A few years back I read a great book by Jim Lynch called The Highest Tide. It was about a young boy who was fascinated by the sea life in the bays around his Pacific Northwest home and spent early mornings in his boat roaming the shallow waters. Then he began to notice that the sea life was changing, new things appeared he had not seen before and did not seem to belong. His observations caught the attention of the local press and he was asked by a reporter, “What do you think Mother Nature is trying to tell us?”
He answered, “PAY ATTENTION!”
I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis nearly two decades ago and my condition has been well managed for years, but recently I had a flare of symptoms, primarily pelvic pain that went on for weeks and weeks. I thought, what is my body trying to tell me? I reviewed recent activity and stress levels, and had to acknowledge I was way over the top in both areas. We sold our house, moved, downsized and I packed and lifted boxes for weeks and weeks. That hard work was now past, but I was still in a flare.
I reviewed the list of foods to avoid for IC patients and saw that many new ones had been added since I last checked. Had I made any dietary changes in recent months that might contribute to this persistent pain? Imagine my dismay when I realized the culprit could be that lovely little shot of Tequila with a squeeze of lime I’d been enjoying in the evenings recently. I cut it out, a few weeks later, flare resolved. Darn, I hate when that happens, when the good news is bad news.
The second bit of compensating good news is that my body was trying to tell me something, and when it got loud enough to get me to PAY ATTENTION, the answer emerged. A good lesson—re-learned.
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