Great Products for the IC Gal

Hi all. My hubs is still sick, so my blog is not being maintained as much as usual, but I have not forgotten about the blog or my mission to spread IC awareness. I am actually in a huge flare today so I have lots of IC on the brain. The hubs has made some progress, but prayers are still appreciated as he has a road ahead.

So let's get down to IC business. Since my last post was very serious and depressing, I figured I would make this one a little more light. I wanted to talk about some awesome products that may be beneficial to you if you have IC or any sort of bladder/pelvic pain. All of these products I enjoy using from experience, I am not being paid by any of these companies or brands. 

A Cushion

If you suffer from pelvic pain, having a cushion is just as important as it is for a healthy person to have a pair of shoes, it's basically a necessity. There are two cushions that I use. I have the cushion advertised on the I.C. Network website. This cushion is ideal for me because it has a great shape which is beneficial to the perineum area and also helps with the bladder pressure that comes with sitting. A typical doughnut cushion that you see in a drug store does not work for me.  This is the cushion I drive on. I have trouble driving without it, it's my partner in crime.

The other "cushion" I own is the Total Pillow. Although this is technically a neck pillow, I find it convenient to sit on in restaurants. Since it has the hole in the middle I can just slide it on my arm to carry it in and kind of hide it behind my purse so that it is no big deal. I own it in the blue color instead of the brown color as I find it more fashionable that way. This product is only $19.99 making it budget friendly.

Panty Liners

Leaking is uncomfortable, gross, annoying and unfortunately a part of IC for many people, myself included. I am not sure why I am admitting to this so publicly. I think I have been realizing lately this is one of the aspects of IC that a lot of people suffer from but a lot of people are embarrassed to talk about. 

Now if you talk to your doctor about leaking urine, he or she may suggest adult diapers or another whacky idea. That is real easy for the doctor to say because he or she is not the one who has to deal with it. I don't know about you, but at 28 wearing adult diapers does not sound like a fun idea to me. 

Now some of you may be able to wear typical store bought panty liners sold near period pads. This is the most affordable and practical way to deal with leaking if you can handle wearing this type of panty liner. Unfortunately for me, my Vulvodynia is so severe I can not, the pain and irritation is just too much. So after a lot of failed ideas an IC friend of mine found me the perfect product:GladRags. These panty liners are made of soft cotton, so your Vulvodynia will not be a problem. They are rather costly (the only drawback) but they are reusable and washable, just put them in the washing machine as you would with your panties. The liners come in awesome colors and designs such as zebra and peace signs. Goodbye granny products, hello fashion and comfort.


Ice and Heat 


Due to the nature of our pain, us IC gals sometimes need to apply ice and heat to places others would never dream of. Many ice packs are hard and inconveniently shaped. I have owned a paradice pack for 2 years now and it is my favorite thing ever. These reusable packs are soft and mold-able because they have fluid balls inside. Use this brand of ice pack to apply the cold to the exact part of the body that is hurting you no matter how small or oddly shaped that part of the body may be. You can get a pretty good sized pack for around $20.


Have you ever had stomach pain, bladder pain or pelvic floor spasms so bad that you just don't want to leave the house? On those days you must go out due to obligations, don't leave home without a BodiHeat disposable pack. These packs can stick to the inside of your clothes or the outside of your panties. There is no need to warm up these packs. Just crinkle the pack a little, stick it on and you are ready to go. Get through meetings, events and parties without being in tons of pain due to the heat this product provides. These little items have saved me more times than I can remember. 




Let's face it, having IC sucks. But having some extra special products can help us to lead more comfortable and active lives. Happy shopping. Wishing everyone a flare free week. 

 

Always Be Thankful for Your Health (and cute pajamas)

When I was a little kid, old ladies used to tell me to be thankful for my health. Well, I found out sooner in life than I wanted to that those beloved little old ladies were right. Healthy people often take health for granted. I mean it is easy to. Sometimes when you feel good it is easy just to work, play, travel and live and not think about what would happen if you ever got sick. Part of it may be that no one wants to think about getting sick because it is depressing. If you are reading this and you are totally healthy, take a moment to be thankful.

Now, IC has definitely made me realize that health is something to be thankful for. I never imagined only a few years ago that I would be 27 and fighting with doctors and having a weaker bladder than Betty White. I never imagined that I would find myself curled up with a heating pads on nights when I would rather be out with friends. But nonetheless, here I am. IC is real. Thousands of painful conditions are real. Even though IC can't kill you, it can certainly make life miserable at times.

Yes, these are my real pajamas, aren't they cute?

Despite the fact that I have IC however, I am still very thankful for many things that make having IC just a little bit easier. It is easy to get wrapped up in being negative (which I admit on some painful days I do) but there needs to be a time to stop and look at the positive. Little blessings are hidden everywhere and as bad as you may think your life can be at times there is always someone out there some place going through something worse.

I may have IC, but I am thankful that I also have:

-Health insurance to lower the cost of my doctor appointments and medications

-A car to get me to and from said appointments

-A husband, family and friends who stick by me

-Ice packs, heating pads, cushions and other tools to help me when I am in pain

-Lots of cute pajamas to wear on days when I am too sick to go out (hey, just because I am in pain, doesn't mean I can't still look adorable hehe)

So well I do like to bitch and moan sometimes about plenty of IC related things (pain management issues, insomnia etc.) and plenty of non-IC related things (student loans, rude people, the high cost of living) today I will be thankful for the things that I do have.

