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I have posted about my 20 yr old son previously, at first they said it was chronic prostatitis but now my son had a cystoscopy and because he had petechia when they stretched the bladder they say it could be IC. He has never had leukocytes in his urine though and I always did. I can't imagine with the pain he has been in that there would be no leukocytes. I know with this treatment that it really does not matter but my son only stayed in treatment for 2 weeks. He ended up having panic attacks and was talking suicide so had to get him on anti depressants. He is eating healthy but not mentally in a good place to commit to the program yet. He really wants to know for definate what he has. DId everyone have leukoyctes in there urine when they first got IC or when the inflammation was bad.
My ex who is an MD says he thinks that they could have just over stretched the bladder causing the petechia. I am inclined to agree with him on that one.
Hi Cathy! Sorry to hear your
Hi Cathy! Sorry to hear your son is still having such a difficult time. I have always had Leukocytes in my urine as well, so I'm not sure. Your ex-husbands theory does sound possible though! Hope he finds some answers and relief soon! Hugs!
Ugh. Cystoscopy is just
Ugh. Cystoscopy is just barbaric. It is possible what you say. But if it is petechia then it should subside in some reasonable amount of time? Right? Maybe just avoiding sugar and alchohol and limiting medications will help him get relief. I hope if he needs it he will be emotionally ready to do treatment at some point.
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
I have leukocytes in my urine
I have leukocytes in my urine, but only when I'm flaring badly. When symptoms are mild or low nothing will show up. I think there's a lot of variability in terms of that with IC. I'm sorry to hear your son is going through such a hard time.
He never has leukocytes even
He never has leukocytes even when he was in severe pain and pretty much confined to his bed a month or 2 ago, that is why I doubt it is IC and more likely prostatitis
Yes that is what he is doing
Yes that is what he is doing right now, he does not drink anyway so no alcohol was not a problem and he has not had sugar for several months now. He is on quite a few meds now though which I don't like, just got him off the pain meds, he is on elmiron now for IC, I am going to try to get him to stop that in a few months to see if it makes any difference since I don't think it is IC. AT least the pain now is more manageable and gradually coming down.
Cathy can you talk to Dr. B
Cathy can you talk to Dr. B about the difference between Prostatitis and IC? I thought they were strongly related, even though they have different names in Western Medicine. He still has inflammation and It sounds like he has some GI issues too. In my mind they are related. So even if not full blown IC, it seems worth pursuing treatment at some point.
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.
When we met with Boaz I asked
When we met with Boaz I asked him and he said it just a label so to me it does not matter if he does the treatment it will work either way, but since he is not doing the program right now and taking Elmiron which coats the bladder and if not the bladder it is pointless taking it. Then also he gets anxious because he wants to know what it is
Hi Cathy,
Hi Cathy,
I find Chinese medicine facinating because it just makes so much sense to me. Instead of saying you have a sinus headache - take a pill to mask the pain until it goes away - it looks for what in your system - or your organs - is weak and tries to nourish it. Does it really matter if he fits into what conventioinal IC may or may not be?
I am someone, who compared to most on this site, have limited IC symptoms. Before you consider me too lucky, I have had an abundance of life threatening health isssues that have been a huge warning that my body just wasn't working properly. Now, finally, I am starting to find my way out of ocd, ptsd, and whatever else you want to call a completey certifiable, hospitalized nut job. Oh, yeah, and the IC that lead me to Matia who would treat my body in its entirety and just not a part here and there. No Western Dr. would have ever told me that norishing my liver, or what have you, over a LONG period of time, might be beneficial. Not because they were big meanies, but because they lived, breathed, and worshiped our Western medical profession - which, for me, for the most part, is a crock of pill pushing dog doo doo.
I don't know whether you can help your son to walk the non-conventioal path that eastern medicine is to us; it doesn't offer a quick fix. For me, it truly was the last resort when all else failed and it has been a hard asses road that took all my strength to arrive at, stay on, and endure. Even, to this day, I would be first in line to take a pill to find my own sanity if I didn't know, in my heart, that the answers weren't there. As a parent who has one very messed up child and wants to help him, fix him, walk his path for him, I have first hand knowledge of what a struggle being a Mom is and I get it. However, your son is truly lucky in the fact that if he chooses to exhaust all the quick fixes that western medicine offers, you and he already know where he can come - even if it isn't a conventinal IC case that brings him to the doors of Matia and Boaz.
Hi Cathy,
Hi Cathy,
I've thought of your son often in recent months, as I too was just a teenager when I first got hit with bladder pain - what a terrifying and bizarre maze it was, and such a lonely place for someone so young. I keep thinking that I want to let him know that it was (relatively) quick and easy for me to heal when I was younger, even when the pain was really intense at times, and that if I had been able to work with people like Matia and Boaz who show us how to STAY in balance once we get there, that I think I would be fine now. His body is young and resilient and he'll get through this with the right support.
I'm inclined to agree with Boaz that whatever name Western medicine gives to your son's condition is irrellevant if he is living with painful bladder symptoms. I also don't think it matters whether he has leukocytes showing up or not. Especially with something chronic, there are so many factors besides what the test results show.
Hi Cathy,
Hi Cathy,
I'm very sorry to hear that your son is suffering at the moment. It really will get better. I agree with the others that it's worth steering him (gently) away from searching for a definitive label for his symptoms. I had several years of annoying bladder symptoms before this latest round of 'IC' hit me. I too wanted to know what I had and spent much time going from doctor to doctor (all in the Western tradition) trying to find out. The problem with something chronic and not-well-understood-in- Western-medicine type of illness is that I ended up with ALL of the labels from all the specialist consulted - I had endometriosis, PCOS, early menopause, IC, cystitis, and countless other things that I've forgotten about now. In actual fact, I had none of the above but I did have 'IC' in the way that Matia conceptualises it - as a general, all-encompassing body problem, where fatigue, muscle and joint pain, brain fog, eye problems, painful menstruation, pelvic pain, throbbing ovary pain, inconsistent hormones, etc., as well as bladder pain are all branches of the big 'tree-trunk' of illness. The whole thing became rather silly because if I had undergone all the procedures that they wanted me to have and taken all the pills they prescribed, I have no doubt that I'd very likely be very, very ill now (at the very least). I only started to get better once I'd found a Chinese herbalist and acupuncturist - this was in desperation but turned out to be exactly the right path to take. Basically, I agree that the label does not matter as much as being under the care of someone you trust, who is not trying to rip you off and who genuinely seems to make sensible suggestions as to your treatment. Matia is the first to admit that sometimes we do require Western medical advice and treatment - but do try to encourage your son to use both perspectives, at least. On a personal note, I very happily use both perspectives as and when required. Hope this helps.
Cathy, I so agree with the
Cathy, I so agree with the above. I had many years of leading symptoms before I finally had the bladder pains. I was never diagnosed witb IC but had so many causes (ie: antibiotic use) and symptoms that the first signs of bladder pain sent me searching for Icama. Everything is improving thankfully. I firmly believe if I had changed my diet sooner it would never have even progressed. Your son is young enough to turn it all around. As a mother though of 3 grown daughters in the medical field I doubt I could ever convince them of this. I hope you are successful helping him to get there :)
Cathy, Boaz might have some
Cathy, Boaz might have some pointers on this. They battle family too. He told me they consistently tried to give his daughter sugar. They finally just said she has an allergy. Also his dad headed up a large Western med facility.