Guest guest Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Just a quick thought, I had success treating a patient with insterstitial cystitis with Ganoderma/Reishi last year. Tina Alder. To: ukherbal group <ukherbal-list > Sent: Saturday, 21 January 2012, 21:49 Subject: interstitial cystitis Has anyone had any success treating this most distressing condition? I have a young woman coming back to see me next Friday. She works as a dental nurse. She originally consulted me in 1998 aged 22. She had been suffering from cystitis for two years. This followed a urine infection which had been treated with 4-5 courses of antibiotics. When she saw me she was having constant scalding urine and frequency. She described it as a 'twisting, uncomfortable feeling'. When the cystitis was severe there was low back pain. She had also been diagnosed with IBS and sometimes evacuated the classic 'rabbit droppings'. She described a 'bubbly' feeling in her stomach particularly at period times. She also had painful menstrual periods. Urine analysis showed up ++leucocytes Tongue had a midline crack. It was a pale, swollen with indentations of teeth marks along the sides. She felt tired a lot but sometimes had quite a lot of energy. She always felt cold particularly her feet. She came over as over sensitive and nervy; a worrier. She was very pale and appeared quite fragile. In the past she had suffered with severe migraines with visual disturbances triggered by eating cream, oranges etc. My treatment in 1998 was to give her Buchu tea and Filipendula Althea fol. 2.5ml tds ac In addition I gave her ol Cajaput, Juniper - to add 5 drops in her bath. I then also treated her for thrush with antifungal herbal mix. At her follow up consultation after one month urine analysis showed only a trace of leucocytes. The scalding urine had gone and the frequency had improved. Her period pain had also improved and she was feeling a lot more confident. However at the two subsequent follow ups her infection had returned. I then added Eupatorium purp., Hydrastis, Echinacea, Baptisia and ol cajuput 2 dr to the initial prescription and in addition gave her garlic tablets. The following month I gave her Piper meth., Zea, Agropyron and Althea fol. With this prescription she reported things returning almost to normal. She gave up drinking sugary drinks and chocolate and was drinking more water. However at subsequent monthly visits the infection returned despite adding uva ursi to her prescription. At my recommendation allergy tests were carried out in 1999 which showed sensitivity to milk, wheat, suet, peanuts, lubricating oil, malt and wine vinegar, lanolin, soap, simple soap, lux, dettol, E45 (lanolin) cream. She then avoided these and the cystitis improved. She continued with the Buchu tea which she felt was very helpful and I continued treating her intermittently until 2007. She sent me a card before Christmas to fill me in that after numerous tests nothing else was found to be amiss and they settled on a diagnosis of intestitial cystitis. She has been referred to the pain clinic and is at present taking Amitriptyline and Pregabalin at low doses these are given to calm the fiery nerve pain of the condition.She writes 'I suffer terribly and these are the only things that take the edge off. I have stopped them before but had to restart because the pain comes back tenfold.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 It sounds to me as if her immune system is oversensitve and needs to be harmonised. Give mushrooms. My immune mix always contains the following: Astragalus Turmeric Siberian ginseng Shitake mushrooms The rest of the Rx addresses the needs of the individual. When I see thrush and cystitis together, I am looking at a problem of cold stagnation in the pelvic area. Give yarrow to increase blood flow through the area. Sometimes rosemary is better. These conditions together lead me to ask about sexuality, libido, and trauma to the area (might be sexual abuse, might be falling and landing badly, between the legs, one lady had suffered dreadful misery and upset on a family bicycle holiday as a child. A woman I treated with similar Sx to yours reported significant improvement after attending a Tantric sex workshop weekend. The painful menstruation and rabbit pellet droppings support the notion of cold and stagnation in the pelvic area. Whatever else I give when treating cystitis, I always include cornsilk, and plenty of it. Gentle, nourishing, supportive. I prefer Althea rad. to fol. to keep things juicy and slippery. For interstitial anything, I give plantain and/or marigold, to heal the surfaces. Also, sounds as if her smooth musculature is tense and knotted. Give cramp bark. And where is the chamomile? Might think of also giving some liver support, now that she's on pharmaceuticals. Hope some of this is helpful Cristina Has anyone had any success