Old Pain

I prefer old pain to new pain.


Let me explain to you what I mean. Last night after I had returned from class I was lying in my bed when all of a sudden this sharp pain appeared on my left side. After several minutes of trying several things and nothing helping I asked Christopher to just put his hand on my side and it helped almost all the pain go away. At least it's tolerable now. It's just to a two inch radius instead of my whole side.

After getting the majority of the pain to go away something dawned on me. I would rather have old pain than new pain. Why? Because old or chronic pain is consistent. And to you that may make you think "Yeah. That sounds like the worst part. That it never goes away." But to me the day in and day out of being in pain is easier for me to manage. I know when an activity will be too much, and I know when I've overdone it. I know exactly what to do, how much medicine to take and how long it will take me to recover from my everyday pain.

New pain..... not so much. Because I've never experienced it before I don't know how exactly to treat it. I don't know how long it's gonna last. And I don't know how much medicine I'll have to take. It's all unknown and that's scary.

So, if I have to choose, I'd say here's to the old pain! Thanks for being faithful.

Time to Brag

This is my husband.

 Not only is he dastardly handsome, but he also has the best smile in the entire world. He is always striving to learn. He is always researching and reading up on things. And I love how he not only applies that drive to learning about academic things, but also to learning all he can about the thing that he is most passionate about... God. He is not satisfied with taking something somebody tells him at face value. He studies God's Word with such fervor so as to be able to defend his beliefs to anyone he comes across. He prays for opportunities to be able to share God with people, and when they come he isn't afraid to take them. I love that about him!

For 3 weeks now I haven't been on my Elmiron, because it ran out, and he has been applying that same passion to helping me in obtaining a new prescription for it. Because of the insurance we have I had to have my primary doctor refer me to a new urologist before I could even be seen. Not only did he keep contacting my doctor and insurance until the two could finally agree that I was indeed insured and could see a new urologist, but he even drove me to the doctor to get the referral form when they were taking their sweet time getting it to me. He also filled out all the online paperwork so that we could save some money and order the Elmiron 3 months at a time. (Although they didn't give us a date of when my prescription would arrive.)

 The above picture very aptly shows how I am when not on my Elmiron. An increase in daily pain, a decrease in daily energy and a complete lack of motivation to do anything. I usually have about 30 minutes worth of energy for every two hours I spend resting. It is quite tiresome.

As you can imagine when this is how your days are spent it is quite easy to get behind in your daily responsibilities. My wonderful husband has spent the last 3 weekends (as well as his time off during the holidays) helping with all the tedious tasks afforded to the wonderful job of the stay-at-home mom. The dishes, the laundry, the cleaning of rooms. Even helping out with the cooking every now and then.

Another lovely side effect of not being "normal Julie" is my mood swings. It can be quite a mind game sometimes telling myself that I NEED to get up and dressed to get things accomplished. Sometimes that can lead to me being on edge and not being the nicest person in the world. Which is the exact opposite of my better half. He is one of the most patient and gracious people I know. He is always there to help me out when I need that gentle reminder to be more gracious and patient myself.

I am so thankful that God has brought him into my life. He is the perfect balance to me and I just wanted to take this opportunity to brag on him a little bit. I love you, Christopher, and I thank God for you. 

Joy to the World

Normally I try not to write posts in the moment because it can go down hill very easily. Today, however, I was convicted about something and I wanted to write while the emotion is raw so I can convey how I'm feeling the best.

Today at church our pastor was preaching on Luke 2. Now for most people when I say Luke 2 you wold think why is he preaching on the Christmas story in November? And at first I thought the same thing. We are in the Bakker's shepherding group, and when I first heard that we were going to hear each message twice I thought that I would be tempted to zone out on Sunday morning. However, the opposite is turning out to be true! I find that on Sunday I'm able to go so much more in depth and learn that much more, and have found it so encouraging. And today was no exception. I literally left the service crying. Now, you're probably thinking "Wait! What? Crying? I thought you just said it was encouraging?" Well, I should clarify, after I stopped crying and thought a little bit it was encouraging.

