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I was talking to my wife this morning and venting to her because I had eaten something that had caused me to have a slight flair up and was down about my IC and also having to stay on the diet. I told her I couldn’t wait to get to the end of this road, that I was tired of doing this. Trying to be supportive yet realistic she gently said “you will probably never completely be off this road". Hearing that made me feel even more down. Then I got to thinking. I put things together in an analogy that I wanted to share with you guys and gals. After I saw things a little differently I felt better.
The Road
Picture yourself lost in the woods. You have no shoes on, your feet hurt and you have no idea how you got there or how to get out of here. You are walking around, stepping on sharp rocks, kicking tree roots sticking out of the ground and there seems to be no way to escape this pain. You think about dropping to your knees to get the pressure off your feet but this does nothing but frustrate you into tears. After awhile of trying to find your own way you realize you need help. You call out and someone wearing a white coat comes to help but they are not quite sure what you need so he gives you a pair of shoes and points you to a rough over grown trail. You are happy to be on a trail but you don’t know for sure it is the right trail. You soon find out that the shoes given to you don’t fit and cause other problems. You call out again and the man with the coat brings you a different pair. Again they don’t really fit right and are not made for walking in the woods. You find your feet still hurt and your toes are bloodied and bruised from kicking logs and roots.
Finally you come to a fork and the man in white sees a sign. He seems to know where it is you need to go and points you down the new path. Before you leave he gives you another pair of shoes. They seem to be made for walking in the wood and protect your feet from the things that you have been stepping on and kicking. Only problem is they don’t seem to fit quite right but you take them because they are helping more than anything else you have tried.
The trail begins to widen and smooth out. It’s easier to walk but your feet still hurt. You walk not knowing for sure if this is the right way till you finally make it to a road. It’s not marked and there are no lines on the road but you are happy to be on a road and out of the woods. You continue to walk and soon find the shoes that have been given to you are not really suited for the road. You call out and the man with the white coat gives you another pair of shoes. These seem to be well made for the road and you seem hopeful that these will be what you need.
You now have been on the road for awhile and have figured out where on the road is the best place to be walking. You soon see lines painted on the road and know exactly where you need to be walking. They are no more than lines and if you choose you can cross them but you also know what it will do to your feet and that your shoes will not help much.
The longer you walk the more and more dirt roads intersect with your paved road. You meet up with others as they are coming out of the woods and because you know how their feet feel you show them where on the road you have learned to walk. Sometimes they can do as you do and find it easier to walk and sometimes they have to find the part of the road that feels better to them. Either way you and your new friends are going the same direction and you notice you are not alone anymore.
This is an analogy of our road with IC. The unknown trail is our symptoms and how we feel till we ask our doctors for help. The man in white is our doctor and all the different shoes represent all the different medications and treatments we all try but never really seem to help. The sign, that is the diagnosis of what we have and points of in the direction of our proper treatment. The paved road is the path we are on with the help of the IC diet. It is with it that we seem to find the best road for us to be on. Even though there are curves in the road and there are pot holes from time to time we are better off. Once we get to know ourselves and what part of the diet we have to stick to is when we see the lines in the road. There is nothing to keep us from crossing those lines and we can if we choose to but we know we don’t belong on the other side and that will cause us unwanted discomfort.
Most of all I want this story to represent hope.
The Road
Picture yourself lost in the woods. You have no shoes on, your feet hurt and you have no idea how you got there or how to get out of here. You are walking around, stepping on sharp rocks, kicking tree roots sticking out of the ground and there seems to be no way to escape this pain. You think about dropping to your knees to get the pressure off your feet but this does nothing but frustrate you into tears. After awhile of trying to find your own way you realize you need help. You call out and someone wearing a white coat comes to help but they are not quite sure what you need so he gives you a pair of shoes and points you to a rough over grown trail. You are happy to be on a trail but you don’t know for sure it is the right trail. You soon find out that the shoes given to you don’t fit and cause other problems. You call out again and the man with the coat brings you a different pair. Again they don’t really fit right and are not made for walking in the woods. You find your feet still hurt and your toes are bloodied and bruised from kicking logs and roots.
Finally you come to a fork and the man in white sees a sign. He seems to know where it is you need to go and points you down the new path. Before you leave he gives you another pair of shoes. They seem to be made for walking in the wood and protect your feet from the things that you have been stepping on and kicking. Only problem is they don’t seem to fit quite right but you take them because they are helping more than anything else you have tried.
The trail begins to widen and smooth out. It’s easier to walk but your feet still hurt. You walk not knowing for sure if this is the right way till you finally make it to a road. It’s not marked and there are no lines on the road but you are happy to be on a road and out of the woods. You continue to walk and soon find the shoes that have been given to you are not really suited for the road. You call out and the man with the white coat gives you another pair of shoes. These seem to be well made for the road and you seem hopeful that these will be what you need.
You now have been on the road for awhile and have figured out where on the road is the best place to be walking. You soon see lines painted on the road and know exactly where you need to be walking. They are no more than lines and if you choose you can cross them but you also know what it will do to your feet and that your shoes will not help much.
The longer you walk the more and more dirt roads intersect with your paved road. You meet up with others as they are coming out of the woods and because you know how their feet feel you show them where on the road you have learned to walk. Sometimes they can do as you do and find it easier to walk and sometimes they have to find the part of the road that feels better to them. Either way you and your new friends are going the same direction and you notice you are not alone anymore.
This is an analogy of our road with IC. The unknown trail is our symptoms and how we feel till we ask our doctors for help. The man in white is our doctor and all the different shoes represent all the different medications and treatments we all try but never really seem to help. The sign, that is the diagnosis of what we have and points of in the direction of our proper treatment. The paved road is the path we are on with the help of the IC diet. It is with it that we seem to find the best road for us to be on. Even though there are curves in the road and there are pot holes from time to time we are better off. Once we get to know ourselves and what part of the diet we have to stick to is when we see the lines in the road. There is nothing to keep us from crossing those lines and we can if we choose to but we know we don’t belong on the other side and that will cause us unwanted discomfort.
Most of all I want this story to represent hope.
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