Avoiding Bladder Irritants Helpful?

newt said:
I recently went to a new urologist and this one gave me a list of things that cause bladder irritation. The problem? Literally everything on the list is things that I enjoy.

  • Coffee? Yep.
  • Red Wine? You bet.
  • Sparkling water? Of course.
  • Spicy foods? Why not.
  • Citrus? Sure thing.
  • Tomatoes? Try to ketchup, guys.
The list even had the audacity to specifically single out some of my favorite cuisines: Mexican food, Thai food, and Indian food.

My question is, has anyone actually tried to eliminate ALL of these things? And if so, did it make ANY difference?

Because all I know is my morning espresso makes mornings bearable. Sparkling water is fun water. A glass of Spanish wine from Rioja is peak human craftsmanship. With the exception of sushi and Cuban food (I am in Miami after all), the the best cuisines are spicy. The thought non spicy burrito makes me sad. Non spicy Thai food is an oxymoron. And that's not even mentioning the need for citrus in both food and drinks. And then, no tomatoes makes most Italian food problematic.

What I am getting at is this. I have reached a point in my incontinence journey that I am comfortable with diapers. BUT if avoiding these could actually mean I could get out of them it might be worth the old college try. But if all I could hope for was an improvement, but still need diapers, it is not worth giving up the best parts of life. So, if anyone has had any success, experience, or failures trying this let me know!
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I was given the a list containing these and more by my urologist, tried cutting them out for 2 months and there really wasn't much of a change, not enough of a change that I was willing to keep at it ( mainly the change was that I could wear the same diapers I wear during the day at night as it slightly reduced the volume of urine at night , instead of switching to a megamax at night) I thought about it for a while and my choice was to just enjoy the stuff I liked and use the megamax, at the end of the day as long as it doesn't leak or affect my daytime IC I figured enjoying the stuff I liked was more important,
hope this is somewhat helpful :)
 
Though these foods can cause irritation to the bladder, I'm not convinced it's very extreme. I tried some of them deliberately so I'd wet in my sleep and it didn't work which is why I don't think they have much an effect, just a small one.
 
dogboy said:
Though these foods can cause irritation to the bladder, I'm not convinced it's very extreme. I tried some of them deliberately so I'd wet in my sleep and it didn't work which is why I don't think they have much an effect, just a small one.
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If your bladder is normal, having a couple of cups of coffee or some tomatoes shouldn't irritate it. A normal bladder has a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer that protects it from the urine. One of the theories about interstitial cystitis is that a problem with the GAG layer allows irritants in the urine to come in contact with the bladder, and the things on the list can cause debilitating pain.

If you have a normal bladder, count yourself lucky! Bladder pain sucks.
 
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