IC Disease

Thanks to everyone who participated in the IC Disease Health Blog Carnival #5!  I was excited when I checked last night and saw that I was finally able to publish the carnival for today.  Please enjoy reading all of the submitted posts below!

VikramKir presents Substance Abuse Treatment Options, Substance Abuse Treatment Programs posted at Thoughtfully Vikram….

chronic illness

Brittney presents Treatment for Bacterial Vaginosis posted at Bacterial Vaginosis, saying, “This post outlines possible treatment options for bacterial vaginosis and chronic BV.”

Pregnancy Hut presents 12 Weeks Pregnant | Pregnancy Hut - Week By Week Pregnancy Calendar posted at Pregnancy Calendar, saying, “What to be aware of when you are 12 weeks pregnant and counting!”

chronic pain

Joe Hayes presents Abdominal Hernia Symptoms & Treatment posted at Comments on: Abdominal Hernia Symptoms & Treatment, saying, “An abdominal hernia occurs when there is a tear or bulge in the inside layer of the abdominal wall. Surgery is the only treatment that will cure an abdominal hernia. It will not heal or “go away” on its own.”

Dean Moyer presents Mysterious Morning Neck Pain posted at The Back Pain Blog, saying, “The latest news coming out of University College London is that researchers have discovered proof that heat blocks pain on the molecular level. What this means is we no longer have to rely on anecdotal evidence when advocating the use of heat therapy for back and neck pain. In this post we review the various ways you can apply heat therapy for temporary relief of neck pain.”

disease

Matthew presents HIV Management posted at Fast Medical Information, saying, “HIV management is very important for anyone with the virus. With proper precautions, there is no reason people suffering from HIV can not live a long life. This post explains what HIV management is all about.”

The Push Up Coach presents Pros And Cons Of A Personal Trainer posted at The 1000 Push Ups Club, saying, “Some reasons for and against a personal trainer.”

Sarah Scrafford presents Top 100 Yoga and Meditation Blogs - X-Ray Technician Schools posted at Comments on: Top 100 Diet and Fitness Blogs.

Patricia Turner presents Stumbling Blocks to Weight Loss - EKG Classes posted at EKG Classes.

Margaret Garcia presents Give your Metabolism that Much Need Boost - Radiology Technician Schools posted at Radiology Technician Schools.

Nancy Miller presents Cholesterol Facts You Must Know - Becoming A Radiologist posted at Becoming A Radiologist.

Roy Schwartz presents Systemic Lupus Erythematosus posted at A Disease A Day.

Roy Schwartz presents Celiac Sprue posted at A Disease A Day.

Roy Schwartz presents TTP – Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura posted at A Disease A Day.

fitness

Fiona King presents Ditch Your Diet: 100 Tips and Tools to Lose Weight Without Trying Hard posted at NursingDegree.net.

fitnchic presents 8 Ways to Boost your Metabolism :: FitNChic.com - Get in Shape Fashionably :: posted at FitNChic.com - Get in Shape, Fashionably!.

Health

Alex Smith presents Black Belt Does Not Mean You’re Safe posted at TBO-TECH.

Fiona King presents 50 Surprising Causes of Weight Gain posted at Nursing Degree Guide.

Aparna presents Bad breath posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming.

axel presents 10 Steps To Better Sleep posted at axel g.

Pregnancy Hut presents 1 Week Pregnant posted at Pregnancy Calendar, saying, “What to do during your first week of pregnancy”

Grace Young presents No slouching! posted at Grace R Young OT.

Fiona King presents Top 100 Men?s Health Blogs posted at Massage Therapy Careers.

mental health

Deb Serani presents Aromatic Therapy Bear posted at Dr. Deb, saying, “This post highlights the use of an aromatic teddy bear to help move through illness, loss or just some needed TLC.”

Caffeine Junkie presents Caffeine Content | My Caffeine Addiction posted at Caffeine Addiction, saying, “How to figure out the caffeine content in your drink.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of an ic disease heatlh blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

I guess it’s rather ironic that as I sit here writing this post about migraines, headaches and IC Disease, I just finished taking my third daily dose of pain medication for my constant headaches.  I was just reading some information on how common a symptom headaches and migraines are in IC patients and I realized that I have gotten so used to having daily headaches and frequent migraines that I don’t remember what it was like to not have them.

In 1997, an IC Disease report revealed that almost 25% of IC patients surveyed also suffer from migraine disease.  In the general population, migraines affect approximately 18% of those surveyed.  What I couldn’t find is why there may be a link to the two.  Is it hormones?  Stress?   What are your thoughts?

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has invested $37.5 million for a research project to eight research centers (academic) to conduct collaborative studies of urologic chronic pelvic pain disorders by looking for clues outside the bladder and prostate.

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D had this to say about the study:

“The launch of this novel research effort is an excellent example of NIH’s commitment to encouraging translational research. It also illustrates NIH’s leadership in furthering innovative approaches to discovering effective new therapies to help our patients.”

The research initiative is unusual in that investigators will conduct highly collaborative research of the most common urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes from a broadened systemic perspective.

To read more, click HERE. 

How many parenting books have we all read?  Probably too many to count, right?  But how many parenting books have you been able to find that give you tips on parenting with chronic illnesses?  If you are like me, the answer to that last question would be none - because finding these kind of books is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Thanks to the Internet, you can “talk” to other people like yourself who suffer from IC and other chronic illnesses and get suggestions on how to parent and be there for your children while being miserable around the clock.  I didn’t have anyone to turn to when my son was born who could give me advice or who could help me through the struggle of being sick all of the time while living the demanding life of a parent.