This past week has been really tough for me. I have been tired. And I don't just mean physically tired. While that's true, I'm just tired. I'm done. Sometimes when you're dealing with something every day it can start to wear on you. And for, I'd say, the last 6 months, I've been able to be in good spirits and feel like I have been able to be an encouragement to others. But this past week I have been feeling like it has been weighing on me a lot more and looking back I realize that I was trying to do it all on my own strength.

Today when we to church I was physically uncomfortable in my stomach and could feel myself starting to focus on all the bad things in my life. I tried to just "act happy" and say hi to everybody like nothing was wrong, but it didn't work today. Maybe part of it is because I've had a cold for three weeks that just won't go away and it's draining, but I think it's more than that.

The last half of Jordan's sermon was spent talking about joy. He talked about how as Christians we are not to strive to be happy, but to strive to have joy. And that can only come through God. He talked about how even when everything is hitting the fan we can still experience joy through God. And that's when the Holy Spirit started working on me. I realized that even though I have been able to check everything off my list that I wasn't growing in my relationship with God this week. I was focusing on all the things that are going wrong with me instead of how God can get me through them.

After the sermon we were told to keep with the theme of the sermon that we were going to sing Joy to the World. Before the song started I prayed that God would help me to be able to sing the song with honesty and sincerity. That I would be able to truly feel the way the angel did when he was telling the shepherds about the joy that was coming to the Israelites. And then I had a realization. God was telling me that I'm always capable of feeling that same joy! Because, as a Christian it's built in. That even when I feel like I can't do it anymore, or everything is just piling on top of each other, that I can still feel joy because of the God who loves me enough to send His Son to this earth to save everyone from eternal separation from Him. How can you not be joyful at the thought of that?! That even though our time on earth may have some dark times in store for us, we get to spend eternity in the presence of light that emanates from God. What a joyous thing to think about!

So, to Jordan Bakker I say "Thank You. Thank you for following the Lord's leading in your sermon planning. Thank you for allowing Him to work through you to affect others' lives." It's not fun going through the pruning, and sometimes it causes pain on all levels. But if it causes me to grow closer to and more like God through it then I will be joyful through it.

Another Area That I Look Forward to God Growing Me

Yesterday I was so proud of myself for completing my to-do list. A friend of mine asked how I did that? Easy, I am very realistic about what I can accomplish in a day.

I used to pressure myself and think that everyday my whole house had to be clean, all the laundry had to be cleaned and put away, dishes done, a five course dinner made, kids taken care of, family hung out with, and, if I'm lucky, some alone time for myself. Well, the truth is is that's not realistic for me. Now some of you out there may be thinking "that sounds  a typical, normal day for me". Well my life is not typical or normal, and if I tried to accomplish that all in one day my body would rebel and I'd probably be spending the next two days in bed recovering.

So, my to-do lists get accomplished because there is not that much on them to begin with. I only put on there what I realistically know I can get done in that day. And sometimes that doesn't even get done (because of a flare or some other unexpected complication), and I've had to learn to be ok with that. I used to wrestle with a lot of guilt and stress when I couldn't accomplish what I had set out to do that day. As a Christian wife and mom one of the role models we have is the Proverbs 31 woman. It seems like if we can accomplish everything she did then we will be the epitome of the perfect woman. But you know what? SHE HAD HELP! You read that right. She had servants. Let that sink in for a little bit. ..........................................................................................  My friend told me this one day and it completely changed my whole point of view. Why has nobody every emphasized that to me before? No, they list all of these things that she was so diligent about doing, and how her family loved her for it. But it is generally glazed over that she had servants. It might as well be one of those little facts that you find out if you bother to flip to the back of the book to see what the asterisk is hiding.

