten, I used to have a gorgeous little black cat called Warwick. After he went to god I got a husband who is allergic to cats so no more kittie...hmmm...I think I've been dudded here. You must be relieved to have tenure, congratulations.

George, nice to hear from you as well. Where in Sydney are you? Is it the whole area or just the particular block of flats that is noisy? You didn't say anything so I hope your IC is behaving itself at the moment.

Thanks Nadia for getting this board reinstated (even if I didn't know it was wiped). we all take breaks from posting but it is sure nice to know it is still here. How badly did you cut your finger? How is it now?

My urethral syndrome has been acting up a bit lately and the uro has doubled my Endep which hasn't seem to make a big difference as yet. I have been naughty lately, trying to re introduce a few things back into the diet.
My good news is that my son Campbell is back at Uni and the depression is under control for the time being anyway. I was so excited last week when he actually handed in an assignment on time and the same again this week. It seems such a small thing but I know what it has taken to get to this point. I don't even care if he gets a good mark on them, even he thought they were pretty crappy but at least they were done.
He also has another part time job delivering pizza. Guess what we are having tonight? My daughter Hilary has a new found respect for her brother!
Great to catch up and I hope Sara and Andrea call in soon.
Rosalie

[crybaby]

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi. I'm from Melbourne. I don't have IC, but I do have a condition called urge incontinence - pretty self-explanatory, really. I look at this forum from time to time, to see what other people with different kinds of bladder problems are doing. I'm doing nothing about mine at the moment, except for getting depressed. The latest and greatest medications haven't worked for me, and I'm not feeling motivated enough to try anything else at the moment. Anyway, it's nice to come across a few Australians here and there on these message boards. It's good not to feel so alone with it all.
Cheers.

[deviation72]

Hi all,

Nice to see a few people around!

Rosalie, lovely to hear an update from you and I am so pleased to hear Campbell is doing better. :grouphug: I know that was all so stressful for you.

Crybaby - lovely to see you on the boards. We're a really nice bunch, sometimes a bit quiet, but we're around if you ever need anything. I regularly use these boards just to chat about all kinds of things, and it always makes me feel just that little bit less alone with my IC. And as you can see, not all of us Aussies have IC, some also have related things, so you are *very* welcome here.

It's a nice day today here in Melb so I am going to take advantage of the weekend and go out and do something nice - haven't been out much because of my flare. So I'll see ya all soon!

Take care everyone,

[MarthaB]

hi crybaby, feel silly calling you that, i just wanted to find out if you have other symptoms,other than urgency and frequency? the reason i ask is that because my urologist suggested to me that i may have a overactive bladder, but i told him that i have pain above my pubic area, my right hip, and down my leg, sometimes as far as my knee, and sometimes lower backpain and these symptoms started at the same time as my bladderproblems, i also have all my urinetest come back clear ( after culture), but with white and red bloodcells, i also have foodtriggers, coffee tomato's and anything with citric acid will set me off. my uro said that IC does not cause thighpain, i think he is wrong, there are plenty of icers that get thigh and or legpain.I have urgency but not frequency, but i know you do not have to have both to have ic, i am getting a cysto/hydro done in hospital on the 16th this month, so he may be somewhat suspicious that i may have ic. so i am wondering do you get pain too? any foodtriggers? thanks martha :)

[Rosalie]

Hello Martha and Crybaby,
Nice to see some new people on the aussie board. I agree with Martha we can't keep calling you "crybaby". Anyone with problems like ours have a right to get upset and cry.
Martha good luck with your cysto/hydro next week. I hope it gives you some answers.I used to take Ural but now take bicarb soda in water instead. Its cheaper and more effective for me. If only I'd known about it years ago. Coffee and tomatos are my biggest triggers as well.

If there are any Kiwis out there the Tri nations game between the Kiwis and the Aussies is on at the moment.. what have you been feeding the All Blacks? Something suspicious on their weeties I suspect! 20 to 5 right now... I can hear the hubby weeping.
Rosalie

[andcohen]

Hi everyone Yes I am still here, Thankyou Nadia for getting the Aussie section open again for use I had mean meaning to ask about for a couple of days but have been in a flare this week so I just didn't get around to it, so thanks. I know we get a bit slack here on our Aussie site but I was so sad to see it had been taken off, because there is no where else all us Aussie' can get together. We may not be on here alot but just knowing that it is & there will somone there for us when needed.
So thank you admins. for popping it back in for us :woohoo: .
Any better go, but will back on here soon to fill you in on what's been going on.
Andrea :grouphug:

P.S hope you are all well, & has anybody know how Sara is going with her pregnancy (Nadia!) ????

Ok talk to you soon

[George]

Hi all,

Nadia, can you give me the details of the support group in Pymble. I am from Sydney so its only a car trip away up the North Shore. My urinary frequency remains terrible.

I had a cystoscopy a week ago and it shows haemmorhages in the bladder wall. The uro said he can't give me a diagnosis of IC as I don't have pain. Sounds stupid to me. He is recommending botox injections into my bladder and prostate (cover all bases I guess). I have put a post in the botox section of these boards but have not had much of a reply. I will try and go through the old posts.

Hope everyone is hanging in there with this terrible disease. I'm really pleased the Aussie Board has been put back on.

