I once was blind, but now, IC…

I think that it is important to say to anyone who has been just diagnosed with IC and is now desperately searching for help that there is definitely hope. You have come to the right place and I assure you that Matia Brizman can and will help you. 

I was diagnosed with IC on February 14th (Valentine’s Day) of 2003, almost a year ago. At that point I was in so much pain and under so much emotional duress that I was actually hoping to be diagnosed with IC. I wanted an end to all of this agony. It had been almost seven moths since the initial onset of pain and as many of you know often diagnosing IC can be a long and torturous journey. The pain began for me as what seemed to be a normal cystitis or bladder infection brought on by sexual intercourse with a new partner. Seemed normal enough. Stupidly I had antibiotics at home and began treating my self-diagnosed infection. The antibiotics provided no relief and in fact seemed to be aggravating the pain and making the frequency and feelings of urgency get worse. I had constant burning, and a terrible pinching pain that was absolutely unbearable. My pain was so bad that it eventually led me to the emergency room in New York where I was living at the time. In the ER I was tested officially for a bladder infection or a UTI both of which came out negative, a result that is apparently very typical of IC. They switched my antibiotics and then began testing me for STDs, none of which I had. 

During the next six months I saw over seven doctors everything from urologists, gynecologists, neurologists, and even two old school Chinese doctors. I had been poked, prodded, and in the case of one of the Chinese doctors, even stepped on to increase circulation to my bladder. I tried everything. I had been told that is was possibly MS or even endometriosis, both of which terrified me in their impact on my future. I spent every waking hour consumed with fear. Fear of what it might be and even more afraid that there seemed to be no end to the pain in sight. 

I was fortunate in that the IC did not interfere with my sleeping which was my only reprieve. The pain for me would begin every morning after my first urination and would not abate again until I was once again asleep. I ran the gamut in medications and tried antibiotics, anti-depressants, nerve drugs, etc… My symptoms were constantly changing and at one point even included tingling in my hands and feel and severe pain in my back. Trying to track my ever changing pain made doctors look at me like I was crazy; which truly I was beginning to feel like. In fact many said that I was experiencing a psychosomatic pain brought on by stress. Matia is the first doctor to really understand that the pain from IC is very real!! It takes over your life both physically and emotionally.

By February, I had done so much of my own research that I was now convinced that I had either IC or endometriosis. My family, who now at 26 years old, I was living with, was also at their wits end. My dad( a doctor) too was crazed by this puzzling ailment. So on February 14th I convinced two doctors in San Diego where my dad used to practice to do both a cystoscopy and a laparoscopy and finally get to the bottom of this. I was sure that they would find something, they were certain that nothing was there.

“Ha” I thought when I finally awoke. “I was RIGHT!” They had found the tiny tears in my bladder, which though a mild case, was an indication that I did in fact have IC. Oh what a relief I could now cure it. Well the news that I was then faced with was devastating. “There is no cure” my doctor said, “only treatments”. Oh God, I was so depressed. Here I was twenty-six years old, single, on Valentine’s Day thinking that I now had a life ahead of me full of treatments that may or may not alleviate my pain. I was destined to a life alone without sex. All I could think of was how unfair. One day you are fine and healthy and now my whole life was different. Nothing about this seemed like good news.

I myself refused all conventional treatment, feeling in my gut that there must be some alternative. Something that comes on that suddenly must have a way of being reversed and cured. In truth I have always had some mistrust of traditional medicine and at this point 7 months and 8 doctors later I really was not feeling much faith. 

The Internet for months had been where I spent most of my waking hours investigating and researching my pain that now I turned to it once again. I typed in “recovery and IC” and only one place and one name appeared. It led me to this website where I found stories so similar to mine. Unlike the other stories that I came across on the Internet all of these stories were success stories. 

I called immediately and began the next stage of my journey, recovering my health. The moment I met Matia I felt assured that I was in the right place. She asked me everything about my medical, emotional, sexual, history. I finally felt heard. I began to understand why I got IC. IC happens differently in each person, which is why it is such a difficult disorder for traditional medicine to diagnose and treat since you must treat the individual and their set of symptoms. My IC was triggered by an herbal supplement, Lysine that I took in excess for several years. Whatever it is that began your particular bout of IC I assure you that Matia will unravel the puzzle. 

After my initial visit with Matia I began to feel relief within a week and for me within six months I was symptom free and have now been that way for almost four months. Symptom free!!

I can now say that in many ways IC was a huge gift to my life. It opened my eyes to how I was treating my body and has forced me to take a closer look at my emotions and health. Matia has not just treated my IC but has helped to make me healthier in every aspect of my life. I also have to thank IC for the other changes that came about as a result of my diagnosis. I have moved closer to my family and am now in my first really healthy relationship of my life. This Valentines Day will certainly be a lot different.

I was one of those gullible people who believed their gynecologist when he said “You can stay on the pill all the way into menopause.” I was on the pill for 26 years. What a mistake! I liked being on the pill and had no problems with it, but it has caused much anguish in my life for the past year and a half.  

I am one of the lucky ones in that I have a mild case of ic. I do not capitalize ic because I refuse to give it that importance. The word “I” is always capitalized and that’s what is important! 

I went to three gynecologists, two urologists, one holistic doctor, and an acupuncturist after my symptoms began. Although each helped me a little in some aspect of my illness or at least eliminated other causes for my symptoms, no one knew what the problem was or how to fix it. Suffice it to say – Western medicine doctors do not have a clue how to diagnose or treat this disease. I now find their beliefs and statements about ic incorrect, uncaring, and cruel. Here’s what they said to me – “You may just have to live with this problem”; “It’s all psychological, there is some unhappiness in your life manifesting itself in your bladder”; and “I don’t have time to help you”. No wonder I went through a little depression! Matia’s words to me on my first appointment were “I can get you over this fairly quickly”. 

