interstitial cystitis

[Guest guest]

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.'