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Just wanted to offer a little insight into something I was fighting for a while. I have a super addictive personality which is the reason why I never tried drugs/smoked. My big thing was coffee which having IC and coffee is really really hard. I loved coffee so much that I would rather go coffee tasting than wine tasting. When I went on Matia's diet, the first thing I begged to have back was coffee. She said I could have it, and I did. I drank a lot of it for the first 2 years I treated with Matia. I would drink it and my bladder would burn after, but I didn't care because my brain needed it. When my son came down with IC, I felt so bad for him having to restrict foods that as a sign of solidarity and to show to him that I could exhibit self control, I completely gave up coffee promising him that I wouldn't touch it until he was better. I have been off coffee for 3-4 weeks now and I am amazed at how much better I feel. I would mostly even just drink decaf, so the caffeine wasn't my issue. I have read that any stimulants, including sugar, create urges in the brain that constantly have to be fed...I think it is due to depleting serotonin. When you kick a habit, those urges and addictive behaviours go away as well. So hope that helps the people who are just learning to live without sugar... you will not crave it after a while. Since kicking coffee, sticking to Matia's diet is much easier and I don't crave sugar as much. I don't even crave coffee, but I must admit when I walk into Starbucks to get an iced tea, I literally spend 5 minutes in the car just smelling the coffee on my clothes... CRAZY!!! Just thought I would pass my epiphany along because it has helped me tremendously, not to mention that since kicking coffee I think Matia's protocol has been much more effective.
addiction
That is so strange you posted this today, because someone was in earlier and I asked her to post on this subject and I wanted to see if you would respond!
If she does, what you post will be so valuable, she is struggling!
Matia
hahaha, coffee does smell
hahaha, coffee does smell soooooo good. I'm actually drinking it too but what you said about making the treatment more efficient without coffee really intrigues me! As everyone here, I want to do my best to let the treatment do it's work!
Now, I'm pretty over the sugar addiction (it's so true that it disappears after a while) and coffee doesn't create pain or symptoms in my body.
Could you elaborate on how the protocol is more effective without coffee? This would motivate me to kick my love (ok, addiction) to coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Something I've wanted for a long time.
Coffee and protocol
This is just my opinion and certainly not backed by any science or research, but for me, coffee would do a couple of things:
1. coffee would make me retain water... I know that sounds weird because it is actually a diuretic. Initially when i drink coffee, I would pee a lot, but... since our bodies are smart, any fluid I would put back into my body after drinking... i would hold onto a lot in my interstitial tissue, giving me that edemic/puffy look. The body is actually trying to protect you in my opinion from the diuretic effects of coffee by holding onto a bunch of fluid. Hope that makes sense. I have nothing other than anectdotal evidence to give to you...also, i was addicted to the laxative effect of coffee since i wouldn't poop (excuse me) until i had a cup of coffee..., now i don't rely on that anymore... it wasn't like i was drinking coffee just to poop, but it certainly did help and make me feel better... that right there is a mild addiction-- and in my case, it was a problem i was in denial of.
2. Nicholas Perricone--author of Perricone Prescription, says that if you give up coffee for 6 weeks, you will lose up to 10 pounds. Even decaf... he states it is not the caffeine, but the organic oils in coffee that wreak havoc in your system... i agree and it was the richer coffee (more oils) that I crave the most. My favorite coffee by far is Peets! so far after kicking coffee and nothing else, i have personally lost 5 pounds, probably all water that my body was holding...my skin looks better ( i was beginning to have smokers skin and crows feet and I am only 32!) now, no crows feet and my skin looks so good.
3. coffee is an intestinal stimulant... I think this is pretty well accepted by everyone... my theory though was that coffee may have been overstimulating my bowels and making it so that the good bacteria that Matia was putting in my instestine never had time to establish themselves because I was increasing my bowel transit time... again, this is just a theory and i am sure Matia could make a suggestion on this matter. She has actually said that she thinks coffee may be mildly good, but I think perhaps at the stage of the game that i started drinking it again, my body wasn't ready for it...
