The Good News About IC

The pain of your IC flare is related to the movement of the qualities of hot, mobile, and dry   These qualities lead to the burning in the pelvis and on urination as well as the frequency and intense urgency you experience(leading to the rusty zipper syndrome)

These primordial vibrational frequencies(fancy term for qualities) are moving through a long tube in the mindbody   This tube begins in the kidney and ends where the urine comes out when you urinate   It’s that simple!    Energy in the form of urine moves through this channel or tube from the kidney to the bladder and then out when urination occurs

Channel versus Tissue

The good news is that the energetic imbalance of the qualities of hot, mobile, and dry in IC occur in a channel not a tissue   Why is this such good news?  It’s much easier to correct an energetic imbalance in a tube or channel than it is in a dense multicellular tissue layer

Other examples of channels are the gastrointestinal tract(mouth to the anus), the respiratory tube(includes the nose, nasal sinuses, upper airway tubes, and lungs), the male and female genital channels, and the vascular network(both arterial and venous sides)   Other channel disorders besides IC include GERD, IBS, and vulvodynia

There are other energy structures in the energy mindbody that are tissue layers    The muscles of the mindbody are a dense energetic multicellular layer   A lot can go wrong in such a complex structure and so it takes longer to correct a tissue layer problem   Tissue layer disorders include fibromyalgia and chronic prostatitis

Yea!  IC is a Simple Channel Dis-ease

So we’re familiar with those people who develop IC and they have a brief experience with the symptoms but somehow or another there is a spontaneous resolution of the IC and they never have another problem with it   A pure channel problem clears

But then there’s the mixture of channel and tissue energetic imbalance   Here the IC becomes more complex   Tissue imbalances involving hot, mobile, and dry become mixed with the channel imbalance of IC with the experience of the symptoms associated with the dis-ease

From an energy science view this explains the reason why many people don’t get spontaneous resolution but smoulder in the embers of chronic IC   There is a mixture of energetic tissue imbalance coupled with the channel imbalance

Still Good News

Even though there is the energetic imbalance of hot, mobile, and dry in both the tissues and urinary tract channel or tube IC regardless is a channel dis-ease  and will respond to treatments more quickly   It doesn’t mean that the tissue energetic imbalances don’t have to be addressed   They do

But they can be addressed as the symptoms from the urinary channel are resolved by such channel soothing herbs such as CCF tea and aloe vera gel   Just visualize the aloe cooling the hot, mobile, and dry internal lining of the urinary tube just as it soothes the external skin when it’s burned

IC and Cooling Drink

The inflammation that occurs with your IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia) as we’ve talked about in the past is from the hot and mobile qualities from an energy science viewpoint

As you know this pain can be excruciating and unrelenting causing undue stress on relationships and plans

And there are things that we have discussed that can help with temporary relief of symptoms  But what would it be like it you lived a life without any bladder symptoms at all  This is the cure of the apparent curable condition of IC

The Hot Quality and Cooling Off

As we’ve mentioned before the human energy anatomy Ayurveda says that there are three energy patterns that give us function  The Vata, Pitta, and Kapha physiologic energies gives the body movement, transformation, and stability respectively

Pitta the energy of transformation is the only one of the three energy patterns that has the hot vibrational frequency  This energy of transformation is responsible for your flares  Makes sense doesn’t it?  Hot transforms right?   But too much of this energy produces IC   Burning wood, burning thoughts, burning stomach, burning bladder, burning pelvis, burning vagina  Holy smoke!  Burned up relationships!

This is the energy that slso makes us competitive but if more hot enters into the equation it leads to aggressive behaviors that turn people off

Choosing Hot

So when it’s hot in the environment the same hot is aggravated in our own mindbody energy field   And when you eat trigger foods the same thing happens whether we can appreciate it or not  That’s why the food guidelines are so important because sometimes you can’t appreciate what’s happening

The hot from the sun is never as long term provoking as the hot that we ingest   As I’ve discussed in other blogs consumption of the hot quality has a much longer staying power of influence  This is a very important point since the physiology is affected literally for 35 days after a trigger food is chosen to be ingested

What happens when too much hot is in the energy physiology? You guessed it! INFLAMMATION

