Pain free for 5 1/2 months

[holisticgal]

I was diagnosed with IC in May 2007. With the use of colon hydrotherapy, massage, acupuncture, supplements, and a detox diet I am glad to be off the horrible medications and pain free. Treating IC can be done holistically and I did the research and found the help out there. My doctors are pleased and it is nice to have a life again.

[leelee88]

I am glad you found relief.

[bunnykinb]

I am so jealous of you. I hope your painfree life continues!!

[holisticgal]

I was frustrated and I went to my health food store and found alternatives. I use many holistic methods and the 2 books that helped me the most were Interstitial Cystitis a Guide to Natural Healing and The Body Ecology Diet. Sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands.

[holisticgal]

I am glad also and believe me it was rough. I was lucky to have a doctor open to holistic and found other practitioners along the way. When nothing works you need to go further on your own. I was miserable on the meds and the more I researched the more I found out that your body needs to be detoxified. They say IC is a mystery disease- it isn't. It is your body crying out for help because of all the crap in our food and environment.

Anyone can find the same info I did. it takes some time and energy and talk to people.

[sweetangel2080]

congrats!
how did u do it?? I'm trying acupuncture as well
Interestingly, I was on a lot of meds, most of which didn't work and had constant urge and couldnt go anywhere without masses of pyridium, tramadol, heat patches
So came off a lot of it for 3 months and felt a lot better although back on enablex and elmiron for urgency and now urethral pain...
not better better but not severe IC now!!

[Dean76]

Holisticgal,

That is very very awesome!!!!! Will you share with us in detail some of the things you were doing with supplements, diet, etc. I am very interested.

[ICNDonna]

I will ask that you not post web sales sites here.

Donna

[holisticgal]

Sweetangel2080

Acupuncture takes time, I have been going for 4 years prior to IC. I did a detox diet along with colonics and supplements. There are some good books out there on IC. Also believe it or not some bottled waters are acidic. Poland Spring is one, take some ph strips ($15.95 at the health food store) and test your waters.

[holisticgal]

These are the supplements that I use on a daily basis:

Alfalfa- keeps body alkaline-IC
Folic Acid
Fiber Smart-
Sensitive Colon- Probiotic-IBS
Active Digestive Enzyme- for digestion and candida
Alka-Balance- keeps body alkaline- IC
Vitamin B12
ThreeLac- Candida- very potent mixture of probiotics also good for IBS and IC
Oxygen Elements- keeps body oxygenated

Diet:

No sugar- stevia
Herbal teas
pastas- once week
Potatoes- 2-3 times a week- red potatoes are good for IC
meat- as much as you like
Snacks: air popped popcorn- organic potato chips- organic snacks with low amount of sugar- triscuits, raw cashews
No soda
Cut out all processed, pre-packaged foods
Vegetables- as much as you like
Dairy- organic or raw dairy (yes, you can buy raw dairy in some states)
Breads- make your own- I was amazed at the sugar in bread
Lots of water- I tested all of my bottled water and there are many out there that are acidic

As an FYI, I also saw a holistic nurse practitioner in Hackettstown NJ and she went over what I was doing and ran a number of tests. She changed one thing out of what I was doing and that was adding the vitamin B12. I spent 2 months researching supplements. Colonics and massage help a lot.

[SandyRN]

Just a reminder to make sure you CLEAR everything you are taking with a real doctor, an MD. I know this is contradictory to the holistic way of thinking but there ARE doctors out there that treat both Eastern and Western meds, as well as accupuncture, etc. My pain mgmt doc offers many alternative treatments as well as pain medications, injections of lidocaine/steroids, traditional and holistic PT and others.

Its just safer to find out if what you are taking is safe for your body and if you find a way that works for you I think that's wonderful. It's just not the answer to everyone's problems. I sure wish it was because it would have saved me a lot of agony and wasted time. I tried several herbs and they didn't help me...diet helps my far more than any herb or oil, or potion. But, thats just me.

I think, and this is MY opinion, that it's best to work with several doctors who ALL communicate when you're taking multiple products/rx's, etc just to make certain there are no interactions. You can even have interactions from mixing herbs, vitamins, etc. Plus, the more doctors communicate about our care the better off we are all the way around. Not to mention these herbal meds are not regulated at all. I'm leery of a business that has no rules, mandates, or protocols that they have to follow to be approved by the FDA.....the clinical trials, etc. I'd rather take a drug that is tested and shown what side effects and drug to drug interactions there are.

That being said, I am TRULY happy that you found what works for you!