treating this most distressing condition? I have a young woman coming back to see me next Friday. She works as a dental nurse. She originally consulted me in 1998 aged 22. She had been suffering from cystitis for two years. This followed a urine infection which had been treated with 4-5 courses of antibiotics. When she saw me she was having constant scalding urine and frequency. She described it as a 'twisting, uncomfortable feeling'. When the cystitis was severe there was low back pain. She had also been diagnosed with IBS and sometimes evacuated the classic 'rabbit droppings'. She described a 'bubbly' feeling in her stomach particularly at period times. She also had painful menstrual periods. Urine analysis showed up ++leucocytes Tongue had a midline crack. It was a pale, swollen with indentations of teeth marks along the sides. She felt tired a lot but sometimes had quite a lot of energy. She always felt cold particularly her feet. She came over as over sensitive and nervy; a worrier. She was very pale and appeared quite fragile. In the past she had suffered with severe migraines with visual disturbances triggered by eating cream, oranges etc. My treatment in 1998 was to give her Buchu tea and Filipendula Althea fol. 2.5ml tds ac In addition I gave her ol Cajaput, Juniper - to add 5 drops in her bath. I then also treated her for thrush with antifungal herbal mix. At her follow up consultation after one month urine analysis showed only a trace of leucocytes. The scalding urine had gone and the frequency had improved. Her period pain had also improved and she was feeling a lot more confident. However at the two subsequent follow ups her infection had returned. I then added Eupatorium purp., Hydrastis, Echinacea, Baptisia and ol cajuput 2 dr to the initial prescription and in addition gave her garlic tablets. The following month I gave her Piper meth., Zea, Agropyron and Althea fol. With this prescription she reported things returning almost to normal. She gave up drinking sugary drinks and chocolate and was drinking more water. However at subsequent monthly visits the infection returned despite adding uva ursi to her prescription. At my recommendation allergy tests were carried out in 1999 which showed sensitivity to milk, wheat, suet, peanuts, lubricating oil, malt and wine vinegar, lanolin, soap, simple soap, lux, dettol, E45 (lanolin) cream. She then avoided these and the cystitis improved. She continued with the Buchu tea which she felt was very helpful and I continued treating her intermittently until 2007. She sent me a card before Christmas to fill me in that after numerous tests nothing else was found to be amiss and they settled on a diagnosis of intestitial cystitis. She has been referred to the pain clinic and is at present taking Amitriptyline and Pregabalin at low doses these are given to calm the fiery nerve pain of the condition. She writes 'I suffer terribly and these are the only things that take the edge off. I have stopped them before but had to restart because the pain comes back tenfold.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 By the way, I know a Traveller who gets all the symptoms of interstitial cystitis so soon as he has to live indoors. When he's out of doors and on the Land he is completely asymptomatic. He says it's because when he's outside, he can pee as and when he chooses without having to make any kind of separation. He can just stop and step to the side. When he's indoors, he has to go to another room, close the door, flush, put the seat up, down again... He says it all feels terribly unnatural forced and makes it all a conscious process. I know this is a very idiosyncratic case, but it's interesting to me. It sounds to me as if her immune system is oversensitve and needs to be harmonised. Give mushrooms. My immune mix always contains the following: Astragalus Turmeric Siberian ginseng Shitake mushrooms The rest of the Rx addresses the needs of the individual. When I see thrush and cystitis together, I am looking at a problem of cold stagnation in the pelvic area. Give yarrow to increase blood flow through the area. Sometimes rosemary is better. These conditions together lead me to ask about sexuality, libido, and trauma to the area (might be sexual abuse, might be falling and landing badly, between the legs, one lady had suffered dreadful misery and upset on a family bicycle holiday as a child. A woman I treated with similar Sx to yours reported significant improvement after attending a Tantric sex workshop weekend. The painful menstruation and rabbit pellet droppings support the notion of cold and stagnation in the pelvic area. Whatever else I give when treating cystitis, I always include cornsilk, and plenty of it. Gentle, nourishing, supportive. I prefer Althea rad. to fol. to keep things juicy and slippery. For interstitial anything, I give plantain and/or