Joyce
I fear we may not get to e-mail directly and I wanted to tell you more about the diet part of this IC ---certain things bother the bladder and that is wheretehe problems start---the doctor gave me a list of 8 main things that are really bad Tea Coffee Alcohol Chocolate Caffeinated soft drinks Tomato-based products Spicy and acidic foods and drinks All artificial sweeteners (Even decaffeinated coffee and tea contain some caffeine) To this list I took everything out of my diet that I thought I might be allergic to. There were many foods on this list (for me) I found a wonderful two page diet even better than what I have written on the internet but don't know where it was. I also took Elmiron and think it helped me a lot to get started-but I have had some trouble with it---I feel it coats my tongue and I tase it at all times (will be discussing this with Urologist next visit) NOW THE #1 THING YOU MUST DO IS DRINK NO LESS THAN 64OZ OF WATER PER DAY----THIS HELP MOST AND IS SO SIMPLE--- Another thing that is bad for the bladder are the following over-the-counter drugs Excedrin Midol Anacin Dristan Sinarest Prescription drugs All the above are things I have copied from a thing the Doctor gave me---tehen in your mind if you think something might bother you take it out of your diet---If you get control you can add some things back one at a time and see how it goes. Good luck---would like to know how it works for you.