IC and Interstim

When confronted with a chronic disease two questions usually come up   1  Why is this happening to me?  2  How can I get relief from these miserable symptoms that are plaguing me day in and day out?   The first question will be difficult to answer based on the current model of healing and is based on theory

And the second question is more to the point of “allow me to get comfortable so I can at least function”   This question also has loads of responses doing online searches because you are empathetic to the other’s suffering and want to alleviate it if you can  What would life be like without this chronic pain?  What would I be able to do that I can’t do now?

The Surgical Option and the Overactive Bladder(OAB)

The FDA approval for the surgical use of Medtronic’s InterStim is for the OAB syndrome not IC   And the urinary frequency/ urgency and urge incontinence is improved by the device in about 50-70% of cases as reported in 2009 but  usually doesn’t eliminate completely the voiding difficulty so as to give normal bladder function   The use of the device has carried over into the IC patient group because of the desperate needs of the IC patient to at least control the voiding problem aside from the associated pain

This is to say, the IC pain complex will not be taken care of by the device   As always there are anecdotal reports of pain cessation but this is not what the device is designed for

There will always be a surgical or mechanical alternative to chronic pain or for that matter any problem   Weight loss surgery, pancreatic islet cell transplant for diabetes, and for the OAB  InterStim has become a surgical option in the management of IC   If you pass a 2 week trial period then a permanent stimulating neuromodulator can be placed in a subcutaneous pocket overlying the right gluteal region

The bladder is innervated  by the sacral nerve roots S2-3  By placing needles that emit a low grade electrical current to the nerves going to the bladder, the nerves sending signals from the bladder that urination needs to occur(resulting in frequency, nocturia, and urgency) get overridden by the nerve stimulator   The result is a reduction in the bothersome voiding pattern of OAB but not the pain complex

Complications range from 10-25% and related to the mechanical aspects of the procedure such as infection and dislodgement of the wires due to falling or jarring can occur particularly if the needles are not well seated    At times such stimulation can bring on chronic pain from the placement compounding the problem rather than making it better

The Energy Science Perspective

Surgery is a part of the energy science of Ayurveda discipline   It clearly recognizes that surgery can be the best option in certain patients   But it also brings to the table a rich understanding of the origin of disease and therefore uses the surgical option in a more refined way   When adding the matter science technological approach to disease this can lead to a very effective holistic medical system

With this being said the use of a mechanical device should not be offered unless there has been an adequate trial of nutrition using energy science guidelines  Over the last 10 years I have personally witnessed OAB symptoms resolve using this kind of nutritional approach

As discussed in my book, IC Bladder Pain Syndrome, the OAB separates itself from the disease label of IC due to the pain component   You see the OAB problem is a Vata disturbance of bladder function whereas the IC disease label is a Vata AND Pitta disturbance of the bladder leading to not only the OAB symptoms(Vata)  but the Pitta energy pattern presence leading to the sharp shearing pain of IC that can be episodic and recognized as the flare

Patience is the KEY  Don’t Jump Too Fast

Using a surgical approach is an option  Using a nutritional approach is an option  But if the latter has not been given an adequate trial then that leaves the former as the only viable option

So my suggestion is to not act too hastily and give the energy science approach a really good trial before you open yourself up to the potential problems associated with surgery    And if you elect to have the implant know that the pain may not be affected

IC and Hyperacidity

You would do anything to deal with the pain of the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia) especially when flares occur so it would stand to reason that using an antacid of some form would be appropriate since for some it gives them relief of their heartburn but has also been anecdotally reported by some to help with their IC symptoms

Interestingly acid indigestion(heartburn) and GERD are strongly associated with IC  In an online survey done by the ICA:

559 respondents to the diet survey 

84% found diet helped reduced symptoms

Perhaps because this was an online survey the results are not available for search at the ICA site any longer but the survey obviously underscores the importance of nutrition and shows the interesting correlation with acid indigestion and IC   From our previous blog discussion this correlation would be expected as the hot quality in the gut moves to affect the urinary system

