A Young Wife’s Tale

I recently wrote about having chronic urinary tract infection here. After lots of testing, the urologist ruled out everything else and diagnosed me with interstitial cystitis. I had several urinary tract infections in 2010 which were confirmed by LabCorp. Now I still feel like I have a UTI, but I don’t. I have interstitial cystitis.

Since we moved to New Jersey, I have had chronic urinary tract infections.

Before anyone goes recommending any treatments or cures, let me assure you, I have tried them all, and my doctor has asked about them all. Extra water and cranberry juice make the pain worse. Cutting back on the Diet Coke didn’t help. Probiotics do help, but they don’t cure my UTIs. The only thing that seemed to make them go away was the holidays. I was fine from Thanksgiving till January.

The pain isn’t horrible. Many people have excruciating pain with urinary tract infections. At it’s worst, my pain has gotten to a 5 or a 6. On an average day, the pain is a 3 or a 4. I’m so thankful the pain is mild compared to, say, the way my TMJ disorder pain used to be.

After several rounds of antibiotics, I was referred to a urologist. That was an interesting doctor’s appointment. At the urologist’s office, there were private ambulances dropping off elderly people on stretches. I was the youngest patient in the waiting room by at least 30 years.

David had a great birthday! His coworkers took him out to lunch, and he got his Chipotle for dinner. I hadn’t been inside a Chipotle in quite some time. I was happy to see a sign indicating they use some organic produce and their chicken is raised without antibiotics and fed a diet free of animal by-products.

I got some gluten at Panera Bread. I didn’t get any Diet Coke because they had Pepsi products instead.

A day in the mind of a caregiver. On any given day, these thoughts may pop into my head:

Remind him to take his medicine.
How are we going to pay this medical bill?
Thank you God that the drug manufacturer pays for David’s Humira. We’d be living with our parents if we had to pay $1500 a month for that one medicine.
Do we have to do an injection today?
Quick! Pack a nutritious lunch that meets all his dietary restrictions!
I need a Diet Coke.

Today is my SITS Day! “The Secret is in the Sauce” is a wonderful group of women bloggers who support each other through comments. I have come in contact with so many great bloggers through SITS and received encouragement, support and advice. I highly recommend you check them out.