4. to give up coffee would be a personal choice. i couldn't even do it for myself when i knew it was bad, i did it for my son purely as a sign on solidarity, but i think that God may have had a hand in bringing me to that point. you never know...
good luck to you! i think kicking it has made sticking to matia's diet much more easy and now i enjoy tea so much! my treat is sampling all of the different teas at coffee bean. not everyone is ready for tea, but my body seems to tolerate it... my favorites are the vanilla ceylon black tea and the strawberries and cream green tea... there is no sugar, they are just tea bags and i use a bit of half and half and either drink hot or iced.... i feel that since i have kicked coffee, i have made more progress with my ic in 4 weeks than i have in the 2 years that i have been treating... when i first treated with Matia, i made tremendous progress right away!!! in the first 3 weeks I dropped close to 20 pounds, all water i am sure because i was so toxic... after the first 6 months though, i feel like i plateaued for about 1.5 -2 years... this is all my fault because i am the worst patient ever... cheating, etc.. I do not recommend that to anyone! then, my son got sick and I got my calling card to be good again, this time kicking coffee, which has in my opinion made a huge difference. i think i will be able to have it back again when i no longer crave it or smell it on my clothes for fun... cruel irony ;)
Coffee
I can't tolerate coffee so I have dandelion roasted root instead - just simmer the cut root in water or if groun, can use a coffee filter. Dandelion root is reputed to be mildly laxative (I think because it stimulates bile which softens the stool) but I haven't noticed this effect myself. I only drink one cup a day though and it is a real treat for me. It tastes just as good as coffee to me but milder without any bitterness. I add milk and sometimes add organic unsulphured molasses (very small amount).
coffee
wow, jeanette, that was really helpful and detailed! Thank you!
I totally agree that one addiction feeds another.
So glad for your post!
Jeanette,
I'm so glad I discovered this forum! I've been a patient of Matia's for over a year and a half, and while my life has drastically improved (my bladder, specifically) I continue to struggle with a host of problems (mainly bloating and periods run amock!) largely because I have a difficult time controlling my 'addiction' to sugar. I will go along for weeks and months doing wonderfully, and something emotionally will challenge me, and my gut response (no pun intended) is to turn to what always soothed me my whole life-sugar!
Ironically, I was doing wonderfully for months until I had to deal with the emotional pain of a close family member going into rehab for serious chemical and alcohol addictions. The bottom line is that I didn't deal, I ate sugar instead. And it put me back terribly (physically, mentally, emotionally). It truly is an addiction--the seratonin that rushed my body feels great for 5 minutes, but then my entire body revolts.
The beautiful thing about these experiences is that I learn what just doesn't work for me. Sugar doesn't work for me--no matter how hard I try to negotiate, manipulate, rationalize my way out of it. I have realized that I'm not much different than my family member with drug and alcohol addiction--it just so happens that my 'drug' is legal.
Your commentsabout the 'Little Sugar Addicts' and the reference to Alcoholics being successful much more when eliminating sugar makes total sense to me. Thanks for sharing.
Also, thank you for posting. It's posts like your and mine (and everyone who contributes) that will make us realize we are not alone, and that we can make it through this.
Don't beat yourself up
Hi Melissa,
Believe me while I tell you, I am THE worst patient. I always knew that if I had something lethal like a heart condition that I am so absent minded/stubborn, I would forget to take my pills and keel over. This trait is more out of habit than anything else. Part of breaking a habit is being metacognitive.... meaning, studying one's own thought process, what makes you tick? I never consistently took my herbs/probiotics for the first 2 years with Matia, didn't follow the diet... oh yeah, I had chocolate cake, alcohol, blah blah blah. (In no way, shape or form am I condoning this behavior, but I am being honest which I think is important so we all know we are human) I hope Matia isn't reading this, but I have a sneaking suspiscion she knows how bad I have been. Then, I read a book called, "Does this clutter make my butt look fat?" Basically it talked about how clutter in your house causes a host of problems meaning if your house is messy, you don't feel like cooking b/c it makes more mess, so you end up eating out. Also, the clutter makes you stressed out, so you eat too. It really is so true. Since reading this book, I got my house more organized and then, I started to eat better. For me though, stress was being brought on my messiness and clutter, which caused me to cheat more than I should.