I have been Matia’s patient for 8 months and my symptoms have drastically reduced. I now have a lot of days with almost no symptoms at all. My symptoms are/were burning, urethra spasms and knot feeling, funny electrical feelings, constant feeling of needing to urinate, and cold hands and feet. I never had pain or burning in my bladder nor did I have frequency. I did not have burning from the potassium test and during the hydro distension test I held a normal capacity. Due to not having these symptoms, I was continually misdiagnosed. Again, Western medicine does not understand it is different for everyone and it is not just the bladder that is ill. By comparison, it is uncanny how Matia understands this disease and can interpret your every symptom. Matia believes I will improve quickly because I have no other major problems except the ic; because I did not do many of the Western medicine treatments or taken many antibiotics in my life; and because I have always been a healthy eater. I don’t have a yeast problem and Matia does not believe I have a lot of bacteria either because the burning reduced so quickly. I quit the pill over a year ago and now my cycle is about every three weeks, so we are working on getting my hormones back in balance. 

This is how the treatment is going for me. 1. It is hard to stay on the diet but I quickly realized how much better I felt, so it is worth it. Again I am lucky because I can tolerate some foods that others cannot such as potatoes, green peppers, onions, cream of wheat, coffee in the morning, etc. 2. I have learned to be patient. Chinese medicine is very slow but very healing. I tell Matia I am getting better inch by inch. 3. I have good days and bad days. After several days of feeling really good, bad days are scary and depressing. That’s how this disease operates. I relish the good days and know that I will have more of them as treatment progresses. Even the bad days are great compared to how I felt before I began treatment. 4. There are days when I am tired of “the fight” and I just want to be normal again and eat normal again. On those days I try to occupy my mind with other things and not think about my illness, but it is hard. 5. I have anxious feelings. After hearing Western medicine’s “We don’t know what causes it and you can’t get over it”, I still get scared about having this disease. Matia says the anxiety will just disappear when I no longer feel symptoms. She is so right because the anxious feelings are almost gone. She is so confident about her treatment. 

I have written about my experiences and my symptoms hoping someone will say “That’s exactly like me”. I have written about my treatment and my food tolerances so you understand that not everyone has the same problem, the same healing time, or the same food restrictions. I have written about my feelings because it is an emotional disease and treatment and no one understands unless they too have ic (except Matia). If you are reading this website trying to decide if you should consider Matia’s treatment, stop wasting time and call Boma-Med. I promise you will not regret your decision. 

I am returning to my normal life and my happiness through Matia’s wonderful Chinese herbal medicine.

January 31, 2008

Hello, my name is Stephanie and I am recovering from IC.  I wanted to post my story so that others who are in a similar situation as I was several years ago—feeling hopeless in my search for relief and answers about my illness—can find hope that there is relief, there are answers, you are not the only one going through this suffering and it’s CERTAINLY not “just in your head” as some medical professionals were leading me to believe.

As I recall the situation I was in eight years ago when all this started, I am surprised at how painful these memories still are for me.  It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was a very real and terribly difficult time for me, both physically and emotionally.   My illness started out as a routine bladder infection.  I had a couple bladder infections that same year and the antibiotics seemed to do the trick.  But this last bladder infection proved impervious to the antibiotics and after (literally) months of trying different antibiotics there was no improvement in my condition. In fact, I was much worse.  In addition to trips to the bathroom at least every half hour, I also suffered joint pain, a low grade fever and the pain in my bladder and uterus area was alarming.  Managing my normal daily routine was becoming impossible.  Daily I would sit at home and stress about whether I should go to the emergency room, or not.  My Western doctor was stumped and sent me to several specialists including gynecologists, urologists and other internists.  I had more tests and procedures than I can count or name.  All coming up inconclusive or worse: positive.  I made the mistake of letting one doctor do an ANA test (to screen for autoimmune disorders) —which tested positive—and now insurance companies won’t touch me.  I did have bacteria in my cultures, but antibiotics were not working.  I was told my condition could be anything from Trichomoniasis to Lupus…and IC, but none of the doctors could find my cure.

Completely fed up with Western medicine and desperate to feel better, I turned to alternative medicine.  I saw acupuncturists and chiropractors who had the best of intentions—all stating they felt they could help me, and even though I sometimes had a reprieve, my symptoms always returned.  I remember feeling completely scared and hopeless as one acupuncturist threw up his hands and suggested I go back on antibiotics!

I was living in Los Angeles during this whole ordeal, and ironically enough it wasn’t until I moved to Portland Oregon that I learned of Matia and Bomamed.  A friend of mine from LA worked with a woman who had similar symptoms as mine, and was seeing Matia for treatment.  I browsed Bomamed’s website in total amazement.  I completely related to the descriptions, symptoms and stories.  My first conversation with Matia was a similar experience and I was so relieved to learn that many of the other ailments I’d been enduring (psoriasis, OCD tendencies, memory loss, non-existent sex life…much to my husband’s dismay) could be related to IC, as well as the correlation of likely causes (terrible diet, 20 years of birth control pills, mono).  I was a little skeptical about the efficacy of a long distance treatment, but was desperate and miserable enough to give it a try.

It’s been a little over three years since I first started treatment with Matia, and despite my complete lack of self-discipline (I have an undying love of fast food, chocolate, and certain beverages that are definite no-no’s),  I have stayed faithful in taking the daily prescribed herbs and supplements and have seen an incredible improvement.  While I’m not yet 100%, I am convinced I would be by now if I had strictly followed Matia’s diet.  I had a breakthrough a couple months ago when I was delayed in sending in my herb order and ended up going a month without any herbs…and I was symptom free!  I am now taking smaller doses and fully expect to be 100% in a very short time.  

In writing this, it’s not been easy revisiting my past.  The pain, confusion, self doubt and loss of hope I experienced made the first part of this decade the most unhappy time of my life.  I’m glad it’s passed.  I am healthier and in better shape now than I have been in over 15 years, and now I have the chance to share my story and give hope to others who are experiencing the devastation of IC.  Bomamed is your pathway to health.  It won’t be easy, but it works and I’m living proof!

