The big worry for me on this trip is Interstitial Cystitis, a painful bladder condition, now thought to be an auto-immune disease. The trouble comes when I eat or drink the wrong thing (mostly acidic things like citrus or tea) but also when I travel. It's something to do with bumps in the road, apparently. Either way, it's highly unpleasant, and we're going to be traveling a whole lot. I've never been on a train, so I have no idea how bumpy it will be. Yikes.
I was given a month's supply of the standard medication I take to treat this condition, but the doctor thought maybe we should try something else in addition. Something more short-term just for traveling. So I get to try this stuff that makes me pee... orange. How exciting. We'll see if it does anything; I'm testing it out by taking it and then eating something abrasive, like strawberries. I think next I'll try green tea. I miss it and this is an excellent excuse to have some.
On making this post: part of me thinks "talking about pee is TMI". The other part of me thinks having an invisible disability is really frustrating and spreading awareness of it is a good thing. It's also a pretty big obstacle for me and although I'm hoping it won't be as much trouble as I think it will, it could cause some troubles on this trip.
That's a bummer about the pee stuff. Tea and citrus are two of the best things about daily food here. Sudachi, a small super sour green fruit, is lovely on udon noodles or in a beer.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, however, from personal experience, Japan has wonderful over-the-counter meds for stomach aches and stuff like that.