IC and Decision Fatigue: 7 Ways to Reduce It

In the past we have likened the mindbody to an energy battery that can become drained in many different ways  One of the more common ways is chronic disease such as the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, fibromyalgia)  When there is constant daily discomfort for long periods of time there will be a high chance that an energy drain can occur

In the world of psychology this can lead to more often than not decision fatigue  This is a situation where after several decisions “pile up”, say while grocery shopping, that by the time we’re done we are mentally fatigued  That’s why the candy bars are at the checkout stand because with decision fatigue impulse buying happens to increase(unless a high will power quotient is present)

But add on the energy depletion from chronic disease and you’re more likely to start in the hole even before you get started with the shopping in the first place

So protecting your energy when you have the IC bladder pain syndrome is an important thing to look at

7 Ways to Protect Your Energy

Establish a daily routine  In the energy science a daily ritual in which foundational “to do’s” are always done such as brushing your teeth  These foundational activities require no decision making and allow you to put yourself on “auto pilot” but at the same time they provide a structure that you can always rely on

So going to bed by 10 to 11p each night is a great start to be able to get up preferably at sunrise or by 6-7a each day  This early morning rising then establishes a time when the bathroom ritual done and do some form of centering work(contemplation, meditation) Then you can get in a hour of exercise of your choosing…pranayama, asana practice, walking etc  Typically the choices are based on your energy constitutional makeup

Having regular mealtimes with the biggest meal at noon is essential to maintaining good health  rinking room temperature fluids(ice is not nice!), using spice mixtures(churans at foodsheal.com), simply paying attention to what you’re doing when eating(few meals a week in silence), or not eating when busy helps replenish your body’s energy

Reduce mental turbulence Perhaps a surprise to some is that the mind is the biggest drain of them all! Often the mind is running in the background even though you think it’s quiet This incessant turbulence shows up as fear, anxiety, depression, worry, and of course fatigue because the body gets beat up with this kind of mental activity Solution? Spend 5-10 minutes twice a day(morning and evening) closing your eyes and watching the breath

Remove nutritional stressors There are foods that drain the body’s energy such as refined sugar, coffee, chocolate(what the heck?) carbonated drinks

Improve food choices Foods that bring about balance for you according to the nutritional formats at foodsheal.com after you take the mindbody questionnaire will help you sort this out

Using proper food combining stops the depletion of energy expended due to difficult to digest food combinations

Avoid snacking Eating before you have digested the last food that you’ve ingested requires the mindbody to use more energy so this habit is depleting At least 4 to 6 hours between meals or better yet wait until your hungry since appetite is the best gauge of the body’s readiness for food

Toxicity If you have poor digestion, chances toxic formation will occur leading to the qualities in the bladder being held there and unable to be released But this toxicity is everywhere and it reduces the mindbody’s efficiency in functioning The mindbody can no longer function with “ease” but now functions with “dis-ease”

By implementing these suggestions you can begin to reduce decision fatigue and free up energy that gets wasted  Good luck!! DB

Toxicity and IC

The toxicity that we talk about in the environment is no different than the toxicity we create for ourselves The good news is that you can do something about it

The IC bladder pain syndrome is associated with toxicity not just an energetic imbalance As a matter of fact every disease carries toxic load to the tissues  But the matter science molecular model practiced today doesn’t have a concept of toxicity until late in the disease process, when people need dialysis for example And we tend to think of toxicity that comes from the environment, not something we create ourselves But the energy science sees it differently and hence as I have written about earlier, the disease process is seen differently Hence even though the matter science seems not to have an answer, the energy science does

In the IC syndrome IBS shows its toxicity as mucous in the bowel particularly if there is drastic pain  The other form of IBS doesn’t yield to the incredible spasms that occur with the spastic colon varietu  Fibromyalgia has the energy patterns of Vata and Pitta carry toxicity to the muscle and joints  In vulvodynia the toxicity appears in the female vaginal tract; in chronic prostatitis the toxicity  is carried into the male reproductive tract Lastly in IC itself the toxicity is carried into the bladder muscle causing spasm and bladder irritability

The Energy Science Term for Toxicity

The general term for toxicity is ama energy science lingo and it’s present in all diseases

