Curled up all cozy for ultimate Sunday vibes 🥰
Full disclosure I’m wearing cotton pajama shorts without any underwear to help keep my bladder from flaring. Not the sexiest reason to go commando, but such is life with interstitial cystitis and hey I keep it cute and classy.
For those of you unaware, interstitial cystitis a.k.a painful bladder syndrome is a chronic bladder condition that basically includes all the miserable symptoms of severe urinary tract infection but without the infection.
I developed interstitial cystitis in 2016 after leaving a bladder infection untreated. The infection itself eventually healed on its own, but my bladder never really recovered. I should also mention I got this bladder infection after being raped, so there’s certainly some emotional trauma in there too. And it’s certainly not great being reminded of that every time I’m in a flare. Still working through that, but healing is holistic process.
My bladder is doing pretty okay these days. I’ve gotten decently good at understanding my triggers and sensing if there’s a flare coming on. And often that means preemptively taking some meds, limiting stress, and avoiding tight or restrictive clothing (hence the lack of underwear today).
I also try to stick to an IC friendly diet, especially when my bladder is feeling sensitive. So that usually means no coffee or alcohol and a whole long list of other foods and drinks. Basically l just drink a lot of tea these days which I don’t hate!
For anyone struggling with chronic illness, and IC specifically, and for anyone navigating through healing from sexual assault, know that you are not alone in your pain or in this journey to health.
It’s not always easy, and it’s certainly not simple, but the simple things always make it easier 💞
#InterstitialCystitis #PainfulBladderSyndrome #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #Pelvicpain #SexualAssault #SexualAssaultSurvivors
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