I had a cappuccino and a pizza today :D

[april ryan]

I popped in the forum just to say:

months ago I was a total mess and absolutely desperate and felt stuck with my pain forever.

I have discovered lyrica, and I am so grateful that it works! But the main thing is that my head now accepts that IC is manageavble.

I have done adjustments, like moving really near to work, letting people around me know I might not be 100% reliable etc.

After all, I discovered a direct link beetween pain and the stress about the pain itself..

Now I think: I am having a good day, and I fancy a coffee and something with tomato. What the heck.
If I get mild pain, a hot water bottle will make it better instantly.
If I get medium pain, a hot bath will do the trick
if I get real pain (and it happened only once in the last 6 months) I will take paracetamol+codeine.

So there. My strategies are lined up so I don't have to stress with something that goes simply out of control. And I can feel safe and relax and enjoy my cappuccino and my pizza.

What I am saying is: don't underestimate how powerful stress management can be in coping with chronic pain.. I have IC and almost daily feel discomfort at some point, but how much pain influences my life today? Almost nothing.

Healing thoughts for all of you x

[KarenAnne]

Brave, brave, brave.

[Snowden1]

April,
That is totally wonderful! I am so glad you are doing so much better. I saw you were taking Cystistat (this is suppose to be one of the best instillations) - how did it work for you? Sounds Lyrica was the best. I wish I could eat pizza - I miss it sooooo much.
Teresa

[beautifulshades]

I popped in the forum just to say:

months ago I was a total mess and absolutely desperate and felt stuck with my pain forever.

I have discovered lyrica, and I am so grateful that it works! But the main thing is that my head now accepts that IC is manageavble.

I have done adjustments, like moving really near to work, letting people around me know I might not be 100% reliable etc.

After all, I discovered a direct link beetween pain and the stress about the pain itself..

Now I think: I am having a good day, and I fancy a coffee and something with tomato. What the heck.
If I get mild pain, a hot water bottle will make it better instantly.
If I get medium pain, a hot bath will do the trick
if I get real pain (and it happened only once in the last 6 months) I will take paracetamol+codeine.

So there. My strategies are lined up so I don't have to stress with something that goes simply out of control. And I can feel safe and relax and enjoy my cappuccino and my pizza.

What I am saying is: don't underestimate how powerful stress management can be in coping with chronic pain.. I have IC and almost daily feel discomfort at some point, but how much pain influences my life today? Almost nothing.

Healing thoughts for all of you x

I am glad you found lyrica, but watch out for the side effects. I was on it for little over a year and half 100mg three times a day. Make sure you take it like you are supposed to and try not to miss doses. After a while you body becomes dependent on it. Also watch out for the rapid weight gain, gas, and massive amounts of bloating. It does great for stabilizing the pain, but if you start bloating really bad then it will put a lot of pressure on the bladder. Also it can cause constipation too. I had to finally get off of it because I gained 40 lbs this year. I have BIG RED nasty stretch marks all over my body. I mean EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately it tore up my body image from rapid weight gain:loco: (and it DOES NOT help exercising or dieting, you will not lose a pound if you gain because a lot of the weight is a MASSIVE amount of water retention, like a ridiculous amount of water retention and you body will continue to put on fat too.) If you start to balloon out like I did talk to your doctor about alternatives. With IC it is hard but I finally had to let go of the lyrica and because I was soo bloated (I looked like I was 4 months pregnant!) that it did more harm then good. I hope it doesn't do this to you, I hope that you will be able to take it and be mostly pain free because that is the goal for the ICer. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.:smile tee

[lonely sole]

April,

That's great news that you're feeling better these days! :). I whole heartedly second the stress management aspect of this - I find it has a direct relationship to my pain & discomfort as well.

I must admit my eyes got a bit big when I saw cappuccino and pizza, but I'm sure you have an idea by now how this might affect you and what is worth it.

May your recovery continue on and on !!! :)

[samik]

April Ryan-
My name is Sam and I was wondering if you could tell me about Lyrica? What kind of pain are you having? I have pelvic and hip pain that comes around to my back. My biggest complaint is the intense pressure on my bladder. I pee about 6 times a day, but my bladder feels so sensitive.

[ICNDonna]

OWCH! I won't be trying either of those --- even when I feel good.

Donna

[TexasHoney]

I am glad that you have found ways to deal with the pain. Congrats:woohoo: Five years into this thing called IC I am still searching for the most part.I wouldn't be able get away with a tomato. Maybe the cappuccino with by taking prelief before and after.

Take Care and Best Wishes

[nkier]

I am also doing well on Lryica. I take 150 mg three times a day. In the past 1 yr 10 months I have had no relief from the bladder pain. Now on Lyrica I still have daily epdisodes of bad pain but I notice some relief at times. This is a true miracle. I have noticed an increase in appetite but no weight gain. I watch my diet to try and keep from gaining more weight. I still have treats due to these cravings and can keep my weight where it is. Unfortunately, I gained 30 pounds on Imiprimine. Supposedly Lyrica does not change your matabalism like Imiprimine did. I also pretty much each what I want after following the IC diet for a long time. I really don't think the IC diet reduces my symptoms. I do totally stay away from fruit juices, the actual fruits that are known to be a big issue. I drink a Latta as a treat periodically and root beer. I just take Prelief when I eat tomatoe based products and drink a full glass of water immediately following. Good luck to you and I think it is great to get the Lyrica word out. :smile tee --Nickie