marigold, to heal the surfaces. Also, sounds as if her smooth musculature is tense and knotted. Give cramp bark. And where is the chamomile? Might think of also giving some liver support, now that she's on pharmaceuticals. Hope some of this is helpful Cristina > > >Has anyone had any success treating this most distressing condition? > >I have a young woman coming back to see me next Friday. She works as >a dental nurse. She originally consulted me in 1998 aged 22. She had >been suffering from cystitis for two years. This followed a urine >infection which had been treated with 4-5 courses of antibiotics. >When she saw me she was having constant scalding urine and >frequency. She described it as a 'twisting, uncomfortable feeling'. > When the cystitis was severe there was low back pain. > >She had also been diagnosed with IBS and sometimes evacuated the >classic 'rabbit droppings'. She described a 'bubbly' feeling in her >stomach particularly at period times. > >She also had painful menstrual periods. > >Urine analysis showed up ++leucocytes > >Tongue had a midline crack. It was a pale, swollen with indentations >of teeth marks along the sides. > >She felt tired a lot but sometimes had quite a lot of energy. She >always felt cold particularly her feet. > > > >She came over as over sensitive and nervy; a worrier. She was very >pale and appeared quite fragile. > >In the past she had suffered with severe migraines with visual >disturbances triggered by eating cream, oranges etc. > >My treatment in 1998 was to give her Buchu tea and Filipendula >Althea fol. 2.5ml tds ac > >In addition I gave her ol Cajaput, Juniper - to add 5 drops in her bath. > >I then also treated her for thrush with antifungal herbal mix. > >At her follow up consultation after one month urine analysis showed >only a trace of leucocytes. The scalding urine had gone and the >frequency had improved. Her period pain had also improved and she >was feeling a lot more confident. However at the two subsequent >follow ups her infection had returned. I then added Eupatorium >purp., Hydrastis, Echinacea, Baptisia and ol cajuput 2 dr to the >initial prescription and in addition gave her garlic tablets. > >The following month I gave her Piper meth., Zea, Agropyron and >Althea fol. With this prescription she reported things returning >almost to normal. She gave up drinking sugary drinks and chocolate >and was drinking more water. > >However at subsequent monthly visits the infection returned despite >adding uva ursi to her prescription. > >At my recommendation allergy tests were carried out in 1999 which >showed sensitivity to milk, wheat, suet, peanuts, lubricating oil, >malt and wine vinegar, lanolin, soap, simple soap, lux, dettol, E45 >(lanolin) cream. She then avoided these and the cystitis improved. > >She continued with the Buchu tea which she felt was very helpful and >I continued treating her intermittently until 2007. > >She sent me a card before Christmas to fill me in that after >numerous tests nothing else was found to be amiss and they settled >on a diagnosis of intestitial cystitis. She has been referred to the >pain clinic and is at present taking Amitriptyline and Pregabalin at >low doses these are given to calm the fiery nerve pain of >the condition. > >She writes 'I suffer terribly and these are the only things that >take the edge off. I have stopped them before but had to restart >because the pain comes back tenfold.' > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi interstitial cystitis is considered to be an auto immune problem and bacterial infection is often not present although it may be a trigger at the start to instigate the chronic inflammatory changes. as with any AI condition look for food allergans - you mention senstivities to quite a number of things- but removing gluten can be a major help. restoring the immune sytem rather than necessarily stimulating so the mushrooms already mentioned would be good soothing and healing the bladder with things like plantain , marigold and gotu cola and I find st johns wort to be helpful in this condition not just for its anti inflammatory action but of course for its effect on the nervous system also a good probiotic and maybe zinc. regards ,annette ps and find out whats p.... her off !! Re: interstitial cystitis It sounds to me as if her immune system is oversensitve and needs to be harmonised. Give mushrooms. My immune mix always contains the following: Astragalus Turmeric Siberian ginseng Shitake mushrooms The rest of the Rx addresses the needs of the individual. When I see thrush and cystitis together, I am looking at a problem of cold stagnation in the pelvic area. Give yarrow to increase blood flow through the area. Sometimes rosemary is better. These conditions together lead me to ask about sexuality, libido, and trauma to the area (might be sexual abuse, might be falling and landing