Michelle,
the lenght of treatment really depends on each person but just based on the fact that your dependent on painkillers doesn't seem like you would be 6 months that is considered very mild cases. Most people don't finish in 6 months. Some people get some really good progress in 6 months but I wouldn't say restored health at that point. It is more realistic to say anywhere between 1-3 yrs and some take longer.
About the diet it gets easier because your adding things as you progress and the more you adhear to the diet usually the faster your able to add things in. Some people find they are able to go out with the diet depending on what is available in your area. Where are you located?
As far as being concerned about dropping your pain killers or other meds Matia wouldn't have you just quit them cold turkey. That is something you and she and your Dr would work on doing. Don't let that discorage you from doing treatment.
For some the diet alone can be a big improvement and for some while it does help it's not taking away all the symptoms. I find for me I still have pain but if I don't do the diet I am in more pain. Another thing is hard not to compare yourself when your in this treatment. Everyone of us has a differenty history and some of us have been sick our whole lives so it will take longer to get back to balance. I am one of those people. Still even so I have come a long way.
most people see little improvements and that is what keeps us all going. At first I felt worse bc of all the toxins dieing off and I thought I was getting worse but this ended and I have had little signs to let me know I am progressing. I am sure others can fill you in on this as well. I dont want to sugar coat this treatment. It does work but it's slow and hard for some and really is dependent on each persons history.
if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

I started with severe bladder pain Feb 2009.  After researching and trying antibiotics, NAET, many Dr's including family practice, urologist, 2 support groups, a nurse practioner, another MD, accupuncture, massage, yoga, Cystoprotek,  etc  I found Matia Oct 2009 and started level 1 diet on my own.  I made an apt Nov 2009, came home and started on her program.  I had the same pain Dec and then the 2nd week of Jan 2010 the pain gradually went away over about 2 weeks...and seemed to improve over the next months.  I stopped her herbs July 2010 but am staying on the probiotics and fish oil but only once a day or every other day versus my treatment dose of 3 times daily.  I am currently pain free and on no other meds (except my allergy pill).  
It did take a big sacrifice and lots of effort to maintain the diet for about 4 months but the pain made it easy to do because I had to get my life back.  It was soooo worth it.  When you are in pain and view "artificial foods" as part of the cause, you don't want to eat anything to make it worse.  There is so much protein, you will not feel hungry.  I ate steaks. turkey and pork roast with homemade gravy and mashed potatoes with water and butter.  I did go out with family and requested plain chicken, salmon, fish, or meat with salads or vegtables.  I also ate potatoes, brown rice, and lays potatoe chips. The restaruants used olive oil or butter. I steamed lots of brocolli, sauted lots of cabbage, zuchinni, and ate scrambeled eggs for breakfast almost daily. I ate lots of celery and cucumbers with salt too. There are tons of food ideas on ICAMA.  
Once I started to feel better, I gradually expanded my foods to lists 2,3,4,5 and found that I could now tolerate them.  I still avoid fake sugars, soda, high fructose corn syrup, and other highly processed foods with lots of chemicals.  But I eat pizza, hamburgers, fruits, choclate, etc with no problems.  I just do my best every day and eat in moderation.   
To get through all this I did use some Vicodin, pyridium, baking soda, and prelief but used the minimum possible to help control the pain.  They all helped a little bit.  Vicodin helped the most, but I could not use it often because I could not drive/work and I was afraid of using it more than a few times a week.
Good luck with your journey and I pray that you find health and healing. When I think about all this now, it is becoming a distant memory.  I lost 1 year of my life but I think the knowledge and research I did was life transforming and just beginning.  Be strong...you can do it too. 

Wendy you should write your story. Its nice for those of us still plugging along to read about sucess.

