Those who have been in contact with me over the last few months know of the issues I've had with my ears. It started this past February when I caught a cold which affected my ears. After they were not healing quickly with herbs, I made a very regretful decision to take a course of antibiotics. I regretfully listened to MDs and those around me who meant well, but didn't have the same knowledge as Dr. M. My ears only got worse and worse. I then made a decision to get ear tubes. Although I didn't use sedation or rx pain medication for the surgery, and although the pressure on my eardrums is less, I'm having a whole host of other symptoms that are extremely unpleasant and painful. The procedure was scheduled and it was done before Dr. M had a chance to respond to my email expressing her opinions against it. Needless to say, I have put my ears through WAY more trauma than they ever needed to go through in the first place. I think I was more liberal with these choices because my bladder has been doing fairly well and before this, I was functioning quite normally.

So I'd like to heed a warning to those who are feeling well and considering pursuing outside advice because you believe your body is strong enough to handle it. Please consult Dr. Brizman first! I wish I had never done the antibiotics. I'm not sure yet how I feel about the ear tubes, but I am considering having them removed if Dr. M says she thinks it best. She wants me to give it a little more time as to reduce the amount of trauma.  Trust me, I know the feeling of desperation when you get into crazy situations and are desperate for relief, especially when they are not IC-related. But also trust me when I say it's not worth it. Not at all.

As for me, I'm recommitting to ONLY following Matia's advice, and nobody else's from here on out. No matter what it's for- IC or otherwise. I just hope others can learn from my mistakes and spare yourself the agony that taking antibiotics brings.