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I posted for the first time a couple of weeks back in response to a message that really hit home with me. I had shared that my I was a returning patient and that although my previous bout with IC 7 years ago was successfully won, I had some other condition now that was really as equally as terrible.
I wanted to report to all of you that I have seen some amazing improvement is this short period. I have many symtoms and discomforts still, but I am now able to function again and should be returning back to work soon.
I believe that my body was plagued by the same type of issues that cause IC, but for whatever reason it manifested in other ways than the bladder pain. Through this experience I have grown and will continue to grow tremendously. My appreciation for my physical health and my understanding of how to take care of my body and not ignore warning signs has elevated. I think I have been sick since I was very young so symptoms to me appear to be normal when they are really a huge flag. My spiritual heart is now open where before it was closed and dark - open is good.
I think about all the people sufferering who continue to suffer because as one of you said recently, western med just doesn't know what to do. There is no doubt in my mind that if I had continued on the path with western docs, I would be in big trouble by this point.
In the beginning of this 2nd time around treatment, I was so freaked out that I had to hold on to Matia's confidence because I had none of my own. That worked for me and now I am beginning to build my own cofidence back.
This forum is such a valuable tool because I went back and read the really old ones to and found many things that applied to me. There was a post talking about fear and worry and the advice was to change those words to something more positive.
Thanks for listening,
Tammera
so happpy to hear you are improving
That is wonderful that you are starting to feel a bit better Tammera. We are all here for one another....during our darkest days and our days of joy and sunshine.
Keep on believing and sharing your progress!
warmest hugs!
Keren
Great news!
That is great news indeed!It seems that you caught a wave and that it is leading you ashore. That's inspiring.Keep trusting in that!Hug
Tammera, Always so good to
Tammera,
Always so good to read positive reports that give hope to us all. Would you mind sharing -- if it's not too personal -- what you think led to your getting sick in this new way, so that we might all learn from it & perhaps hear something new that will help us to stay healthy & aware even once well?
tammera~
This is happy news! Thank you for sharing both your struggles and amazing improvement! Stay confident and keep on going! You are very inspiring! ;)
Contributing factors
I think some of the key contributing factors were as follows:Physical - I work full time and in June 09 had completed a 3 year program (night class)of graduate level course work to change my career. I have two sons that are very active in sports (5 & 7), and we live on a ranch and care for 100+ acres of oranges. It is a wonderful life and I am so lucky, but I got (am) really run down.Ignoring major symptoms of poor condition - (I have been sick for so long that what seems normal to me is not normal health so even though I beat IC, the bladder aspects, I never completed my time with Matia to optimize my health)some symptoms were - diarrhea, constipation, sinus/bronchitis frequent, discharge, circulation problems, heat intolerence, memory, - things that many of you very wise women would not ignore. I still continued on a pretty healthy diet because I don't know that anyone who experiences IC ever goes back to eating the way the did before, but I may have relaxed here a bit much. Probably partly due to convenience. Also add in excessive hair color and a few rounds of good ol' antibiotics.Emotional - Had to eliminate very toxic bio mom and step dad from the picture for a while starting in Nov 08 for about a year. This was very hard because they had controlled me forever. Real dad left local area with no good bye prob about 5 years ago. Difficulty connecting with others in husbands family esp his sister and mom (no fault on them). Difficulty connecting with women in general. Spiritual - Was raised Catholic and struggled to relate to church for various reasons and when the reports of abuse became news. (I am by no means critical of those who continue with the church or even of the church - it just wasn't a good fit for me) So, completely lost in the world spiritually and even became callous towards religion - (too much information?)I think those are my contributing factors. I haven't had the opportunity to discuss these with Matia, but from what I have read from her dissertation and from all of you, this is what I believe.Thank you for asking. Tammera
Tammera, Thank you again for
Tammera,
Thank you again for sharing all these contributory factors in such detail. I really agree how emotional issues and yes spiritual too can certainly put one off kilter, not saying a cause at all but, just make one more susceptible to falling ill. It really sounds like you've been dealing with a lot... I hope this 2nd time in treatment will also be an opportunity to clear out and clear up much of this, to make peace in the face of all that you can't control... and maybe even find a new/deeper spiritual connection than you could imagine? I know a lot of us on here could suggest some great & varied books in that direction.
May I further ask if your antibiotic rounds were for a serious condition or not? It's interesting, Matia claims that usually post-treatment if one takes antibiotics for a serious situation they don't incur problems after, but when people take it for smaller things like colds and or ear infections (where herbs could be used instead) they end up with problems. I'm also curious more about your post-treatment diet, if there's anything that stands out, as many of us wonder "how far" we can go with regard to eating more normally after treatment.
I certainly don't want to be intrusive, I just want to learn from others, and am happy to have others learn from my travails too. Thank you again for being so thoroughly open. Praying for your return to health!!
Reflecting
When replaying my missteps that led me to where I am today, diet is probably one of the keys. I continued to cook good meals with the meats, veggie, starch just as I had. However, I think I added in too many extras especially in recent months. It is a slippery slope and once I started having treats occassionally, I started having them more frequently. I think the yeasties do "talk" to our brains for survival and they were encouraging me on. It would be a dessert here or there (always with chocolate). I live in central ca and our weather is very cold in the winter. There are many foggy cold and overcast days. I don't do well with gloomy weather and in Jan and Feb I really started eating too many xtras. My IC hit me in Dec.I don't think adding things back in like swiss cheese, crackers, regular bread, sauces in restaurants, dressings, or fruits had anything to do with this.
I made some poor choices and was not even looking at alternative sweetened foods that are on the list like the agave choices or Fabe items etc...
The antibiotics were also just for sinus/bronchitis. Nothing more serious than that - so Matia's theory holds true here. I even called Matia for help but things didn't turn quick enough for me (probably because I was in worse shape than I realized) and so I turned to the antibiotics for that quick fix.
One more thing that I have been very concerned about and don't really understand how much it plays in is the hair color. I had my hair colored on 12/30 and again on 2/4. It seemed like she left it on for a really long time because this woman has 2 or 3 others going at the same time with 2 assistants. I would sit there thinking "get this stuff off of me", but I don't know appropriate times etc. I even said something to her about not wanting to much exposure but that went in one ear and out the other. I am not blaming her because I am the one in her salon, but I would be very cautious about hair color.
At my appointment with Matia on Friday, I did ask about emotional, spiritual, and physical. This seems to be primarily a physical concern, but I definitely need to clean up some other areas of my life. So when I get a little stronger physically, we have a plan for this as well.
Also, I have learned to connect with others you have to share about yourself. I am a very private person, but am trying to learn how to have better relationships with others and letting people get to know me better. Please keep asking if I can help in any way or am not answering what you are asking about clearly.Tammera
Thanks for your response...
Thanks for your response... it is a trove of guidance for us all. That is great that you're opening up to deeper connections with others. I used to be more private too but through this process am seeing the rewards of connecting and allowing myself to feel/express emotions. Plus so many of us want to "keep it together" like not show how much things affect us, but really what people value and connect with most is when we're vulnerable and real.
Yes, I am very interested as well to know how big a deal the hair coloring/treatments play.... like if you have a clean diet and no antibiotics and all else, can one continue doing that or is just that enough to cause problems? Perhaps something to bring up on the next call.
I really wish you well... I can imagine how tough going thru treatment a 2nd time could be (even though thank god we have Matia!) on top of all else you're dealing with in life. And I can't thank you enough for your COMPLETE openness, Wow!, in sharing your experiences. Bless you!!