What did I do wrong THIS time?

[Boni]

hello all:

I need some advice. This probably builds on the prior thread posted about stress, I don't know.

Yesterday at work I was feeling ok. I had a piece of whole grain toast with butter for breakfast, a pear for a snack, lunch was a salad only lettuce, with oil and slight white wine vinegar and sugar for dressing. I had used this dressing last Friday night and I was fine with it. (If I have a reaction to a food, it usually occurs within an hour or two after I eat something.)

I was fine, foodwise all day. (I did however, have an incredibly stressful day. To the point where I may quit my job if this stress keeps up. My computer keeps crashing at work and I can't get any work out. It has been three weeks now. I am worried about it constantly and it's just become too much.)

For dinner, we had baked chicken and Pepperidge Farm stuffing, made with wheat, white breads and green beans.

In about an hour after dinner I started to feel REALLY, REALLY BAD. The BURNING was coming on me like gangbusters. I went to pee and about a thimblefull came out. I knew what this meant. Then the PAIN...unbelieveble! I started to cry, which I don't usually do. I think it was another horrible day at work, plus this IC on top of it all that was making me topple. I took some Prelief, no big deal. I then took pyridium plus, and finally a Hydrocodone whole tab.

I also found I had slight indigestion. My throat was re-tasting the chicken broth which seemed acidic. I downed three Tums and in about an hour my symptoms strarted to subside to a point where I could sleep.

Now, was it the FOOD? The Pepperidge Farm stuffing? The chicken? the Oil and Vinegar dressing I had at noon? Or the stress? Because, I can tell you, I was in PAIN. A full blown FLARE and I was really hurting.

I feel very groggy today from all those meds and I have to go BACK to WORK to endure more stress. The reason I am in question is because I don't remember having a flare SPECIFICALLY from stress, but, if this is what happens then I need to make a decision about this job AND the way I live my life.

Your thoughts?

Boni :help:

[ICNDonna]

I'm thinking it could be a combination of "all of the above." First of all, vinegar is a trigger for most of us. And the dressing and chicken broth could also be problems. Many ICers can't tolerate MSG; the dressing may very well have contained it.

Stress is also a problem for nearly all of us. My suggestion if this flare continues would be to think about looking for another position.

Sending gentle hugs,
Donna

[kadi]

If the broth or stuffing contained MSG, ascorbic acid or onion powder, that would have kicked my IC into action. I've learned that successfully managing the IC diet means reading labels to check for problem ingredients. A food listed as "safe" may not be, depending on the brand or packaging. (Like cream cheese is ok for me as long as in the "brick" form, but is very bad if in the "tub" form because it then contains acidic preservatives).
The oil vinegar dressing could have "got" you too or set you up for a flare later with another trigger food. The other thing is that you had it with only lettuce, sometimes I can get away with foods if I "dilute" them with enough other things.

Sorry, this diet thing is really frustrating sometimes! Eventually you'll figure out your triggers & will feel better!

[Cricketmk3]

Definitely the stuffing (maybe a combination of things). I'm sure it has preservatives and probably MSG. MSG in one of my main triggers and I stay away from it like the plague! Most of your boxed, canned, and packaged things have MSG unless it specifically states that it doesn't. MSG (monosodium glutamate) could be called something else too.

[massagedoula]

I would say it was almost defintely the stuffing. Read the ingredients and I am sure that you will see many items that are not safe for IC. I hope the flare blows over soon! Try baking soda or Tums or Calcium Citrate for awhile until it feels better.

Also I would not have been able to eat the vinegar, sugar, chicken (if it was not organic and hormone-free) white bread (because of the added vitamins), but I am very diet-sensitive.

[hoping4acure]

I think it is a combo of everything. Your bladder let you get "away" with it one day, and not the next...that's the way this disease is. Stress was HUGE with me (still is sometimes). White wine vinegar...ouch! All those MSG things...yeah, I would say it was a combo.

At least you caught it. I hope you are feeling better soon. ;)

[songbird7]

Also watch out for the other name for MSG "hydrologized vegetable protein". Yes the different foods are a factor. Very important is the job which causes so much stress. Stress irritates the IC for me as much as the wrong food. I hope you get another job. Perhaps try extra virgin cold pressed olive oil as a dressing . I find I can get away with some foods I ate that aren't on the IC diet once in awhile and at some unknown time it will turn on me.
I hope this helps,

[vm]

I agree with the others.... Stress was a HUGE trigger for me. It's about the only thing that can send me into a flare now - even though I can eat all foods now. Stress is under-rated as a trigger for sure. ;)

[Boni]

Thanks everyone. It has been a great help to read your posts.

I talked with my boss today and told him I can't handle the stress it's affecting me physically. He said he realized that. I may have to cut back in the next month.

However, the only thing I ate today was carrot and celery juice for breakfast, Ezekial pita with munster cheese for lunch and a baked potatoe for dinner and I am burning again. But again...had another stressful day.

Why does it ALWAYS HAPPEN at the same time? Right around 7:00 pm? I don't get it. This is so frustrating

Boni :headbang:

[mela414]

I am very diet sensitive and if I ate what you ate I too would be in a flare. My pain is usually worse around 7:00pm too and I thought about it. the only thing I could think of is.....that it is right after my biggest meal of the day. So.....if I am already flaring then the stress of all that food on the bladder is too much. Too much stuff passing through my delicate bladder causes more pain. Once the flare subsides and all is quiet on the home front....I notice that there is less pain around 7:00pm (again after dinner). Just a thought.

