Yes, there is success with IC. There is hope. Hi, I have IC. For those of
us who have IC the path to diagnosis never seems to be an easy one. I had
all the classic symptoms, the years of "bladder infections" the years
of antibiotics, the abdominal pain, what I like to call "swelly
belly" and, the back pain. Three years ago I had a hysterectomy
in which my bladder was breached. I will never be able to say for sure if
I had IC all my life or was surgically placed on this path. What I know
now is that it really doesn't matter. I have Interstitial Cystitis.
I am a thirty-five year old female who had years of my life stolen by this
disease. No More. I took my life back by taking action. With
determination, the wonderful care of my doctor Edward Davis, and this positive
educational support group, I have learned how to control my IC and not have it
control me.
The pictures below are of my bladder. The first one was taken on 5/24/00
when I was diagnosed, a painful year after my hysterectomy. The
second one is a remarkable 6 months later. I had to undergo yet more surgery
to remove some adhesions, and had to have urethral catheters put in. This
enabled my doctor to get the photo below. It only told me what I knew, and
had been telling Dr. Davis. My bladder didn't hurt.
I know. You want to know how. Well, I followed the diet. I
first did the exclusion diet , kept a food log and identified a whole host of
triggers. I avoided all these triggers. I learned what a flare is for me. I learned to recognize the first signs of a flare, and take
action then to stop it. I took my meds as directed. I took them every day. I took them regularly. I
followed what doctor Davis told me to do. I remained positive. I
believed that I would get well. In short, I took control. You can
too. It isn't easy. It takes work, but it is worth it. For the
most part today I am flare free, but when I do get a flare it is nothing like
what I used to experience, and the most exciting thing is knowing what to do to
get myself out of a flare.
Interstitial Cystitis plays no favorites, it can strike people of any age,
any sex, any religion, and any racial background. The difficult part
for you and your doctor is the varying course of treatments. We are all
wonderfully different, and the treatments that work for all of us are just as
varied and wonderful. This can make taking control very frustrating, but
DO NOT GIVE UP. Don't think of the work that it takes as a negative.
Think of it as a positive in learning how to take your life back. I know
you can do it, all you have to do is take the first step of action and begin to
take control.
Good Luck, God Bless, and NEVER give up.
Lisa
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