it's just not fair

[icbeauty]

:rant:

i really like cranberries. but no matter what, they cause the most evil pain. i was at the store yesterday, and they had this fancy cheddar cheese with cranberries and chipotle (a few weeks ago i flared horribly from cheddar cheese with cranberries, and now they're adding more good stuff). i really do know it would be an awesome cheese. but i am too scared to try it. i tried just a few bites of the other cheese, and i flared badly. so i know better.

but it's just not fair. there are so many yummy things out there.

but if this is the least of my problems, i think i'm all right. i just get grouchy. thanks for listening.

[MiLynn]

I agree, it's not fair at all.

[Goldfinch]

icbeauty, you get high marks in the risk-taking department, I'll give you that!

That cheese you described is what I call a perfect storm: chile, cheddar and cranberry. I'm not supposed to eat a lot of cheese (borderline high cholesterol), but I miss so many other yummy things that I am eating some cheeses now in very moderate amounts.

There are some great cheeses out there than I find I can tolerate, but cheddar is problematic for me. I tried a small portion of home-made mac 'n' cheese made from natural unprocessed cheddar and it didn't agree with me.

I do well with mild goat and sheep's milk cheeses and even with brie--sheep or cow. I know aged strong cheeses don't work for many with IC, but when I am doing really well I can even have a couple of crackers with Stilton. Mind you, I'm talking small amounts here, and only as an occasional splurge item.

Every once in a while I just have a breakdown over the food issue and the idea of eating the same old things over and over makes me want to weep. But I agree: if this was my worst problem I would be awfully happy.

[icnmgrjill]

Goldfinch... Lovely response!

Beauty.. I sympathize.. but for now your bladder is tender and vulnerable... and a cranberry chile urine bath isn't a good idea. That said, I really like some of the white cheddar cheeses that come from England. Have you tried any of those?? There's also a portuguese cheddar cheese that's kind of gently spicy and very flavorful. Might be worth a try!

Good luck!!

Jill :)

[icbeauty]

thank you for being so understanding. the cheddar was a white cheese, so i was surprised by that. it tasted mild at first, but after a while, i realized what a no-no that way. i thought since i'd been doign so well for so long, i'd be all right.

learned my lesson.

so i'm avoiding the one with chipotle. i find i can eat a lot of the smoked stuff if i eat it in small amounts. i'm able to have some things with chile pepper if it's cooked long enough. same with tomato and onion. but if there's a tiny bit of stuff that's not cooked, omg, it stinks so bad.

i remember when i first started dealing with this disorder. i wasn't able to eat a single thing. so much pain from anything. ended up on those b&o supprettes just to help me move, so i could lie down and sleep. i've come a very long way in the past 6 years, but i need to learn my limits.

it's a good thing i love blueberries, because sometimes that's the only fruit i can eat. i would love to have a canteloupe again, but those are the worst fruit for me. i don't know why.

i'm learning though. i've learned a lot of what i can eat and what i can't. i just wish there were a way to actually taste the stuff i want without having to ingest it and have pain later. so for now, i'll just imagine what the chipotle/cheddar/cranberry stuff tastes like. at least this way i won't be disappointed, lol.

[Goldfinch]

Holly, there have been times when I have been so desperate I have done exactly what you describe: taste without swallowing. I've held red wine in my mouth just to remember what it tastes and feels like, and then spit it out in the sink. Actually the very act, in its desperation, is so absurd that it makes me laugh.

And, I've done something equally weird with whiskey. I take such tiny sips that whatever moisture there is evaporates in my mouth, or gets absorbed before there's anything left to swallow! I imagine that it is passing directly through the cell walls of my tongue and cheeks and into my bloodstream while bypassing my bladder!

[Briza]

icbeauty...maybe someday there will be some type of cheese made with blueberries that will agree with your bladder!!! Actually sounds very yummy to me....if there are any white cheese you can tolerate, I could see myself having a cracker with a square of white cheese of some sort (even cream cheese) atop along with bluberries on top, too:) One white cheese that I find very mild and tolerable is muenster...so possibly a thin slice of muenster filled with blueberries and rolled up like a taquito could be something you could tolerate?

Wish I had some in the fridge right now!!! :( Major craving for cheese and blueberry taquito with a dash of chipotle sauce going on right now!!! Stop it!!!!! I'm going to have to leave this thread now otherwise I will be making a post midnite trip to the grocery to buy some very odd things....no I am not preggers!!! :biglaugh:

[Golden Girl]

I thought I was the only one who ever was so desperate to taste something that would flare my IC that I would just hold it in my mouth for a bit and spit it out. I have done that with chocolate and boy was it ever good! I agree its not fair! I was at a friends house the other day, she of course knows about my IC and diet restrictions, and she just kept offering me sodas, tea, coffee, strawberries. After about my 6th refusal she said, "Karen, I have caffeine free". I said, its the ACID. I guess what ticked me off was that she is a Adult Health NP and has sent me articles from her NP Journal about IC! One she sent before my official diagnosis because she was sure thats what I had was about the importance of the diet. My DH laughed about them drinking 3 cokes, two Arnold Palmers and a couple of cups of coffee each and not even using the bathroom once. My hubby has BPH (a benign condition in older men causing frequent urination) so he looks for the bathroom almost as often as I do.