Ama is a sticky cold material that is the endproduct of poor digestion  It doesn’t cause disease right away but by and by with its accumulation it begins to become symptomatic

Symptoms of ama are indigestion, poor appetite, sense of heaviness even though thin, halitosis, body odor, diarrhea, constipation, and of course all the symptoms of the above disease label

The Counter Measure to Ama

If ama is formed it means the digestion is not up to par and most people’s agni is not up to par  Another general term for digestion that is used in the energy science is agni  Agni and ama go hand in hand  If agni is low ama is formed  If agni is high ama is not formed and the person enjoys good health

There are several ways to prevent ama and hence ill health from occurring

1 Don’t overeat…..what one can hold in 2 hands is the volume that should be used at the biggest meal of the day…..the noon meal

2 Eat according to your dominant energy patterns(see foodsheal.com)

3  Use various tools to improve digestion…CCF tea, agni tea, ginger appetizer, trikatu

4  Use tripahala that helps improve bowel health and hence clears ama

5  Some ama is mucousy and the use of licorice as a demulcent(liquifies the mucous) can be helpful

6 Baking soda and dry ginger bath…1/3 cup of each in bath water  helps to eliminate toxic load through the skin

Clear Ama and Clear IC

So this is the top secret in clearing IC for good  Clear the ama  It’s not as easy and simple as it looks on the surface because as some of you may recognize all IC’s are not created equally  Some have had their IC a long time and others not so long  Some have prominent IBS as part of their IC symptoms while others have their ama loculated in different places

Not one size fits all so therefore the treatments tend to vary for each individual but the secret still remains the same: Clear ama and clear IC for good

Good luck on your healing journey      DB

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5 Ways to Improve Digestion and Heal IC

It’s of no surprise to anyone who has the IC bladder pain syndrome or is involved with an IC support group that bowel symptoms are as common as the flares  As a matter of fact if I were a betting person I would say that there are often more common than the flares that occur

But the bowel symptoms are often overlooked because our tendency is to focus on the organ causing us the most problem, namely the bladder and pelvic symptoms

Step Back

As you have read in some blog posts all disease begins in the GI tract according to the Ayurvedic or energy science model

When you focus too much…..I know that’s hard since the bladder is screaming for attention…. you may lose sight of the fact that the bowel symptoms are there but the bladder is claiming the attention  At least 50% of people with IC have acid indigestion(heartburn) and/or reflux of acid into the lower esophagus and they resort to all kinds of different OTC(over the counter) remedies

It’s estimated that at least 50% of people with IC have IBS and I would say in working with patients that if you counted all their symptoms that it’s more like 100%  The reason I can go that far is that most people walking on this planet have unhealthy digestion

How the Bowel Gets Sick and Symptoms

The reasons for this unhealthy digestion are 2 fold  First the food choices made bring about imbalance of qualities in the GI tract and hence symptoms

But the second reason is probably more important  Poor digestion of food leads to unprocessed undigested food that clog the lymphatics of the gut and cover the surface of the internal lining of the gut interfering with proper digestion, absorption, and assimilation of foods ingested

Due to this “poor digestion” symptoms occur  Gas, bloating, feeling of heaviness lethargy or fatigue after eating, fever, irritability, alternating diarrhea/constipation, loud noises coming from the stomach, poor appetite, congestion in the sinuses, mucoid vomiting or mucous in the stools, having an underactive thyroid, and overall depression….who wouldn’t be with these kinds of symptoms?

Getting Your Digestive Strength Back

Getting your health…..particularly bowel health back….is a challenge but it’s at the heart of dealing with IC  Puzzling isn’t it?  Here you have this bladder problem but you’re being told that you need to really focus on the bowel  Well, it’s actually both BUT you must put some attention on the your bowel function if you’re ever to deal with this problem labeled as IC

Since poor digestion is at the heart of the matter here are four things that you can do  Remember don’t use dry ginger….only fresh

1 Use ginger appetizer to help clear the undigested debris hanging around in your gut  Thirty minutes before eating your biggest meal of the day at noon take a slice of ginger with rock salt, lime juice, and a little honey   (To peel the ginger use a spoon for taking the skin off..and slice an inch long piece of fresh ginger and place into a small container  It’s helpful if the container is small enough to carry in your pocket or purse so that you can take it out to eat with you or to work  Small jars can be purchased at health food stores or you can reuse glass supplement jars  To save time make enough for 2-3 days

2 Use agni tea  Quart of water with 2 handfuls minced ginger root pinch of cayenne (for Pitta disorders, a speck or omit entirely), 2 Tablespoons Sucanat or Maple syrup, and 1-2 teaspoons Rock salt   Bring all of the above ingredients to a boil  Boil for 20 minutes  Take the pot off the burner and cool for a few minutes  Add the juice of ½ lime   Do not boil the lime juice  Pour into a thermos and enjoy throughout the day!

