Why I’m writing

I never thought I’d be one to start a blog. Really, it’s all because of pants that I am. My interstitial cystitis (IC) makes it hard to wear pants that sit low or tight, and I had a bit of a crisis recently when I realized that the only way I could be comfortable was to wear basketball shorts or leggings. I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt sloppy all the time.

I tried my best to find answers on the internet, but the best info (a Reddit post) was old enough that the links were already broken. Plus, I’m a college student. I don’t have money for $100 pants. Nor should I need to in order to be comfortable. (Long story short, I found some amazingly comfortable pants thanks to a tip from The Mighty. More about comfortable pants for IC or hip pain here.)

As I tried to get to sleep that night, though, I realized something: I can’t be the only person facing issues like the ones I face, so why is it so hard to find answers? Reddit is a useful place, but it’s not always the most updated or dynamic. My pharmacy encouraged me to join MyHealthTeams, but I haven’t found any real engagement there. It also only has groups for conditions that they specify, so, of course, no IC.

Pants aren’t the only thing I’ve tried to Google to no avail, only the most recent. A lot of strategies for living better I’ve just had to pick up through a lot of trial and error (and sometimes, money spent). A lot of times, too, the only place I’ve found answers to my random, condition-related questions are on other people’s blogs, because medical sites don’t deal with the small stuff. My hope with this blog is that this can be the page that answers tough questions when someone needs advice about traveling with Humira or wearing tight sports bras or testing sugar content of drinks with glucometers.

I have ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and interstitial cystitis (IC), so most of my tips will be related to those diseases. My partner has type 1 diabetes and scoliosis, though, so content related to those might come up occasionally. My background is in biomedical engineering, so I also hope to be able to provide some light scientific information with my posts, for those who are interested (all in plain English, and fully optional).

Let the writing begin!

-Bri

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