I started treatment 9 months ago. I have not had improvement yet in my bladder, but I have had IC for 5 years and I have been sick with gut issues since I was born prematurely my entire life.  Last month I went on vacation and cheated terribly on the diet as well.  For me, I feel better when I eat sugar because its feeding the bad guys, hence its SO hard for me not to cheat when I know it will take a way my pain when I do.  I feel worse when I eat healthy.  So, this treatment has not been easy for me at all, because my bladder feels worse with the diet as I am detoxing.  I know in my head though that the pain is a GOOD thing, because it means toxins are dieing.  When they die, they throw off toxins that can cause pain.  I still go out to eat, I have a good steak with no seasonings, a vege with no seasoning except butter and you can have a baked potato.  I have three children, 12, 2, and 3.  So, it has been a challenge with cooking, but I did get used to it.  The diet change, like anything takes commitment and time to get used to, but you will get used to it.  I keep telling myself its not forever, and I will be able to eat yummy things again, and be healthy too!  This treatment is not easy, and I have not talked to many people that it worked for in under a year, not saying they are not out there, but the majority it takes longer. The important thing is to NOT cheat, take it from a cheater, its not worth it.  This is a journey but we all have one another to help us with support.  Matia has a lot of experience and she knows what she is doing, you are in good hands if you choose this treatment.
Now, before I cheated I had lots of improvements in my body that were not in my bladder.  My joint and muscle aches improved, my sleeping, my energy, and my constipation.  That does tell me things were happening that were positive.
 

Hi Michelle,
For me it took a little more than 1 year to really notice improvement. I surely had improvements from the beginning of treatment, like less bowel pains, slowly less period pain, better skin, stronger nails, better immune system,...  but my urethra pain was/is bothering me most and it took about 1 year before I really noticed a difference in the urethra pain.  At the beginning I had constant burning but now I'm slowly having more and more good days (as long as I stick to the diet, I'm on list 3 now). I consider myself as a mild case of IC, maybe because I soon started this treatment, but it can also take a while before you start to feel better. I still have a way to go, I'm struggling with other problems due to an accident (muscle pains) but the treatment works. Patience is very important at the beginning, reading the stories of other patients always helped me a lot! I wish you all the best.
Vicky

I have been in treatment for 14 months.  The biggest thing that has slowed down my treatment was taking pain medications.  After being off them for a few weeks, I realize that my pain levels are about the same and I am sleeping much better. 
To motivate myself to go off the medication, I read up on them on RX list (the professional section).  Almost all of my medications had bladder pain and/ or frequency as a side effect.  When I took a medication like Tranadol or Neurontin, I experienced temporary pain relief only to have the pain return with a vengance an hour later.  I also was surprised that I slept much better after going off sleeping medications.
 

Hi Michelle, I have been in treatment for 15 months now and am SO SO much better.  I've had IC for a long time, and like you years of bacterial and UTI infections before that.  I think for years I was sick, and just didn't want to admit the symptoms, because they weren't there all the time.  This month has been my best month ever in the last 15 months.  Most days now I don't even think about IC or my bladder.  I still get some mild symptoms a day or two before my menstrual cycle, but this month, even that is just about nothing.  I know I'm not 100% well yet, but I think I'm 90% there now.  This treatment works!  The diet was easy for me in the beginning because I was so sick, I had been told by others to try "going vegan" and for about four months lived only on vegetables, so Matia's diet was like a treat for me.  I moved quickly through phase 1 anyways and am now on phase three, with some of phase 4 included.  However, it is when you are well that the diet is harder to stick to.....when you are in pain and you know eating something is not good, it is easier to be disciplined then when you are well.  So that is my struggle now.  I just got back from vacation and did a bit of cheating, but now I'm home and back on track.  I loath to think where I would be if I hadn't found Matia last year.  Her knowledge of this disease is vast and accurate.......follow her instructions to the letter, and you will be well soon!  Have patience and courage.  Good luck to you!