What do I do instead? I have a little bottle next to my bed where each night I draw out a piece of paper where I wrote out thirty one things that I found from that chapter, or else I know I need to work on. The next day I focus specifically on doing that one thing well. My hope is that in a few years (because, let's face it Rome wasn't built in a day) that those 31 things will have become a habit in my life so I won't have to focus so much on getting them done and the to-do list will not be such a heavy weight on my shoulders.

I think it is good to make to-do list. I personally love lists. They help me stay on task, and make me feel accomplished when I get to cross something off. ✓ But they shouldn't rule our lives. Take a look at your list, and then take a realistic look at your day. Maybe right out how much time each task takes to complete. I think once these things are all done, and we start compiling our lists as not what we could get done in a perfect world with no interruptions, but in a world where there are errands to be run, kids to be fed and people to chat on the phone with then the lists will start decreasing and therefore will start losing there power over us. Why let a little piece of paper make you that insane? Let's be realistic. Chores are very patient and understanding. They will always be there for you the next day.

Encouraging and Encouragement

Since arriving in California I have had several people tell me that reading my blog was encouraging to them. So I'm going to start writing in this again as long as I feel like I can be glorifying to God and encouraging to you all. I hope that this blog will will help you see how God can use even some of your darkest time to bring people closer to Him.

 I've had a couple of really bad flares here  (like at 10 for 30 minutes) meaning that I have to lay in bed with a heating pad on. I almost went to the hospital for 1 because I wasn't expecting it come on I had been sticking strictly to my IC diet. I went to the bathroom because we were heading out the door to go to Best Buy. As soon as I was done this hot, stabbing pain shot up through my body. Everybody was already out in the car and I literally had to crawl to the door and knock on the window. Christopher came in and helped me walk up the stairs to my bed. Christopher asked me if I wanted I wanted to go the the ER, and I seriously considered it just so that I could get some stronger medicine. But after considering, how much it would cost and that I would be sitting in an uncomfortable chair in pain just didn't sound appealing. So, we decided to wait a while to see if I could get the pain down at home. After 30 minutes of alternating between the heating pad, shower and back to heating pad I finally got the pain down to an 8. I just tried to rest the rest of the night and the next day and tried to keep my stomach relaxed.

Thankfully the California weather seems to really help me not be stressed out a lot I and help keep my stomach relaxed. We'll see how that is when the mid-west is having their winter and we're having our "winter" out here.

Up and Down

These last couple of months have been really up and down for me. I have some really good days with lots of energy and hardly any pain, and no sooner than I can blink the next day I'm exhausted and nauseated and at like a 5 or 6. I know that some of it is attributed to the fact that since both my husband and I are in school right now and there really is no set schedule. Add on top of that the fact that I haven't been able to make a meal schedule so I've been winging it on my meals and this last week my allergies started attacking me. Wednesday I was driving with the boys and all of a sudden the periphial vision of both eyes looked like they had disco balls on the side of them and whenever I would try to focus on one thing a white ball would appera in my vision.

So with all that going on, plus painting and getting carpet in my basement last week I got behind on all my housework and barely cooked any meals. Today I will be spending most of my time trying to get all the laundry done (probably about 4 loads) and kitchen cleaned up and taking photos before my class tonight.I was hoping that today would be a day full of energy, but seeing as how it's almost lunch time and I'm still feeling like it's time to go to bed I'm not thinking so. At least my pain is only at like a 3 so I'm pretty functional. Just got to find a way to get some energy before class tonight. My classroom is very warm and it's a four hour long class and sometimes it can be difficult to stay awake.

Let Them Eat Pound Cake!!

As I write this I am enjoying a delicious piece of Cream Cheese Pound Cake. This is an IC friendly recipe that can be found at Niki's Blog. This is a blog that I found last week that has a lot of IC friendly recipes. I'm really enjoying looking at all of the different recipes that are ones that I use a lot in my monthly meal planning, and am myself not very creative at looking at a non-IC friendly recipe and switching out the ingredients to make it more pleasing. And the best part is, the recipes that I have tried have been given the "thumbs up" by my families and other people who do not have IC. Which is a very good thing! I will be using a lot of Niki's recipes in the future.

