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I have been suffering with IC for years. I cannot have intercourse with
my husband without painful urination and bleeding for days to a week
afterwards. Obviously, this is causing much distress in our lives. I
have made the choice to give up caffeine since that is obviously a
trigger. I love Italian food but would like to know how to make changes
allowing me to enjoy the foods I love without aggravating the conditions
that I live with. I also do have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which I
now know from this website can go hand-in-hand with IC. Although I have
had a history of migraines in the past, I must admit that it has been a
long while since the last one. Between the IC and IBS, I unfortunately
spend a good deal of my life in the bathroom, which obviously interferes
with every aspect of my life. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
Your story is very familiar to IC patients, and I think it is valuable
to try to sort some of this out.
First, we need to acknowledge that pain is supposed to serve a
purpose—it warns us of danger and should keep us from hurting
ourselves. For example, if you burn your fingers taking a hot pan out of
the oven while just using a paper towel to protect your hand (like my
daughter did the other day!), the next time you will be more likely to
use an oven mitt! So it would follow that if we eat something that hurts
us, we could simply just stop eating it!
The problem with the food and pain connection is that (for most people),
food has enormous emotional connections, and sometimes taking the foods
we “love” out of our diet feels like a greater consequence than being in
pain. Having a chronic illness can also take us through the various
stages of grief and acceptance, similar to what people experience when a
loved one dies. People become angry, frustrated, depressed, and it is
also normal to go through a period of denial. I don’t know about you,
but even as a dietitian, I “used” food in each of these stages after
being diagnosed with IC. I ate when I was angry, frustrated, depressed,
and don’t even talk to me about denial!
That is why, when patients are first diagnosed with IC, they often do
everything except change their diet. The important thing is to be gentle
with yourself and recognize that even though you don’t seem to be
helping yourself, what you are feeling is very normal, and in some ways
can actually help you become more successful when finally you do decide
to take control of your diet.
That being said, it seems like you have finally come to a place where
you are ready to change. Good for you, because changing your diet CAN
help, and CAN make a difference in your life, and, therefore, make a
difference in the lives of your family members. My suggestion to you is
to get some sort of journal and record everything—what you eat and
drink, your symptoms, your moods, and even when you attempt to have sex.
(Naturally, if you have extreme symptoms like bleeding after
intercourse, you should report this to your doctor.)
Then, start by eliminating caffeine and tomato products from your diet.
See how you feel. Remember, you may not get your pain down to zero or
your frequency down to 4 times a day, but if you track your symptoms,
you should definitely see the pain decrease to a 3 or 4, and you may
even reduce your frequency to near normal levels. That would be
considered a raging success in many clinical trials! Books like
Confident Choices: Customizing the Interstitial Cystitis Diet
and A Taste of the Good Life can give you further guidance.
If you continue to have problems, I would strongly urge you to seek the
help of a counselor who is specifically trained to help people learn to
live with chronic illness. Therapists can provide you with valuable
insights about your condition, help you sort out what is happening with
you and your illness, and teach you how to incorporate various coping
strategies and changes such as dietary modification into your lifestyle.
Finally, I want all IC patients to know there is always hope, and much
of that hope is in your own hands! With everything else that seems out
of our control, diet is the one thing we can control.