3 Use CCF tea  see prior blog post

4 Chose one day a week to fast  This gives the GI tract a well deserved day off…..you get days off from work – why not do that for your ailing gut?  This fast can be with juice(don’t mix fruit with veggies) or for overweight people, water but some kind of restriction from having to digest  Why?  Because just like a campfire it gets stronger when you don’t put so many logs on the fire  Remember though that predominantly Vata people should only do light eating once every four weeks or they will weaken themselves even more

5  Explore digestive aids such as Betaine HCl or pancreatic enzymes but recognize this as a bandaid and not a fix for the gut  As you can see, relying on something externally forever to help with your digestion is not a long term solution

Best of luck in your journey  DB

Nuts and Seeds for IC

Interstitial cystitis(IC) bladder pain with flares can be amplified by the routine use of nuts and seeds of any kind and this includes their butters!!  Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter

Why?

Unlike the matter science(MS) nutritional information that fatty acids are good and bad, the energy science(ES) of Ayurveda states that all nuts are inflammatory due to these molecular fatty acids regardless of the “good or bad nature of them”   The reason for this is that the post digestive(small bowel) effect is heating therefore inflammation provoking

Seeds also can be problematic  Safe to say that all seeds should be used in moderatioin  So popcorn, flax, halva, and pumpkin can be used once every 2-3 days

The sweet taste of many foods covers the acidic nature of the foods itself and this is true of the nut category  This is why the ES nutritional information trumps the MS guesswork around nutrition and is why the anecdotal information of the MS nutritional realm is at times confusing hence flares and then no flares   What gives?   This also explains why various other inflammatory conditions are interrelated with IC such as fibromyalgia, IBS, chronic fatigue syndrome(CFS), GERD, prostatitis(did you know that PSA is a marker for inflammation?), and CPPS(chronic pelvic pain syndrome)

As an aside this sweet taste of nuts in general make them a great choice for building tissue since the sweet taste is anabolic

OK Then What Can I Use for Nuts or Seeds? 

Sorry to blow your day if you crave the mixed nuts but there is certainly a favorite guideline of mine and that is “There are no hard guidelines in the ES realms”  Know that if you use the foods that are provoking that you increase the likelihood of a flare   That use of inflammatory foods will keep you up at the ceiling of the curve below rather than allowing your mindbody to do the rebalancing as the curve progresses to the right(BTW the ascent from the left shows how we gradually get sick over decades by our own choices(Oh shoot, you didn’t have to say that did you?)

Soaked and peeled almonds(this is very important! or you can use slivered almonds from the bulk section of the grocery store if they have one ) are very helpful for their nutritive benefit but also for their cooling effect  Turns out that the skin of the almond holds enzymes that in and of themselves are inflammatory   Almonds are not actually nuts but in the end who cares

Charole(actually seeds like sunflower) is another nut choice  It’s a very small nut found in very few stores in the US(I know because Ive looked; let me know if you have a source that you would share with the community) and is heating but due to the size and its energetics is acceptable and does not provoke Pitta(more about this energy pattern in future blog posts)

And of course coconut because it’s COOLING!  The general energy science principle is this:  Plants that grow in hot climates are there for a very specific reason  Their job is to make the environment cold(well cooler) and so Momma Nature is always taking care of balancing herself

What about nut milks?  Almond Breeze is made from blanched and peeled almonds so a great drink  Coconut milk also is a very nutritious drink and both these “nut” milks make great date shakes  More about that in the future

Note that popcorn is full of air therefore aggravating Vata so should be used in moderation

3 Nut Alternatives

Here are three options for substitution without provoking inflammation or the Pitta energy pattern in the physiology

Use the above three recommendations and make your own nut butters from the slivered almonds

Sunflower seeds can be used by anyone anywhere anytime  Sooo..  sunflower butter sold at Trader Joe’s is an excellent proprietary product and the best tasting sunflower butter on the planet    Have tasted many and this by far is the closest to peanut butter with a nice sweet taste  Mmm good!