Some other good news is that these last few days I have found myself with more energy than I have had EVER in I would say the last decade, maybe even 15 years. I don't know if I can attribute it to the taking of the Elmiron, but it definitely isn't hurting. I mean this week alone I've already done more housework than I usually have the energy to do in a month! Needless to say my husband is very much enjoying this. :) I don't know how long this energy supply will continue, but I'm definitely going to take advantage of it and use it to my benefit.

The other thing is if anybody has a  a recipe for a White Chocolate Shake I would love to have it. Steak n Shake makes one, but they only serve it November through January and as the only other shake they make that is IC friendly is vanilla (gross) and January is very quickly nearing an end, I would love to have a recipe that I can make at home.

Please feel free to leave comments if you do go to Niki's blog and tell me what you think of her recipes. Oh, in full disclosure, she does say that she has discovered she can tolerate lemon zest (I've not been daring enough to try this yet) and small amounts of onions, so she does include them in some of her recipes. But, like with her Pot Roast and Veggies that I made yesterday, I just left out the onions and it still tasted delicious!! I'm learning that a lot of the recipes you grew up with you can make IC friendly, and while they may not be exactly as you remember, they can still be quite tasty.

If this works....

I have been on Elmiron for almost 3 weeks now and, thankfully, I have had no negative side effects. At first I thought that it was causing me to be easily agitated, but then I realized that that was just happening because of other non-IC related stuff. It's hard to tell if it's actually doing anything, but I'll know more probably in a couple of months.

My husband asked me right after I started taking Elmiron "If this works, you're healed completely and can eat whatever you want. What would be the first meal you would eat?" I thought about it for all of five seconds and said "A brat topped with mustard, green peppers and onions, a side of sauerkraut and pasta salad." :) He laughed and I got hungry. Just thinking about having all of those things at one time and not having any ill side effects from it? That would be HEAVEN!! (How sad my little dreams are.) And now in thinking of that I would probably add on a chocolate shake or a huge glass of pop. (Again pitiful dreams.)

So, so far so good as far as my new medication goes. Which I'm very thankful for. I know that not everybody is so lucky when it comes to this medication or any other one they might be on. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season. May the new year bring new answers for us and IC in general. :)

For the Rest of My Life

My cystoscopy with hyrdodilation went well. Got to have some alone time with my husband and the next morning I was out shopping at Jo-Anns with my mom. I experienced the normal slowness in trying to urinate while my bladder was waking up and legs wearing out a little bit faster than the normally would. I did experience one side effect that I wasn't expecting. Don't know what medicine made it happen but the way food tasted in my mouth changed significantly. Stuff that was supposed to be sweet tasted bland and food that was supposed to be savoring tasted EXTREMELY salty. Example: My family, my mom and I went out to Ruby Tuesdays. I was very excited to get there salad bar and a steak with mashed potatoes. I could only get through half of my salad because the dressing (an Asian vinaigrette) tasted so salty I couldn't eat it. The same was to be said for my perfectly cooked steak. I was very sad because when I gave a bite to both my husband an mom they said it tasted perfect, and they would gladly eat it if I didn't want it. But, I wasn't going to give up my food so easily. I waited until Sunday night and ate my leftovers. It was delicious!

Now I've had my post-op appointment with my urologist. That was interesting. One of the first things he said to me was "Well the good news is that you have a big bladder and it can hold a lot." Ok, that's good. Then he said "However the lining of your bladder had some discolorations." (I think he called them glomerulations) "I've never seen that before." Well that didn't make me feel very good about myself. Of course, I couldn't be a normal case. Nope I had to be one of the anomalies.

