Why I had to give up chocolate

FYI: Journey Into Darkness has a new flash fiction added. Read it!
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If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you've probably seen me use the hashtag #icproblems, and lament about how I want to eat chocolate but can't. Afterwards, I've had people ask me what IC was. I'd always link them to the information, but I needed a post today, so I thought why not write about this.

Interstitial Cystitis is not only tricky to say, but also a chronic condition causing bladder pressure, bladder pain and sometimes pelvic pain. (source) The pain ranges from mild discomfort to severe. It's also called painful bladder syndrome. It's and invisible illness that's in the top five most painful conditions to have. I can attest to that.

What sucks even worse is there's really no cure. I'm on a medication that will possibly heal me up to 70-80%. If it doesn't heal and it only gets worse then the only option is to have the bladder removed. Remission I think is possible, but it's anyone's guess if that happens. They also don't really know the cause either. The most I can do is manage it with my eating habits.

This is my list of safe food. They don't normally cause pain.

These are foods I avoid. It's much longer than the other and blankets a lot of foods. And yes, not even water is safe!

When I was diagnosed, I basically had to toss the majority of what was in my cupboards. That's not an exaggeration. I went through all my food and separated what was listed as bladder friendly on this list. I had to do what was called the elimination diet where the goal was to find foods that didn't cause pain.

The first few months EVERYTHING I tried triggered me. I printed out that list and carried it around. Finally, I found something: Milk. One day all I did was drink milk. I lost 20 pounds as a result! (So if you really want to lose weight, might I recommend the elimination diet. Just pretend that all food will hurt if you eat it.)

I still have to carry the list and consult it from time to time, but I've gotten a pretty good handle on what triggers me and what's safe. Hopefully between that and the medication (which I have to take on an empty stomach, so that's another weight loss tip. Pretend you have a three hour period where you can't eat food no matter what) my bladder will repair as much as it can. But I'm stuck with this illness.

This is what my bladder looks like. Kinda like planets. All that red and white shouldn't be there. It should be pink.