[massagedoula]

Maybe the Munster Cheese?
I have never heard of Munster being IC-friendly....so maybe try mozzarella or feta instead next time?

By the way I am jealous that you found Ezekiel pitas. I can't find them anywhere around me, just the bread, cereal, and english muffins (which are very tasty!)

[mare mare]

Diet hasn't made that much difference in my ic. A few things (to much caffeine) will make me flare. I can go all day and just drink water (no food) and still have pain in my groin-pelvic area. Hang in there and pray for an ic free day!!!!!!!! :)

[Cricketmk3]

Boni, What do you usually drink?

[kadi]

Some of the Ezekiel products have soy in them, which can be a trigger for some of us. Cheeses are problematic: I can only tolerate mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese (Knudsen's individual serving size only-some brands & sizes have citric acid in them), cream cheese (brick only, not tub-the tubs have acid in them for re-dipping of knives), or a single slice of American cheese, and with the American cheese I take Prelief (a dietary supplement to reduce acid in food).

The other thing is that the diet often takes several weeks to work. Your bladder needs a break from what has already irritated it before you may see pain/frequency reduction. For me, the diet reduced my pain, but did not eliminate it, so I did not realize I was better on it, til I'd been on it 3 weeks & then retested a cup of decaf tea & my pain shot through the roof... Then I realized it actually had been helping...

The way I figured out my personal diet is by using the ICN diet link (below), printing the list out (if you scroll down the page, you'll find foods "usually ok", "sometimes ok", and "usually problematic" for IC patients. I started out by eating only in the left hand column for 3 weeks, then gradually adding in the middle column foods one at a time & marking on the printed list if it was ok for me or not.

http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/diet.html

Other people have done a more classic "elimination diet" where they start out eating only plain chicken, plain rice & plain vegetables, then add other foods in one by one, noting which new foods cause symptoms. The book "Confident Choices", available in the ICN store outlines this process well, gives good recipes too.

Hang in there, this is one of the hardest things about IC, figuring out your personal trigger & "safe" foods, but once you've figured it out, it can really help. I think it's one of the reasons I rarely need painkillers. Good luck!

[Boni]

Thanks everyone. I have learned these things from all your posts.

1. Stress is underrrated as a trigger and can definately cause flares.
2. You can set yourself up for a flare during the day with diet and stress will trigger it.
3. What works for you one day, may not work the next time.

Number three is the one that really tics me off. I think I'm ok with something and it sucker punches me later on. I'm finding it impossible to figure out what I can eat. What works one day doesn't work the next.

I'm down to the same thing all the time. Vegetables, preferably juiced, pears, almonds and Evian water. Beef hurts, chicken apparently can hurt sometimes, white flour is out, sugar is out and the stuff that turns to acid is out. Many of the recipes in Bev's cookbook call for white flour and light brown sugar! I'm stumped.

I somewhat tried the elimination diet. But never strictly for three weeks. I also read the Acid Alkaline Diet and it conflicted with many of the things in Confident Choices. It said that all meats and proteins turn to acid, vanilla ice cream would be way too sugary, brown sugar would be out, honey is out etc. again..confusing.

Also, I checked the Pepperidge Farm Stuffing. It does not list MSG. I do watch for that. It had scads of other stuff, but not MSG. I had it on Thanksgiving and I was fine!

Honestly, you have to be a genius to figure this "condition" out!

But, I sincerely thank you all for your help. I don't what what I would do if I didn't have you all.
~~~~
Marilyn...I drink Evain water and our home water, (well water) & camomile tea plain, no sugar. That's about it. and I love your "pettin' the cat" doo dad thingy.

Boni

[massagedoula]

Many of the recipes in Bev's cookbook I cannot follow either. I can't eat sugar of any kind (I actually tried a tiny bit of a sugary toffee today and am in a HUGE flare---speak of the devil.)

Some of the recipes also call for other things I can't eat like black pepper. I think that we just have to be well versed in the art of substitution, and then we can create IC-safe recipes out of anything, with some good substitution (lke rice milk for milk and pureed dates for sugar, etc...)

[Boni]

Hmmmm. Pureed dates for sugar? Never heard of that. How does one make that?

[mare mare]

Has anyone tried using honey for sugar??

[massagedoula]

I can't do honey or maple or malt syrup either, my body reacts to them all the same way. Dates are the only sugary thing that does not flare me. I get about 6-8 medjool dates (the sweetest and stickiest) and blend them in a blender with vanilla rice milk, then use the liquid as a sugar substitiute.

[mela414]

I was eating dates for while as they are IC friendly but got so sick from them as I am sooooo allergic to mold! All those dried fruits are mold riddern I learned the hard way getting violently ill form dried figs, prunes, apricots and dates!
If you can eat them.....good for you! I lked them because they are sooooooo sweet!

[Boni]

That's a great idea to puree the dates. I don't know if I can find those exact kind. I will look. (So, far I haven't had any mold allergies, but there's still time! haha)

I am like Massagedoula, honey or maple or anything sugary I can't tolerate. I tried honey for a long time, but, still had a slight burn with it. I have to use Stevia now. It takes some getting used to.

[massagedoula]

I also heard good things about agave syrup, but I have not tried it yet because I am so pleased with the dates. Medjool are usually pretty common, but you can use any type, really. Medjool are just sweetest.

[Boni]

Where do you buy the Medjool kind? a supermarket or health food store?

thanks

[massagedoula]

Health food store