I may not have a perfect life (who does?) or a totally pain free life, but I do have a lucky life with plenty of blessings.

And even though I have IC and it is clearly no fun, I am still thankful for the parts of my health that I do have. Some people can't walk, can't see, have trouble breathing etc. and I am very blessed that I don't suffer from any of those issues. 

So this Thanksgiving season take the time to be thankful for things: big things like your health and even the little things like cute pajamas.

I wish all of my readers and your families a happy and blessed Thanksgiving filled with lots of turkey and minimal pain flares for you IC gals.

Beauty in the IC Breakdown: I Just Want to Strut

I am getting married on Saturday and I can't wait to feel absolutely beautiful. If a fancy gown and professional makeup job don't make me feel absolutely stunning, nothing will.

I have not given up my love for fashion because of IC by any means. I still do my nails, I still keep up with the latest trends, I still put on makeup when I go out to dinner with my friends or my fiance. But no matter how beautiful I look on the outside, sometimes my insides don't quite match. The pain changes you. 

Before IC I lived to flirt. Even when I was in relationships I would get a thrill from the cute gas station attendant who winked at me or the super sexy bartender who flashed his smile. Now when I am out some place many times it is about surviving. I sometimes rush through shopping trips I used to stroll through b/c of the pain. 

Before IC I had this rule that I never sat down in clubs. I was a nightclub promoter at one point and would be at a club from 9 pm until 2 am wearing heels and not sitting. I know that sounds insane, but at the time I liked it. Standing made me feel more outgoing and sexy. Now  I can't wait to find chairs when I am out socializing. For some reason standing in high shoes in one spot for too long puts a lot of pressure on my body and causes a lot of pain.

Truth be told there is no amount of makeup or Coach bags or expensive boots in the world that can make my pain any less when it strikes. I may look like a fashionable, social queen sitting at the table next to you in a sushi restaurant, but on the inside there is sometimes a part of me who wants to go home and put on my loose pajama pants to make the pain less. 

This Saturday, I just want to strut. I know the outside will look great: I have a dream dress, a hair style chosen and my makeup being done at a nice salon. But I want to feel as equally confident and glamorous on the inside and I will. It is my goal to have the wedding day experience of a bride, not a bride with IC, but just a bride. 

I have Sunday to struggle again. Saturday I will do my best to ignore my condition and just strut.

Rain, Pain and IC Awareness

Pain drops keep falling on my head.

So if you are on the east coast, you are likely like me locked in your home all weekend riding out hurricane Irene. We don't do hurricanes typically here in the northeast so most people are not dealing with it well. I needed to take a break from all the Irene news because watching too much of it makes you paranoid. So first I watched a good movie and then I began thinking about rain and pain.

I think there is some major connection between storms and chronic pain of any kind. Every time there is a storm coming, I begin to have IC related pain in addition to pain in a few other parts of my body which some doctors believe may be Fibromyalgia. Earlier tonight as the rain got worse a shooting pain went through my whole body: in my bladder, my thigh, my stomach and even side. It lasted for 20 minutes and was horrible. 

Do any other ICers experience rain pain? 

My mind is kind of all over the place tonite, so I also wanted to bring up IC awareness month. IC awareness month begins next week in September. It is very important to participate in IC awareness. Even if you do not have IC, you likely know someone who does. It is estimated that over 4 million Americans suffer from this painful condition. Many still are shamed into not talking about it openly, so there is a good possibility that you do have a co-worker, friend or acquaintance that has the condition and you don't even know it.

It is very easy to participate in IC awareness month. All you need to do is spread the word about the condition the way that you would if you were promoting diabetes awareness or cancer awareness. If you go through my blog posts you can find many posts describing the condition and you are more than welcome to use that information to promote awareness. 

The color of IC awareness is blue, so you can consider having a blue shirt day at school or work. 

Women have had painful bladder issues for ages and were forced to be silent for decades. We don't want to be silent anymore. We want a cure...and if we can't have a cure we at least want adequate pain management, educated doctors and reliable treatments. We do not have all of these things and it is a sin considering how advanced modern medicine is.

IC can be very painful and can cause people to experience a very low quality of life at times. This disease does not discriminate. If you do not want one of your loved ones to suffer from painful bladder syndrome tomorrow, you need to help us fight for awareness today.

10 Annoying Things About IC

IC is an annoying illness. It is annoying because we do not know exactly what causes it. It is annoying because the symptoms like to come and go as they please. It is annoying because there is not one official way to test for it.

Please enjoy this short Saturday morning list of 10 annoying things about IC.

IC is annoying because...

1. You can feel fine at 10:00 am and feel like going to the hospital at 10:00 pm or vice versa.

2. Just when you think you have discovered which foods make you flare and which foods don't a new culprit emerges.

3. It turns exercising into a guessing game. To flare or not to flare after a workout? That is the question.

4. You can finally be happy to have found a medicine that gets your frequency under control and then be saddened to learn that your grandmother's 85 year old BFF takes it too.

5. So many people have it, but no two people are treated for it exactly the same way.

6. Some doctors think it is real illness and other doctors are still living in the stone age.

7. It forces a young woman to be the only female and the only person under 70 in a urologist office.

8. You have to map out every rest stop on a highway on your smartphone in order to go on a road trip.

9. The medical community is only able to produce one "official" IC medication and then there is a shortage of it.

10. It has turned you from social coordinator into the "that chick who cancels plans at the last minute".

I hope this workout doesn't lead to a flare.