Give yourself “permission” to have a few nuts every once and a while if the craving is too great   The ES reminds us that food cravings are a result of imbalanced digestion so the faster we can improve our digestion the better it will be

Interested in a free ES consultation with me?  Just tap on this link

Or sign up to join our growing ES IC community!

Well enough for now  Until next time                                           To Health as a Skill  Love DrBill

IC Fatigue and 5 Things You Can Do About It

Some have asked about this problem of fatigue associated with the chronic bladder pain of the IC syndrome  It is natural to have fatigue if you have a chronic disease associated with pain  And of course all of us want more energy in our lives  But to make the association of pain and fatigue is simplistic at best and will not get you closer to dealing with the problem of the pain most of the time

Pain IC and Fatigue:  An Energy Science Perspective

So pain and fatigue are not related as to cause  The association is true true unrelated  Yes you have fatigue, and yes have pain but they may not be intimately related  It’s like someone owning a dog doesn’t mean they own a cat as well

Because of this one has to find out the cause of the fatigue which may and often times is different than the pain

And it’s equally simplistic to relate the disease of IC to the fatigue  Although any chronic illness can lead to fatigue, there are many reasons that the mindbody essentially gets drained and fatigue sets in  So the fatigue can be treated and it may not necessarily help with the IC  Therein lies the root cause of the fatigue that one experiences and from there the root cause is treated

In actuality both problems, fatigue and IC pain from an energy science view have to be treated separately and the treatment of the fatigue may not necessarily help with the IC

What’s The Root Cause of the Fatigue?

Soo…… I wish there was a nice simple answer to this question of fatigue but it comes in all shapes and sizes and one shoe doesn’t fit all  But let’s dive deeper into the various causes of fatigue  There are two broad categories of causes of fatigue  If you get close to these you have come a long ways in understanding your fatigue

In looking at the mindbody in terms of the energy patterns of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha, the fatigue can be as a result of any form of imbalance of each of the three patterns or importantly their combinations  An imbalance of the energy pattern of Vata is usually brought about by exhaustion from overwork, travel, burning the candle at both ends, or not respecting your work capability  This last type of factor is largely ignored in a culture where everyone should be able to work “pedal to the metal”  But it’s clear from an energy perspective that each of us know our work limitations based on our mindbody energy makeup  If you know that about yourself then you can either do things to help maximize your endurance and stamina or back off when you’ve pushed too far  People who “burn themselves out” know none of this and is the reasons for fatigue in cultures all over the world

Another reason for fatigue that’s poorly understood in the matter science tradition is the role of digestive strength and how it can lead to reduced energy   As I’ve written about in previous posts, the energy  mindbody is like a battery  If you drain the battery so it has no reserve, then it will likely fail in cold weather  The same is true for digestion and  stamina/endurance  If the digestion is weak then stamina/endurance inevitably over time will suffer, no matter what age  The care of digestion is a major determinant of health in the energy science world of healing since all disease begins in the GI tract

5 Things to Begin Reducing Fatigue

1 Get to bed early  Vata 930  Pitta 1030  Kapha 1100  If you’re two primary patterns then you can fudge the times

2 Take time for self nurturing   I mean really take time  Get up early enough so that you can begin the day with this aspect of self care

3 If you have symptoms after eating such as heaviness, gas bloating, feeling like you haven’t digested the meal 3-4 hours after eating then use ginger pickle to help improve your digestive strength   A slice of ginger one inch in diameter and 1/2 inch thick with lime juice and salt

4 Breathing techniques(called pranayam) can also improve the energy body’s stamina and endurance

5 Specific yoga asana(postures) can promote grounding, reduce heat, and energize the mindbody

All the best    Love DB

Understanding Chronic Debilitating IC and 5 Things to Do

In the practice of medicine no disease is really the same as someone else’s disease  They all have their nuances of differences   And this is true of IC

