Not so sure I have IC...

[JosieWales]

I cut out coffee and things like oranges, etc., for a couple of weeks, and I feel much better. I've had a little bladder pain these last 4-5 days, but nowhere near what it was. AND I've been drinking some coffee again. Monday I was grouchy and upset over another health issue (effects of heat stroke I suffered in August) and I had coffee in the morning, pizza for supper w/a 32-oz diet soda, AND chocolate for dessert. If I was going to have severe bladder pain, surely it would've shown up by now, eh?????

Had coffee today and yest., too, and I need to back off, I know. Kind of in a rebellious, let's-see-what-happens stage, I guess.

What do you all think? I do have an appt w/a uro on March 3.

[cmclien]

Hey Josie,
I think if you are still have discomfort you should go. You said it was nowhere near what it was but if its not gone it doesn't mean you don't have it, maybe you have a milder version that has calmed down after??? I forgot, did you have an infection to start out with? That by itself can really irritate the bladder for a long time and you might be calming down from that. Also, not all people are extremely effected by diet. I can have a meal here and there like pizza or even a green ice tea and not feel it. Now if I did it every day...things would be different.
I'm glad you are feeling better but I say keep the appointment.

[JosieWales]

Hey Josie,
I think if you are still have discomfort you should go. You said it was nowhere near what it was but if its not gone it doesn't mean you don't have it, maybe you have a milder version that has calmed down after??? I forgot, did you have an infection to start out with? That by itself can really irritate the bladder for a long time and you might be calming down from that. Also, not all people are extremely effected by diet. I can have a meal here and there like pizza or even a green ice tea and not feel it. Now if I did it every day...things would be different.
I'm glad you are feeling better but I say keep the appointment.

Hm, yes, good points! I will keep my appt. I've been having coffee (rebelliously!) every morning this week, and today I'm wondering if I can feel my bladder again...we shall see. Thanks for the input.

[ICNDonna]

Have you had any testing that led to an IC diagnosis?

[JosieWales]

Have you had any testing that led to an IC diagnosis?

No. None. So far, I (and my OB's nurse practitioner) suspect it because after two bad UTIs, the pain didn't go away. I made that appt w/the uro because of that. However, after a couple of wks w/o coffee or soda, the pain was gone. But as I said, I've been drinking them both this week (for some unGodly reason). I think some pain may be returning.

To make a long story even longer, I wonder if my transitionals may be damaged and irritated from those UTIs, and the strong coffee I would drink every day made it hard for it to heal. Or, perhaps I've developed IC. I just don't know!

[Christine222]

Was wondering how you are feeling

I was reading your posts and you sound a lot like me symptom wise, I was wondering how you are doing now?

[JosieWales]

I was reading your posts and you sound a lot like me symptom wise, I was wondering how you are doing now?

I am much better, thank you. I saw uro in STL and he said I abolsutely do not have IC. He said those first couple of mean UTIs I had have damaged the lining quite a bit, and it'll take time to heal. He put me on low dose of abx to prevent further UTIs for the next 6mo. to let it heal.

I hope yours isn't, either!

[Christine222]

Thanks

Thanks for getting back to me. Can I ask you one more thing? How long did your symptoms last and did you find you had some good days then bad days again? I only started all this 4 weeks ago, I've had a few days where I feel almost ok then boom my bladder bothers me again, especially if I slept bad the night before.

[JosieWales]

Thanks for getting back to me. Can I ask you one more thing? How long did your symptoms last and did you find you had some good days then bad days again? I only started all this 4 weeks ago, I've had a few days where I feel almost ok then boom my bladder bothers me again, especially if I slept bad the night before.

My UTIs were in Oct/Nov. My symptoms got better after I cut out citrus and cut back on caffeine, yes. I did and do have bad days and good days, although now that I've cut back on those things the good days far outnumber the bad!

Stress made it worse, absolutely!

[cjhsmith]

I hope you still check the board.
How did you discover that you did not have IC?
What test did the doctor do?
What were your symptoms?
My doctor isn't saying that I have it or that I don't. I'm guessing that I do because of all the symptoms that I have. I think he's also not wanting to scare me.
Thanks for your input.
Carla

[gatorgal]

There are some days I can eat a whole dark chocolate bars without any IC symptoms. There are some days if I have a couple of bites of chocolate my symptoms worsen.

When I first had IC I could eat and drink almost anything I wanted when I wasn't flaring.So, it hard tell whether you have IC or not based on being asymptomatic with those foods on the IC caution list.