COVID-19 & INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS

COVID-19 & INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS

Hello my fellow ICers!  If this is your first visit to my blog, welcome!  You can click on older posts at the bottom of the page for IC Friendly recipes and other resources.

So, this is a scary time we are facing right now with the threat of COVID-19.  Everyone is running out to grocery stores, fighting over toilet paper and bottled water like the zombies have taken over and those items are our last chance for survival. 

While we, of course, have to concern ourselves with most of the things on everyone's lists, there are a lot of things on those lists that simply aren't an option for us and there are a lot of things that should be on our lists that won't be on anyone else's. 

It can be very difficult to not get swept up in this panic culture and to keep a level mind during times of stress so I hope that this post will be a helpful resource. 

First I am going to list the IC relevant things other than food that you should make sure you have enough of if you need them*:

*Note: This is not an exhaustive list of everything you need – this is specific to IC.

COVID-19 & IC EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SHOPPING LIST – OTHER

1) ALCOHOL SWABS (or if they are out, try rubbing alcohol and cotton balls)

2) CATHETER TRAYS (if you can afford it, get enough for 4-6 weeks)

3) CATHETERS (my catheter trays usually don't come with the catheters in them and when they do they are too big – I use the MED-RX Sterile non-latex ROBINSON PLUS 8FR X 16" Urethra Catheters:  Ref 67-5108, Lot 110427 – they are stiffer than most of them but much smaller and easier to insert)

4) ******PRELIEF****** PLEASE HAVE AT LEAST 3 BOTTLES OF PRELIEF AT HOME!  I always stress having extra but now that is especially relevant because we may not be able to get as much of the food that requires fewer Prelief to consume

5) ***PAIN MEDICATION*** MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE STOCKED UP ON YOUR PAIN MEDS, ESPECIALLY YOUR PRESCRIPTION ONES & MAKE SURE YOU HAVE REPEATS

6) ***ELMIRON*** MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH ELMIRON (it's really easy to mistake how many days you have left depending on how many you take a day – for me, I take 3 everyday so it might look like I have enough left but really you need to count them because I often don't realize I'm short until it's 2-3 days before I need a refill – for this one as well, make sure you have repeats)

7) LIDOCAINE 2% GEL (Xylocaine 2% - topical anesthetic – behind the counter but non-prescription) – this is especially relevant for those with vulvodynia

8) LIDOCAINE HYDROCHLORIDE 1% INJECTION USP (Xylocaine 1% - local anesthetic) – this is especially relevant for those who perform their own bladder instillations and/or administer their own trigger point injections

9) NEEDLES (if you do your own trigger point injections or IM injections for medications such as dimenhydrinate/gravol)

10) A WATER FILTER (as long as you live in a place where the tap water is safe to consume, a water filter is a better strategy right now than bottled water [best bottled water for ICers is Evian] because that is one of the items that people are hoarding and it is hard to find – a good and affordable filter is the NSA water filter which can often be found on eBay)

11) HAND LOTION (with how often we use the washroom/wash our hands, we tend to go through a lot of this so make sure you have enough in case of a lockdown so you don't end up with cracking and bleeding, vulnerable hands – the only one I can use due to all of my allergies is Cliniderm Lotion)

12) TOILET PAPER (this is a difficult one to find especially since we need one that is non-irritating – the only one that I use is the President's Choice Super Soft Hypoallergenic Bathroom Tissue ***This is especially relevant for those prone to or suffering from vulvodynia***)

13) MEDICAL GLOVES (especially if you use any intervaginal medications – I recommend non-latex powder free vinyl gloves – these are also good if you have to go out in public)

14) BAKING SODA (an absolute essential for ICers – make sure you have enough!)

15) LACTAID ULTRA (if you can have dairy and require it)

16) ****BATTERIES**** THIS IS MANDATORY FOR ANYONE WITH AN INTERSTIM IMPLANT – YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO USE YOUR EXTERNAL REMOTE TO OPERATE YOUR IMPLANTED DEVICE – MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EXTRA!!!

