As far as my bladder goes I mostly have urethra pain as well. It doesn't matter she can and will still help you. She has really helped me with my hormonal imbalance and it sounds like to me soemthing is going on there. If you don't really have a lot of other symptoms such as fibro, headaches all the more reason to get started now before it gets BIGGER. For me I have had problems my whole life with my bladder so I am one of her more difficult cases. I also did antibotics for a really long time. If I were you I would start on the diet list one for now. It doesn't really matter if you have IC or not she will treat you as an individual. I have to say this program does work but I like to be upfront and say that it CAN be really slow depending on your histrory and why your sick ect. I don't know much about you so its hard to say but I am sure once you talk to Matia she can give you a grasp of things. Some people do improve with just the diet but it doesn't fix the whole problem you just get releif. Others take much more time and adjustment with the herbs. This was the best thing I have ever done for my bladder and my WHOLE BODY's health. I am glad you made it here and if you have any other questions feel free to ask. I hope you choose to see her.

Hey! Welcome! What you describe is something that most definetley is something Matia can/does treat. Some of us as patients of Matia's actually were not given IC as an official diagnosis and some of us were actually told we did not have IC because it didn't quite match up to the western standard/classification of IC. IC spans a huge range of symptoms that and Matia treats more than just IC she treats IBS, fibromyalgia, bladder issues, Vulvadynia, infertility, endometriosis and a long long list of other stuff. I beleive that IC and the greater symptoms and overall imblance that contributes to bladder problems is her specialty you could say!  All in all what ever it is- symptom wise it caused us discomfort pain and suffering and we knew something was wrong and the traditional methods were not a good option for us- thus many of us went searching or found out about this treatment proticol and are finding ourselves slowly but surely improving. Many Many Many patients over the last 13? years have gotten well and regained their health through this program.  The burning you describe being connected to your menstrual cycle is certainly for real- many of us report that symptom too. I've been in treatment for 17 months and I am making good progress. Some patients have been in longer and others get better and improve in a short time - it kind of depends on alot of factors - ie- how you got sick and what caused it how well you follow the proticol.. etc. Its a very unique and personal treatment tailored to you. Matia is AMAZING and I am on my way to becoming healthier than before I got sick because I am learning to take care of my health in fantastic ways. Raquel or Lynn who work in the Bomamed office are fabulous and you can ask us or them as many questions as you like to see if this treatment is a good fit for you. May you feel better soon and get the best treatment. It's an intense process but in my opinion its been life affirming/changing. peace be with you... Mary 

  Yes, I would definitely purchase her disertaion.   After reading it, the pieces of the puzzle came together for me.  I am so thankful that I have hope to recover from this illness.

Well as far as money goes I don't know if you need a dr to write this off as a medical expense but I know it can be done. I know you cant write it ALL off but you can write some of it off. Esp the visit out to her. As far as the diseartation it helped me a great deal but I also have a grasp for Chinese Med. Not that that is ALL it talks about but the lang is there and it is a part of it. I have to say also even though this program is a b it on the pricy side I spend less money because I am not wasting it trying things that never work. Definatly start with the diet. Now some people do experience toxin die off meaning the toxins are detoxing out of your body just on the diet alone so if you start to experience new symptoms while on the diet it's not uncommon. Also that is part why the herbs are needed and Matia is there to guide us. The great thing too is that the emails to Matia aren't charged some of us talk to her just once a month and then use the email to kit and do adjustments. THere are monthly phone support meetings if you call the office they can give you the info. That might help you as well . THey are the first Friday of the month but sometimes they are posted later.
I am in Bradenton between Sarasota and st pete tampa area about 3.5 hrs north of you.

