A Little About Me

The most logical place to start is the beginning... I was diagnosed with IC in April of 2012 after two months of "UTI"s and severe stomach pains.  I consider myself lucky that I only suffered for two months without a diagnosis. When I started having pain, I went to my general practitioner who diagnosed me with a UTI and possible bladder infection.  After treatment for this and no resolution, my stomach pain was increasing, and he believed that I may have had an STI/STD.  Knowing myself and knowing that an STI/D was not the answer to my pain, I decided to stop seeking his services.  I thought the next best place to go was to a gynecologist.  I was very lucky in that my GYN diagnosed my condition in one visit.  She said, "I think this may be IC, here is a diet to do.  I want to see you in 2 weeks to do a potassium sensitivity test to diagnose for sure." So I went on the diet for the 2 weeks, and noticed great improvement.  The test was painful and definitely not something that I would ever sign up for again, but it was the result my doctor needed.  I was put on Elmiron for treatment and Uribel for pain and sent on my way with the intention of following up with her in 3 months.

Unfortunately for my IC, I moved about a month and a half later.  Finding my next doctor was awful.  I started at a GYN hoping that I would have a similar experience: false.  I went to a urogynecologist at Emory who wanted to schedule a cystocopy and hydrodestention... This is another test that is done to test for IC, but it is an invasive surgical procedure.  I was extremely iffy about going through with this procedure given that I was positive that I have IC and at this point was seeking treatment.  It then took the office over a month to schedule the procedure, despite the fact that they were receiving a phone call a week from me. Given their rudeness and inability to call a patient back, I decided to find another doctor.  I went to ic-network.com, a fantastic website for family, friends, and sufferers of IC, and discovered that there was a recommended doctor somewhat close to me.  I decided the 45 minute drive was well worth good treatment. 

While diet and Elmiron have been a great help, I have not been progressing and feeling great like I would hope.  Over time my doctor has adjusted my medications, and I am currently taking Elmiron, Uribel, a small daily dose of Elavil, an antihistamine, and rescue installations.  This combination of treatments has been wonderful, and I am finally having days where I don't experience pain from my IC.

My biggest battle currently with my IC is pelvic floor dysfunction.  To put it short, my pelvic floor muscles don't contract/relax like they should, or like a normal person's does.  There are many daily activities that are very painful and resultantly painful for days.  I have been seeing a physical therapist with the hopes to better train my pelvic floor muscles. 

Now that you know my story, I want to tell you about why I decided to start this blog. I have loved cooking for as long as I can remember.  Growing up, I loved helping my mom in the kitchen with dinner.  After being diagnosed with IC, my whole cooking style had to change.  I bought some cookbooks for cooking with IC, but I was quite disappointed.  I have had success with some recipes.  However, most of the recipes seemed very fancy and the ingredients seemed obnoxious.. beets, leeks, and carrots for tomato sauce.. seriously?! (for the record, I did try it, it was awful, and I'll save the details for a later time.)  I found that I had the most success when I took my old favorites and made them IC friendly. So now that I am baking my own bread, making my own pesto, enjoying some preservative free granola bars, making sauces out of fresh roasted red peppers, and whipping out meatloaf that my husband has thirds of, I have decided I need to share my kitchen adventures.  The best thing about you being a reader is that I'll only share the yummy ones, and I'll spare you from the disasters. 

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to sharing some delICiousness with you soon!