What To Do  What To Do

Sooo…. here’s a recipe for a delicious cooling herbal cocktail that you may find valuable particularly during flare seasons  But NO ice because ice is not nice

2T of aloe vera gel(NOT the juice)

2oz of pomegranite juice

2oz of water

Chug a lug! Hmmmm delissios

IC and Vulvodynia/Chronic Prostatitis

As you know the pelvic pain from IC can be so severe that it precludes having normal sexual activity  In a survey done through the ICA organization 90% of IC patients report problems with intimacy   And the majority of women(50-85%) have associated vulvodynia or pain specifically related to the vagina  For reasons not clear, ICA dropped the reference page to this statistic  The stats come from a response survey of an IC population culled from members of the organization  This numbers have been substantiated by other research

The fear of bringing on the pain and a flare can lead to avoidance and resulting isolation

Some have reported breaking into a cold sweat due to anxiety just with foreplay   And this can obviously put a severe strain on a marital relationship unless one is fortunate to have an understanding spouse who doesn’t want to inflict pain to his best friend

But for others it can lead to failed relationships or inability to find new ones   As one IC patient told me, “I feel like I’m damaged goods”   Others express a sense of loss of womanhood much as men are fearful of the same for themselves

As we know the matter science approach to the chronic IC problem is unfortunately not helpful since this model doesn’t deal with chronic disease well

But sexual intimacy need not be dead  if one can deal with the origin of IC  The energy science can successfully deal with pelvic pain and hence restore intimacy once again

The Energy Science of the IC Bladder Pain Syndrome

We have discussed the energy and matter science approaches in doing their work   The energy science approach is about balance of qualities; too much hot(responsible for the shearing pain) balanced by delivering the cold; too much subtle balanced by the gross quality(the energy field is subtle and the matter biological field gross);  too much mobile(responsible for the urinary frequency and pain) balanced by the stable or static quality

So the symptoms of IC in the pelvis from an energy science view is related to an imbalance of qualities  The imbalance of these qualities in the energy body can lead to the symptom complex of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia)  According to Ayurveda all disease except for trauma begins in the GI tract so one can see how important nutrition becomes in the management of the syndrome

Once there is a buildup of these energetic qualities(aka vibrational frequencies) within the gut they will either cause symptoms in the GI tract(IBS and/or GERD) or move from the GI tract and affect other tissues or organs(IC, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis or fibromyalgia)

A Revolutionary Understanding to Pelvic and Vaginal Pain

The movement of the qualities from the GI tract can occur anywhere along its length  If they move from the colon and specifically from the sigmoid colon they can lead to symptoms of vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, and interstitial cystitis  Since these vibrational frequencies of hot, sharp, liquid, oily, dry, rough, and mobile  have a predilection for the nervous tissue of the pelvis, what occurs then is a pelvic neuropathy

In the end interstitial cystitis and vulvodynia(chronic prostatitis in men) are examples of a pelvic neuropathy  That is, the symptoms in the bladder, vagina, and prostate are a result of nerve involvement by vibrational frequencies that come from the colon  The allopathic scientific research have postulated this but how the neuropathy occurs has not been elucidated

Here Are 3 Things to Do

First of all one must realize that this is not an easy thing to treat and will take months to resolve based among other things on the length of time that one has had symptoms  Secondly the use of herbs can be effective as long as one is doing baseline work below

1  Do a green composite protein diet to begin alkalinizing the GI tract

2 Do the dinacharya(day in balance) consistently

3 Normalize colon function using herbs

If interested I can send you handouts on these specific techniques requested through drbilldean@gmail.com

IC and 3 Things to Deal with Food Allergies

Interstitial cystitis (IC) painvsyndrome(intersitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, fibromyalgia)  is often associated with other conditions such as  food allergies or sensitivities and GERD which we have written about in the past   This is difficult to understand from a molecular approach to dis-ease since the model looks at the problem within an organ system without taking into consideration the interrelationship of all organ systems

This is frustrating to physicians as well as patients seeking to understand the pain of IC and how to treat it   And it sometimes leads a real difficulty for IC patients in choosing foods thinking that perhaps their IC pain symptoms are related to their “food allergies”  so they are fearful of eating anything Oftentimes elimination diets are used to try to sort it out but partially fail

The Dis-ease Origin Is the Same

With a different way of seeing the mindbody from an energy science viewpoint rather than the currently used matter science discipline it becomes clear that food allergies are interrelated with IC   Why is this so?

