Musicians/rehearsals/driving and pain.

[Jennifer Warren]

Hi. I wonder...are there any professional musicians here? I am a violinist and have a rehearsal day this weekend (Sun.) and next weekend, the whole three days are intensive reh. and perf.

The last concert was managable and my first one since IC hit. I was terrified that I'd be doped up on meds, in pain, or have some other symptom that would interfere with the gig. I drove in hte day before, which made the whole rest of the day painful. It is only a three hour drive, but my stomach/dig. always get messed up, and my bladder was, well...

The next day I was fine, by some miricle. However, by the concert, my back was hurting, which is normal. So...

Any ideas on how to survive the rehearsal? Being able to percieve correctly is important, and I must be sharp and accurate. So pain meds, unless tolerated, are out. I also can't leave to use the restroom during rehearsal. They are usually a few hours long each.

Sals,
JW

[Imustpee]

I am a pro musician..I played in many bands in the past as a lead singer and bass player/keyboardist/drummer...we always had practice here at my house so bathroom breaks were no trouble..I would seriously talk with the conductor about your I.C....there is no way I can go more than 30 minutes between pee breaks..

[dharmakitten]

I used to play saxophone in college. I quit for medical reasons - some of which might have been caused by the IC, but not all. Concerts were always such a nightmare for me - and even practice was difficult since I had to get up at least once during it, usually. And there is no way to do that without causing a scene - especially since the stands and chairs were always so close.