Diet question

[RobinD]

I was wondering if cake mixes, jello etc have anything in them that I should avoid. For ex: I want to make a packaged lemon cake mix with lemon pudding in it. How much lemon can even be in this? Is it enough to cause a flare? Any idea/suggestions would be much appreciated. I know everyone is different but is it something that we should avoid or can most tolerate it. I am willing to take a chance if there isn't major problems with jellos, and cake mixes and puddings.

RobinD

[sunshine_77us]

cake ingredients

I would read the list of ingredients. I usually eat choc and white and that's about it except for homemade cakes and candy.

[RobinD]

You can eat choc cake??? Tell me more, is there not any cocoa in it or what?

I just can't find any info on whether jello, cake mix, and pudding is OK. Anybody know if it can cause problems??

[vm]

I'm not sure on the cakes - chocolate would have been out for me, but I don't know about other ingredients. In terms of the jello I'd look for citric acid in the ingredients list.

[kari1980]

I personally wouldn't trust the lemon in it, I can't tolerate lemons. And forget the chocolate, I wish! LOL.......But I'm so diet sensitive to everything...I know a few people have posted that they flared from Jello, I'm afraid to try that to. If you really want it you'll just have to try a small amount and see what happens. Sounds yummy though.

Kari

[Annie2]

Jello does contain acids that are added to give a "tart" flavor. Also sometimes problematic are artificial colors and flavors. Cake mixes often contain citric acid and sometimes have soy flour (acidic) in them as well as other possible irritants. Like everything else, some people are fine with these things and others cannot tolerate them at all. If you do try this, try eating a very small quantity at first to see how your bladder reacts. Also, realize you will be trying several possible irritants at once so, if you should react, you won't be able to tell which of these ingredients caused the problem.

I know it really is frustrating to go through the entire process of determining your own personal triggers, but it certainly is worth the time and effort involved. Only through that process can you determine what your bladder will and will not tolerate. The worst part is the beginning when you are very limited in your food choices and stick to foods in the "usually ok" column. But after following that diet for a few weeks, you can, one at a time, add things back in to your diet and see how your bladder reacts. Then, as you learn what your bladder will tolerate, your diet will expand and you may be surprised how much is ok for you. Reading ingredient labels is really VERY important. Until I knew the diet by heart, I found it was very helpful to carry the diet list with me when shopping. That way I could compare the labels to the list and not worry I might miss something that would cause a problem for me.

[RobinD]

Thanks for the advice, Annie, I was getting discouraged and confused. I have eliminated everything but for the last week and a half have been in a flare that won't leave, so I feel like I am back to square one. I keep a diary of what I eat and some days I can't see anything I did wrong but still hurt. Do you think every flare is due to diet?

[Berkshire Road]

No, there are lots of things that can make us flare besides diet. Emotional stress, for example, is a biggie! Sex can trigger flares for some people. Exposure to chemicals -- like a new scented soap, or a chlorinated pool -- can get some people too. I'm sure this list is not at all complete.

Please don't try to find a reason to blame yourself for every flare! Sometimes they just happen. You can control your diet for the most part, but you can't control everything about IC. At some point, you're going to have to accept that. In my experience, counseling has helped me a lot with that problematic tendancy to want to control everything and take the blame for everything.

Good luck to you.

[dvmmom]

Another diet question

I have just started back on the IC diet after having my second cysto with hydrodistention and found my bladder was much worse. I tried the diet when I was first diagnosed in 2004, but I gave up on it because I never seemed to get any pain relief. I am on a bunch of meds from my pain doctor: Neurontin, Effexor, Prozac, Ultram, Lamictal, and since the cysto last Friday, Urised and Levaquin (for 10 days). I also have had a series of hypogastric plexus nerve blocks and radiofrequency ablation.

How will I know if the diet is effective when I am on so many drugs? I truly don't see much improvement with the current therapy but I am able to function (I guess-if working only 20 hours a week and my husband doing all the child care and housework is considered functioning).

TIA,

Christi

[sunshine_77us]

cakes

I'm lucky that I can eat milk chocolate. Dark chocolate tears my bladder up.

[mary124]

I'm not as diet sensitive as most, but I know that I can't eat the dark chocolate. Or chocolate on top of chocolate-too much for my system!

Right now, I know I'm in trouble as here I am with my second cup of coffee (small) as its cold in the building - gave it up almost 6 months ago for tea but tea isn't helping right now, plus on top of that my boss put out some pastries for breakfast because of the Holiday-- he is always doing something like this so I'll feel something after while, but I know it will be my fault-- didn't have breakfast this morning.

[Annie2]

I agree with Berkshire; not every flare is diet-related. There are so many possible flare triggers that we can't always know the cause. Sometimes we flare "just because". In my experience, I had a lot more of those unknown cause flares early on. I kind of suspect that the stress of adjusting and coming to terms with being diagnosed with an incurable condition didn't help matters for me. I didn't want to accept the diet either. I thought I couldn't possibly suddenly be so sensitive to so much and, to be perfectly honest, just wasn't ready to give up so many foods I loved. Yeah, I can be real stubborn like that! Ok, I'll be totally honest. I prayed I would be one of the few whom diet does not effect and had the attitude of "Not ME---I'm not sensitive to all that stuff"! Then I rationalized it was enough to give up the "Big 5" offenders and I wouldn't worry about the rest. I did have some improvement giving up the major offending foods. But when I finally reached acceptance, decided to give the diet a REAL chance to work, followed the diet carefully and went through the entire process, I found there were other things that were triggers for me that I had continued to consume. When you are just starting the diet it can be so very confusing and frustrating. It's downright tough to follow the diet and give up so much. Keep in mind that the really limited diet is just for the beginning and not for forever. When you learn your own personnel triggers your diet will likely expand and won't be so limited. And once you find meds and/or treatments that work for you, you may be able to tolerate even more foods.

Remember, too, that if you are just starting the diet you can't expect results overnight. For a long time you were eating a normal diet that included lots of bladder irritants. Those irritants did just that...further irritated your already injured bladder. The goal of following the diet in the beginning is to create a very calm and soothing environment for your bladder so it can begin to heal. Just like other injuries, it takes time for this to happen. The amount of time it takes for you to start feeling better will vary from person to person and can also be influenced by other factors like stressful situations, etc. Give your bladder plenty of time (at least 3 weeks) to begin to calm down and for the inflammation to decrease before you begin adding back things and testing for your personal sensitivities. Until things start to calm down and your bladder is less irritated, if you begin adding foods back in you just can't tell whether that new food is causing problems or not. And if you "get real" with yourself, very carefully follow the diet, allow several weeks to pass before adding back any possible irritants and then STILL don't see improvement, then you can honestly say you may be one of the few who are not helped by the diet. You can't say it until you give it the full "test drive" and give it time to work.

[dvmmom]

Thanks

Thanks, guys. I am determined to give this diet a try. My urologist wants me to try it for at least 6 months. Wish me luck!