Just When You Think You Have Things Handled

Those of you who know me from my many years in blogging know that I have interstitial cystitis or IC for short. It is incurable and remains only treatable at this time. For the past three years it has been almost normal. Besides the horrible side effect of 30 pounds of weight gain, it still beat spending my days and nights laying in bed, either wishing for death, or researching through forums of fellow sufferers what I could be doing differently. For me diet changes didn't work, from going completely all alkaline, to reducing inflammatory foods and beverages, so I opted for taking Elavil which most migraine sufferers are familiar with because it reduces migraines in chronic sufferers.

For me, the last two weeks have been about putting on a face no one sees. Not even my husband. Because you see since it is incurable you have to find ways to adapt. Now it seems as if something else has popped up. The pain is back and while I have some good days, there are often times very bad days like last night. Nights when you spend them trying to find a way to get to be pain free without going to the extremes. This required me to seek medical care to see if I needed to change medication or go through the gauntlet again of trying to find something to help which will be time consuming, exhausting and likely filled with more tears and pain than I care to deal with.

For those of you who don't know what IC is, think of it like a UTI you can never treat. No antibiotics will help and you have to try and find a way back to a sense of a normal life without being confined to bed all medicated up on pain meds. Do you drink more water or less? It is a very horrible nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone. There is no cause and there is no cure. Some days you simply wish you didn't have a bladder.

The only way I have faked my way to being normal is to get my mind so occupied I don't have time to deal with it. My small business has helped. Although I did seem to forget that stress can bring it back and Lord knows I have been dealing with a ton lately, not anything I can control, just trying to be all things to all people that I put myself on the back burner. As moms and wives, we know how to be extremely proficient at that don't we. So for the next day or two, definitely over the weekend, I'm going to try and work with my doctors to find a new balance.

Not sure if it means I fighting an infection which is where my doctor's appointment came into play today or if it mean increasing my medication again. Not sure I like the final option at all. So I pray, its just an infection that with a course of antibiotics will clear this up and I can go back to the way things were. Managing my lifestyle and try to enjoy each day as it comes. For now, all I can do is wait and try taking some meds that may help me feel a bit better but they are not a long term fix. All I know is that God is my hope and I will put all my trust and faith in Him. I will not walk through this journey alone. Thank you for listening and please keep me in your prayers.