(Name changed for privacy)

My problems with my bladder began in August of 2001. I was 25 years old, had a successful job in Chicago, lived in the city with friends, and was leading a very happy life. That all changed one day. I woke up one morning with urgency, frequency, and pain, all which came on very quickly. I had never had a bladder infection, but assumed that that was most likely what it was. I went to my doctor, who tested me, found bacteria in my urine, and prescribed seven days of antibiotics. After a week, I still had the same symptoms, and went back, expecting him to find lingering bacteria. That wasn’t the case, however. The bacteria had been killed, yet I still had symptoms of an infection, so he sent me home with another ten days of a different kind of antibiotic, and referred me to a urologist, whom I was to see if I didn’t feel better within a week. 

I did see that urologist, since I still felt terrible weeks later. I primarily had urgency & frequency – I had to go to the bathroom at least once an hour, and had spells during which I had to go every 10 minutes for several hours at a time. It had become incredibly frustrating at work, since I had an office job, where I could normally sit for hours at a time without leaving my desk. The constant uncomfortable feeling in my bladder had become a major problem – even my 20 minute commute to work seemed like an eternity, and some days it was near impossible. Activities that I had done on a daily basis had become a major challenge for me – sitting through a movie, going to a one hour class, going to baseball games, even taking a cab ride. As time went on, I also began to have terrible pains shooting through the entire lower half of my body. This would happen out of the blue, and when it did I could barely stand up, the pain was so bad. 

I then had a cystoscopy done under anesthesia at an excellent hospital in my area, and they found nothing indicative of IC – just a little redness and irritation, which they determined was not the cause of all of my problems. After seeing two more doctors in the area, I finally went to the Mayo Clinic where I had a number of invasive procedures done. They came up with the same answer – my bladder showed only slight redness, and they determined that I just had lingering bacteria which was causing my symptoms (even though their test results showed negligent bacteria). I was put on suppressive antibiotics indefinitely, and given Detrol to relax the bladder muscles. Several months and six doctors later, I had been given almost 20 prescriptions for everything from antibiotics and Ditropan to antidepressants. I rarely took any of them because I wasn’t ready to throw my entire body into disarray just to mask the symptoms of an underlying problem. I had begun to think it was just something I had to live with, when I came across a patient of Matia’s, and started chatting online. She directed me to the Bomamed website, and at a loss for any answers from Western medicine, I decided to give it a shot. I have to admit that at the beginning I was incredibly skeptical. I am about as straight as an arrow, mainstream thinker as you can find. I’m a business person. I take a very logical and conservative approach to life. Any illness I’d ever heard of had an answer in the form of traditional treatments. Chinese medicine had never even crossed my mind…until this point. 

I set up my initial phone consultation with Matia, and immediately felt much more comfortable than I had with any of the other doctors I had gone to. She actually understood the symptoms that the other doctors did not. She asked tons of questions in order to really understand my story and figure out what the underlying problems were. Over the next several months, I talked to Matia on a weekly basis, and based on how I was feeling and my answers to her questions, she would alter the herbs I was taking. After a while, we spoke every other week. 

For anyone considering the process, I think the most important thing to know is that you have to be patient. That did not come easy for me…..there were definite ups and downs throughout the entire process, and many days I was pretty close to throwing in the towel. I had days, and even weeks that I thought I was going backward instead of forward, but I finally started to see more and more good days creeping in. I tried to focus on those days, knowing that I was getting healthier slowly but surely. For me, the process took a good two years before I could really say that I felt like I had beaten this thing. It was well worth the wait!! I hung in through the numerous changes in herbs, the ups and downs, and maybe the hardest, the change in diet. At about the two year mark, I reached the point that I felt like I was back to leading a normal life, and can now say that I am about 99.9% healthy. I still take a maintenance dose of herbs and supplements, primarily to fight yeast (this is one of my major problems – I still get occasional yeast infections.) I am now back to, for the most part, eating a normal diet, although I am still careful to avoid a lot of sugar. 

Looking back over the past several years, I still do not have an answer to what caused me to develop IC, but I am sure that several things contributed to it. I had taken antibiotics long term for several years when I was young, I never paid attention to my diet, which included a lot of sugar and junk food, and I worked in a fairly stressful work environment. In hindsight, I’m sure that each of these factors contributed to my health issues, but after working with Matia, I have a different mindset about taking care of my health, especially with regard to diet. I still sometimes cannot believe that after all of the doctors and different types of medicines I was given that Matia was the only one that helped me get better. I hope that anyone suffering with IC will look into Bomamed and get started on the road to recovery – I am incredibly thankful that I was lucky enough to find Matia, and hope that anyone else suffering with the same problem can be so lucky.

The earliest memory I have of IC symptoms was when I was about eight years old. I knew by then that I was different from other people as far as my bladder was concerned. I usually had to urinate about every 20-60 minutes. I had never met anyone like me. I also had repeated bouts of strep throat, joint pains, leg aches, rheumatic fever, and mitral valve prolapse.

I didn’t experience any bladder pain until I was fifteen. I used to go into the bathroom between classes to urinate and put cold, wet paper towels against me to try and stop the burning. I would also drink some water and the pain would be gone by the time I got on the bus to go home. 

During the next five years, I experienced the usual frequency, but very little burning. One morning when I was 20 I woke up and had excruciating pain when I urinated. I looked in the toilet and the water was very red. I thought that I must have an infection. I believed that a trip to the doctor and some antibiotics would clear it up. The doctor saw that there was a lot of blood in my urine, but he detected no bacteria. He told me that my bladder walls were so inflamed that they were bleeding, but that he didn’t know why. He gave me some Pyridium and told me that it would probably clear up in a few days. He was right and I felt fine about a week later. 