17) SURGICAL MASKS (most of our immune systems are unfortunately compromised so if you can find some, of course the N95 is the holy grail but if not, the disposable surgical masks are great to wear anytime you go out in public – just make sure that you aren't wearing the disposable ones more than once or you could put yourself at more risk rather than protecting yourself from the virus)

18) ZIPLOCK FREEZER BAGS AND CONTAINERS (for freezing fresh food such as organic blueberries and prepared homemade food such as organic asparagus soup)

19) ZIPSICLES (for making freezies from organic IC Friendly juiced organic fruit and/or veggies or if you can have it without any issues, Bremner's Organic Blueberry Juice)

20) PADS (if you struggle with stress incontinence or if you menstruate and have vaginismus and thus can't use tampons, you should definitely make sure you have enough to last in the event of a lockdown)

Now I will go over a few different kinds of food but since I know that everyone's IC Friendly diet is a little different, the list won't be long – I'll share what I am doing about food on my InstaStories; you are welcome to watch those and ask me questions if you want to know more J

COVID-19 & IC EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SHOPPING LIST – FOOD

1) CHOICE ORGANIC PEPPERMINT TEA (an absolute essential for ICers with IBS, especially IBS-D – you can read my post "First Line of Defence for ICers with IBS" to find out more)

2) ORGANIC RED (BELL) PEPPERS (this is one of the most universal IC friendly foods and it is our BEST source of vitamin C – since it's fresh and will not last long I recommend juicing some and freezing the juice – I know from experience that it freezes and defrosts really well and you can add other IC friendly veggies in the juice as well such as organic cucumber, organic romaine lettuce, etc.)

3) FROZEN ORGANIC BERRIES (the ones you can have without pain – don't forget your Prelief!) – if you can't find them frozen, get fresh and freeze some yourself – if you can have organic raspberries, they are a good source of vitamin C as well

4) IC FRIENDLY ORGANIC CEREAL AND OATMEAL (look at my previous post about this for some good suggestions)

5) TOLERANT ORGANIC RED LENTIL PASTA (ONLY if you can have lentils without pain – this pasta is a great thing to stock up on right now and it's full of nutrients, especially iron which we don't have many sources of – *if you have IBS like me, start off with only 2 pieces a night with your biggest meal and tons of peppermint tea*)

6) RJ'S BLACK LICORICE (ONLY if you have tested it successfully in the past and can have it – this is a staple of mine and it is great for right now because it doesn't require refrigeration and in only 5 pieces you get 10% of your daily iron – *make sure to pair this with something with vitamin C so your body can absorb the iron such as organic defrosted raspberries or red pepper*)

7) CANNED IC FRIENDLY FOODS WITH NO PROBLEM INGREDIENTS (okay, so… this basically doesn't exist but I found a couple of single-ingredient canned foods that are okay such as organic pureed pumpkin)

8) ORGANIC BASMATI RICE (stock up on this bad boy because it is IC and IBS friendly and satiating)

9) MAISON ORPHEE FINE GREY SEA SALT (I have found this to be the best and most bladder friendly salt or sea salt out there and salt isn't something that generally jumps to mind when you think of emergency preparedness but at least for my food, I need it)

10) PRAIRIE HARVEST ORGANIC PASTA (if you can have gluten) – I have personally found this organic pasta to be the most IC friendly and the most delicious

11) CORN THINS AND ORGANIC RICE CAKES (some of my favourites are Non-GMO Real Foods Corn Thins and Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes – these can be eaten with hardly any Prelief and are very bladder friendly and are non-perishable which is perfect for COVID-19 emergency preparedness purposes)

12) LOTUS FOODS ORGANIC BLACK FORBIDDEN RICE NOODLES (these are amazing and again, non-perishable)

13) IC FRIENDLY OILS (the ones I use are organic safflower oil, grapeseed oil and organic sesame oil*) *I couldn't have organic sesame oil until my ninth year of treatment

14) FROZEN IC FRIENDLY VEGGIES (great for making soup, stir-fry, etc. – I always have organic asparagus and organic green peas in my freezer)

15) ORGANIC CRACKERS (wheat crackers if you can have gluten and rice if you can't – some of my favourites are Savor Organic Saltines, organic matzo and rice crisps)

16) ORGANIC RED POTATOES AND ORGANIC ACORN SQUASH ****IF AND ONLY IF YOU CAN EAT THEM WITHOUT PAIN**** (for me, it took about 7 years of treatment and medication before I could have these so please, do not cause yourself pain, but if you can have them, stock up since they are full of nutrients and don't need to be refrigerated before they're cooked)

17) TOASTED NORI (this is a great snack to have and if you have sushi rice and an organic cucumber, you can even make a little kappa maki if the mood suits you - I like to brush the nori with organic sesame oil and toast it in the oven to make my own IC Friendly version of seaweed snacks)

18) ORGANIC CAROB POWDER (for when you are dying for something sweet and satisfying – with this you can make hot "chocolate", "chocolate" mug cake, "chocolate" milkshakes, etc. – feel free to contact me to learn how to make these)

Since there are so many variations of what is safe for our bladders, I'm going to stop there in terms of food, but hopefully I've helped to spark some ideas of what you can stock up on to prepare for this rapidly escalating COVID-19 situation. 

