Articles Written By Jill Osborne, The Founder Of The ICN

Atara Schimmel’s Stunning Angel Project Raises Awareness For Pelvic Pain

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then the art of Atara Schimmel speaks volumes about pelvic pain and pudendal neuralgia. She's just won the ADA poster contest sponsored by the city of Boston for her entry "We Will Be Heard," one of her Project Angel series which is dedicated to raising awareness for pelvic [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-31T10:10:42-08:00July 22nd, 2015|Awareness, Jill's Journal, Our Blog, Pelvic Pain, Self Care|Comments Off

Does your IC make it difficult to work? You have rights under the ADA!
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Does your IC make it difficult to work? You have rights under the ADA!

Disability, Jill's Journal, Our Blog

Does your IC make it difficult to work? You have rights under the ADA!

Twenty five years ago this month, the American's With Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed to stem the tide of layoffs and overt discrimination that occurred (and sadly still occurs) in workplaces across America. Earlier this month, I blogged about IC hero Bard Alan Finlan who spent years struggling with Verizon over his request for reasonable accommodation [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-18T12:02:49-08:00July 21st, 2015|Disability, Jill's Journal, Our Blog|Comments Off

Why You Should Apply To Join The ICA Board of Directors
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Why You Should Apply To Join The ICA Board of Directors

Jill's Journal, Our Blog

Why You Should Apply To Join The ICA Board of Directors

For the past couple of weeks, the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) has been soliciting applications for their Board of Directors. They announced, today, that they are extending the deadline through Sunday, July 20th. (See announcement here!) I want to encourage anyone who has passion for the IC movement to apply. They have a simple application process [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-31T10:11:49-08:00July 17th, 2015|Jill's Journal, Our Blog|Comments Off

Why You Shouldn’t Load Up on NSAID’s for IC, Bladder or Pelvic Pain
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Why You Shouldn’t Load Up on NSAID’s for IC, Bladder or Pelvic Pain

Consumer Alerts, Jill's Journal, Our Blog, Pain Care, Pelvic Pain

Why You Shouldn’t Load Up on NSAID’s for IC, Bladder or Pelvic Pain

When you struggle with IC and/or chronic pain and don't have access to traditional pain relievers, using an OTC pain relief pill may feel like your only option. Right? I, like most patients, turned to Advil and Tylenol to help reduce my bladder pain when I was first diagnosed. Seriously, IC can hurt terribly and if it's the [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-31T10:12:34-08:00July 14th, 2015|Consumer Alerts, Jill's Journal, Our Blog, Pain Care, Pelvic Pain|Comments Off

Why I won’t forget Bard-Alan Finlan, a good man who fought for the rights of IC patients.

In the thousands of patients who have contacted the Interstitial Cystitis Network in the past twenty years, there are several who have created indelible memories. I met Bard more than a decade ago when he called for help with his disability discrimination claims against his employer, Verizon. Bard faced outrageous discrimination at his job, often by female superiors. [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-31T10:13:01-08:00July 8th, 2015|Disability, Jill's Journal, Men's Health, Our Blog|Comments Off

Why Artificial Sweeteners Drive More Snacking And Obesity

Why oh why would we even be talking about soda on an interstitial cystitis website? Yes, for the vast majority of patients, both sugar and artificially sweetened sugars are well known to trigger IC flares but some patients continue to drink them. It's in our interest to educate you about why drinking sodas are bad. For [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-18T12:03:09-08:00June 15th, 2015|Diet & Food, Jill's Journal, Our Blog|Comments Off

Parent Files Suit After Child Faced Restroom Discrimination At School

When Jamie Barkley discovered that her 9 year old daughter was hiding urine soaked underwear around the house, she was shocked to discover that her child had been "holding it" at school out of fear that she would get into trouble for asking to use the restroom. A week later, her daughter ended up in the ER with [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-31T10:21:25-08:00June 9th, 2015|Children & Teens, Jill's Journal, News, Our Blog|Comments Off

Got IC & Scoliosis? New Study Finds A Gene Responsible For Familial Scoliosis

I've often said that if there was one medical condition that I could fix first, it would be the scoliosis I developed in Junior High. I'm supposed to be an inch taller but, instead, I have a nicely balanced "S" curve in my spine that few can see. I often get back pain and muscle [...]

By Jill Osborne|2015-02-05T16:00:50-08:00February 5th, 2015|Jill's Journal, Our Blog, Related Conditions|Comments Off

Why does my bladder hurt so much at night?

(Here's part of an email I sent to an IC patient last night who was struggling with severe night time symptoms and bladder pain that describes the many factors that can be contributing to nighttime IC symptoms and pain. - Jill Osborne, ICN President) #1 - To treat the pain effectively, we have to know [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-31T10:39:19-08:00January 26th, 2015|Interstitial Cystitis IC/BPS, Jill's Journal, Our Blog, Self Care|Comments Off

The Best IC & Pelvic Pain Moments of 2014 – The Best Blog, Rant, Research, Book & Patient Projects

By Jill H. Osborne MA From Dr. Drew’s astonishing rant about IC and endometriosis last Spring to a patient fundraising project which raised over $4000 for IC research this Fall, we share the highlights and “best of” moments in 2014! Do you agree? Most Promising Treatment of 2014 - LiRIS I continue to believe that [...]

By Jill Osborne|2017-01-31T10:43:13-08:00December 31st, 2014|Awareness, ICN Announcements, Jill's Journal, News, Our Blog|Comments Off

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