The next severe pain occurred when I was 23, 24, and 26 years old. These were all like the first one, extremely painful. They each cleared up in about a week or so and as the first episode, no infection was found. When I was 32, the next severe episode came and the pain never left. The pain was the same as before, blood in the urine, no infection, burning in the urethra that felt like a hot coal was shoved up inside, spasms, cramping, and aching. I couldn’t function at all. I would be bent over in agony, spending most of my time on the toilet. I would cry for days until it subsided enough for me to get some sleep, then it would start all over again. It went on like this for a year. I actually did start getting some infections at this point, but it was very confusing because one time I would have one and the next time I didn’t. I took just about every antibiotic there was. Pain pills did little to ease my pain and I threw them all up. Sex became very painful and now it now started to set off the bladder attacks. 

After a year of the most horrible torture one can imagine I was finally diagnosed by a well known urologist. She assured me that I wasn’t crazy and that she would help me to get better. I had a hydrodistention and biopsy in May of 1985 and it confirmed that I definitely had IC and it was a pretty nasty case, as the doctor put it. I went on the low acid diet and started DMSO treatments right away. I had one a week for 6 weeks. By the end of the six weeks I was almost pain free and continued to improve. Shortly after this, I met a family doctor who believed that my IC was caused by Candida, so I decided to be treated for that. I went on a low carb diet and began using Nystatin to kill yeast. I did this for a year and my bladder remained stable. I then added acidic foods back in my diet and by eating them in moderation I was able to enjoy a fairly normal diet, with only mild symptoms as a result. It was a trade-off. I lived with mild burning and frequency on a daily basis. I only had one severe attack during the next twelve years. I discovered that it was caused by the Sudafed that I had been taking, so I avoided it in the future. I stabilized within a couple of weeks. 

During these twelve years my other health issues started to worsen. I had many episodes of tendonitis in my elbows and neck and both of my shoulders. Then the muscle pain started in my upper back and chest. Headaches were becoming more intense and almost a daily occurrence. Anxiety became a chronic and severe problem, along with depression. Constipation alternating with diarrhea had been a life long problem, with it worsening also. 

Four years ago the IC came back with a bang. Just a few months before this I started getting pain and stiffness in my knees and hands, also vaginal pain. When the IC flared this time it was here to stay. the diet didn’t alleviate the pain anymore and nothing gave me relief for long. DMSO did not help me at all this time and only made the pain worse. I tried the drug Elmiron, which worked great for me, but I had to give it up after suffering with stomach pain and diarrhea ever day for 7 months. This is one of the side effects of the drug. I was becoming very depressed and hopeless for my future. I was drinking baking soda and water around the clock to be able to bear the pain. I was worried about what this was doing to my body, but it was the only relief I got from the unrelenting pain and my body tolerated it better than pain pills. It also gave me much more relief than pain pills and I would have done just about anything to stop the horrible pain. I finally decided to take the drug Elavil. It controlled most of the pain as long as I didn’t hold my bladder more than 30-40 minutes, and I drank lots of water. I was drinking about a gallon a day. I knew it was only masking the symptoms and would some day not work for me anymore, so I started searching the Internet for something better. I wanted to get well and be free of the IC and the pain that was now all over my body. I knew that I could not continue to live this way. First I tried Dr. Fugazzotto’s antibiotic therapy. My bladder pain worsened and Fibro pain worsened and I couldn’t keep the yeast under control, so I gave up on this. Next, I found Dr. Jacob, the father of DMSO. I decided to go to his clinic and start treatment after he assured me that his newer version of DMSO would not make me worse like before. I did daily bladder installations myself and oral DMSO. I had about 30% improvement in my bladder, but my Fibro and Hypoglycemia symptoms actually got a lot worse. It was very expensive, ($1000 per month) and my insurance decided not to cover it, so I gave it up after four months. What I really wanted anyway, was to find someone who understood IC and knew what to do to help me to heal, not to just suppress symptoms. I started searching again and that’s when I found Matia. 

I started treatment with Matia on July 14, 2001. I look forward to my life now. I am not depressed anymore. I have a sense of well being that I have never had before. My anxiety is completely gone for the first time in 10 years. The Fibromyalgia, which is severe, is much better. My overall pain level has gone down from a 10 (on a scale of 1-10) to about a 2-5. Some days I am pain free. My bladder has improved the most of all. It is pain free and I can hold my urine on average about 1 – 1/2 hours without increasing pain and frequency. The Hypoglycemia hasn’t improved yet, but I know that it will. It takes time to balance everything and I believe that I will see improvement soon. I used to have hot flashes that were so severe that they would soak my clothes at least twice an hour, day and night. They went away for a couple of months and have recently returned, although not as severe as before. This just means that we need to adjust my herbs, so we are trying to find the right balance for me. I am confident that it will happen again soon. I used to have vaginal burning when I urinated and I don’t have that anymore. For two years I have heard a humming noise in my left ear that goes up and down. I still hear it, but it no longer goes up and down and it is a low hum now. My husband used to have to massage my muscles all over my body daily because the pain was so bad. I hardly ever ask him to anymore because the pain is so much better. When I need a massage it’s usually because we have changed my herbs and it’s stirring things up a bit. I was so constipated when I met Matia that I wasn’t having any bowel movements without taking something and nothing made them move very much. Once I cut the carbs out of my diet they wouldn’t move at all. I had to do enemas twice a week for four months because I didn’t even get any urges to go. We tried three or four different things, but nothing worked. Finally Matia found something that works for me and I have BM’s everyday now. 