My doctor also told me that I would be a good candidate for Elmiron. Has anybody ever used that? What was your experience. Did you experience any side effects. I was concerned that it was going to cost a lot of money, but thankfully our insurance is going to cover a big chunk of it. Now my only concern is that I don't want to be on a pill the rest of my life. When I was reading the Elmiron sight they said most patients had to take Elmiron for 3-6 months. However, when I talked to my doctor he said that the dose my decrease, but I'd likely be on the pill the rest of my life.

So that's where I'm at right now. Once again figuring out the best course of action for my disease and praying for direction. 

Postponed

Just a quick update here.....

Last week my youngest son was oh so kind to share his cold with me. By Saturday I had no voice, could barely whisper. And all the while I've been hacking up green phlegm. When I told the nurse this today during my pre-op phone interview she said that I needed to call my doctor and see if he thought I would need to get on antibiotics or if we would need to reschedule the surgery. Well, he called back and said we are going to postpone the surgery until next week. So, next Friday is the new date for my surgery. And tomorrow I'm going to my family doctor so that, hopefully, she can help me get better so I don't need to reschedule yet again.

And the Verdict Is...

SURGERY.....now don't worry. It's not a big surgery. Just my urologist thinks the best way to start my treatment is to find out exactly what he's dealing with. So, on Friday I'm going to get knocked out (did I mention the way anesthesia puts me to sleep?) and they're going to going to see how big or little my bladder is, see if there's any lesions or ulcers and distend my bladder to see what's going on.

I'm really not nervous about it. Although I am concerned that right now I have a cold and if it's not gone by Tuesday when I have my pre-op phone interview I think we will have to re-schedule the surgery. I really don't want to re-schedule it. I've already started planning with my family and am very much looking forward to being pampered for a day. ;)

He also suggested physical therapy. He said that that would help relax the pelvic floor muscles and therefore alleviate some of the pain. Anybody ever done physical therapy for IC? Was it successful? If it did work, did it take a long time? Just wondering if it's worth spending the money on.

And She's Off....

Tomorrow it all starts. I am going to a new urologist. Haven't been to one since before my youngest son was born. He's almost 3. Actually, it was a year before he was born so it's been a while. I always get so nervous before I go the doctor when I'm not actually "sick". Although truth be told, the last time I went to the urologist he told me about Prelief and that has been my savior so many times since then. It's just that all these doubts come creeping into my head, like maybe he's going to tell me all this bad news.

I thought I was getting an out tonight when my youngest developed a fever. But my husband, wonderful, considerate and practical man that he is, reminded me that it took me almost 2 months to get this appointment. He also assured me that if our son's fever still continued tomorrow he would figure out some way to stay home from work and watch him. I do have a babysitter lined up, but she has two children at home with her and I wouldn't feel comfortable taking a possibly sick child over to her house and then one/both of her children catching something from him.

I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. If you think of me at 11:00 say a prayer for me. I'm trying to keep my mind off the appointment and am afraid that the closer I get to the time the more nervous I'm going to get. Praying that God will calm my nerves and give me the clarity of mind to tell the doctor what he needs to know to give me the best treatment possible. :)

Writing a blog can be a very narcissistic thing. It's basically you writing about yourself and waiting for people to comment about thoughts that go through your head. Every once in a while I will get on my blogger dashboard and see how many people are viewing my blog and when there is a spike in those views occurring. Today when I viewed my dashboard I saw that not only have people close to me viewed the page, but also somebody in Alaska and in the United Kingdom! That floored and humbled me. I have always said my goal in writing this blog is to educate people about my IC and hopefully encourage them in the process. Well, you all have just encouraged me. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my thoughts. It is appreciated.

F*L*A*R*E

Part of me has always wanted to write one of my blog posts while in the middle of a flare up. Then the other part of me doesn't think anybody would want to read about that. Well, I am going to write about what a flare feels like for me, but (good news) I am not in the middle of one right now. Turns out I have NO desire to write about what a flare up feels like when I'm going through one. I guess it would be like asking a woman in labor to type out what her experience is like while she's going through it. Not gonna happen.

