How long after eating something does the flare begin?

[shopaholic_1974]

Hello all,

I have not been diagnosed yet but am ecstatic that I am finally going to see a urologist sometime very soon.

I was in such horrible pain on New Year's Day that I had to go to the emergency room as I was really worried. I brought in all of my empty antibiotic pill bottles that I have been on since June and as soon as I told my story to the emerg doctor he strongly felt that I had interstitial cystitis. (urethral burning, pelvic pain, negative urine cultures) He told me he was going to make an emergency referral to a urologist to finally help me find out what is going on. I could have kissed the man! This is something I had been begging my doctor to do for soooooo long.

I have been on an endless cycle of "suspected" UTI's (10 a year) and it has been an never ending roller coaster of antibiotics, even when my cultures would come back negative. You've all been there, you visit your doc due to the burning/pain, he/she does a swab but needs to send it off for a culture. In the interim you are given antibiotics, only to find out the culture is negative when it comes back. My doctor has been with me through this roller coaster and refused to send me to a urologist because he needed to do more cultures. I felt so helpless!!!

Because I suspect that I have I/C I have been researching the diet connectin to managing pain. My question to all of you is this.......

"How long after eating/drinking something will the pain/flare/burning begin?"

Can it be instant? 24 Hours? 48? 72? As I always seem to be burning I just don't know.

I am really playing a guessing game right now/elimination diet beginning with very minimal food items and seem to have burning every day despite eating items that should be safe. I have been eating very bland unseasoned food and have purchased only organic food items with minimal preservatives/additives.

I feel like I am too scared to eat anything. I have discontinued my multi-vitamin over a month ago and have been faithfully only eating very plain organic food (I long for something that tastes like anything!)

Does anyone have any experience with this? How long does it take for your symptoms to flare after eating something?

Desperate Canadian looking for your guidance.

Happy healthy wishes for all!!!!!!

Sandy

[dyno]

I want to welcome you to the ICN. I am so glad you got to an ER doc who is getting you some help.

Now to your question, I can flare within an hour of eating or drinking something. Also be careful of your water you are drinking. If I drink water that is too acid, I will flare. I have had this happen more than once.

I have just moved and again I have water that I can't drink so I have to stick to bottled spring water.

Make sure to read through the Handbook, link in my signature line, you are on the right track. Let us know what you find out. :welcome:

[kadi]

I've had the flare start 20 minutes to 10 hours after eating the offending food.
Also, there are some foods that in small quantities might be ok, but if I eat them everyday, symptoms can "creep up" on me & I'll gradually feel worse & worse. Avocados did that to me. Couldn't figure out why my IC got bad again til I thought back on my diet over the previous few weeks & realized I'd added in avocado. Stopped eating it & felt better in a day:)

[Michelle in KC]

I have had pain start as soon as 20 minutes and as late as a week.
(We had Barbie slaughtered and smoked and went a little nuts on the pork for a week... pork chops, pork roast, bacon, pulled pork sandwiches...BEST bacon I have EVER tasted!) That is the bout that took a week to get me. STILL hurting from all that.
HDH.
Michelle.

[Briza]

Usually with food or bev for me pretty fast... tonight within half an hour! Most times between half an hour to two hours.

Stress induced flares can begin for me instantaneously.

Flares from physical or mental exhuastion...instantaneously or within a few hours.

So for me, overall, pretty fast and many times seemingly out of the blue for no reason at all.

[TexasHoney]

I've had flares start a s quickly as 20 minutes as late as 24 hours. My bladder is sometimes very unpredictable.

[Briza]

Shopaholic
Often if one is experiencing 24 hour pain longterm without relief with pain meds or any other IC treatment, it is VERY hard to determine which foods are your triggers. It was that way for me. So try not to get discouraged if you don't see results from the diet right away. It may take a month or more on the diet to get things settled down, and hopefully even sooner once you are given adequate and appropriate (for you) treatment from a uro or whichever dr is treating an IC patient's symptoms. Hoping you feel better soon...sounds like you are LONG overdue for a diagnosis, or at least some symptom relief!

And again, regarding the diet, like Kadi, some foods and bevs I can tolerate in small amounts and occasionally, but if I overdo it and eat these foods or bevs on a daily basis, it sometimes builds up to where I will have a flare if I eat a usually FOR ME not problematic food...those kinds of flares or symptoms I have a more delayed response to...like after several days of eating or drinking the same thing, and then some flare or symptoms will occur. But for most of those types of foods I have luckily been able to learn that they are ok for me to eat here and there, but not daily. So for me the diet is not as restricted as it is at first glance, I do have to avoid some things completely, and other things I can have now and then without any problem. So keep chin up, be diligent with the diet for now to get your bladder calmed down, and hopefully with time and trial and error along with some med(s) to treat your symptoms you will find that there are many more foods that you are able to eat that are not those that are only in the usually ok column of the diet cheatsheet...link in my sig to diet cheatsheet:) Best of luck!:) and welcome to the board :hi: you will find a lot of support and good info regarding meds and other's experiences with the diet and the numerous treatments for IC!

[shopaholic_1974]

Thank you so much for all of your responses!

They have certainly given me an increased awarenes on the flares/diet connection and the time frame some of you have gone through before experiencing a flare after eating.

Hopefully after being diagnosed and following the medication routine suggested by my uro I will finally be able to take charge of this and get some quality of life back.

Coming on here and sharing in your experiences has been like a gift from heaven.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Take Care
Sandy:angel:

[Goldfinch]

I've had the flare start 20 minutes to 10 hours after eating the offending food.
Also, there are some foods that in small quantities might be ok, but if I eat them everyday, symptoms can "creep up" on me & I'll gradually feel worse & worse. Avocados did that to me. Couldn't figure out why my IC got bad again til I thought back on my diet over the previous few weeks & realized I'd added in avocado. Stopped eating it & felt better in a day:)

Kadi, I'm glad to hear you describe this. I seem to be able to cheat a little when I am doing well, but if I overdo it for several days in a row, or cheat with a variety of things--even just teeny amounts of several unproven foods--I reach a kind of tipping point, where I start to backslide. I don't seem to have the kinds of triggers where one minor infraction brings on a really bad flare. It appears to be cumulative--just as a pretty restricted diet is cumulative for me in beneficial ways.a beneficial way.

[bjt]

much of my pain also seems a cumulative effect after eating things over a period of time. When I do have a flare from a very specific food item, it usually comes 12-20 hours after eating it. So, if I have something for lunch or dinner, I won't feel it until the next morning. If I drink something wrong, that I'll feel very quickly.

[Kara Isabel]

With me, usually within an hour I can tell my bladder is NOT happy, however, it has escalated to far worse (with some foods) up to a day or two later, just depends on what has triggered the flare.

I hope the uro has some answers for you, nothing worse than not knowing!

[nottoc4]

I will flare from foods usually within 2 hours. Sometimes the only symptom I get is increased night time visits to the bathroom. I keep a food log so I can trace back what bothered me. Don't overlook medicarions. I am overley senstitive to food dyes(pink or yellow pills) and I just discovered my Nexium has food dyes and Citric Acid which is a real no no. Do look up your medications to be sure there are no offending ingredients in them. I also find the drinking baking soda water will give me quick relief. I have at times done that 3 times a day when the flares are bad. Hoping you get relief soon. Jo