badly, between the legs, one lady had suffered dreadful misery and upset on a family bicycle holiday as a child. A woman I treated with similar Sx to yours reported significant improvement after attending a Tantric sex workshop weekend. The painful menstruation and rabbit pellet droppings support the notion of cold and stagnation in the pelvic area. Whatever else I give when treating cystitis, I always include cornsilk, and plenty of it. Gentle, nourishing, supportive. I prefer Althea rad. to fol. to keep things juicy and slippery. For interstitial anything, I give plantain and/or marigold, to heal the surfaces. Also, sounds as if her smooth musculature is tense and knotted. Give cramp bark. And where is the chamomile? Might think of also giving some liver support, now that she's on pharmaceuticals. Hope some of this is helpful Cristina Has anyone had any success treating this most distressing condition? I have a young woman coming back to see me next Friday. She works as a dental nurse. She originally consulted me in 1998 aged 22. She had been suffering from cystitis for two years. This followed a urine infection which had been treated with 4-5 courses of antibiotics. When she saw me she was having constant scalding urine and frequency. She described it as a 'twisting, uncomfortable feeling'. When the cystitis was severe there was low back pain. She had also been diagnosed with IBS and sometimes evacuated the classic 'rabbit droppings'. She described a 'bubbly' feeling in her stomach particularly at period times. She also had painful menstrual periods. Urine analysis showed up ++leucocytes Tongue had a midline crack. It was a pale, swollen with indentations of teeth marks along the sides. She felt tired a lot but sometimes had quite a lot of energy. She always felt cold particularly her feet. She came over as over sensitive and nervy; a worrier. She was very pale and appeared quite fragile. In the past she had suffered with severe migraines with visual disturbances triggered by eating cream, oranges etc. My treatment in 1998 was to give her Buchu tea and Filipendula Althea fol. 2.5ml tds ac In addition I gave her ol Cajaput, Juniper - to add 5 drops in her bath. I then also treated her for thrush with antifungal herbal mix. At her follow up consultation after one month urine analysis showed only a trace of leucocytes. The scalding urine had gone and the frequency had improved. Her period pain had also improved and she was feeling a lot more confident. However at the two subsequent follow ups her infection had returned. I then added Eupatorium purp., Hydrastis, Echinacea, Baptisia and ol cajuput 2 dr to the initial prescription and in addition gave her garlic tablets. The following month I gave her Piper meth., Zea, Agropyron and Althea fol. With this prescription she reported things returning almost to normal. She gave up drinking sugary drinks and chocolate and was drinking more water. However at subsequent monthly visits the infection returned despite adding uva ursi to her prescription. At my recommendation allergy tests were carried out in 1999 which showed sensitivity to milk, wheat, suet, peanuts, lubricating oil, malt and wine vinegar, lanolin, soap, simple soap, lux, dettol, E45 (lanolin) cream. She then avoided these and the cystitis improved. She continued with the Buchu tea which she felt was very helpful and I continued treating her intermittently until 2007. She sent me a card before Christmas to fill me in that after numerous tests nothing else was found to be amiss and they settled on a diagnosis of intestitial cystitis. She has been referred to the pain clinic and is at present taking Amitriptyline and Pregabalin at low doses these are given to calm the fiery nerve pain of the condition. She writes 'I suffer terribly and these are the only things that take the edge off. I have stopped them before but had to restart because the pain comes back tenfold.' No virus found in this message.Checked by AVG - www.avg.comVersion: 2012.0.1901 / Virus Database: 2109/4758 - Release Date: 01/21/12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi Anne,I have found a mix of Astragalus, Thyme and Althea rad very effective for interstitial cystitis, Crataeva also helps. Drinking lots of Althea leaf tea essential as well - 1 l per day.Good luck with this lady To: ukherbal group <ukherbal-list > Sent: Saturday, 21 January 2012, 21:49 Subject: interstitial cystitis Has anyone had any success treating this most distressing condition? I have a young woman coming back to see me next Friday. She works as a dental nurse. She originally consulted me in 1998 aged 22. She had been suffering from cystitis for two years. This followed a urine infection which had been treated with 4-5 courses of antibiotics. When she saw me she was having constant scalding urine and frequency. She described it as a 'twisting, uncomfortable