Brittany, Herself - September Writing Prompts

Howdy there!  Yes I'm finally back writing again.  Still having a difficult time getting back on the horse, depression does that to you, but I'm chugging along.  Still no job prospects, but I did have a marathon of interviews this week so hopefully one of those will work out for me, send good positive thoughts my way!

I chose to sort of change one of the prompts that Brittany had on her list this week.  She had one that said that September was Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.  While this is definitely an issue that deserves much awareness, there is another illness that is near and dear to me that almost no one knows about that is also being highlighted this month.  This month is also Interstitial Cystitis Awareness month.

We call it "IC" for short, it is kind of a mouthful.  It is a personal thing for me because I have had IC since 2007.  It is a chronic condition for which there is no cure.  It is not life threatening, but it can be very debilitating and painful.

What the heck is Interstitial Cystitis?  If you haven't heard of it, it is a chronic inflammation of the lining of the bladder wall that causes small pinprick bleeding.  This can make it extremely painful as the bladder fills with urine and causes the person to feel as if they have a urinary tract infection.  Of course, when the doctor tests for this the result is negative.  Symptoms, other than pain, are frequent urination, painful urination, and painful intercourse. 

IC mostly affects women, and is also related to other conditions such as fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome, both of which I have as well. 

IC can go into a type of remission, and come back.  I have had several remissions over the years, but it does come back.  I manage my condition with medications, and with decreasing the amount of acidic foods I eat, such as citric fruits, tomatos, anything spicy, etc.  There is more information about IC on www.ic-network.com if you want to know more.

Everyone supporting the IC awareness cause is "dressing up"  their Facebook page with a profile pic and banner pic, check mine out if you'd like to see it.  These pics are also on the IC network page if you'd like to support us.  We also do other things, like dye our hair blue, which is the official color for IC.  That's a little adventurous for me, so I always paint my toenails blue instead for the month to show my IC awareness love.  I encourage anyone to do just a little something do support us, spread the word about IC, and help us find a cure.  There are some people that have it so severely, they have to have their bladders removed altogether.  Show the love folks!!!