Two Bowls of Ice Cream and Pharma

My father in law didn’t have IC pain and lived a relatively comfortable life except for anxiety now and then  He had an interesting habit that I think is germane to our discussion today

As a matter of evening routine he would sneak into the kitchen late at night to have his two bowls of Hagen Daz ice cream after which he would take his cholesterol lowering pills(maybe two for good measure!)  Comfortable that he had done his ounce of prevention he would then trundle off to bed

I think most would feel that taking two Lipitor after eating ice cream is …. well not preventative  But isn’t that the same thing we are doing with antacids?  Prelief  is an antacid like many OTC antacids to help with the stomach symptoms of heartburn GERD  Even Tagamet has been used off label for IC    But isn’t that the same thing?

Freedom: But At What Price?

We all want our freedom of choice and the energy science of Ayurveda does not say “Never”  It says that we all have free choice but we don’t have a choice about the consequences of our choices

Drugs and nutraceuticals are not meant to cover over poor food choices that cause the pain of IC which can be managed more successfully without the use of pharma

Of course there is the sentiment “My life is over  All of my favs taken away from me!”  These energy science nutritional formats are not an “all or none” proposition but the more closely you adhere to the format the better you will feel  And after a while you’ll get tired of taking in foods that make you feel sick

In the end the energy discipline can help us with a qualitative scientific assessment of what foods are best for our mindbody energy makeup

Three Ways to Manage Acid Indigestion

Go to foodsheal.com right now and take the quiz    Then choose the appropriate nutritional format and print the pdf format off so you have it to follow

Read the incompatable food combination list and print off that file as well and post both on your refrigerator so you can reference them regularly

Use aloe vera gel(not the juice) on a regular basis (2T three times per day)   Take it to work, travel with it, and make a ritual out of its use

IC and an Ayurvedic Cookbook

Recently there’s been a release of the best Ayurvedic cookbook thus far written for a Western audience 

What makes the book so good is that it’s written by a Westerner under the guidance and direction of an Ayurvedic physician so all the key Ayurvedic principles are there with the help of understanding why you are eating the way that is suggested

This book starts you on the path to healing the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, fibromyalgia, GERD, and IBS) because anyone with these problems has toxicity that I have shared with you in the past that is called ama from an Ayurvedic perspective

If you want to heal your gut and get rid of IC you have to detox and this book is a major helping start in that direction

Here’s a link  goo.gl/KUj1wP

IC and Vulvodynia

Vulvodynia can occur as an isolated clinical problem but more often than not the condition is more than likely associated with the IC bladder pain syndrome(interstitial cystitis, chronic prostatitis, vulvodynia, fibromyalgia, IBS, GERD)   Obviously it’s a debilitating condition for relationships and the loss of womanhood becomes an inevitable psychological effect 

Actually vulvodynia is like prostatitis in that the pelvic nerves become involved by abnormal energy patterns that from the lower rectum in the pelvis  This sets up abnormal nerve sensations in the vagina, prostate, and bladder

Transdermal Creams

When the properly applied cream(s) are applied to the perineum and appropriate marma points around the vaginal entry(introitus) these creams can have profound effects to the pelvic nerve tissue

Herbal Nectars

When nectars are created so that just the energetics of the herb are delivered there is no need for absorption of the herb from the GI tract and its digestive capability….the herbs quickly move through the mucosa of the mouth and esophagus  In this way the nectars are very much like the transdermal creams in that the skin and its digestive capability is able to move the herbal energetics into the body

Is It Always An Infection?