feeling'. When the cystitis was severe there was low back pain. She had also been diagnosed with IBS and sometimes evacuated the classic 'rabbit droppings'. She described a 'bubbly' feeling in her stomach particularly at period times. She also had painful menstrual periods. Urine analysis showed up ++leucocytes Tongue had a midline crack. It was a pale, swollen with indentations of teeth marks along the sides. She felt tired a lot but sometimes had quite a lot of energy. She always felt cold particularly her feet. She came over as over sensitive and nervy; a worrier. She was very pale and appeared quite fragile. In the past she had suffered with severe migraines with visual disturbances triggered by eating cream, oranges etc. My treatment in 1998 was to give her Buchu tea and Filipendula Althea fol. 2.5ml tds ac In addition I gave her ol Cajaput, Juniper - to add 5 drops in her bath. I then also treated her for thrush with antifungal herbal mix. At her follow up consultation after one month urine analysis showed only a trace of leucocytes. The scalding urine had gone and the frequency had improved. Her period pain had also improved and she was feeling a lot more confident. However at the two subsequent follow ups her infection had returned. I then added Eupatorium purp., Hydrastis, Echinacea, Baptisia and ol cajuput 2 dr to the initial prescription and in addition gave her garlic tablets. The following month I gave her Piper meth., Zea, Agropyron and Althea fol. With this prescription she reported things returning almost to normal. She gave up drinking sugary drinks and chocolate and was drinking more water. However at subsequent monthly visits the infection returned despite adding uva ursi to her prescription. At my recommendation allergy tests were carried out in 1999 which showed sensitivity to milk, wheat, suet, peanuts, lubricating oil, malt and wine vinegar, lanolin, soap, simple soap, lux, dettol, E45 (lanolin) cream. She then avoided these and the cystitis improved. She continued with the Buchu tea which she felt was very helpful and I continued treating her intermittently until 2007. She sent me a card before Christmas to fill me in that after numerous tests nothing else was found to be amiss and they settled on a diagnosis of intestitial cystitis. She has been referred to the pain clinic and is at present taking Amitriptyline and Pregabalin at low doses these are given to calm the fiery nerve pain of the condition.She writes 'I suffer terribly and these are the only things that take the edge off. I have stopped them before but had to restart because the pain comes back tenfold.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 A close friend of mine who referred to the pain of peeing with IC as making her feel like sinking her teeth into the toilet bowl because it hurt so much - brought on by intercourse - has had no recurrence since being pregnant. Her first child is now 3.5 years and her second child 20 months old. > > Thank you so much Annette, Cristina and for your helpful replies. > > I had been thinking about giving her Calendula (one of my favourite herbs). Plantago makes sense and I'm a great fan of Ganoderma. > It's interesting looking back that when I gave her demulcents Althea/Zea and Piper meth. to relax the urinary system things had returned almost to normal. > > I looked up the two drugs my patient mentioned she needed to take for the intense pain, since she was concerned about herb/interaction. I reassured her that nothing I would give would interact with her present pain medication. Of course St. 's Wort had been listed as a no no to take with Amitriptyline stating that sedative herbs can enhance the drugs sedative action..... Also apparently Amitriptyline can deplete Vitamins B1, B2 and B6 as well as well as CoQ10 over a period of time, so I may need to replenish these with supplements. Terrible potential side effects are noted re. Amitriptyline like suicidal thoughts........ >  > I did quite a lot of research on line about intestitial cyctitis. There is a rather nice forum for sufferers which makes quite interesting reading > http://www.topix.com/forum/health/interstitial-cystitis/TTKTD34SDMIRR47QA > On it is a posting there from a herbalist (herself a sufferer). She writes, 'In Chinese medicine this syndrome is caused by " damp heat " > and is treated with cooling and drying herbs. Use Poria 5 combination.' (I looked this formula (Wu Ling San) up and it says, 'it moves water, dispels dampness, warms the Yang and promotes the flow of Qi'). > She also wrote, 'Western herbs, marshmallow root, horsetail, cranberry, cornsilk, gotu kola, flax > seed tea, raw blueberries, and other herbs. In your > diet, avoid spicy foods, chocolate, tea, fried foods. Eat cooling foods like > cucumbers, celery, dark leafy greens. If you are constipated, take a good herbal > laxative with fiber, as