I would not recommend that you test any new foods during this time since you may not be able to receive the treatment you need if they cause a flare.  Always make sure that you're drinking plenty of water, that you're taking your Prelief (and Lactaid when appropriate) before you eat and that you're getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night. 

Do your best to take time to relax your body and your mind:  There are many great apps out there to help you; some that spring to mind are the Calm app, Simple Habit and Mindshift. 

Diffusing essential oils like peppermint to purify the air is also a good idea.  I'm always here if you have any questions.  Stay safe and flare-free everyone!  Take care! J

Sincerely,

Kat 😘

My New 4-Day Rule For Testing New Foods

Hello my fellow ICers!  I hope this Friday finds you well.  If you are familiar with the standard Elimination Diet, it advises to test new foods in small and increasingly larger quantities for three days in a row to see if they irritate your IC or are safe to add into your IC-friendly diet.  This is the rule I have gone by for nearly 10 years, but a recent experience has completely changed my protocol.  Three days is not enough.

When I re-tested organic green seedless grapes earlier this year, Day 1 was okay, Day 2 was a little iffy but it didn't cause a flare so I continued onto Day 3.  Day 3 caused zero irritation, so I got very excited and added it into my diet as a safe food, or so I thought.

Day 4?  ONE OF THE WORST FLARES I HAVE HAD IN YEARS.  So please, when you do the Elimination Diet and/or test new foods, please add them in in an increasing quantity for FOUR days straight, not three.  I have had similar experiences with other foods I have tested since then so have made it my standard rule.  I highly suggest you do the same.  It's really important to be sure and it's also important to do the Elimination Diet more than once. 

Looking back, when I first came out with my (faulty) results the first time around, almost everything in my diet was an irritant.  It was just that it was keeping me at a consistent level of pain so nothing stuck out as a problem.  At least 15 of the foods I was eating back then were MAJOR irritants and if I ate them today, I would end up in so much pain that I would be vomiting, crying and fainting on the bathroom floor in an hour or less. 

I realize that I am especially sensitive with an especially bad case of IC, but that is why I created this blog:  For the super sensitive ICers.  Most of the other IC blogs out there are unfortunately not helpful to me when it comes to food because I'm too sensitive for what they advise.  Of course, everyone with IC is different and that is why the Elimination Diet is so important, because individual results differ greatly. 

I wish you all the best testing new foods – if you try out the 4-day rule, please comment to let us know your experience!   Good luck!

Sincerely,

Kat 😘

First Line of Defence for ICers with IBS

Hello fellow ICers!  Welcome back to my blog!  If it's your first time here, make sure to look through all of my posts for helpful information about diet, treatment, medications and other tips for coping and living with IC.

Today what I would like to talk about is my struggle with IC + IBS and how mint tea saved my life.  I  suffered from IBS-C (constipation) for most of my life.  I was officially diagnosed when I was in high school and after that I was able to manage it with diet, exercise and digestive enzymes.  Things got more complicated after I got IC but I was still for the most part able to manage it.

A couple of years ago, for the first time ever after a virus and a two week stay in the hospital, everything changed and I was re-diagnosed with IBS-D (diarrhea).  No matter what I did, no matter what I ate, it led to unbearable diarrhea that lasted for about a year.  I lost about 35 lbs, was completely bedridden and miserable and got to a point where my will to live was fading quickly.

I was constantly losing dangerous amounts of electrolytes, especially potassium (which ICers are generally low on because they are sensitive to it), and I was having to take compounded potassium and eat painful things in order to survive.  I had loperamide (Imodium) compounded so it didn't cause an IC flare and found myself taking it constantly.  One day was particularly bad and I had taken a lot. My ears started ringing along with a bunch of other startling symptoms so I looked up the maximum dose and counted how many I had taken.  It was way over the maximum.  I called poison control and they called me an ambulance.  Yes, I had accidentally overdosed out of my desperation to stop the diarrhea.

