The Body Chronic

In honor of the new year and my immediately pending visit to a specialist for my IC, I have started "The Body Chronic."

The Body Chronic will follow my journey through PCOS, IR and IC. My goal is to provide a space for myself as well as others as I feel there may be more than just me with the combination of conditions.

In any event, you may see me cross referencing from time to time, but feel free to stop over there and follow my more health-related, body-centric journey.

I C said the blind man

I usually don't get too down and dirty personal in this blog. I save such adventures for therapy and my LiveJournal. But knowing that my struggles might affect someone else in a positive way, I figured it was worth a shot.

I have interstitial cystitis, otherwise known as painful bladder syndrome. IC is a condition that affects millions of women. In short, it's basically like having a multitude of symptoms usually associated with a UTI but on an unpredictable and constant basis. Sounds like a blast, huh?

I was diagnosed with IC last year, though I think the symptoms started much earlier in retrospect. I had some treatments and entered what IC'ers term a "remission period." However, in the past few weeks my IC has been worsening again. Yesterday, in fact, it was so bad that I didn't make it to work. Those who know me can attest that not making it to work at all signals quite a bit of pain. And that's true.

One of my goals next year is to start a health blog. I have a few chronic conditions which I am determined to show are connected, including IC, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and Insulin Resistance (IR). I know its time to take control of my own health, but I also know it's time to publicize myself as a person with all three conditions--because I do see the interconnectedness of them all--and to grow and help others understand themselves, even if its only in disagreeing with me. By all means, let's have the conversation begin.

I guess I just needed to vent and this forum was available to me. I mean, it's my blog so I can write whatever I want. In the coming weeks look for my new blog devoted entirely to these issues.

Someone's gotta do it. Why not me?

Lucy-Lu and I Have More in Common Than an Address

This article on the Interstitial Cystitis Association site talks about the remarkable similarity between cats with Feline Interstitial Cystitis (FIC) and humans with Interstitial Cystitis (IC). This comes as no surprise to Your Honor as her younger feline friend, Lucy, has had a bout with this syndrome. In fact, the medicine given to Lucy when she first had problems is just a much smaller dose (1/10th to be exact) of what I am currently taking.

It's amazing how life is--I end up with a cat that has a random syndrome that I have. The odds of that are probably not that great, yet I managed to overcome them. It's too bad I can't use my odds of that at the casino.

That is a picture of Miss Lucy to the right. It's one of the many times she has posed for the camera that I'm sure I'll share along the way.

Back to the article...This was the major finding:

Dr. Buffington thinks that bladder abnormalties aren’t necessarily the root cause of IC, they’re the result. And it may be just one of many organs in the body that are being affected by a ramped-up or overly active fight-or-flight mechanism that results in nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system abnormalities. He and his research team have focused on what’s called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which controls those fight-or-flight reactions in response to stress.

This is particularly interesting to me as I have a number of endocrine system-related issues. I just know one day they're going to find out that this is all connected. And I'll finally have an answer to a question that's burning inside: What in the hell is wrong with me?