No IC bladder pain syndrome is the same from one individual to another  Some have more anxiety and frequency while others have more burning and spasm  Some have other skin and eye conditions associated with their IC  Some are fortunate enough to have a few nonbacterial  “UTIs” and then things seem to rectify themselves and they never have symptoms again

Others are debilitated with symptoms and cannot function  So what’s the definition of chronic IC

The Stratification of IC

The reason that it’s difficult to assess the true prevalence of IC in a given population is that symptoms of the condition can vary widely  Some may have very localized symptoms to the bladder/pelvis and may dissipate over time for one reason or another

Some may struggle with symptoms and then with modifications to diet or using suggested remedies by friends or physicians the symptoms again gradually dissipate over time

These populations of patients are not counted typically in the IC longitudinal surveys  And then there are the men and children affected by the same voiding and pelvic dysfunction that has not as yet been labeled as IC   So you can see that the prevalence of IC may far be underestimated

But then who’s left?  Typically in studies the people with chronic symptoms congregate to form study populations  So what’s chronic IC?

Definition of Chronic IC

Admittedly due to the lateness of detection typically patients have progressed far enough along in their symptom complex that chronicity is part of the picture   Importantly the earlier a clinician can intervene with nutritional information and lifestyle the more likely that the IC will not go onto chronic debilitating disease

Chronic Debilitating IC Definition:  Bladder and/or pelvic pain for greater than 3 years that is constant and that has persisted and increased in intensity and has urologically and gynecologically been shown to have no obvious cause(eg tumor,cancer, bladder stone, ureteral disease)

Now this time frame is arguable but you get the picture that there has to be enough time to establish a pattern of chronicity  This of course is almost always(unless there is relentless pain) punctuated with acute flares

The Value of a Definition

It’s always nice to know where you are on the spectrum of any disease  But even more valuable is to give you an appreciation of what to expect in getting better

Getting better?  Wait, this disease is treatable but not curable   Currently what “treatable” means is that another groping bandaid is applied to try to manage the symptoms   Having trouble?  Try a shortstay in the outpatient surgical unit for a bladder fulguration  Or perhaps low dose Valium

So if one’s open to getting better with IC then you should want to know what to expect

Real Healing Takes Time   The No Bandaid Approach

As you know disease is not created overnight  The imbalance that creates the disease in the body takes time  But slowly but surely the symptoms become full blown and relief is required  So here are 5 things that you should understand and be willing to do if you want to manage your IC effectively

1  Patience and being in it for the long haul    So if you really get this then you realize that it will take time to reverse the imbalance that created the disease in the first place   What’s the time frame?  For every year of imbalance it will take 2 months for the disease course to reverse itself   For example, if you’ve been having problems with symptoms since 1999 then that’s at least 14 years of imbalance exposure which would mean 28 months or +2 years of work  Interestingly most people with IC are an impatient bunch  “I don’t have time to wait for healing to occur  I’ve got things to do, places to go, and people to see”   If you know that about yourself then you have the chance for being more patient about results There is no magic pill with this disease!

2 Choose a healing discipline that can deliver  Obviously the matter science approach with it bandaid approach isn’t working(interstim, bladder distentions, pharmaceuticals)  The energy science approach can affect change but it takes time   Of clinical significance is the now recognized association of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome with chronic IC(1)  As IC progresses in its chronic state it’s apparent that patients get sicker  It is at this stage of the disease that the matter science approach to healing comes to a complete standstill in terms of options  It is at this point that the  energy science model of healing can take over due to its understanding of the origin of disease

4 Understand a multifaceted approach to disease  There are many causes that brought about the symptom complex of IC  So realize that it will take many different avenues of treatment  So it’s not just one drug(elmiron) or one procedure(interstim) but a multiplicity of interventions from a therapeutic standpoint to bring about change in symptoms

5 Toxicity  Realize that part of the process of healing is detoxification that comes along with the balancing process that occurs with the clearance of symptoms  As a matter of fact the reason that the qualities that produce IC cannot be eliminated from the pelvis is that the toxic load in the pelvis holds them there  So detoxification is mandatory if you are to get relief  But what is detoxification in the mainstream press is not anything close to what real detox is

(1)J Urol. 2010 Oct;184(4):1358-63. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2010.06.005. Epub 2010 Aug 17

All the best in healing         To Health as a Skill      Dr Bill