One thing that you must know about a flare is that everybody who has IC gets them at some point, but not that many are the same. Another is as much as you try to avoid "triggers" (things that can cause a flare) sometimes there is nothing you can do to keep one from creeping, no not creeping. popping up on you.

I'm going to warn you right now. This is going to descriptive, and I'm sorry if it is too much information for you guys, but I feel the best way that I can help other people out there suffering with IC is to be as honest as I can. Even if it might make me, or my readers, a little uncomfortable. So here it is, what brings on a flare, what my symptoms are, and what it feels like for me.  I've already discussed some of the things that can bring on a flare for me, but the biggest thing is constipation. When I have a flare I am literally sitting on the toilet (told you it might be TMI), with a rolled up towel pressed against my stomach in an attempt to provide a little bit of comfort and relaxation, trying to get everything out of my intestines, because at this point in the flare my pain is at least an 8 if not a 9 or a 10. Once I have gotten everything out of my body that I can the pain takes a significant drop. And if I'm around a shower or a heating pad I can get the pain down to a 6 within an hour or so. At least that is the case normally. As with all IC symptoms there are exceptions to the rule. Another part of a flare up is bloating, hence why I am so attached to my ultra loose, ultra comfortable MSU workout pants. They are cute enough that I can wear them in public if an outing (such as getting my son from school) cannot be helped, but comfy enough that I can lounge in them all day at home.

So that is what a flare up is like for me. When I feel it coming I grab some water, a towel, a book, figure out where the fastest route is to the best heat source, take a seat and breathe. Thankfully this is one thing that a woman in labor and I have in common. It is important to remember to breathe. JUST BREATHE. It really does help with the pain!

P.S. A few weeks ago in an event that can only be described as God-sent I had an idea that with blueberry season winding down I needed to start taking fiber pills. And as much as I hate to choke down 5 horse pills two times a day, it did make these last few weeks bearable and moved the flare ups which at this time in my hormone schedule normally would have been occurring daily (even hourly) to only occurring one, MAYBE two, times a week.

Picking the Petals off the Flower

        I like you, I like you not. I like you, I like you not. No I'm not talking about a person in my life. I'm talking about Sundays. Recently, one of my friends said to me "It seems like you feel bad every Sunday!" Sadly, she was right. But it's not that Sunday is any special day. It's just a day that I'm out in public, on a set schedule, and not wearing my oh-so-comfortable MSU sweatpants (sorry to all of you UofM people out there). You would think that having a schedule would make you feel less worried and therefore relaxed, but in the world of IC that is not the case. To have a schedule adds stress, and when you add stress it's like adding a flame under a pot of water. It'll just keep heating up and rumbling until it eventually boils over. And it's not that this doesn't happen any other day, it's just that on Sundays I am not in my house all by myself and able to deal with it like I normally do. And I just never know on any given Sunday what level of pain, if any, there is going to be.

        Why do I keep subjecting myself to this unknown week after week? Because I get to talk to other adults. Because I get to, hopefully, encourage others. Because I love getting to teach the little kids about the Bible. And because I love being able to worship God and delve into the Bible with other believers. I may have to take a nap when I get home, or I may have to sit in the back in the comfortable chairs because the pews are making the pain worse, but I will keep going to, serving at, worshiping in and enjoying church on Sundays. I love the group of believers that God has placed us with right now, and I would never put more stress on somebody else by "calling in sick" because that would not be fair to them. And I would miss them all too much. Even though it can cause me pain to step out from my norm it is such an encouragement to see all those smiling faces every week. So I will continue to go every week, hoping that I will not only get encouragement but be an encouragement to someone myself.

Let's define this thing....

Interstitial cystitis (in-tur-STISH-ul sis-TI-tis) is a chronic condition characterized by a combination of uncomfortable bladder pressure, bladder pain and sometimes pain in your pelvis, which can range from mild burning or discomfort to severe pain.