[ICNDonna]

I do see one thing that I would have to consider a problem and that is raw milk. If you wish, you can purify it at home, but it's fairly involved with checking temperatures, heating it slowly, etc. There's just too much chance of contamination with raw milk.

Donna

[holisticgal]

I have an IC doctor, a holistic nurse practitioner, a certified colon hydrotherapist, a nutritionist, all who work together and know what I did and are pleased. Sorry, I do not trust the FDA and the drugs did not work for me

[SandyRN]

I have an IC doctor, a holistic nurse practitioner, a certified colon hydrotherapist, a nutritionist, all who work together and know what I did and are pleased. Sorry, I do not trust the FDA and the drugs did not work for me

To each his own. I'm glad you found something that worked for you but whether it's a RX or an herb we all have to be careful what we take, and it doesn't matter who makes it, sells it, or profits from it....

What does a certified colon hydrotherapist do? If it's a colonic you have to be careful not to screw up your electrolytes. Just curious. I'm really NOT knocking what has worked for you at all. I've just had some bad reactions from mixing meds and herbs before. Now all I'll take is Melatonin and even that is sold at **100** times the recommended dosage in most drug stores. It's really hard to cut a pill to 1/100th of what it starts with.

I think it's great that you have a group of healthcare providers that you trust and that take good care of you.

[karen10]

Holisticgal - thanks for sharing all that! Although I was a big skeptic of anything holistic, desperation and then success made me a believer! Twice within the last decade, I had two different occasions when I had some apparently unrelated and very troubling health problems. I tried several doctors and although they honestly tried, they couldn't resolve the problems. I finally became desperate and a friend who knew of a holistic doctor referred me to him. He got a four page history (including diet) and we looked at several options, some of which I tried and others I didn't feel comfortable with. It changed my life, and both times my symptoms eventually went away. For me, one of the biggest helps has been diet and nutritional supplements, sugar is a BIG problem for me! I'm so thankful there are a variety of options because I also have bad reactions to meds.

I'm part of the medical community and I support both traditional and alternative meds. I have a friend who treats people with natural supplements, and she told me that traditionally med schools only teach about pathology, not health and wellness. At first I didn't believe that, but it made sense when I learned that they study the disease process and how to recognize it and fix it, not necessarily prevention. I just read an article on a woman's healthcare website that said the trend is changing and many, many med schools are now teaching integrative health--combining traditional meds with alternative. I also read some stats that over 50% of doctors are now recommending alternative treatments! So, that's great news for us!! The reality is we often only get one side from a doctor's point of view, and that's often influenced by the pharmaceutical companies -- I work in mental health and have talked to many reps! They often fund much of the research too. Personally I really want to know all my options!!

With that all being said, in my opinion I would still say always consult with your doctor before mixing any type of "med." Mine is very supportive of my choices and any questions that I have! :smile tee

[Claredale]

We have several college kids are our church that are going into nursing. I know of 3 of them that are focusing on the holistic side. I was talking to a couple of them last Sunday and they said that so many doctors are going both routes now and it has definitely caught their interest.

I am also in agreement with Sandy. I tried several herbal treatments as well and didn't have any good results with my symptoms of IC, but I definitely know that herbal supplements helped me with my hairloss due to Elmiron much better than any prescription I took. I talked to my doctor and pharmacist each time I wanted to try something just to make sure it wouldn't mess with my prescription meds.

[ICNDonna]

The important thing to remember here is that herbal remedies are medications --- and should be supervised by a medical professional. And taking herbs and supplements along with other (prescription or OTC) medications can be dangerous.

I know of at least two instances where someone was hospitalized after combining meds with herbs --- one was the mother of a friend who had stroke symptoms after ingesting licorice supplement tablets, which stripped her body of potassium. The other was my husband's aunt, who ended up in intensive care after taking a supplement containing digitalis --- along with her prescription for the same thing. She just assumed that since it was natural it was safe.

I have no problem with supplements or herbal remedies, but stress that they, like any other medication, need to be supervised by a trained medical professional.

Donna

[karen10]

I just found a great article on Oprah's website about integrative medicine! It's under the health section. It's so encouraging to me, because although I'm thankful for natural supplements and they have helped me so much, I'm still leery of trying something on my own. I feel much more comfortable being able to talk to my doctor about it. But integrative medicine isn't only about "meds," but it also takes into consideration things such as diet, exercise, massage, PT, etc. Experts who work with chronic conditions have discovered that it's important to look at the whole person. Since IC is so complex, and there are so many different variables, multiple conditions, different responses, we need to realize there are many pieces to the puzzle. I continue to be so hopeful about this illness because there are so many things to try! :woohoo:

[Library_Girl]

holisticgal

I have been considering a detox for some time and wondered if you might be willing to share some specifics. Did you use a "kit" or a diet? If you would prefer, you can reach me by Yahoo! email at thelibraryforme. (I'm a librarian, by the way, just in case any of you all were wondering about of the library usernames.)

