Hey Guys,

I thought I would let you all know how I am progressing because I have been in a really good place for several weeks!  I still have a long way to go, but I'm celebrating how far I've come.  :)

In the beginning of treatment, after I weaned off of all the prescription drugs I was on, my bladder and vv were at pain level 6-8 on a regular basis with frequent flares taking me up to level 9 pain.  I couldn't sit at all because it was so painful.  I was constantly in bed with a hot pack on my belly or a cold pack between my legs.  I couldn't go anywhere because the vibration from the car was too much for my poor body to handle.  I was in this condition for about a year with very little progress.  Dr. B's goal was just to keep me out of that level 7-9 pain range as my body slowly healed.  At that time, level 6 pain was a "good" day.

Last November/December, I started having mostly level 5-6 pain days.  Then out of the blue, the pain shot up again.  It lasted until the end of January.  I was so scared, but Dr. B felt it was something my body just had to go through to get to the other side.  She was right.  When that was over, I went back to level 5 days.  This lasted for about three months, and I started having some level 4 pain days.

In late April, I started having consistent level 3-4 pain.  That's where I'm at today.  A couple of times since then my bladder has felt worse, but we made protocol changes and got me back down to level 3-4.  At this level, I can go for short rides in the car (I even drove 5 minutes to the grocery store - freedom! LOL), I can sit for hours, I can have (modified) sex with my husband - he is a saint BTW, I can be productive around the house because the pain is not so distracting and disabling.  I could say a lot more, but these are the biggies for me.

I still have an extremely limited diet, have pretty severe limitations as far as what I can do outside of our house, etc.  BUT this will come eventually.  I can really see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I hope this encourages some of you that are just starting out or maybe you're feeling like you haven't made much progress.  This healing journey continues to amaze me in its depth and breadth.  Honeybee is so right when she says that our bodies are going through a profound healing process.

Sometimes it takes great LOSS for life's real treasure to be FOUND.

Love and Hugs to All,