During this time, because of how skinny I had gotten (not 'good' skinny --> scary looking sick skinny), I couldn't even take my regular pain relief medications because it would suppress my breathing too much and even some of my doses had to be lowered because of that hazard.  As if that wasn't enough, my surgeon who implanted my Interstim was threatening to remove it entirely because every part of it was sticking out of my body and pushing and grinding against my tailbone.  He demanded I gain weight and gave me a short timeline saying he would remove it if I didn't gain at least 15 lbs.  I had been trying to gain weight but every attempt left me crying in the bathroom with horrible diarrhea; it was worse now since every time I had taken even one loperamide after the overdose I would get dizzy so I got scared and cut them out entirely.

I was well versed on everything concerning IBS-C but I was admittedly ignorant when it came to IBS-D so I started doing research.  When my research produced "peppermint tea" as something that not only helped IBS but also was "generally okay" for ICers, I mustered my bravery and tested it.  Even though it was organic, even though it was one ingredient and I had taken a lot of Prelief, it hurt. BUT it helped stop the diarrhea.  So, I started drinking it - I would only leave it in hot water for one minute so it was very weak and wouldn't hurt as much but would still help.  I went on like this for several months.  When something I was eating that was high calorie would set off the diarrhea, instead of taking a bunch of loperamide, I would be guzzling several giant mugs worth of mint tea.  I had to accept that this was my fate and if I wanted to live that it would be in this heightened state of pain from drinking the mint tea.

One day, I wasn't able to get the brand that I had been using from the beginning.  So, I hesitantly got another kind.  I had my first sip and it tasted way different - much more like peppermint even though I had left it in for that short one minute mark.  It was actually really delicious - something that I would drink even if I could have other kinds.  I routinely braced myself for the extra pain after the first sip and it never came.  I was bewildered.  I started taking big gulps and bracing myself once again and nothing.  😕

I figured that it had to be some kind of a fluke and like the somewhat stubborn person I am, the next day I didn't take the teabag out after that one minute mark.  I let the it soak longer than I ever had.  When I tasted how strong it was I started to think I was a psycho for even putting myself at risk for the kind of pain I was inevitable to feel in the minutes following.  I held on waiting for that ocean of pain to overwhelm me.  Nothing.  How could this be?  It honestly took me until several boxes later to accept that this kind was just different and that it would never hurt me, no matter how strong it was.  Even though at first I was extremely skeptical and suspicious, now I see it for what it is/was:  my saviour.

I was able to eat now without ANY diarrhea, so long as I always drank Choice Organic Peppermint Tea.  It is years later and I still drink several cups of this amazing brand of mint tea every single day. I have had to make some adjustments to my diet, of course, to accommodate for the new diagnosis and if I don't have mint tea with what I'm eating (regardless of what it is) I will get diarrhea again but I haven't had to take ANY loperamide in years - nor would I!  This mint tea works better than ANY amount of Imodium EVER did.  And it doesn't add any chemicals or potentially dangerous medical ingredients to your system!  It saved my life.  I was able to gain back my weight so I could take my pain medications again, digest and absorb the nutrients in my food, keep my Interstim implant and not live in the bathroom and just in bed.  I can leave the house now and when I'm going to be out for a long time, I just bring some mint tea with me!

I hope that those of you who try this brand are like me and have ZERO pain (even with an empty stomach, even with drinking nothing else, even with no Prelief or other aid).  I don't want to tarnish another brand so I'm not mentioning which one was causing me pain, but if you haven't tried this and haven't had success with mint tea, I encourage you to try it and please report your results!  Living with IC + IBS can be difficult, but if I can figure it out, I promise you, so can you.

Sincerely,

Kat 😘

IC Friendly Organic Cereals

Hello fellow ICers!  Welcome to my blog!  If this is your first time here, make sure to take a look at all of my past posts for recipes and other tips and information at the side bar for helpful links! 😊

Before I started suffering from IC and became diagnosed (both in 2008), I was a HUGE cereal girl.  It wasn't just for breakfast and I used to have at least 6 different kinds constantly in my cupboard at university.  I was obsessed.  When I found out I could no longer eat ANY of my favourite cereals, I was devastated.  Anyhow, it has taken years and a lot of shopping and searching but I have found all of these cereals to be very IC friendly.  All of them are great with some fresh organic blueberries on top.  I only use lactose free milk and generally it's skim but sometimes I can get away with 1%.  Let me know what you think! 😊

Nature's Path Honey'd Corn Flakes

Ingredients:  Organic corn meal and/or Organic yellow corn flour, Organic granulated sugar cane juice, Organic honey, Sea salt.



