What is a flare up?

[laconmcarthur]

I'm confused as to what a flare up is...maybe I don't know because I constantly have one? If someone could please explain this to me I would really appreciate it.

Maybe I don't know because I have never altered my diet of pizza, spaghetti, mexican and japanese that I eat at least once a week. Starting next week I am going on a bland diet to try to see if it helps, because I think maybe I dont know that I'm having a flare up because I have always ate whatever, I was just diagnosed with IC yesterday and I'm trying to understand it. :hi: thanks!

[KarenAnne]

At the top of this page, go to "Patients" & there is a great section on "flares". Also check out the diet section there too. If you have IC, & are constantly flaring, but eating pizza w/ tomato sauce, spicey mexican food, any foods w/ additives like msg, then your bladder is never going to calm down. Also, if you are drinking anything other than water right now, that can cause a problem too. Go to the diet section, best wishes.

[laconmcarthur]

I tried to look, all of the pages are unavailable now... but I think I'm beginning to understand it now... I've gathered some wonderful recipes from this site and am excited (I think) about trying them out starting tomorrow. :)

[leelee88]

Great Advice KarenAnne!

I see you are from Laurel, I was raised in Hattiesburg! But am in La now..But anyways YES I suggest you get on the IC diet and try to stick to it for awhile to get your bladder calmed down. Then you can determine when you have flares. Like you said right now you are in a constant flare. But when you get on the diet and right meds that work for you. You will find that you can have some good days and the flares will be less..

If you look on my signature you will see a link to the Patient Handbook there is ALOT of helpful info in it!!

[laconmcarthur]

small world huh?! There is no where near here that has all organic foods, there is a small place in hattiesburg...but I'm not even sure where it is. There is a place in Jackson I may try to start going to every week or two. I love organics. I'm starting to become some sory of tree hugging hippie. :) I always thought it would be cool to eat organic and be all healthy...I guess now I sure will be haha.

[ICNDonna]

I don't think eating organic is as important for IC control as limiting your diet to foods that are on the usually okay list in the IC Diet section of the Patient Handbook. I know organic foods are good, but right now I suggest you concentrate on eliminating potential problem foods from your diet. Once you do that, hopefully you will feel better.

Warm hugs,
Donna

[laconmcarthur]

Yeah, I've printed out the list of ok foods and I've got to go shopping today...I don't have enough ok items to make anything to eat. go figure. Is honey mustard ever ok for anyone?

[SharonA]

Mustard has vinegar in it. Vinegar is very acidic and can cause problems. Make sure you read labels on everything. It will seem daunting at first, but it will get easier with time. Actually, it becomes second nature. You will be surprised how you will begin to automatically not eat something that can cause problems for you.

As for me, I am not all that diet sensitive but I do have to limit the amount of vinegar I use. If I use Honey Mustard Dressing or Spread, I don't use very much of it at all. I also take Prelief.

[laconmcarthur]

:( This isn't very fun...I sure hope it gets easier. Im printing my cheat sheet and heading to the grocery store...I haven't even thought about lunch yet... I think I may try a sauceless cheese pizza and water... Whats a busy college student supposed to do about an IC diet... I'm sure over the next few months that I'll adjust

[Goldfinch]

From reading many posts about the pitfalls of the IC diet, one of the biggest challenges for those new to IC when it comes to the diet is that it means a more labor-intensive approach to food; in other words, more home-cooking. I think about my daughter, who had her first apartment off-campus last year and who arrived at college barely able to boil water (okay, my fault, really!) and I understand exactly how hard it is to find the time to shop and cook, let alone deal with a restricted menu, especially if you are a student and eat street food or pizza or get by as I once did on meal after meal of spaghetti and red sauce. And, if like my daughter, your main beverage is coffee.

I love to eat organic, but it isn't always practical and, if you are not close to the source, it can be seriously expensive. If you stick to fresh veggies and other foods you will be able to avoid preservatives and additives that many ICers are sensitive to. Check that meats aren't injected with hormones or other solutions and that cheeses are as unprocessed as possible.

When I first went on the diet I was desperate: practically bedridden, not yet diagnosed. I was incredibly strict. I basically ate nothing for three weeks but home-made chicken broth, chicken, rice, carrots and toast with butter. It was six weeks before I even tried cottage cheese! Now, almost a year later, I can eat a tiny smudge of mayo on tuna (just once in a while) and a really itsy bit of mustard on cold meatloaf every so often, plus many things on the problematic lists--but it's take a year to get there. I still eat absolutely no citrus, vinegar, tomato products, soy sauce, no fruit but pears and blueberries and no strong cheeses. I drink mainly water, milk, peppermint tea.

I would suggest that when starting the diet, treat it like a science experiment. Start simple, with foods from the usually okay list, and try only one new food at a time. Try the method of just a bite or two the first day, a bit more the next day, and if doing okay, a little more on day 3. I find my reactions to problematic foods to be cumulative, so I space out my tests over a period of days to give my bladder a better chance of adjusting.

Sometimes I feel like a lunatic with my approach to food, suffer a flare, and wonder if I'm going about this all wrong. Bri, saw your post somewhere else and I'm sorry to hear about your flare with something that never bothered you before. That's the most insidious aspect of IC; many of us can gain a lot of control with diet, but every once in a while you can get knocked for a loop without ever figuring out what triggered it.

[laconmcarthur]

This is all helping me so much. I havent drank caffiene in over a year because it seems every time i did, i would feel as if i had a UTI. So i quit caffiene and haven't drank it since.

[skye321]

I eat mostly fish and rice, I love fish so I don't mind eating it alot. I also mostly buy organic food because organic food dosn't have msg,additives or perservatives, it all natural ingrediants. It does suck that it costs more though. I know what makes me flare is anything spicy and any kind of sinus medication. It takes a little while but you will eventually figure out what makes you flare.

[BT2008]

Goldfinch -- what an excellent post! You should copy and paste it into the Diet Section...

Lacon, I hope you find a comfortable path as you take your journey with IC. The only things that I would add are: Become "intimate with your own body" (even more so than normal) and ascertain the sources of your pain as well as the locations of your pain (there are several places in and around the bladder that can cause IC pain). And, do everything you can do now to prevent your IC from getting worse!

Unfortunately, at your age, it will probably be a life-long journey in trial and error, but Fortunately--you have discovered this early and can be proactive in your bladder health as time goes on! I wish I had known 10 years ago what was going to happen to my bladder 10 years later! I would most definitely have made a lot of different choices!

So, just make sure to always listen to your body and the pain it produces to get your attention! And use common sense! Our bodies do communicate with us, we just too often don't listen!

Good luck, take care, and keep us posted!

~Beth