After 6 months of treatment with Matia I was much improved with my bladder. I was doing so well that Matia said I was actually the exception in that area…..symptom free and could hold my urine for 1-1 1/2 hours with no problem, sometimes even two hours. It was the first time in my life that I had no symptoms and it was awesome because my IC was severe. I had lots of other symptoms that were still bad; chronic headaches, severe hot flashes and all over body pain that was really hard for me to deal with, but I was ever so grateful for the improvement in my bladder. I was full of hope and clung to the belief that the rest would slowly improve. At the end of January, 2002 I finally got up the courage to taper off the Elavil that I had been on for three years. It took me 10 weeks to get off of it because I am so sensitive and was suffering horrible withdrawals; anxiety, worse fibro pain, tight muscles, felt like I couldn’t get a deep breath, to name a few. Through all of this, though, my bladder never wavered, not even a twinge. I couldn’t believe it! Elavil had been my lifeline and now my bladder was doing well without it! This was absolutely incredible to me. But, during this time all H*** broke lose with the other symptoms. Everything was magnified many times over. (except for my bladder, which remained very stable). I continued on a downward spiral for the next 7 months. The headaches worsened to where I was waking with them virtually every night and getting only 4 hours sleep if, I was lucky. I only get these headaches during sleep, so I was starting to dread bedtime. They would leave me not only exhausted from lack of sleep, but also with increased fibro pain and depression that would last until the next headache. With them coming every night now I was getting no relief and was often crying hysterically in the middle of the night. The pain in my legs worsened to the point that they were making it hard for me to go to sleep and then they would wake me every 1 1/2 hours all night long. The hypoglycemia symptoms worsened also. Now, it didn’t matter that I wasn’t eating carbs, I was getting the reaction anyway and it got worse and worse; that feeling of insulin or adrenaline rushing most of the time, for hours after every meal. 

Nothing was helping and I was barely clinging to the hope that I would someday be well. I started to question it for the first time and even suggested to Matia that maybe I was too far gone and too old 

to heal. ( I am 50, almost 51) She kept reassuring me that it wasn’t true and that I could and was healing. During this time I was withdrawing from everything. I was too ill to go anywhere most of the time, making it to church only about once a month and really not even wanting to be there. I wasn’t on our board or emailing my friends much because I was so down.( I tend to withdraw when I am depressed). I didn’t want to say much about how much sicker I had gotten because I was afraid of discouraging or scaring some of you, especially those of you who are new, so I didn’t ask for support. I was so physically and emotionally drained that I felt like I had nothing to offer anyone, not here or anywhere. 

This all started to change a few weeks ago. All along I knew that Matia had not given up on me, but while she was on vacation things kept getting worse and my hope was slipping a little every day. Finally, she was back, with new ideas for me. I started slowly going in a better direction. The headaches started becoming less severe at first and they started going away more quickly than before. They became less frequent; three or four a week instead of every night. Now, I might have only one or two bad ones in a two week period and they aren’t leaving me sick all day like before. I still get 3 or 4 mild ones per week, but they go away within about 30-60 minutes and I am usually able to sleep until about 6 am before they wake me. As for the leg pain; it slowly got better and for the last three or four weeks it hasn’t been waking me at night. It is also much milder in the daytime than it was. I actually had three days this past week where I had very little pain. Another thing that has improved a lot is the ringing in my ear. Many days I don’t have it and when I do it is a lot milder than it was.

The carb issue is a lot better, also. For about the last two months I have been eating carbs and tolerating them well for the first time in a very long time, years. This is BIG! I had been trying them off and on ever since starting with Matia and would get sicker every time I ate any high carb food, even in very small amounts.

Even though I am still very ill and extremely fatigued, I am a lot better than I was just a few weeks ago. I am so encouraged by these improvements. Without Matia’s help I would only be getting sicker and sicker. I believe that going off of the Elavil was HUGE for me. It was hard with all the withdrawal symptoms that I suffered, but I am so glad that I did it. I believe that going off of it was what worsened my headaches, which worsened the other pain and brought on the depression and hopelessness. It was a vicious cycle. Try to be brave when you are going off of a drug. Your body is used to having it and doesn’t want to give it up, so it will put up a fight. Some people will get off of drugs more easily because they aren’t so sensitive and others will be like me. Remember that and hang in there until you are through it. For me, I am so glad that I did it and I would do it again. I am not thirsty anymore and I can eat food without choking on it ( my throat was so dry that I couldn’t swallow food, especially meat or bread without water). Sometimes the sides of 

my throat would stick together when I was just swallowing my own saliva. I hated that feeling of having cotton in my mouth. My eyes were extremely dry, also, and they are normal now. I think it was 

contributing to my constipation problem also. Elavil made me stutter right from the beginning and now I don’t have that problem anymore.

If I can improve like this after being so ill, I believe that it is possible for others to heal. When I was going through those awful 7months I clung to the hope that it would pass, even though I was scared and starting to doubt some. I believe in the body’s capability to heal when it is given what it needs, physically, 

emotionally and spiritually. Last, but not least, I believe in Matia’s wisdom and ability to help us. It’s an incredible thing for her to take on these very difficult challenges and to deal with all of our suffering. I appreciate her willingness to help us, and her compassion has meant more to me than I can adequately express.

Hi, my name is Rayanna. I am 8 years old and a patient of Matia. My story starts when I was a baby and had a respiratory virus. The doctors gave me Albuteral and Pedipred (a steroid) to help me to breath. Unfortunately those drugs compromise your immune system.

When I was 3 and started to potty train, since my immune system was not working like it should, I was susceptible to UTIs which I started getting every 3-4 months. The doctor ran tests to see if there were any problems that were causing them but there was nothing abnormal so after two years of several infections he put me on a low dose of daily antibiotics. The problem was I now started to get what we thought were infections and vaginal rashes but my labs came up normal. The doctor just decided it was an irritation in my urethra and kept me on the antibiotics.

After two years my parents decided that I had enough antibiotics and took me off. (Around that time my mom found Matia and became a patient because she was having UTI symptoms and no infection). I was alright for about 6 months and then I started having burning in my bladder and the feeling I had to go to the bathroom even when I just went. I was tested many times and no infection.

My mom started having me work with Matia around Thanksgiving (2003). It took a few weeks for me to feel much better but once I did I just kept getting better and better. I am on a fairly strict diet and can’t have sugar or treats. The diet is hard, but as my mom keeps telling me it won’t be forever. Since the herbs started working I have only had one bout of feeling bad and we feel that was from eating too many things that contain sugar. It’s hard being 8 years old and having to say “no” to all the sweet things people put in front of kids. Unfortunately the antibiotics have damaged my bladder and it needs time to heal. My mom sent my urine in to a special lab to be tested and Matia says it’s the cleanest lab she’s seen come back. You see the antibiotics kill everything good and bad in your system and as a result they also hurt my bladder.