constipation aggravates this condition. MSM and > glucosamine, quercetin and a terrific Chinese combination called Golden Book are great for strengthening the bladder and > helping with urgency.' (this formula (jin > gui shen qi wan) warms and tonifies kidney yang.) I noticed 'Herbs in a Bottle' stock it as a concentrated powder. >  > Gotu kola was mentioned on the forum as a very powerful tissue healer which encourages epithelial > surfaces to regenerate themselves. It was suggested avoidance of acid-forming foods and drinks which will aggravate the > problem, particularly alcohol, coffee, oranges and orange juice, grapefruit, strawberries, rhubarb, shellfish, or pork. Aparently cranberries and > cranberry juice is good for the bacterial form of cystitis but not IC. Drugs should be avoided, prescription or otherwise, and any kind of artificial sweetners. Aspartame in particular is suspect. This is o.k. in theory but impractical at the moment for my lady who cannot function without the pain killers. > Recommended are lots of alkaline-forming foods/drinks, lemons being the most-alkaline forming Start > the day with hot water and lemon juice. (all obvious stuff for us). > Someone mentioned they found Solidago good, presumably because it's anti-inflammatory. > > Well again, thank you for the very helpful suggestions. I do hope I can sort out this young woman. She has a very supportive husband but her condition must put a big strain on their marriage since sex is so painful. She wrote that she cannot even consider starting a family whilst suffering so much pain. > > Anne > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi Anne I am treating a patient with IC and have searched for information, coming up with similar answers as you have done. Oxylates and salicylates also came up as possible aggravators and my patient was already aware of citrus worsening things for her. Castor oils packs were also mentioned. I would always think of heat with any chronic inflammation / autoimmune conditions and have used herbs to cool things down. She hasn't responded well to tinctures so am now avoiding them. She is currently taking: Fish oil 2gQuercetin 500mg b.dAloe vera juice 15mlsHerb infusion of comfrey, chamomile and tiliabarley water (she's a bit sporadic with this) Food sensitivity tests showed dairy sensitivity, also positive for yeasts and sugars. She is aware that stress worsens, and also wearing tights (perhaps because they are constricting and heating?) Anyway, she is doing well after 4 months of treatment. She has a history of uterine ca which needed radical surgery and chemo in 2010, (all scans now clear), but she says the IC had reduced her quality of life far more in terms of stress and pain. Helen To: ukherbal group <ukherbal-list > Sent: Saturday, 21 January 2012, 21:49 Subject: interstitial cystitis Has anyone had any success treating this most distressing condition? I have a young woman coming back to see me next Friday. She works as a dental nurse. She originally consulted me in 1998 aged 22. She had been suffering from cystitis for two years. This followed a urine infection which had been treated with 4-5 courses of antibiotics. When she saw me she was having constant scalding urine and frequency. She described it as a 'twisting, uncomfortable feeling'. When the cystitis was severe there was low back pain. She had also been diagnosed with IBS and sometimes evacuated the classic 'rabbit droppings'. She described a 'bubbly' feeling in her stomach particularly at period times. She also had painful menstrual periods. Urine analysis showed up ++leucocytes Tongue had a midline crack. It was a pale, swollen with indentations of teeth marks along the sides. She felt tired a lot but sometimes had quite a lot of energy. She always felt cold particularly her feet. She came over as over sensitive and nervy; a worrier. She was very pale and appeared quite fragile. In the past she had suffered with severe migraines with visual disturbances triggered by eating cream, oranges etc. My treatment in 1998 was to give her Buchu tea and Filipendula Althea fol. 2.5ml tds ac In addition I gave her ol Cajaput, Juniper - to add 5 drops in her bath. I then also treated her for thrush with antifungal herbal mix. At her follow up consultation after one month urine analysis showed only a trace of leucocytes. The scalding urine had gone and the frequency had improved. Her period pain had also improved and she was feeling a lot more confident. However at the two subsequent follow ups her infection had returned. I then added Eupatorium purp., Hydrastis, Echinacea, Baptisia and ol cajuput 2 dr to the initial prescription and in addition gave her garlic tablets. The following month I gave her Piper meth., Zea, Agropyron and Althea fol. With this prescription she reported things returning almost to normal. She gave up drinking sugary drinks and