What caused this flare up?

[faith4jesus]

Hi, I learned I had IC about a month ago or so. Yet I've had symptoms for about 7yrs with 2yrs of no symptoms I think it was just a remission.

Anyway, 2 days ago I started having awful bladder pain. A full blown flare up. I had trouble sleeping Wednesday night the pain was so bad. I spent all day in bed yesterday since it hurt to sit up & walk. As a homeschooling mom of 3 it is hard to do that & I felt awful about it. But my kids behaved.

I used heat and ice packs to help ease the pain. Also I took 2 uriseds which at times will help some but did nothing. I woke up this morning and still in a good bit of pain so I staying in bed again.

I have tried to figure out what set this flare up off. I seem to be able handle a lot things people can't. I can eat cheese, chocolate, sodas (not diet) don't bother me and lunch meat is fine.

The only thing I can come up with that I ate different this week is:

1. Italian seasoning I used on chicken
2. Dark Chocolate - I can handle regular fine and my husband made the mistake of buy some that was dark. My flare up started the day he told me of the mistake. (shrug)
3. Honey Mustard - I put some on a sandwich. I do know in the past that plain mustard does cause awful flare up. But I have had honey mustard before just dipping like chicken nuggets in it.
4. I went to the dentist a week ago and had to get tons of shots. I have heard that what the denitst uses to numb can cause flare ups. But would take happen that day or could it take a week before a flare up?

So what do you all think?? My guess is the dark chocolate, but my husband poor guy doesn't want to take the blame for his mistake. I am not the kind of hold anything against him so it is no big deal to me if it is the dark chocolate. lol

Any ideas what set this off? Oh plus my period ended a day or two ago and I just remembered that sometimes flare ups can happen during periods. Maybe it is combo of everything.

Any tips to manage this would be great. I'm switching between the heating pad and ice packs, laying still, drinking a lot of water and trying to relax and keep my mind off the pain. My dr told me if I had a flare up to call him and he'd put in the "rescue solution" but honestly the last thing I want right now is a catheter. The urised is doing nothing. I did take 2 Prerelief yesterday for the first time and it seems like it didn't help either.

[mom_in_ma]

Sorry to say, but any one of those things could have caused a flare for me. Hope you're feeling better soon.

[GriffsMommy]

Ashley,
I have found that I can have a lot of things that seem to bother people as well as long as I only "cheat" with one thing at a time. If I over do it and have more than one "no no" item at a time then I usually pay for it. For me stress can be a much worse offender than any food. I didn't have anything to eat yesterday that I shouldn't have but I was flaring all day, this morning too, I think it was because I was soooo nervous about seeing my uro today. I'm still in pain but not nearly as bad since the appt has been over.

[ihurttoo]

I agree with Robin and Erika...it really could have been any of the things you ate. Sometimes ICers can eat foods that are borderline (or even no-nos), and never flare from them. Other times, those same foods can cause a flare. Alot of us can get away with eating a small qty of an off-limits food on a day where we are feeling good. But, eating or drinking several of them in one day almost always causes a flare, (particularly if you are predisposed to the pain already b/c of your period or having had sex or something.)

For me, the best way to get thru a flare that is food induced, is to drink a glass of water with baking soda, and force water after that. It helps neutralize the acid in the urine immediately, then the water helps flush out the bad stuff.

If you have any mucsle relaxors, they help alot with the spasms and can usually be taken with the other pain meds.

Rescue instills also help me alot during almost all food related flares. If you continue to have pain, you might see if your Dr. can call in orders for one to the Fast Track area of your local ER. They might also give you a pain shot there to help get your pain level down enough for your meds to take over.

I hope this flare passes quickly for you and you get to feeling better.

Hugs,
Amy

[dancemomof2]

I have to agree any one of the things you mentioned could have doneit, but all at once may have been to much. Hope you feel better soon. Take it easy.

[isles]

I'm so sorry about the pain you're going through. I know how difficult it is to identify a diet that best suits you. I've found at times certain foods don't cause a flare and at other times, the same foods do! It's so unpredictable at times.
Heating pads help me too; so do baking soda baths and drinking a lot of cold water. Above all, prayer and reading the Bible makes my pain go away I will definitely keep you in prayer. Hugs!

[lnseagraves]

Hey,

While I agree it can be any of the foods mentioned, I have to add that it is possible that it is just your period. I can tolerate most foods most of the time. I can even double up on things like soda and chocolate. My flares are ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS hormonal, allergy or stress related. I always get them around my period or ovulation times. I think I've only had maybe 2 flares that were not around those two times in my cycle and they were during VERY stressful times in my life that coincided with barhopping. Sometimes I think food will make a flare worse than it would otherwise be, but for me only tomato sauce or alcohol will actually CAUSE a flare w/o me already being susceptible through having my period. My hormones are my biggest enemy.

[ICNDonna]

I have to agree it could have been any number of things. If the flare doesn't go away very soon, you might try cutting back to a real IC diet for a while, then add back foods again --- one at a time --- to be sure you haven't picked up some new sensitivities.

Donna