Dis-ease or lack of harmony in the mindbody begins in the gastrointestinal tract(GIT) and when there is too much of the hot quality it leaves the GIT to be eliminated through the urinary tract   The GIT is not healthy enough to deal with the excess hot quality

Food allergies that occur in the GIT leads to distress as well but the energy science explanation is due to lack of digestive strength   The same lack of digestive strength leads to two seemingly different forms of dis-ease

Lack of Digestive Strength

Digestive strength from a matter or molecular science approach is not enough digestive enzymes to do the job  Because of this toxic debris builds up much like a cold campfire has unprocessed charred remains   Acute symptoms occur after eating such as:

Poor appetite                     Coated tongue                      Nausea                   Bloating               Belching with smell of previously eaten food

Weakness and fatigue         Foul gas or flatus; bad-smelling feces       Unhappiness       Constipation or diarrhea

Abdominal pain and/or distention               Bad breath           Bad taste in the mouth        Restlessness     Heaviness after food

Congestion            Excessive sleep

These signs and symptoms represent poor digestive strength but as you can see could be interpreted as “food allergy”

Then chronic signs and symptoms may occur over years of poor digestion strength:

Tissue emaciation                     Malabsorption          Emotional eating                Food cravings                   Food allergies

Insomnia        Poor visual perception           Poor circulation           Abnormal color and complexion     Lack of luster(skin rashes)

Fear           Grief, sadness, and depression         Confusion          Apathy, repulsion      Shortened life span      Aggressiveness

Indecisiveness and lack of discrimination     Lack of intelligence(loss of clarity)           Impatience

Improper direction and inappropriate goals

Isn’t it interesting that fear, confusion, apathy, aggressiveness occur in this list of chronic symptoms?   The reason for this is that there is a mindbody connection   What happens in the mind happens in the body  What happens in the body happens in the mind

From an energy science view mind and body are intimately spliced   You cannot separate them  Mind is in every cell of the body   So we see that if the GIT is effected with dis-ease or disharmony then it will register in the mind and these psychological manifestations will be apparent

3 Things to Do to Improve Digestive Strength

As I have said in previous blogs eating according to your mindbody energy makeup is the most important thing along with avoiding poor food combinations   But here are some other general things you can do as well

1  Use Coriander and Fennel tea to support agni

2  Use of GCPR(green composite protein recipe)  Have blogged about this in the past  If you need the recipe send me an email and I’ll send you a copy

3  Use pre and probiotic in the form of a pappadam lassi   If you need the recipe send me an email and I’ll send you a copy

The Upsetting Character of Nuts

The interstitial cystitis(IC) bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, fibromyalgia)with flares can be amplified by the routine use of nuts 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

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? 

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?)

Journey to Balance

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

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

IC and the Neti Pot

Kapha is the energy pattern of stability in the physiology  It is composed of the qualities of heavy, slow/dull, cool, slimy/smooth, liquid, dense, soft, hard, static, and sticky  Think of the mucous from the common cold and you will have a good understanding of the qualities of Kapha which supports bodily structures

When Kapha becomes excessive in the physiology it brings the static and heavy qualities in excess which block the lighter qualities of Vata and Pitta which are the primary instigators of the symptoms of the IC bladder pain syndrome  This blockage of the free flow of the Vata and Pitta energy patterns leads to their expressions of hot and mobile which leads to urinary frequency and burning on urination

The Kapha energy pattern is involved in the majority of cases of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia)  One of the simplest ways to deal with this imbalance is to use the neti pot in order to remove excess Kapha from the sinuses but in the process remove excess Kapha from the body  This practice followed by a breath technique of kapalabhati followed by oil drops in the nose will gradually and slowly loosen Kapha’s blockage in the physiology

Releasing this blockage allows Pitta and Vata to move once again and unblock the channels in the pelvis leading to the IC bladder pain syndrome

To do neti one needs a good sized container…500cc available on Amazon  If you’d like more information I can send you more on request