chocolate and was drinking more water. However at subsequent monthly visits the infection returned despite adding uva ursi to her prescription. At my recommendation allergy tests were carried out in 1999 which showed sensitivity to milk, wheat, suet, peanuts, lubricating oil, malt and wine vinegar, lanolin, soap, simple soap, lux, dettol, E45 (lanolin) cream. She then avoided these and the cystitis improved. She continued with the Buchu tea which she felt was very helpful and I continued treating her intermittently until 2007. She sent me a card before Christmas to fill me in that after numerous tests nothing else was found to be amiss and they settled on a diagnosis of intestitial cystitis. She has been referred to the pain clinic and is at present taking Amitriptyline and Pregabalin at low doses these are given to calm the fiery nerve pain of the condition.She writes 'I suffer terribly and these are the only things that take the edge off. I have stopped them before but had to restart because the pain comes back tenfold.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 I have read that DMSO is very good in the treatment of IC, I personally have not used it for this, but is is well documented. I use it as a rub for artritic conditionsHope this helps To: ukherbal-list From: lucyblunden@...Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:41:46 +0000Subject: Re: interstitial cystitis A close friend of mine who referred to the pain of peeing with IC as making her feel like sinking her teeth into the toilet bowl because it hurt so much - brought on by intercourse - has had no recurrence since being pregnant. Her first child is now 3.5 years and her second child 20 months old. > > Thank you so much Annette, Cristina and for your helpful replies. > > I had been thinking about giving her Calendula (one of my favourite herbs). Plantago makes sense and I'm a great fan of Ganoderma. > It's interesting looking back that when I gave her demulcents Althea/Zea and Piper meth. to relax the urinary system things had returned almost to normal. > > I looked up the two drugs my patient mentioned she needed to take for the intense pain, since she was concerned about herb/interaction. I reassured her that nothing I would give would interact with her present pain medication. Of course St. 's Wort had been listed as a no no to take with Amitriptyline stating that sedative herbs can enhance the drugs sedative action..... Also apparently Amitriptyline can deplete Vitamins B1, B2 and B6 as well as well as CoQ10 over a period of time, so I may need to replenish these with supplements. Terrible potential side effects are noted re. Amitriptyline like suicidal thoughts........ > > I did quite a lot of research on line about intestitial cyctitis. There is a rather nice forum for sufferers which makes quite interesting reading > http://www.topix.com/forum/health/interstitial-cystitis/TTKTD34SDMIRR47QA > On it is a posting there from a herbalist (herself a sufferer). She writes, 'In Chinese medicine this syndrome is caused by "damp heat" > and is treated with cooling and drying herbs. Use Poria 5 combination.' (I looked this formula (Wu Ling San) up and it says, 'it moves water, dispels dampness, warms the Yang and promotes the flow of Qi'). > She also wrote, 'Western herbs, marshmallow root, horsetail, cranberry, cornsilk, gotu kola, flax > seed tea, raw blueberries, and other herbs. In your > diet, avoid spicy foods, chocolate, tea, fried foods. Eat cooling foods like > cucumbers, celery, dark leafy greens. If you are constipated, take a good herbal > laxative with fiber, as constipation aggravates this condition. MSM and > glucosamine, quercetin and a terrific Chinese combination called Golden Book are great for strengthening the bladder and > helping with urgency.' (this formula (jin > gui shen qi wan) warms and tonifies kidney yang.) I noticed 'Herbs in a Bottle' stock it as a concentrated powder. > > Gotu kola was mentioned on the forum as a very powerful tissue healer which encourages epithelial > surfaces to regenerate themselves. It was suggested avoidance of acid-forming foods and drinks which will aggravate the > problem, particularly alcohol, coffee, oranges and orange juice, grapefruit, strawberries, rhubarb, shellfish, or pork. Aparently cranberries and > cranberry juice is good for the bacterial form of cystitis but not IC. Drugs should be avoided, prescription or otherwise, and any kind of artificial sweetners. Aspartame in particular is suspect. This is o.k. in theory but impractical at the moment for my lady who cannot function without the pain killers. > Recommended are lots of alkaline-forming foods/drinks, lemons being the most-alkaline forming Start > the day with hot water and lemon juice. (all obvious stuff for us). > Someone mentioned they found Solidago good, presumably because it's anti-inflammatory. > > Well