Thanks,
Monique

[mbhbarb]

Karen, I am happy to hear about integrative medicine. I have not run into any practitioners in my search for the ideal doctor but will continue to look. I totally agree with the idea of:

"Experts who work with chronic conditions have discovered that it's important to look at the whole person. Since IC is so complex, and there are so many different variables, multiple conditions, different responses, we need to realize there are many pieces to the puzzle."

That is what I look for but have not found. For the last two years I have been sent to one specialist after another. Each had their own opinion, none talked with the others or to any central doctor, and I became very confused and disenchanted. The medical doctors I've seen are various degrees of skeptical to outright indignant about the value of alternative therapies, including supplements. That forced me to make a choice. So, at this time I take no prescription medications. I still see my doctors, and I respect their expertise, but I also see a naturopath, dietitian, massage therapist, and chiropractor to manage my IC and related medical issues.

barb

[Dorothyo4]

I came across your post and became interested in what you were saying. When you said you see a doctor in Hackettstown NJ, I was excited because I live in Phillipsburg which is about 40 minutes away from there. I would love to know the names of your doctors and everyone that has helped you. As of now I am seeing an IC doctor in Bethlehem PA, but everything we have tried has not worked. I have begun to feel that all of the medicines I am on and the treatments I am getting are making me worse. I would appreciate so much any help or information you could give me!

...You could also email me at dotosifchin@yahoo.com...Thanks!

[sue041]

I thought about the detox way, but was not sure if they would work with the meds I am taking, so like Donna said once I find out which ones you used, I will ask my pain doctor if they would interfer with any of the medication I am taking now. I have a internal pain pump and on the Fentynal Patches also.
It is always good to hear when someone was helped by something we did not try yet. I am very interested in all the groups of herbs you combined in order to get rid of the pain.
Thanks again for posting.
Sue041

[Linda Harringto]

If you don't mind me asking, what herbal treatment helped with you hairloss from taking Elmiron? Thanks so much...........

[malone]

Holisticgirl,
Hi! I am so glad to hear of your success! I have been doing pretty well lately but I have been reading about the detox thing. Sugar is a big problem for me and I am going to do all I can to stop it but I was wondering if you would email me some of the info you have on the detox you did. I am so afraid the wrong one could do more harm than good! I would really appreciate hearing from you and again I am so glad you ae feeling better. Thanks- Malone

[Anjita]

also for me i would be very interested in the detox. if you can PM me whenever you find the time that would be great.

thank you and i am very very happy for you that you are doing soo good!!:hi:

[mimimama]

just wanted to throw in another word of caution here. i did a detox from the health food store and it made me VERY sick. i told my GP about it and he said absolutely NOT. He explained that he has hospitalized 100's of patients who've tried these quick fixes. Please do not attempt this on your own. It is very important to run it by your doctor. Bring in the products you are planning to use and let them look it over FIRST.

Also, these herbs take quite a toll on your Gallbladder and Kidneys so PLEASE use extreme caution..I know how bad many of you feel already, just don't want you to worsen your condition.

I found it best to detox thru my diet. You can google Yeast Elimination and will find some great recommendations. Please use caution with these quick fixes.:pray:

[LaurenEngland]

I do see one thing that I would have to consider a problem and that is raw milk. If you wish, you can purify it at home, but it's fairly involved with checking temperatures, heating it slowly, etc. There's just too much chance of contamination with raw milk.

Donna


can Ic sufferers not drink normal milk Donna? I have it quite regularly : ( x

[ICNDonna]

Lauren: The milk purchased in stores, etc., is homogenized (I think I spelled that right) or pasteurized, which means it has been heated in a controlled setting to purify the milk. Raw milk is milk as it comes from the cow and has not been purified and can contain contaminates. Before these methods were introduced to the public there were may illnesses traced to milk.

The milk you are buying should be safe.

Donna

[lisabar36]

I have tried some herbal remedies for IC years ago, and they made me really sick and made my symptoms worse. I wouldn't reccomend any herbal remedies without consulting a doctor. I was recently going to purchase an herb for nausea, and I found out by research and talking to the pharmacist, I could not take that Herb because I am on Elmiron. If I didn't research that, I could have done some damage.