Can the Flu Shot Give You the Flu? Who Should Get the Flu Shot?

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I am on my way to get my flu shot today...and the shingles shot, if you must know...and I wanted to remind you that if you have interstitial cystitis, a chronic illness, it is important for you to get the flu shot. I also have a heart condition, so it is even more important for me. 

Did you know you can't actually "get" the flu from the flu shot? If you experience some sniffles, low fever, or slight cough, that is actually your body working WITH the shot to rev up your immune system to protect you from something much much worse!

About 15 years ago, our family got the flu right at Christmas time. My middle daughter was the only one who got a flu shot as part of a well-child visit to the pediatrician (her birthday is in December!). One by one, starting with my husband and I, we both got very sick. The cough was unlike what I had ever experienced before and I finally had some idea what the word "delirious" meant. After using the toilet--interstitial cystitis doesn't take a break when the body is sick with something else--I woke up on the floor of the bathroom, evidently having passed out. My husband couldn't even get out of bed to help me, so I crawled back to our bedroom and put myself back to bed. Our oldest and youngest got sick as well. It took us three days to finish opening Christmas gifts because we kept stopping to rest. Our pictures from that holiday are pathetic. Pale and blotchy faces with dark rimmed eyes.

Ever since that year I have gotten my flu shot. I even stood in line for the H1N1 shot a couple of years ago; although now, H1N1 is included in the seasonal shot. I don't ever want to feel that sick again. I felt like I lost a month of my life.

But it isn't just ruined holidays and missed days of work. Every year nearly 38,000 people die from the flu. That doesn't take into consideration the People with chronic illness are at more risk for death from the flu than generally healthy people. Get your flu shot today, my friends!

For more information about the flu, the flu shot, and the most recent innovation, the flu mist, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

Julie Beyer, MA, RDN

Author, Speaker, Patient Advocate

www.ic-diet.com  

Helping Yourself, Take Control!

For step by step guidance for creating your own personal interstitial cystitis meal plan, see: Confident Choices^®: Customizing the Interstitial Cystitis Diet.

For some basic, family-style, IC bladder-friendly recipes, see: Confident Choices^®: A Cookbook for Interstitial Cystitis and Overactive Bladder

For health care workers:  Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators

 **Please SHARE using the links below!**

What Is Your Interstitial Cystitis "New Normal?"

Have you heard the phrase "new normal" which describes how a person  experiences life after diagnosis and treatment for an illness or chronic condition? It started to be used decades ago among cancer survivors, and many times people with conditions like interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome use it as well.

Simply put, "new normal" implies that you may never go back to the body or even mental state that you were in before you were diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, but you have reached a point in treatment where you feel better and have even developed coping skills that make navigating your painful bladder easier and maybe even automatic. 

For example, I am MUCH better than when I was first diagnosed with IC! I now look at the couple of years before and after my diagnosis as one long bladder flare where I had to learn to listen to my own body and not ignore what was happening. 

Obviously the IC diet is important, but I don't have to watch what I eat as much as I used to.  I still have several things I definitely cannot touch: Soy, cranberry juice (but I can have a few dried cranberries on a salad), strawberries, very spicy foods (although I can have a pinch of spice in something like guacamole), alcohol, any tea other than chamomile and mint (never did drink coffee), and "too many" tomatoes or citrus. I am at a point where I can have one "bad" thing a day and do well. I am always on the hunt for new recipes and food isn't the frightening thing it was 15 years ago.

If I start to feel some bladder twinges or increase in frequency above my "new normal," I go back to a strict IC diet, which for me involves a lot of water, eggs, toast, cottage cheese, and vegetables. I have learned that I need to get plenty of sleep. I watch my stress level  and have coping strategies for that also. I take Epsom salts baths when I need them (or just when I want them!), and I don't apologize for the medications I need to take occasionally because they improve my quality of life, something I lost for a few years! (There is a chapter on how to handle flares in Customizing the Interstitial Cystitis Diet: A Confident Choices® Book)

I still void more often than someone without IC/BPS (mostly in the morning), and my body reminds me about once a week what the feeling of urgency really is, but since I truly don't have pain anymore, I can live with those things and even manage them with a few tricks I have learned over the years, but the most important thing is that I don't fixate on them. That is my "new normal." 

How about you? What is your "new normal" with interstitial cystitis? Let's help the newly diagnosed among us learn some ways to enjoy their lives again!

Sending you all warm, end of summer hugs!

PS: Thank you Confident Choices® shoppers!  It seems you are getting the hang of clicking on the Confident Choices Amazon links to make your everyday purchases work for our cause.  As you can see below, each purchase may only generate a tiny amount, but added together it makes a difference:

Here are some recent and (fun!) purchases by our readers that helped raise $75.00 last month:

ABC's Bachelor Pad, second season

Timex Women's T21693Elevated Classics Dress Burgundy Leather Strap Watch
The Proactive Patient: Managing Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome and the Related Conditions
The Most Amazing Black Dress with Lots of Gold Sequins Made to Fit the Barbie Barbie Sized Doll
Genuine Elegante Adjustable Oxidized .925 Sterling Silver Spoon Ring with Swirl Motif

Julie Beyer, MA, RDN

Author, Speaker, Patient Advocate

www.ic-diet.com 

Freshen Up Your Meal Plans!

For step by step guidance for creating your own personal interstitial cystitis meal plan, see: Confident Choices^®: Customizing the Interstitial Cystitis Diet.

For some basic, family-style, IC bladder-friendly recipes, see: Confident Choices^®: A Cookbook for Interstitial Cystitis and Overactive Bladder

For health care workers:  Interstitial Cystitis: A Guide for Nutrition Educators 

 **Please SHARE using the links below!**