Several good things have happened since my treatment started. My rashes are gone. I also used to complain that my bones ached all the time. My bones feel better too. I eat lots of vegetables and I know when I grow up I will be healthy because I know how important it is to eat right and limit my sweets.

This was a very scary time for my family and I. It’s hard to hear the doctor say there is nothing out there to make you feel better but I know there is and her name is Matia. We prayed for someone to help us and she was our answer to prayer. If you have problems like mine, please give Matia a try. She will take good care of you and make you feel better. It will take some time, as I am learning, but I know I have time on my side and one day I will be completely healed.

(Written my Rayanna’s Mom, M.J. whose story also appears here.)

I guess I’ve had IC for about 16 or so years. I started off by getting repeated bladder infections that cleared up with antibiotics. Then I got one that wouldn’t clear up, the symptoms continued, so my family doctor sent me to a urologist. They tried urethral dilations first. That felt like hell. I’m convinced it was some sort of masochistic torture device. Then they tried to get me to urinate while on some machine to measure, but I couldn’t go even when they put me behind a curtain, so they didn’t get any more information. I don’t remember having any problems again for a while, maybe a year or so, when it came back. I went to a new urologist who diagnosed me with IC, saying that I was a type “A” personality and it was common with women like me. I think I was in my late 20’s to early 30’s. He prescribed hydrodilation for diagnosis and possible treatments. It hurt like crazy, but didn’t work. He also tried DMSO treatments. I had 2 or 3 and my symptoms got better. I can’t really remember if it was the hydrodilation or the DMSO that helped or in which order. I did some meditation after this and was pain free and symptom free for about 8 years.

Then the symptoms came back with a vengeance (frequency and pain). I went to see another urologist after trying antibiotics thinking it was an infection. I told him about my previous treatments and he suggested trying DMSO again. We tried this repeatedly over several years. The helpful effects never lasted more than about 3 months. Then he suggested trying several drugs including Elmiron, Elavil, and a few others that I can’t remember now. The only one that appeared to help at all was Elmiron, but again this was temporary and it had the side effect of my hair getting thinner. Heaven knows what other side effects were happening that I couldn’t see. Little by little my symptoms worsened and the periods of normalcy got further and further apart. My urologist said that the only other treatment he could suggest was daily self-instillations of heparin. I was afraid of this and getting more and more depressed. 

I found websites for IC and read about the lack of knowledge and treatment options and just became more depressed. My urologist had given me the IC diet, which I tried religiously, but it did no good at all. Obviously it wasn’t strict enough. I found a website with an Asian doctor some place back east that swore IC must be microbial and should be treated with a low dose of antibiotics for several years. I read some testimonies and decided to try it. I contacted him and sent him a urine sample. He sent me back the results saying a tested positive for the bacteria. My sister is a doctor so she prescribed the antibiotics which I took for several months. But, they didn’t help. Things just kept getting worse. 

Then one day when I was suicidal and at the end of my rope, I found the website with Bomamed and Matia on it. It saved me. I was very skeptical, but figured what did I have to lose. So here I am about 8 months later. I live about 1 1/4 hours drive from Matia, but I’ve been seeing her about once a month. Occasionally when I’ve felt bad, I had a phone appointment with her instead. I can’t even begin to say how much better I feel. At first the diet was very hard and I felt deprived. Now (although I still miss the goodies), I’m used to it. It wasn’t immediate, but it didn’t take long before the number of good days started getting more frequent. Now I rarely have a bad day, and when I do it isn’t even close to where I used to be on a pain scale. She is a miracle worker.

I have been a long distance patient of Matia’s for nearly two years.

Previously I had followed the usual Western medications and theories on IC the reasons for its development and supposed cures. However I knew deep down that the answer lay somewhere else and I began searching the Internet and reading as much as possible about IC. Through this searching I came across an interview Matia had given and her approach to IC. 

Up until this stage in my life I had never really thought much about alternative medicine. In fact I never thought much about medicine at all. I have always been very healthy, a vegetarian for over 20 years and an aerobic instructor. However I had little faith in the medication I was taking and was desperate to get well. So the very next day I made the most important call in my life to Matia.

I was bowled over by her understanding of IC. The way I felt, the fear, the confusion and the isolation. Matia explained the treatment and the diet. She also gave me the address of Jane and Alison’s website. 

I was inspired when I read about patients who were symptom free and living life to the full. I was determined to be well. And so I embarked on my treatment with Matia.

I remember one of Matia’s first e-mails to me. Her words were “We will do this together”. She has been with me every step of the way. Even the times when I would doubt that I could be well again. “Hang in there, it will be alright” these were the words I read and reread. 

It was a long road for me to travel but today I really feel I am there. I have very few days where I even think about my bladder. I am still fairly careful with my diet, but that really isn’t a hardship. I eat very healthily and am slowly introducing new foods. This year I have traveled extensively, something I wouldn’t have believed possible a few years ago. 

For anyone contemplating treatment as a long-distance patient can I dispel any doubts you may have. I was living in Borneo when I first started treatment with Matia (I have only just returned to the U.K.). Matia and I used to joke I would win the long distance award. 

I hope my story gives hope to those of you who are suffering from this awful disease.

You too can get to where I am today.

I have seen comments on the boards about wishing that there were more success stories posted. Briefly, here’s my story.

After three bladder infections in three months (and no bladder infection the previous 10 years) and after an incredibly painful and scary “process of elimination” I was told – “you have IC.” Then, after months with one premier UR “specialist” where I left with a list of 8 drugs to take (4 of which I was told I would take forever) and a bad feeling that I was not on the right path, I chose to try Dr. Fugazawa’s program. Then, after three months taking antibiotics (one that I was alergic to) and several steps back, I found Matia.