>> For this cereal, I take 5-6 Prelief

Nature's Path Crispy Rice



















Ingredients:  Organic brown rice flour, Organic granulated sugar cane juice, Seat salt, Organic molasses

>> For this cereal, I take 5-7 Prelief

Nature's Path Rice Puffs

Ingredient:  Organic brown rice

>> For this cereal, I take 0-2 Prelief

Kashi Organic Promise Simply Maize

Ingredients:  Organic whole grain corn, Organic dried cane syrup, Salt, Organic molasses

>> For this cereal, I take 8-10 Prelief

PC Organics Crunchy Corn

Ingredients:  Organic cornmeal, Organic evaporated sugar cane juice, Sea salt

>> For this cereal, I take 5 Prelief



PC Organics Wheat Squares





















Ingredients:  Organic whole grain whole wheat flour, Organic brown sugar, Organic barley malt extract, Sea salt

>> For this cereal, I take 5-7 Prelief

365 Everyday Value Organic Frosted Flakes

Ingredients:  Organic milled corn, Organic cane sugar, Sea salt

>> For this cereal, I take 5-8 Prelief

365 Everyday Value Organic Bran Flakes

Ingredients:  Organic whole wheat, Organic wheat bran, Organic cane sugar, Organic barley malt extract, Sea salt

>> For this cereal, I take 6-8 Prelief

365 Everyday Value Organic Corn Flakes

Ingredients:  Organic milled corn, Organic cane sugar, Sea salt

>> I don't eat this version of corn flakes since I like the other one mentioned better (though I have tested it before successfully) but if I were to eat it, I would take 5 Prelief

Organic Oatmeal

Ingredient:  Organic whole grain rolled oats

>> For oatmeal I take 0-3 Prelief

If you decide to try any of these cereals for the first time please let me know how it goes in the comments below!  I hope that none of you have trouble with any of them - don't forget to take your Prelief!  And if you haven't tried Prelief yet, that should be the first thing on your list - trust me.

Happy testing everyone!  😊

The Low Oxalate Diet

When I was first diagnosed post-surgery in 2008, the first thing my surgeon suggested was going on a low oxalate diet.  This is also frequently recommended to patients who have a history of kidney stones. 

Finding a reliable source that had definitive information about the amount of oxalate in foods proved to be more difficult that I expected.  Thankfully, I found "TheLow Oxalate Cookbook, Book Two" by the VP Foundation.  This book contains reliable information on oxalate from years of scientific testing.  Please note that this is not an IC-friendly cookbook – just a low oxalate cookbook and I am not recommending trying any of the recipes contained in this book because of that. 

Oxalate is found in foods from plant sources and has been known to contribute to a number of genital, urinary, skin, rectal, muscle, bowel, and general body pain and irritation.  Specifically for those with IC, it can exacerbate urinary urgency, frequency, inner-bladder and urethral burning and pain, and vulvodynia.  From what I have found speaking to others with IC over the years (and from personal experience), a low oxalate diet is most effective at improving/curing vulvodynia. 

The Low Oxalate Cookbook, Book Two, recommends that one should try to limit consumption of oxalate from foods and beverages to ~40-60 mg/day.  Participants in the pain study they conducted reported that over time, they were able to gradually increase the amount of oxalate in their diet without pain.  I have found this to be true.  I stayed on a strictly low oxalate diet for approximately 1.5 years and then gradually increased the amount of oxalate in my daily diet over about a year. *

*During this time I was taking Elmiron 100 mg three times a day and also doing frequent Uracyst and lidocaine 1% bladder instillations, which both improve IC.

Although there are many similarities in an IC-friendly diet, so much varies from person to person, so I will provide a selective list of low, medium and high oxalate foods based on what I can eat (which will be highlighted) and some foods that other ICers I have talked to or read about have found okay.  Before going on a low oxalate diet, however, I implore you to do the Elimination Diet first.  It might be smart to test only the low oxalate foods at first.  I have done theElimination Diet about 4 times and have re-tested foods over the years – in some cases, I have been able to add foods into my diet that I found I couldn't eat when I tested them previously (obviously the medication I'm taking and the treatment I'm doing is helping).