Everyone agrees that the pain of IC is related to inflammation but it may be surprising to find that all diseases from cancer to diabetes have an element of this inflammation  And this is where we are at in our current understanding of disease from a matter or molecular science point of view  And we as the signpost points are left with no direction

There are many painful molecules that have now been identified that produce inflammation in the mindbody  We have identified many of these molecules  But what causes them to begin to show up in the first place? The answer from the matter science is infection often times because foreign organisms incite a white cell response which produce this molecular inflammatory response

But IC is defined as a nonbacterial inflammatory response  So no infection but inflammation nonetheless  And we are all well aware of many different diseases that produce inflammation without infection such as rheumatoid arthritis

This is why at this point in time the matter science urologist has no answer for your IC  No infection No Cure  Treatable but not curable

Understanding Inflammation Through Energy Science Glasses

If we take off our matter(molecule) science glasses and view the mindbody through energy field glasses we see the mindbody as an energy field

There are three necessary biologic energy patterns according to the science of Ayurveda:  the energy of movement Vata, the energy of transformation Pitta, and the energy pattern of stability Kapha

As we discussed with you earlier inflammation is a result of excessive hot quality resulting in inflammation regardless of whether there is infection or not  

When the energy pattern of Pitta becomes excessive(too much of the hot quality) then inflammation and the excruciating pain of IC is the result

3 Ways To Reduce Inflammation and IC Symptoms

Unless we’re breatharians we routinely do one thing every day:  EAT  This is why foods become so important in the management of this chronic condition labeled as IC   “Label” is a specific term for the broader term inflammation  Other labels used by the matter science urology tradition include chronic pelvic pain syndrome(CPPS) and chronic prostatitis

So you can do 3 things right now:

Go to foodsheal.com right now and take the quiz    Then choose the appropriate nutritional format and print the pdf format off so you have it to follow

Read the incompatable food combination list and print off that file as well and post both on your refrigerator so you can reference them regularly  Incompatible foods produce inflammation

Use aloe vera gel(not the juice) on a regular basis (2T three times per day)   Take it to work, travel with it, and make a ritual out of its use  Why?  This herb reduces the hot quality(think of applying aloe on a hot sunburn) by using the opposite quality of cold

IC and IBS

IC pain and the pain of IBS(irritable bowel syndrome) are interrelated on an energy level because gut problems begin the imbalance that leads to IC symptoms   What happens in the gut in IC eventually leads to problems in the urinary tract

To be aware of this is to begin the healing of painful IC flares  Why?  Because when you begin to understand the origins of your dis-ease then you can be  empowered to take on the challenges to live the life you once had

And we have seen that there are often psychological similarities between those with IC and those with IBS

The Biological Energy Prototypes and IC/IBS

From an energy science medical view Nature is described in terms of the VPK(Vata Pitta Kapha) frame of reference   Everything in Nature can be seen as these energy patterns and they’re composed of primary vibrational frequencies or qualities that contribute to their expression in the mindbody

As we have talked about in the past from an energy science view they represent who we are in the world and we’re varying proportions of these energy patterns of  Vata, Pitta, and Kapha   They are mindbody energy expressions or combined mental and physical characteristics   And the pain of IC and IBS come as expressions of imbalances of the energy patterns of Vata and Pitta

When there is imbalance of the qualities of hot and mobile the Vata and Pitta energy patterns are provoked and may be expressed as IC and IBS first at the gut level then at the bladder   This is the relationship between these two apparent dissimilar dis-eases

When you are in balance there is no excess of these qualities

When we are out of balance or unbalanced, using our example above there’s an excess of the qualities of mobile or hot  In this way we would see more mobility of thought, movement, and the GI tract as in diarrhea; excessive hot in the GI tract suggesting acid indigestion or heartburn, headache, or the painful flares of IC

What Three Things Can You Do Right Now With This Information?

1  Take this energy pattern test and thank God you can’t fail the test!

2 Choose the nutritional format best for your energy mindbody makeup- you’ll see that when you take the quiz

3 Make a deal with yourself that you’ll do one thing to change something that is not consistent with the nutritional format you choose