I started with Matia in January 2005. I had some rough times for about 5 months after that. Then I started to feel a bit more in control when a flare would hit. They would last 2-3 days instead of week. FYI to all of you, my last flare was in June 2005 – six months after I started. I stuck to the program and worked hard.

Sometimes I felt deprived (at restaurants), sometimes I felt like I was making great strides, sometimes I couldn’t remember a conversation from the day before (the herbs made me foggy), and other times I felt relief just to have a three day reprieve from the constant raw feeling in my bladder.

As I got into the latter part of 2005, I was becoming used to the “slightly raw feeling” and figured that if this was the best it got, it was SO much better I could live with it. But by October 2006, I couldn’t tell you where my bladder was let alone remember the pain that seemed to torment me day and night!

Yes, during the process, it seemed like an endless, painful eternity. The set backs felt like I was taking major steps backward, but I wasn’t. Now, it’s June 2008! I don’t eat tomatoes or oranges. That’s it. The rest of my life is non-bladder concious. No flares, no pain, a normal life. Please understand that it may take time, but in retrospect, it was neither a long time nor a difficult time.

Hang in there and communicate.

Natasha

Thriving Symptom Free

My story of Interstitial Cystitis actually begins with my sister. Her story is on this website too. My sister, Missy, had IC for about 2 years before I started getting similar symptoms. Because of her history and struggle with IC, I was all too familiar with Interstitial Cystitis. I was terrified when I got a urinary tract infection, all I could think of Interstitial Cystitis . I had a few bladder infections earlier in my life, but this one did not go away with the antibiotics. I had my urine tested again after the third dose of antibiotics and when the culture came back negative, I was sure that I had IC. I had tremendous pain, pressure, urgency, and frequency. I was so scared. I would just lie on the couch all day and cry. I made an appointment with a urologist. He didn’t really have an answer for me. He said I should take a couple Diflucan pills and see him again if my symptoms didn’t leave. He didn’t think that I had IC, but he could do further testing to be sure. 

Of course I knew the horror stories of testing procedures from my sister, so I didn’t go through any of that. My symptoms didn’t leave. I knew what my next step would have to be-start the diet and begin consultation with Matia. My husband and I were very skeptical of eastern medicine, even though my sister was having some progress. My biggest fear was that there was no cure for this disease. I started the diet (which wasn’t as bad as I thought) and began consultation with Matia about 4 months after contracting my bladder infection. I was lucky to have known someone who could refer me to Matia right away. Just speaking with Matia and hearing her caring voice assured me that I was going to be just fine. I’m excited to say that Matia had me feeling almost normal after only 5 months. She discharged me from her care after just one year. 

Today I’m completely symptom-free and have been for almost a year now. I have gone back to eating almost anything I want to, except I make much healthier choices and I keep the sugar to a minimum! I feel GREAT! I thank God for Matia and have total faith in her practice.

January of 2002 was the beginning of my IC so in that regards I guess I am lucky I haven’t had this disease that long. I’m 23 years old and just got married last July. I am a teacher and live in Iowa. Anyway, my symptoms started out as urinary frequency, urgency, burning urination, painful intercourse, etc. After many rounds of antibiotics for suspected UTIs (even when my urine came out clean) and tons of doctors later, I had no answers of why I was sick. By February I assumed I had IC because of all the research I had done on my symptoms, but no doctors (including urologists) even knew what that was when I asked them if I had it. I endured many tests that all came out normal except for an abnormal thyroid test that my doc said not to worry about. Even after one of the urologists performed a cystoscopy, he said my bladder looked “fine”. I had also done a lot of research on a systemic yeast overgrowth and how it relates to IC and I thought that might be my problem. I have never had to worry about gaining weight–all my life I have eaten anything I wanted and always stayed around 100-110 pounds at 5’7”. So needless to say I have consumed a VERY high sugar diet for as long as I can remember. I had also been on birth control pills for about 4 years and taken many antibiotics so I had all the predisposing factors. 

In April I finally sent my records along with a letter stating that I thought I had IC to a urogynecologist who specialized in IC and he called me one Saturday and said that yes, I had IC and I was a classic case. He wanted me to come in and go through all those terrible tests so that he could actually diagnose IC, but the next day I found Matia’s website and decided not to go see this doctor and go through those tests. I didn’t need to have it written down on paper that I had IC.

In March, after finding the yeast theory, I changed my diet, went off The Pill and started taking antifungals and acidophilus which did help a little, but I was kind of scared because I didn’t know if treating myself was the best idea. So I am very excited that I now have Matia to guide me through this recovery. Matia also believes that my IC is totally related to yeast . . . it was nice to have a doctor not laugh at me when I mentioned this theory for a change!!

Update – 6 Months:
I’m doing very well. I would say I’m 80% better than when I started with her in April. When I started I had terrible frequency, urgency, pelvic pain, burning, painful intercourse, fatigue, migraines, etc. Now I only pee about 6 times a day which can be considered normal, have no urgency, no pelvic pain, no migraines and have enough energy to get through the day without getting tired at all! My only urinary symptom I have left is some residual burning in my bladder, but this only starts in the evening (when it used to be all day) and is less intense than before. And I have had 2 days that I didn’t even have this so I was technically IC free those days! 🙂 I only get up one time a night to pee and sleep very well.My other problems that haven’t cleared up quite yet are pain during intercourse and I have not got my period back yet since I went off the Pill in March. Matia says it will come when my body is ready which 

I hope is soon because my husband and I want to start having kids once I get better. I also usually have ragweed allergies August-October where I’m totally miserable, but this year I didn’t have a single allergy symptom!! Matia says it’s because people with healthy immune systems don’t have allergies so my immune system is starting to get strong again. 