Cheers

George

[crybaby]

Hi all, thanks for your welcome. In response to Sheebah who asked about my symptoms and whether I experienced pain/had food triggers. Well, one of the things that brought me here in the first place was my curiosity about the 'bladder diet'. I'm yet to do an elimination diet - I don't know why I'm so scared of just going ahead and doing it - but I can tell you that caffeine is a definite trigger for me. So are fizzy drinks. Beyond that, I'm not sure. When someone with IC talks about a 'trigger' food, it seems to me that they are concerned about it bringing on a flare up of their symptoms. It's similar for me. When I drink coffee, it's only 30 minutes before I get a sensation of bladder fullness and an overwhelming urge to urinate - IMMEDIATELY, or else!! After that first urge, I find myself needing to go every 10-15 minutes or so, and after about an hour and a half, everything seems to settle down to its usual dysfunctional state. I don't, however, get pain (although there's plenty of emotional pain associated with being incontinent!) Sometimes when I get a strong bladder contraction and try to hold on, that can be quite painful. But otherwise no. How did your urologist come to suggest that you might have an overactive bladder? I wish I knew more about my own condition. I guess it's certainly possible that you could have urgency without frequency, although I have both. And you don't have to wet yourself to have an overactive bladder either. I think it depends on how high the pressure in the bladder gets as it is filling. My bladder pressure is so high as it's filling that absolutely nothing will stand in the way of it emptying - not even pelvic floor muscles of steel! I'm not sure if that answers all your questions, I'm happy to discuss this more. I'm interested at the moment in the emotional side of this illness. I am becoming more convinced that there is a psychological side to my condition, related to fear and anxiety. Do people with IC also feel like that, or is it more strictly a bodily condition?

-Crybaby (because I'm emotional and cry even when I'm very happy!)

[MarthaB]

:) hi cry baby, thanks for your reply, i don't really know why he suggested that i may have an overactive bladder, you said that you have a urge incontinant bladder which is just another name for overactive bladder, the reason i asked you if you had food triggers etc, is that as far as i know a overactive bladder does not cause pain, i have looked it up, and it never mentiones pain, so maybe you have ic, have you ever had a cystoscopy done with the hydro? a urologist cannot diagnose just by symptoms alone, i would look into it further, because the earlier the diagnosis the better, take care martha

[anxious one]

Hi guys!

Well, I have been away from this site for so long that I actually had to enter my username / password to post!!! So sorry, I have been really busy with animal lib and my mouse broke a few weeks ago, (computer one obviously :rolleyes: ) and to be honest, I was so over the computer by this stage I was happy to stay away for a while. While my AL Director was away I was in charge and fielding about 50 + e-mails a day. Too much. Anyway, I'm making a quiet return to the boards and I hope everyone has been well. :)

I am 22 weeks along now... thank-you to all who have asked after me. :grouphug: NO remission in sight unfortunately, it's been one flare after another. Otherwise I am coping ok... "Thumper" is very active, kicking around often, fortunately not near my bladder yet but give it a few weeks! :rolleyes: He (she?) is kicking now, must know I'm taliking about him!! Had the ultrasound a few weeks ago, all fine... didn't ask what sex it was, (much to nadia's extreme dissapointment- yep, I'm talking about you Miss Impatient!!!! :) I don't care what it is, as long as it's alive and healthy. Spoke to the obstetric registrars at the hospital- they are ok to let me continue with the midwives with one additional check at 30 weeks and an additional ultrasound to check bubs growth, mainly because of the Endep I am still on. (Just a formality, apparently, no real concern.) Lets hope all contnues ok!!!!!!!!

My little girl had a bladder infection last week which sent me through the roof with worry. Did not cope well. Have to take her back next week for a urine culture and a kidney ultrasound, (again, just a formality, apparently.) Can't help worrying but am trying not to for her sake.

Glad to see some newbies on our board, Hi to all of you and welcome!!!! Hope everyone else is well and will talk more soon I hope.

<<<<<<<<HUGS>>>>>>>>

Sara

[Rosalie]

Sara,
I don't know where I was when you made your announcement so a belated congratulations. How wonderful!
Its good to hear that your pregnancy is going well. With any luck you are carrying a little ballet dancer who is so light on your bladder you won't notice. Both of mine were in the army with the appropriate boots!
I hope your little girl is OK. Its hard not to worry with IC in the back of your mind all the time.
Hey Nadia just wants to know what colour to start knitting.
Nice to hear from everyone.
Keep posting
Rosalie

[deviation72]

Hi guys,

Sara, lovely to get an update from you, and I'm so chuffed everything is going well for the pregnancy. :grouphug:

I'm glad we're all around, albeit a bit busy - was scared for a moment there everyone had disappeared...

Crybaby - you are right that there is much to IC that is emotional. I have cried and cried many many times over it - feeling sorry for myself, because of the excruciating pain, from over-tiredness due to lack of sleep, you name it. And there is also the emotional side of being young and having something like this - I have also cried many times after a urologist appointment when I've been in the waiting room with lots of older people. I often also get anxious when I can't sleep from the pain or frequency. I've had to do a lot of soul searching over the last 3 years since being diagnosed. But I'm getting there!

I've now gotten to the stage that when I have a flare, I just take some pain killers, heat up the heating pad, and just go "oh well....here it goes again". I guess I've finally accepted it!

Hope everyone is well,