Diet clues

[Gingerfizz]

Thank you for all the information, dolls. I've been looking into the recommended diet, and also the diet recommended by Dr. Roby (an allergist who encourages folks to folow Atkins). Which one is right? Does it depend entirely on the dieter's system?

I noticed Roby says we shouldn't eat any grains or dairy. I read somewhere else that meat is a no-no, or at least processed meat like tuna, sausage or lunch meat. Fruit has sugar and may be acidic. And no convenience foods, of course. Veggies can also be acidic and cause gas, which can be very painful, too. But I'm knee-deep now in the IC handbook and will proceed with the basics.

How long does it usually take to get a handle on the diet? I feel like I'm in a constant flare and now it sounds like there are so many contributing factors it may be months before I'll see daylight. Forgive me. I should just "buck up, little camper" and do the obvious things first. I guess it's become too easy to want so badly to feel better that I'll take the temporary comfort of the cookie over the long term benefits of avoiding it.

I do realize alcohol is a bad thing (and I can't even stand the taste)--but I haven't found a doctor who would take the pain seriously, and thus have no access to pain meds right now.

Thanks again for the pointers!

gingerfizz

[ICLori]

Not sure if this is useful to you or not, but I did go into a remission when I followed the Atkins diet (I was trying to lose weight at the time, didn't know it would affect my IC one way or another.) I thought it was odd that my symptoms went away when I was eating mostly just meat and no grains/sugar, and chalked it up to coincidence, but sometimes I do wonder if other IC patients have experienced the same thing I have. I wonder if anyone here has done the Atkins diet? If so, any effect on your symptoms?

Blessings,
Lori

[July]

I have heard that eating more proteins of meat can help vulvodynia, so maybe the same is true for IC. I've also read that grains can be acidic.

[boohiss13]

HI!

I'm fairly new, and wanted to share with you what I'm reading on diet right now that is really helping me.

I got both of these books from the IC Network Shop:
www.icnshop.com (http://)

1) "Confident Choices"
This book is almost like a IC-Elimination Diet-workbook. The author is a nutritionist, and she goes step by step through what you need to do to start your diet, and to figure out what your flare-triggers are. I think I'd be totally lost without it. I was completely overwhelmed and clueless until I started reading this, and now I'm not as anxious at all.

2) "A Taste of the Good Life"
This book does go over the elimination diet, but it's mostly a GREAT cookbook, with IC-safe recipes. Apparently, everyone with IC is different, and the flare-foods/drinks can sometimes vary pretty drastically from person to person, so you have to figure out what YOU can eat. I'm not at the point I can really use the recipes in this book yet; I have to do the elimination diet first, but I wanted to get it to see what was in store for me....what were some ideas of what I could eat in the future? And things don't look so bad after reading it.

And everyone around here has been really helpful with any questions I have.

Hope that helps!

Boo

[ICNDonna]

I agree with Boo --- both books she mentioned are outstanding.

It's very possible to be on the Atkins diet and also an IC diet. Atkins is simply high proteins and low carbohydrates. Also, some ICers find that sugar is a problem.

I do better controlling the amount of sugar I ingest, but have never been able to hang in there with a total Atkins diet.

Donna