new here please help

[shellemo]

not diagnosed yet but waiting for urodynamics testing . im 25 been having these symptoms for 2 years my recent urine test showed my red and white blood cells were raised but no cultures in them . my bladder holds 110mls of liquid before void and 40 after void . does this sound like ic to u guys thanx
also i am suffering with a tingling feeling wer my kidneys are and mouth ulcers and am very tierd all the time please help xxx
:bow:

[purpletomorrow]

HI there,

It sounds like you need a complete workup from your doctor, with the tingling and tiredness. I hope you can find one who will help you soon.

I eradicated my mouth ulcers by switching to a toothpaste that doesn't have Sodium Laurel Sulfate in it. SLS is a foaming agent that causes mouth ulcers in some people. I use Biotene toothpaste, available at WalMart and Target and drugstore.com. It's made a huge difference to me.

••••• You might want to consider consulting a good IC specialist. You can find one here:
http://www.ichelp.org/LivingwithIC/M...5/Default.aspx
and here:
http://www.ic-network.com/md/#search

••••• The next thing to do is get on the IC diet and STAY ON IT.
http://www.ic-network.com/diet/2009icdietlist.pdf

The diet makes a HUGE difference for most of us. It's not nearly as daunting as it seems at first. You can eat most proteins like chicken, fish, and red meat (if it's not processed or smoked or preserved), you can eat rice and potatoes and pasta, and most vegetables except tomatoes. Fruits tend to be problematic, citrus is awful, cranberries are terrible; no alcohol or coffee or soda pop or caffeine or tea in any form, and no artificial sweeteners.

You want to steer towards an alkanizing diet, which means mostly vegetables. Acid urine burns the bladder, and many foods make urine acidic; especially animal protein and grains and sugars. Vegetables are really the only foods that alkalinize the urine.

Get used to veggies at most meals-- broccoli with your morning eggs; steamed or stir-fried cauliflower with your chicken at lunch; bok-choy and sweet potatoes with your steak at night. Veggies are the most bladder safe foods you can eat, followed by unprocessed proteins-- steak cooked without MSG or steak sauce; chicken with nothing added, fish with no lemon or lime on it. Vinegar is awful for your bladder, as is mayo. Salad dressing is a no-no; get used to just nice olive oil.

••••• You really need to force fluids if you're going to start reversing your bladder damage and lessening your pain. Dilute your urine to lessen the irritation. I drink tons of "Teeccino" all day (with 2% milk in it), and it alkalinizes the bladder, which is a good thing. You can buy Teeccino at Earth Fare, GreenLife, and the French Broad Food Coop. Make sure you buy the "Java" kind, not the kind with artificial flavors added like chocolate or mint or hazelnut.

Also you can buy it online:
http://www.teeccino.com/ProductGroup...oductGroupID=5

••••• I recommend that you add these supplements that have helped most IC patients a great deal--

1. Take Prelief with every meal. It de-acidifies the urine to help it stop burning the bladder. You can buy it at Target, at Wal-Mart, and at Wal-Greens, and on Amazon, or you can read about it and buy it here:
http://www.icnsales.com/PRELIEF-p-1-c-105.html

2. Take CystoProtek, which coats the bladder, lessens the irritation, and lets your poor bladder heal itself. This is probably the single most important supplement you can take, in addition to following the IC diet. CystoProtek was developed by a bladder specialist specifically for IC sufferers. Many people who cannot take Elmiron rely solely on CystoProtek to re-line their bladder and to heal. It's wonderful stuff.

It'll take a few weeks to work, so don't get discouraged if you don't get results at first. Stick to the diet; take your CystoProtek, and you will see a difference. It's cumulative, too -- you'll feel better after nine months of taking it than you do after two months.