I've been in treatment for 2 years and 2 months. I go without symptoms 3 to 4 months a time now. I mean NO SYMPTOMS. The last time I had a bad flare was after using a new shade of Naturetint. I've been a huge fan of that company and have been using 2 shades 7c and 8c for years without any problems. And then I was feeling soooo good for so long that decided to try their new shade, called Copper Arizona and had a massive flare that took us 3 month(!) to calm. Matia thinks that that shade must have higher chemical content (hence more red). Since then I started using Light Mountain henna that Angela recommended, and have no problems at all.My issues were always mostly bacterial, and I understand "bacterial" cases might be harder to treat.But other than that I feel absolutely healthy: no constipation, insomnia, fatigue, depression, hemorrhoids, acne, anxiety or anger. Sex feels great again. I don't find a single hair on my brush!!!! It used to be really bad. I am sure I missed something. I am writing this and having a very hard time believing it myself. That is how sick I was for years, and it has all completely resolved. The most umbelievable for me are depression and anger, I was suffering since childhood. I am still keeping myself on list 3, evem though Matia allowed already many things from list 4, but I am waiting for my bladder to be more stable, no hurry, to me List 3 feels like heaven :)

This is my second time in treatment (I had a period of about 8 years in between of no bladder symptoms).  It is 18 months.  It took about 16 months, and then I experienced a period of almost 8 weeks where I thought my main symptom of urgency was gone. For the last 6-8 weeks it has come back again.  I kind of remember from being in treatment before and reading other stories and posts, that this does happen.  I still beat myself up anyway –– "what did I do to ruin it?".  I find it SO hard to maintain all the abstinence from everything.  When I started flaring again is when I got too confident.  I tried lattes again.  I talked to Matia, and she thought maybe it was everything I was putting on my skin –– I had been using some essential oils on my skin as bug repellent because the mosquitoes got SO bad this summer here in the midwest.  Also, I was using things like sun block on my children, and she said absolutely non of these things on my skin, unless they were approved by her.  I'm still not sure exactly what it is, or why it's taking so long to get back on track, but I'm sure I'll get there eventually.
This treatment takes a lot of patience and persistence.  Hang in there, b/c it works. I know from being through it once before.  I tried a lot, as most others have, before I found Matia back in the early 2000's.  She got me better than, and that was before her PhD. She is a miracle healer. 

Hi all,
I have been experiencing symptoms of IC for about five months now.  I have some urgency, an inflamed bladder and pelvic wall.  I had suffered from chronic  UTIs for several years before coming down with my current symptoms. I used antibiotics to treat my UTIs and was on birth control for about a decade.
I have not yet gone to see Matia due to financial constraints.  I am normally very careful with what I eat and tend to stick to an organic, seasonal diet.  I stay away from corn syrup, sugars, processes foods, etc.  I am not taking any medications to manage the pain or symptoms of IC, since I learned that IC can be caused by repeated antibiotic use and the pill.  I don't want to further aggravate my symptoms with other medications.
I have been following Matia's diet for the past week or so and have noticed some improvement all ready, although my urologist insisted on a cystosocopy which I think set me back.
Like Michelle- I am tyring to figure out how long treatment takes.  I don't know if this is allowed-but any idea how long treatment might take for someone in my situation?
Looking forward to your repsonses.
Annie

That is such a good post MM.  I couldn't agree more.
Matia once said we are lucky to have IC because it gives us a chance to turn our lives around and look forward to a much healthier future.   I often think of this and feel so grateful for having found ICAMA and also to have Matia to guide me through this.
List 1 is tough but its OK once you get into it, I am on list 3 now but I always got by on list one by having lots of allowable food handy.  Try not to let yourself get too hungry, that is when your willpower will be weakest.  The zucchini muffins in the vegetable recipe section, they are delicious cut in half and toasted.
Remember the body detoxing can cause some bladder issues so never think that the diet is not working.  Its a matter of pushing through.  Evenually the symptoms become less and you will start to feel better.
If it is at all possible for you to become a patient of Matia's I would urge you to do it.  I travelled from the UK to see her and now I have long distance telephone apts.  It is the best investment I have ever made.
I am nine months into treatment and some days I feel great, some days arn't so good but they are becoming fewer.  On the good days I feel so well that I realise I had forgotten what good health is like, and it makes me even more determined to see this through.
 

I am anxious to meet with Matia, but at the same time I'm afraid. I've had IC for 12 years.  I have had may struggles in my marriage due to my depression.  I feel I have no hope.  I will give my self one more try with Matia for my children and my family that are suffering to see me go down due to this horrible disease.