again, thank you for the very helpful suggestions. I do hope I can sort out this young woman. She has a very supportive husband but her condition must put a big strain on their marriage since sex is so painful. She wrote that she cannot even consider starting a family whilst suffering so much pain. > > Anne > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Dear Anne, I had a patient who came to me with SLE, as a result of her condition she suffered from IC too. She was heavily dependent on A/B treatment when she first came to me needing them almost every month. We managed to make great headway and I saw her for over two years. She then stopped coming and I wondered how she was faring, as she had also gone through a divorce and I thought the cost of treatment may have been the issue. I saw her a little while later and asked her how she was doing. She said she had discovered a product called Waterfall D-mannose which had transformed her condition. By using it regularly she had been able to improve the condition of her UT and was much less prone to infection. I know how distressing and debilitating this condition can be so thought I would pass it on. Regards Caroline Drew Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Poor woman. That sounds barbaric. I do hope you can find a way through for her. Thanks for the update, Anne. > > >Thank you so much everyone for you imput. It has been quite brilliant. > >Prior to her appointment this Friday I emailed my patient and asked >whether she knew if she had Hunner's ulcers on the inside of her >bladder and explained 5-10% of IC sufferers have these and that they >are diagnosed via a cystoscopy with hydrodistention; a procedure >performed under general anasthetic. > >Her reply follows: >'I had a cytoscopy in January. There was no mention of Hunner's >ulcers but the consultant did say my bladder was bleeding from >absolutely everywhere. I had to stay in hospital overnight because >they put a catheter in. They said when it started to look clear >instead of blood coming away I could go home. It took till the next >day before they would let me go because it still wasn't completely >clear. When I got home I was passing clots of blood from my bladder. >My bladder burns me alot and i do think i react to foods. I do drink >tea(decaf) but none of the other items you listed. For some reason I >can't tolerate certain herbal teas anymore. For instance raspberry >leaf tea, Echinacea tea and green tea have all given me a migraine. >It was about 2 years ago when things got worse for me and I blamed >the candida at the time. I don't know whether it was down to >antibiotics or medication but i had episodes of really severe >burning down below like someone had poured acid down there. I went >to the doctors at the time and they said i had a bladder infection >but after taking the antiobiotics the symptoms remained the same, >even though they said the bladder infection was gone. It seemed as >though the burning was in the vagina rather than the bladder. That >was the moment i went to a clinic and got the candida diagnosed as >candida glabrata. This has been treated successfully with pessaries >that had to be made up specially. >I did hope that when this was treated and I had a polyp removed that >symptoms would all disappear. Although they are not as severe as >they were back then my bladder still causes me loads of pain. >I was also told there may be some element of >vulvodynia/vestibulitis. When things are bad its hard to tell >exactly where the pain comes from because it just all feels like >fiery nerves. > >I'd give anything to be normal.' > >I sent her another email mentioning DMSO and giving her a link to >check it out. > >Her reply follows: >'About 10 years ago when i was first diagnosed I had weekly instills >in my bladder for 6 weeks. The treatment was called Rimso 50. I >don't know if this is similar to DMSO but at the time I had it done, >when I sat next to Mark he said I smelt funny. I notice what it said >about side effects on the DMSO causing a body odour. The instill was >put in an empty bladder and i had to hold it as long as possible. It >was unbearably painful. It may have given relief in the long term. >I was offered some weekly instills when i had the last cytoscopy >done, which could well be DMSO. I declined the offer at the time. I >should be getting another referal back to the urologists in the near >future. My doctor said she would write a letter because things have >been so bad. I am thinking he may suggest the instills again as he >may have exhausted other options.' > >I trust my herbal treatment will abort such an approach which I >suspect will just perpetuate the whole scenario for her. >Again many thanks for wonderful imput. >How brilliant is this forum!!!!! > >Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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