When looking over the list – especially the highlighted foods that I can eat – please keep in mind that I take Prelief with everything I eat (the amount I take depends on the food) and I also take Lactaid Ultra when I have anything containing lactose. 

Everything highlighted with a * beside it means that I can only eat it if it's organic.  I'd say about 95% of my food has to be organic or it will cause inner bladder pain and I highly recommend switching to organic if you can.  It makes a huge difference – trust me, you will feel it.

	Low Oxalate	Medium Oxalate	High Oxalate
Beverages (1 cup)	Chamomile tea* Peppermint tea*
Fats & Oils (1 tablespoon)	Canola oil* Vegetable oil Olive oil
Fruits	Avocado* Lychee Honeydew melon* Pears* Yellow plums Mango (I can have either frozen or dried organic – never fresh) Watermelon Grapes (red and seedless green) Peaches Strawberries (fresh)	Banana Dates* Prunes	Blueberries* Figs
Grains and Grain Products	Barley* (cooked) Cornflakes* (try Nature's Path's Honey'd Corn Flakes) Matzo* Cornstarch (1 tbsp) Corn tortilla Malt powder Oat bran (1 tbsp) Pasta* (one ingredient: organic durum wheat semolina) Long grain rice White rice Wild rice Rye bread	Plain bagel English muffin White flour tortilla* Whole wheat bread (1 slice) Oatmeal (rolled oats) Tortilla chips Corn grits Brown rice flour (1/4 cup) Unbleached white flour * (1/4 cup) Couscous* Brown rice* Wheat germ* (1 tbsp)	Blueberry bagel Whole wheat tortilla Bran flakes Millet Popcorn* (4 cups) Pretzels Barley flour (1/4 cup) Rye flour (1/4 cup) Whole wheat flour Orzo* Wheat germ* (1/3 cup)
Herbs, Spices and Condiments	Almond extract (1 tbsp) Fresh basil (1 tbsp) Fresh chives (1 tbsp) Dill* (1 tsp – fresh) Mustard (1 tbsp) Peppermint leaves Rosemary leaves (1 tsp) Dried ground sage (1 tsp) Dried thyme (1 tsp) Vanilla extract (1 tbsp)	Dill* (1 tablespoon – fresh) Ground oregano (1 teaspoon) Rosemary leaves (1 tablespoon) Dried ground sage (1 tablespoon) Dried thyme (1 tablespoon) Mayonnaise	Anise (1 teaspoon) Ground oregano (1 tablespoon) Parsley flakes (1 tablespoon) Tahini (1 teaspoon)
Legumes, Nuts & Seeds	Coconut (fresh) Black-eyed peas Yellow split peas Green peas* Mustard (1 tbsp)	Red kidney beans Lima beans Lentils Green split peas*	Black beans Pinto beans Almonds Cashews Peanuts Peanut butter Sesame seeds (1 tsp)
Meats & Fish	Ground beef Roasted chicken* (meat only) Eggs Liver Turkey
Milk & Milk Products	Butter Cream cheese* (1 oz - organic) Skim milk (lactose-free) Low-fat milk Whole milk Goat's milk		Vanilla rice milk (1 cup) Carob rice milk (1 cup)
Other Foods	Baking powder* Baking soda Cream of tartar Gelatin (unflavoured) Salt Corn syrup Clover honey Maple syrup Brown sugar (1 tbsp) White sugar (1 tbsp)	Yeast	Carob chips Carob powder* Stevia powder
Vegetables	Asparagus* Green beans Bok choy Broccoli (boiled) Cucumbers* Iceberg lettuce* Romaine lettuce* Mushrooms* Red pepper* Alfalfa sprouts* Acorn squash Zucchini	Artichoke (1 medium) Broccoli (raw or steamed) Eggplant Green pepper	Canned olives Beets Celery* Green beans Potatoes* (I can only eat organic red potatoes) Potato chips* Spinach Sweet potato*

I hope this information will help you if you have decided to try going on a low oxalate diet, especially if you suffer from vulvodynia.  Please remember once again that this is not an "IC-friendly diet list" and that the exhaustive list can be found in the book.

If you do decide to try to go on a low oxalate diet to improve some of your symptoms, please let us know how it goes!  Good luck! J