Any Suggestions?

**chainsaw** · 09-01-2004, 12:41 PM

I was at my urologist today and he has asked me about if I have noticed any changes or if I have had any pain. I told him what I could remember, because I had not been keeping a record. Then I said "I probabaly should" and he said "it woudl be a good idea". Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make up a record to keep track of what I eat or drink, how I feel after I eat or drink those items, any pain, how often i "gotta go" etc....

Once finding out you have IC, has anyone gone cold turkey when it came to stop drinking beverages with caffeine, chocolate, foods that aggravate the bladder? This is the hard part for me. I am having a hard time cutting out the coffee, tea, chocolate, tomatoes, onions, and other foods that can aggravate the bladder. If you have gone cold turkey, how in the world did you do it? And do you have any suggestions for me on how I can quit drinking and eating this stuff.

Thank You,
Kim (chainsaw)
chainsaw17350@aol.com

***ICNDonna*** · 09-01-2004, 12:47 PM

If you think of those things as being things you are allergic to, it makes it a little easier. And if you hve a bad physical response to a specific food or drink, then I would call that an allergic reaction.

If you knew that drinking a soda would cause severe pain, would you still drink it? That's the way I think of my trigger foods. I know they will cause pain so I stay away from them. Several years ago I had a severe allergic reaction, complete with all over burning rash, from tomatoes. I have not eating anything containing tomato since.

And yes, I did quit them cold turkey.

Hugs,
Donna

**Katrina** · 09-01-2004, 01:52 PM

http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/voidpain.html this part of the handbook gives directions on how to do a voiding and pain diary.
http://www.ic-network.com/handbook/ this is a link to the rest of the handbook....there is a lot of info there that is very helpful.

When I found out I had IC I gave up a lot of things right away.....tomatoe sauce I struggled to give up because it was in everything I normally ate. Completely changing my diet did take work and time.....it is a continuel struggle....the IC cookbook
http://www.ic-network.com/icchef/ can give you a lot of ideas to help out.

Yes prelief makes what you can't give up eaier on you.....sometimes it takes testing things out to find out how well you can tollerate things with Prelief.

Good luck I hope this helps you and you have more success.

Let us know if we can help you anymore.

**July** · 09-02-2004, 11:30 AM

The momentary pleasure of the food is not worth the pain that can follow for days afterward. After not eating them for awhile, you lose the craving for them. At least that has happened for me...anything to relieve pain of IC. Of course, I still get cravings time to time, especially around that time of the month, but my brain tells me, "Is it really worth eating that candy bar?"

***kadi*** · 09-04-2004, 12:37 PM

Yes, I quit all that cold turkey. My pain went down pretty dramatically after 2 weeks on the diet. I tried 1 cup of decaf black tea & the pain/burning/frequency went through the roof a half hour later. A few weeks later I tried some chocolate brownies with Prelief & the same thing happened again. (Guess the prelief wasn't strong enough to override the brownies -DARN). The memory of those 2 incidents keeps me much less tempted.

Interestingly enough, after a year of no chocolate or sodas, they don't smell good to me. Cola sodas in particular smell very chemical to me now.

**LooGirl** · 09-30-2004, 07:57 AM

Hi,
I'm brand new to IC and have been in what appears to be an extreme flair since July 20th. Right now I am miserable and terrified of food! I just bought my first bottle of Prelief. I have no idea how to tell which foods bother me since I am in 27/7 pain right now. But I did want to say something about going Cold Turkey. Six years ago, I was told I have Celiac Disease (an intolerance to all wheat, oats , barley and rye because of the gluten). My gastroenterologist said I must change my diet from the moment I left his office --forever! No bagels, no bread, no soy sauce, etc.! I was horrified! But you know what? In time, I learned how to find alternatives for all the things on the NO list, and best of all, my digestive problems improved tremendously. (Little did I know that IC was lying in wait in my bladder, only to appear a in July!) The point is, NO food is worth the pain, and there are always ways to find a substitute!

**chainsaw** · 09-30-2004, 09:55 AM

Dear LooGirl,

Thank you so much for your input. My aunt told me that I should look at stopping the food and beverages this way "If someone has cancer and told not to smoke, then they quit". My cousin told me that I should pray for God to take the "problematic foods and beverages desires away". I think alot of my not stopping eating and drinking what bothers me is that I don't seem to have the support at home. My husband thinks away that he does not think all these medications and stuff are working, that I still go as much as I did. But he is not the doctor. I do notice when I drink caffeine, I do go more.

Sorry to hear about your other problem. Take care and thanks again for your input.

Chainsaw (Kim)