While interstitial cystitis — also called painful bladder syndrome — can affect children and men, most of those affected are women. Interstitial cystitis can have a long-lasting adverse effect on your quality of life.

The severity of symptoms caused by interstitial cystitis often fluctuates, and some people may experience periods of remission. Although there's no treatment that reliably eliminates interstitial cystitis, a variety of medications and other therapies offer relief. 

Now that you know the Mayo Clinic's definition I'll tell you a little bit about me. The purpose of this blog is to be informative and encouraging. Informative to those who have friends or loved ones who also have this disease. Encouraging to those with IC; hoping that they will find here someone who is going through the same trials they are who they can learn from and go away blessed.

I am a wife, mother and homemaker. Wife to my wonderful husband, Christopher. Mother to two boys, Joe and Nathan. I spend most of my days at home cooking and cleaning, and recently, as if I didn't have enough on my plate I also returned back to college this semester get my degree in photography. I also have one more thing on my plate. This thing consumes a great deal of my time, causes me to have to cancel plans with friends and family and makes me very tired. Now some of you may be thinking "Man if I had something like that in my life, I would cut it out." And normally I would be forced to agree with you. Unfortunately, the thing that I'm referring to is my lovely friend Interstitial Cystitis (hereon referred to as IC, mainly because I don't feel like typing that whole word out).

The day to day of IC is different, but the same. On any given day I can have any or all of these symptoms. (I apologize in advance if this is too much information for some of you, but I'm trying to be honest here.) Pain while urinating, pelvic pain, pain in my kidneys, bloating, constipation, nausea, fatigue and, the biggest one, pain in my bladder. Truthfully, I should say stomach pain because after a while of my bladder hurting my whole stomach gets tight and starts hurting.

How do I deal with these symptoms? Naps, when I can fit them in, mints for the nausea (we have a huge bag of them from Sam's Club), Prelief to try and keep the acid in foods from bothering me, and lots and lots of pain killers. The strength of them (whether it be Ibuprofen or Vicodin) is determined by where I'm at on the pain scale. And that brings to the best friend of somebody with IC. The all important PAIN SCALE. You know, when the doctor asks you "Tell me where your pain is at on a scale of 1-10?" My pain changes from day to day and hour to hour. If my pain is at a 0-3 then, actually lets not talk about that 'cause it's barely ever at a 0-3. If it's 4-6, I'm functional. Give me a couple of low dose Ibuprofen's and a heating pad I'm able to keep a smile on my face and get on with my day. A 7-8 is a big Ibuprofen (like 800 mg) another round with the heating pad, a short nap and postponing my plans for later on in the day. A 9-10 is excruciating! For all you ladies out there, it's I've been in labor for 7 hours already and here comes another contraction, sort of a pain. This usually requires the taking of a Vicodin, and all day spent in the bed, only to be broken up by a few very long, very hot showers (forgot to tell you how MUCH that helps) to help relax of all my very tight muscles and ease the pain. Thankfully, most of my days are spent in the the 4-7 range. However, on the occasion that a 9 or 10 day comes along, all plans are immediately cancelled for that day and probably the next.

There is one more thing that helps me get through the craziness that can be IC. The biggest thing that helps me to feel like I will be able to breathe through the pain and not go stir crazy. God, He is the one who I can turn to when I cannot explain to anyone what is happening in my body at that moment. He is the one who never gets sick of hearing me talk to Him about how I'm sick of the pain in my body. He is the one who will send along just the right person to be just the right encouragement at just the right time. He is the one who gives me the strength I need to get through each day, and the one that I can't wait to meet someday with a new Heavenly body! I cannot imagine trying to go through this without Him and without the support system of my family and friends that He has placed in my life. He is my rock and I'm so thankful he's in my life!!

So that's me! Out there for all of you to read about. I hope you have been informed and encouraged.