I have a hard science background...honestly, for me, it is difficult to tell myself that sugar is the "enemy". For me, I can't take that seriously. I mean, I know that it is, but saying that is a bit dramatic for me. I don't deal with metaphors too well. What I do well with is fact. (This is where my metacognitive speech comes in.)I tried to tell myself sugar was this horrible enemy, but in the end, I just laughed at that visual and ate it anyway. I wondered why this worked for others and the bottom line is that I don't think in those terms. I did know for a fact though that sugar is bad and so did research to back up my "hypothesis". There are many many studies showing that sugar and its consumption are precursors to cancer. Sugar drives up insulin, we all agree about that, and then it throws off every other hormone system in your body. What worked for me was thinking of myself as a diabetic. Even a bit of refined sugar can cause enormous problems immediately and long term. Before I envisioned myself akin to a diabetic, I would eat a small bit of candy or a bite of cake and rationalize it like..."how much could this possibly hurt?" but facts being fact, it does drive your insulin up. When I first started with Matia, I was very good with my diet and my lifelong erratic period regulated in the first month to every 30 days. When I strayed from the diet, my period went all over the board. Now that I am much better, my period went right back to 30 days. That is hard evidence you cannot deny.
Melissa, I know you can do this! I suggest to you and everyone, have fun with cooking and make it a gourmet experience with the food you ARE allowed so you aren't deprived. I can have quite a bit now so as an example I will have a 1/4 gluten free/wheat free waffle with what I call a berry confit (which is really frozen berries blended into a sauce) for lunch I will have a spinach turkey wrap with cheese. Doesn't that say gourmet? It is all how you market this experience to yourself! You keep on keeping on!
Jeanette
Nuts when craving sugar
If you can... I eat nuts when I crave sugar. There is a huge satiety factor in nuts because they have fat in them which calms that "urge" down and makes you feel full. I also drink mineral water too. Hopefully that will help. Even though I eat a lot of nuts, I lost over 50 pounds since starting with Matia. I was very sick and very bloated with about 20-25 pound of water alone. I lost all this weight by eating her diet, plus nuts and avocado. Everyone is so amazed. Also, if you are drinking coffee... seriously, cut it out. Since doing that, A LOT of my cravings have gone away! Although, I still crave dark chocolate covered almond clusters from Sees. :)
I agree!!!
I am so glad to see that there are others who feel that the struggles with sugar/coffee are addictions. I am an extreme personality/highly addictive also. I am "in charge" in every other area of my life (or at least my extreme personality likes to think so!) except the sugar addiction. I feel like I have no will power and that I am "weak" with sugar. I have been in treatment for 3 years and I am about 90% better than when I started. I live a pretty normal life now - THANK GOD AND MATIA!! But my sruggle with sugar continues. I am thinking that it always will in some form. Don't get me wrong, the sugar addiction is better since I began treatment, but it's not gone. I am SURE it's because I haven't completely sworn it off. When I did completely follow List 1 in the beginning of treatment, I could resist sugar more easily. I didn't cheat for months at a time! Now, without the pain to remind me everyday to eat "right", I cheat more. And although I don't feel pain the way I used to when I cheated (like I said, I am so much better now)...I STILL feel the effects of the sugar. It's just not good for me!!!!!
You are STRONG!!! but you are fighting biology!!!
I just want to say that after reading Matia's dissertation and some other books by other doctors, you are not a weak person by any stretch when it comes to sugar... we are hard wired to want sugar I think, everyone wants sugar...I have been reading a book written by an endocrinologist out of Santa Barbara called "The Schwarzbein Principal". Often times people who have "addictions" are trying to fight physiology, which we can all agree is a very powerful thing. When we eat sugar, we have serotonin relased into the body which makes us feel good temporarily. After a while, it goes away, and then we are looking for another "fix" . This is why we end up wanting more and more of those addictive substances. I think we need to be very kind to ourselves and realize that the reason why some of us may have such a hard time kicking sugar is because we have over years conditioned physiologically our bodies and brains to want more and more and more... There is another psychologist who wrote "Little Sugar Addicts". She was a therapist for AA for a long time and only had on average a 20% success rate. She hypothosized that when you changed the diets of alcoholics from high sugar to low sugar that the alcoholism rate in AA would drop. When she put groups of patients on a low sugar diet, her success rate went from 20% to 97% recovery from alcoholism. So, the moral of the story is that if you have one addiction, you are likely to have another and if you can cut one out, hopefully the others will fall as well. This happened with me and coffee. I strongly believe that cutting out sugar is not a simple black and white answer as will power. I do think that if one understands why it is so difficult to take the path we have chosen, cutting those things out like sugar can be easier. I hope that helps. It has not been easy for me to cut sugar out... Like I say, I am a pretty bad patient, but as I have researched more into IC/IBS/addictions, etc. I have become a better patient because I have gained more knowledge and stopped feeling guilty and weak.