I should seriously stop posting!
 
So so many people have huge improvements in the first few months. I am jealous of all the people who have made huge improvements. Asume you will be one of the many and not like me! I want to remind everyone that I have mild IC. I go out about my life relatively normally so I really htink if I had been worse to start out I'd see bigger improvements. I used the analogy of weight loss- people who are 300lbs and go on a slight diet lose a lot of weight but when youare 130 and want to lose 5- it is really hard.I have some things that are great- my skin is clear, my periods are every 28 days which is HUGE for me so I know there is healing going on but I am just disappointed that I;m not where I thought I'dbe- but what do i know? I also have a lot of stress with 3 kids daily and can never catch a break.
 
YOu are doing the right thing and please don't use my whining as a barometer of the average results of this treatment. BY the way-I would have felt the exact sme way after reading my posts so I don't blame you for being anxious. I really worried about posting my fears. Just read the things that poele wrote to me and that should help you. It helped me.
 
Good luck with your trip and don't second guess for a second. My name is Deirdre which means" Sorrow" in Gaelic (thanks Mom)so don't assume  you'll share my luck. LOL

Hi Poppy,
Everyone is soooo different. I started treatment only a month and a half ago on 09/15/2011, and already I am sooooooo much better. My Urethra burning went from fluctuating between a 5-8 on a daily basis. And as soon as I started treatment it went down, fluctuating between 3-5. Now for the past 3 weeks, the only urethra pain it is only between a 2-4 and it only happens if I have cheated on the diet or stressed out to much about something, or if I have to much physical activity for the day.
 
I moved to diet list 2 after only 3 weeks of treatment. I haven't yet tried everything on list 2 yet just because I feel so good and don't want to risk it.
 
All I can say is everyone is different and everyone will respond differently to treatment. For me, I always try to stay positive and read positive posts on this website. Sometimes, I cannot read some of the negative posts because it starts bringing me to a negative place. Other people on here can handle it, and help those that need to vent. And it is nice, sometimes you need to vent and have people help you that understand.
 
It also really helped me to go through all of Matia Brizman's posts. She posts a lot of positive stuff. She also posts stuff about how some people can get better in a year, and for others it might take 3-4 years. It's hard but you will learn so much stuff while you go through this process.
 
I can honestly say that finding Dr. Brizman has been a miracle for me, there are so many signs that I am getting better. And it is happening so fast for me. I already have a much better sex life, it feels so much better now. And I am not tensing up with pain everyday.
 
Look for the positive posts on this website, I think that is what you need in the beginning of treatment. Then later when you get to a better place physically and emotionally, then you can start helping others that need to vent. We are all here to help each get better. Some people just need to vent, but in the beginning of treatment you won't be able to help them, so maybe it is just better if you don't read those posts until later.
 
Good luck with your treatment I hope you are going to get better fast. I am glad you have already done the first step and made your appointment and booked your flight.
 
 

Hey there,
 
firstly, deir, do NOT stop posting! I would be very upset if you did :( ;)
 
Secondly, Poppy, I'm a UK patient too and started treatment in May. Things go up and down, but I have had really good stretches (the last one was nearly two weeks) where I feel minimal to no symptoms. Last month I had eight days that I classified as symptom-free. That's definite progress for me. I've had a bit of a crappy week, but when I try to be objective about it (so hard, as you know) I can see that my bad weeks are much better than they were. Today, for example, was a "medium" day, I'd say - but what that meant was that I had some tenderness around my urethra and clitoris - and that's been it. And I had a couple of hours in the morning and another couple in the afternoon where I felt basically asymptomatic. The real struggle for me now is the mental one - I find myself getting very stressed and despondent if I feel much in the way of symptoms at all. Talked to Dr B about it at my last appt, and she said that it's normal, the illness has a PTSD aspect to it, and I'll feel better when I feel physically better! actually, I'm looking into therapy to help tackle it, but I take her point ;)
 
I guess my point here is that the battles I'm going through with treatment aren't the ones I expected. I can get on with my life, work and deal with my son and all the other daily business, and often I don't have pain (and my frequency is now normal, and I only ever have the faintest urgency, which actually has improved still further in the last month, I think). But I now feel borderline phobic about ANY sensation (and I would classify what I have now as sensation, rather than pain - tickling/itching/niggling) in my pelvic area, and just feel exhausted at FEELING things. So much of what I'm tackling now is the fear of illness rather than the illness itself - the fear that it won't ever fully leave, and that I'll be coping with the niggles and the anxiety they induce forever. So what I'm saying (longwindedly) is - treatment is complex. You can feel better in some ways and worse in others. Symptoms can shift and change, and the timescale is different for everyone. Try if you can to go into it with a positive but open mind. You won't regret going, I can absolutely promise you that. And there are a bunch of us in the UK so we can all support each other!

Hi Poppy, I have been in treatment since early May. I have seen slow but steady progress. I am on List 3 and can try things on List 4. Most days my bladder discomfort is a 1 -2. I never go above a 3 anymore and I would only be that bad if I really cheated. I have had stretches of a week too with having basically no symptoms. Don't worry, you will get better and even if it takes longer then 6 months know that it will happen, don't worry!

woo Katie day 12!! that is brilliant!