Read all about CystoProtek here:
http://www.cysto-protek.com/

You can find CystoProtek for sale on Amazon, which has a nice "mail it to you every month" subscription plan, or you can buy CystoProtek here:
http://www.icnsales.com/CYSTOPROTEK-p-1-c-100.html

3. Take Desert Harvest Aloe Vera, which works WITH the CystoProtek to sooth and coat the bladder and speed the healing. You can't take just any Aloe Vera; you want Freeze Dried Aloe Vera that has the citric acid and the laxative stuff removed. "Desert Harvest" is widely considered the best. You can find more info about the Desert Harvest Aloe Vera here:
https://www.desertharvest.com/shop/i...on=show_detail

The CystoProtek and the Desert Harvest Aloe Vera work better together than separately. These supplements, combined with the IC diet, have given me marvelous relief and I recommend them highly. My IC specialist asks that all his patients add these two supplements to their regime, he thinks of them so well.

••••• Emu Oil soothes external uro-genital vulvar pain and inflammation. No odor; lovely feel to it, nothing that irritates that sensitive area. It makes things much less tender and angry. Its soothing effect is cumulative, too; the more you use it, the better it works. I buy the squirt bottle and dab a generous amount down there several times a day. Warm it up in the microwave for 10 or 20 seconds if it solidifies at your room temperature in winter. It's a godsend.

••••• Avoid swimming pools; the chorine in them will make a tender bladder scream in pain.

••••• Avoid NSAIDs, they burn the bladder. Apparently all non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs damage the lining of the bladder. This means no aspirin, no naproxin, and no ibuprofin.

••••• Avoid vitamin pills, especially vitamin C. Get your vitamins from food, mostly veggies. Try to eat foods with a very high nutrient to calorie ratio, think leafy greens and broccoli.

••••• Many people with IC find that adding magnesium daily is very helpful for their IC. Most of us don't get enough of it in our diets.

••••• Tramadol (50 mg) is an excellent prescription pain pill for IC pain.

••••• You also don't want chlorine in your drinking water - it burns your bladder. When water sits out overnight, the chlorine in it off-gasses, and leaves the water. So, I leave two large pitchers sitting out overnight for my drinking water the next day. You can even smell the difference - water fresh from the tap smells of chlorine, while water that's been sitting out overnight in a pitcher doesn't have that smell. Get rid of the chlorine before you drink water.

••••• One prescription that's important for IC patients is Hydroxyzine. Many IC specialists think that IC is worsened by the body's mast cells attacking the lining of the bladder. Hydroxyzine is an anti-histamine that stops histamine from assaulting the bladder. My IC specialist Dr. Robert Evans prescribes it for all his IC patients. Read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxyzine

••••• Another prescription that's important for IC patients is a tri-cyclic antidepressant like Elavil or Remeron. Nobody knows why these help IC patients, but it's pretty clear that they do. They seem to lessen the pain messages that reach the brain, and they make you drowsy, so they help you sleep at night. IC patients famously get poor sleep because they are always waking up to pee, so something that helps them sleep is very useful. I take Remeron, most take Elavil. Read more about Elavil here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elavil

••••• You probably already know about Elmiron. Research that I've done indicats that only about half the people who use it are helped, and some lose their hair. Apparently you have to take about 400mg a day for it to be effective, and you have to take it for a long time and on an empty stomach for it to help. I achieved tremendous relief from just the IC diet and CystoProtek before I later added Elmiron into the mix.

••••• And here's a ton of medical information about IC, if you feel like researching:
http://www.ic-network.com/guestlectures/

Whew, that's a beginning. Please keep us posted on how you are doing and your progress.

[shellemo]

thankyou so much thats alot of help xxx does it sound like ic to you . its all so new to me lol
i really appreciate your reply xxxx
:smile tee

[KarenAnne]

:welcome: I hope you find a dr. knowledgeable in IC & it's related conditions. We are all different, for instance, I can eat all proteins such as all meats, with no problems. Also, most of us drink water, whether it is a pure spring one, or using a Brita pitcher. While you are waiting to be diagnosed, there is a new patient kit in the ICN shop that is very helpful. This website has wonderful products & a great diet section. I hope you are on your way to feeling better soon.

[maryla]

Just wanted to say :welcome: you will find lots of love and support here!

hugs and blessings

[shellemo]

:woohoo:h