MY TOP 5 FAVORITE IC THINGS!

1. Lidocaine Ointment! I could not live without my Lidocaine Ointment! The usual form used my most doctors is 2% GEL; however, my doctor prescribed for me the higher dose of 5% which comes in an ointment. I LOVE this stuff! I use a big blob of it, and using a latex glove just slather it all over the entire area, my vagina and urethra and surrounding skin. It numbs everything and when I am having a flare, my burning and irritation are at their worst, this is my Number 1 favorite thing!
2. My Heating Pad! I couldn’t live without my heating pad. Some people prefer cold and others like me prefer heat. For me, this is very often used in conjunction with Favorite Thing #1. Often, after applying the Lidocaine Ointment, I will go sit down and put the heating pad between my legs and it just does so much to help relieve my pain. These two things make the top of the list of my Favorite IC Things!
3. Hydrophilic Coated Catheters! I have to self-catheterize at least 5 times every day. I always have urethra pain (See Favorite Thing #1) so finding the right way to self-catheterize and minimize the discomfort was a huge issue. My doctor’s office found these catheters and gave me some free samples to try and it was life changing - really! They are the greatest catheter invention as far as I’m concerned. No lubricant is needed and I love them! Having to use catheters every single day, these made my life so much easier. They are super slick and insertion is practically painless. Again, I could not live without them so they make my List of Favorite Things for this reason!
4. Bladder Instillations! These are my life saver! As someone who can’t take any form of pain medication, this is how I manage my pain and they really do the trick! Once that cocktail hits my bladder, I can literally feel my entire body sort of “unclench” and relax a bit as the pain subsides. It took some trial and error, patience and perseverance to find the right cocktail, but it paid off in the end and we found what works for me! Love my instillations!
5. InterStim! I have two and for me, I don’t know where I’d be without my InterStim. Before I got them, I was voiding 60-70 times per day and up all night. With my 2 InterStim we have been able to get that down to between 25-30 voids per day, which is a huge improvement. Do I wish I could get my voids lower? Of course, but when I realized that we had managed to cut the number of voids by better than half, it was an “ah ha” moment for me. That’s a huge improvement and one I was praying for when I was at my worst. I’ll take it! Learning to adjust to these strange devices in the early days was strange. But they have become something I barely know are there anymore and they are something I am glad to have help manage my symptoms! Favorite Thing #5!

These are MY personal Top 5 Favorite IC Things! Things I couldn’t live without to help me manage my IC.

What are YOUR Top Favorite IC Things that you can’t live without? Share them with us all by commenting in the comments section below this post!