I think I have about the same kind of irritation and burning in the urethra, just like you I have no bladder pain.  I think it's also a mild form of IC for me.The urethra pain has been better during treatment, it depends on the formula that I'm taking, sometimes it gets worse again but that often means that bad stuff is getting out and that is a good thing.I also have endometriosis and IBS and that has improved a lot for me, I still have ovulation pain but my menstrual pain is so much better now
So it's mainly the urethra pain that still has to improve for me, but healing takes time and I believe that it will all get better if we just hold on.Vicky

Hi DashaLike you I don't have the urgency for frequency, when I am in pain it tends to be in the urethra. I've only had IC symptoms for about a year and although I first saw this website last April I just assumed treatment with Matia would be a NO NO for me as I live in the UK.  At that time if I had said to my hubby I want to go to LA for treatment he would have laughed at me.  So I continued with the medication and the western IC diet and wasted a lot of money on all sorts of expensive supplements that did nothing at all to help.   In December I decided that I didn't want to live like this forever and decided to take the plunge and see Matia.  I started on the list 1 diet straight away and had my appointlment in January.  I know altready its the best thing I could have done.  I'm now off my standard medication and feel much more in control.  I know if I cheat on the diet it hurts so its my own fault and that makes me more determined to stick to the regime and get well as soon as possible.I am lucky that I have only had IC for a short time and that I didn't have too many other treatments before starting with Matia.  I totally trust that she will bring my body back into balance and to help me life a much healthier life in future.  There is so much support from Matia and the people on this site that you will never feel alone with dealing with this.

So glad you are finding help on this site!  I have no bladder pain, all of my pain is in my urethra.  I do have frequency though. I would tell you to get in treatment before it gets worse.  I did not have this much frequency the first year I had IC, I did not know what I had at the time.  I just had urethral discomfort at first and some frequency, then after the birth of my son all hell broke loose and now I have full blown IC.  Matia helps with all sorts of things, not just IC.

Ladies yall did a bang up job answering those questions! I wanted to add- I never got a cystoscopy and worried that before I saw Matia before I knew better that I would have had to have had an official referrral and label- "diagnosis of IC" from a western doc before I could see her. I was in my heart - very against the cystoscopy somehow I knew it was not necessary and could make me worse fromt he invasiveness of the procedure. It turns out you can diagnos IC without invsive procedures simply on symptoms alone - in fact there has been ALOT of evidence that Cystoscopies and certain porcedures that Diagnos IC can make people worse and alot of western MD are not using them anymore. By law in Californina the first visit must be in person and she will actually be able to tell alot from your physical persona- Chnese mediicne has very accurate and interesting methods of diagnosis that utilize a few methods to draw a picture of the envirnoment of imblance that is going on in your body. Eyes, skin tone and condition, posture, demeanor, energy, tongue condition and the pulses of the different organ systems convey very specific patterns of disharmony that TCM pratitioners are rigourously trained to look for. Simply by the report of your symptoms in your appointments she can tell what is happening in your body and thus what to give it next. I am always astonished at her accuracy - she knows how to work with the body for the next round of herbs or shifts that need to occur. The goal is to ulitmately strengthen the body to the point where it does not need any herbs to make it healthy. Just food and maybe some probiotics to keep the gut healthy.  I know this is ALOT of information and much of it is a learn as you go process.BTW- to begin with Californina standards for TCM practioners is sky high not to mention she is super smart professional grounded and 110% committed to help getting you well. I'm empowered in this process- I am a big part of my healing and that makes me feel good. Health is not belonging solely to doctors. I think part of what makes her a good practitioner is the VAST numbers of patients she has seem who all have had different manefestations of IC over the years. Her patients are really good teachers!  The exposure to that many cases over 14 years coupled with super strong training makes her qualified to do this esp. long distance. Whether or not she sees me in person- I would be explaining the symptoms and what my month was like regardless. I don't think needling gets you better any quicker and some folks would not need it anyway. I do wonder if Scype would be a good thing to do in the future when its more common- like how everyone has a TV now?  Using Herbs and food are huge part of Chinese Medicine treatment  as well as other modalities like needling, moxa,gua shua, tui na, and other treatments. USed in the way that we do- they care able to cause a radical change in our health over a slow period of time. The slow period of time along with the diet  also allows one to integrate the new ways of eating into ones life until it becomes a natural process and an enjoyable one! hope this is helpful!