I have just had to do it and although I may not always do it well or perfectly, I must have done something right because my husband and I have a wonderful child.  The most important thing I have learned while parenting with IC is that I always let my child know that I am here for him, even if I can’t physically do for him.  I always let him know how much I love him and there are times as parents where we have to put our illness on the back burner, turn on the fake smiles and push forward for them. 

Today was supposed to be the day where I publish the IC Disease monthly health blog carnival, but due to the Blog Carnival website being temporarily unavailable, I have been unable to access the website in order to locate all of the contributed posts.

I always receive an email whenever someone submits a post but I also can go into the blog carnival itself and pull up all of the contributed posts so I have been deleting the email confirmations.  I won’t make that mistake again!  If I would have kept all of the contributed post confirmations I could go ahead and publish the carnival and wouldn’t have to worry about waiting for the website to become available again. 

I hope that the website is back up by tomorrow.  Last night it wasn’t working either and I’ve never known that site to be down for this long.  As soon as I can access the site I will publish the #5 edition of the carnival.  Sorry for any inconvenience.

In the Interstitial Cystitis Association study, they reported that the IC patients who participated said that their baby deliveries after having IC were just as successful as their deliveries before they were diagnosed with IC.  Almost one third of the study participants delivered their children vaginally without any anesthesia; almost one third delivered vaginally with anesthesia; and one third delivered via C-section.

Because a C-section delivery can be due to many factors, there is not conclusive evidence that determines whether IC patients are more prone to having C-sections than that of non-IC patients.  The Interstitial Cystitis Association wants IC mothers-to-be to be aware that each type of delivery has its pros and cons for the IC patient.  This is what they have to say about it:

A vaginal delivery may be chosen to avoid anesthesia, catheterization, and the avoidance of major pelvic surgery. However, be aware that catheterization, anesthesia, and fetal monitoring, and even surgery (caesarean section) may become necessary if complications unrelated to IC should develop during labor. Scheduled C-section delivery can avoid prolonged labor, repeated vaginal exams, administration of drugs to induce labor, and trauma to the bladder as the baby moves through the birth canal. However, a C-section, which is major pelvic surgery, will necessitate catheterization, anesthesia, possible trauma to the bladder as it is manipulated during surgery, and a longer recovery following childbirth. C-section can also limit your interaction with your newborn, as well as your overall mobility, as your incision heals. These are issues of special importance to IC patients and should be thoroughly discussed with your doctor. Be prepared for a last-minute change in delivery plans and discuss any concerns with your doctor ahead of time.

I don’t know what got into my child last night but he was acting terrible!  He is normally a very well behaved yet active child but last night it was as though something possessed him and he didn’t listen to a thing I told him.  He had soccer practice at his school and he was acting up with another boy who wasn’t listening and I had to continually yell at him the entire practice. 

The other little boy, whose mother was sitting in her car during the practice, was acting out something terrible and I had to keep telling him to straighten up as well.  He kept hitting my son, kicking and his mother just sat in her car and watched.  Parents like this irritate the crap out of me and I’m not afraid to tell their kids.  If the parents aren’t going to make them listen by golly I will tell them.

We then went out to dinner after practice and he continued to misbehave there as well.  I was exhausted by the time we got home.  He was sent to bed and had some privileges taken away.  Hopefully this is just a rare occurrence and I hope he’s not starting to go through a “bad boy” phase.  I don’t have the energy to deal with that.

Those of us with IC know that eating spicy foods, citrus, tomatoes and drinking alcohol are no nos for us unless we want to suffer from major bladder pain and an increase in other IC symptoms.  I always assumed and had been told that the bladder pain caused by these irritants was due to the digestion process chemicals produced in the urine causing bladder irritation. 

A surprising new discovery from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine reveals the symptoms — pain and an urgent need to frequently urinate — are actually being provoked by a surprise perpetrator: the colon.

The researchers discovered in their work that the pain is caused by how the pelvic organ nerves are wired. Want to read more? Click the source link below.

Source

It was another non-productive day for me as all of my chronic illnesses seemed to pile up on me at once leaving me stranded on the couch.  I suffer from PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder), which is much worse than the normal PMS most women suffer from.  I have to be on Prozac 14 days before my cycle is scheduled to start in order to control my severe premenstrual symptoms.  Even though the Prozac helps my mood, the day and night sweats and other extreme symptoms, it doesn’t do anything to help control the flare of my chronic illnesses. 

My CFS acts up as I am completely exhausted for days at a time, my IC acts up as my bladder and pelvic region feel full of pressure and my entire body hurts more from the Fibromyalgia.  Today I didn’t have to work and I was so thankful that I didn’t have anywhere I had to go or anything that I needed to do.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

According to the Interstitial Cystitis Association, nowadays doctors will suggest that women stop taking all but the absolutely necessary medicines while trying to get pregnant and while pregnant.  It is especially important that medications are not used during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Pregnant women with IC should be safe to use heparin and Marcaine after the first trimester, as these medications are instilled directly into the bladder via catheterization because there is very little absorption.  But these medications should not be used during pregnancy unless approved by a doctor who specializes in high risk pregnancies.

Whether or not a pregnant woman with IC should receive treatment during her pregnancy is an individual decision that needs to be made by the patient and her physician.