Update – 8 months:
I am still continuing to do really well. I had my period finally! The best part was I had no PMS or horrible cramps during the period which in the past years I had always experienced with every period. I guess those things are due to a yeast overgrowth and since we are getting rid of the yeast, PMS slowly gets better. My bladder is also still doing well. I have had some more IC free days and the only bladder symptom I have left is some burning and that only occurs in the evenings. I’m still pretty bloated, but that is the yeast again which we are working on. Only urinate one time at night. The mornings are the best for me. In the past couple weeks I have been able to go from the time I get up until about 1:00 in the afternoon without peeing! That is six hours! I’m very excited about my improvement and am even starting to enjoy our diet that we must adhere to because I know how healthy it is for us.

Matia is a wonderful healer and I thank God every day that I found her. I can actually feel my bladder healing as the weeks go on. Good luck to the rest of you that are her patients! You are in my prayers!!

Thank you to all of you who are part of the Yahoo group . .I have read all your posts and they have helped me tremendously! This website saved my life!!!

I was 29-years-old and had just delivered my second son. Everything went fine. I was back to exercising and feeling great. Then eight weeks later I developed, my first ever, urinary tract infection. I was treated with antibiotics. The symptoms never went away. I had a constant urethral burning. A urine culture was done revealing e-coli and I was given more antibiotics. The symptoms persisted. Finally I was given injectable antibiotics with still no help. I was referred to another urologist who did a urodynamic study revealing that I couldn’t hold much urine. I was therefore given the diagnosis of interstitial cystitis. I was placed on Elmiron and Elavil along with the IC diet. Nothing helped. I went to yet another urologist who did bladder instillations on me with Heparin, Sodium Bicarbonate, Gentamycin, Marcaine and Solu Cortef still no help. That urologist had me on so many pills. I think I counted around 30 a day! I was not getting better, in fact, I was getting worse. I started to developed true urinary tract infections again. They were growing e-coli and enterococcus. I was given more antibiotic, this time IV antibiotics and still nothing helped. By this time my symptoms had grown much worse. I was now having vaginal redness and irritation that seemed like yeast infections and along with the constant urethral burning my bladder started to burn as well. I also started to develop urgency to urinate. Over the course of a year I saw many consultants and several tests done. I tried myofascial release physical therapy also. I finally went to a doctor who performed a hydrodistention. This doctor thought I possibly had a diverticulum and saw the need to check things further. However, the hydrodistention revealed the dreaded IC and nothing else. This doctor wanted to put the InterStim device in me. I had the surgery actually scheduled but a few weeks prior to the date I was led, through my faith in God, to Matia Brizman of BOMA-med in California. I decided to give her treatment a good try and canceled the InterStim.

I have now been in treatment with her for almost 5 months. My symptoms are much improved. My urethral burning just comes and goes now instead of being constant. Most days if it does hurt it is a very low burn. My urgency is also off and on. In the next few months, as we progress with the treatment, I will be getting more help with the vaginal area as well. This was the best move I could have made. This treatment will allow me to move ahead instead of just covering it up. I am now thankful that the “western” methods of treating IC didn’t work for me, because they would have been for a lifetime, just covering up the disease. Instead, I’m in the middle of a treatment that is working.

First of all, let me say I have had IC for 6 years. It came on suddenly and violently. My main symptoms are burning pain and spasms in my bladder, urethra, clitoris, fatigue, back pain and leg spasms. I told Matia, I would be a tough case. Doctors just wanted me to take pain meds, antidepressants and have bladder installations. I knew there was another way out there to be “healed”, not just “medicated”, so I prayed, and God led me to Matia’s site where the stories of others who were actually having success motivated me to give it a try.

I had to wait about 5 or 6 weeks to start, because Matia was leaving on vacation and thought it would be best to wait until her return. Meanwhile, I started on Neurontin to tide me over until she returned.

The first week was about what I expected– increased symptoms, up and down which scared me, but Matia said to hang in there and it would get better. Sure enough, the next week I noticed my symptoms becoming less and less.

By the third week, almost all my symptoms were under control and now we are beginning to cut back on the Neurontin. My heart rate has dropped steadily for three weeks in a row, I’m not cold anymore, my appetite is back, and I feel like living again. I even was able to go grocery shopping, cook dinner and walk two blocks with the dogs. Before treatment, my life was lived between the bed, couch and bathroom, with a box of Kleenex to catch my tears.

I know I have a LONG way to go in my recovery, but I am encouraged by the success so far and Matia’s ability to "zero" in on what the problems are for me, and she manages them. She is also very good at communicating with me and is more accessible than my doctor in town.

Matia asked me to write a testimonial, and every night as I drifted off to sleep I would think to myself, “Damn, I forgot to do my testimonial again. I’ll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow. . .” Well tomorrow has finally turned into today. Four months from when Matia first asked. My excuse is probably the best endorsement that I could give Matia. I have been too busy. Too busy to think or worry about having IC. 

When I first came to Matia I was in a state of panic. I was very uncomfortable almost all the time. I was having trouble sleeping at night and was going to the bathroom about every half an hour. The urinary symptoms were what finally brought me to Matia but I had been unwell for quite some time. I had terrible allergies, asthma, frequent migraines, endometriosis, and a general feeling of malaise. Every time I went to a doctor he or she would just put me on more prescription medications. I knew something was wrong with me but was unwilling to face it until my bladder started acting up. That I just couldn’t live with. I went to an urologist and he told me that my cultures were coming back negative for the bacteria that cause standard urinary tract infections. I wasn’t surprised by that, I had never been prone to bladder infections to begin with. What he told me next shocked me however. He said that he suspected interstitial cystitis and if that was indeed what I had, there was nothing he could do for me. I went home that day and cried for hours. I had gotten engaged two weeks before and instead of feeling elated, I felt as if I had just been handed a death sentence. I was thirty three years old and a doctor had just told me that there was a good chance that I would never feel well again. Well after going through a box of Kleenex I decided that that was unacceptable and got on the internet. After a bit of searching I came across the testimonials of some of Matia’s patients and began to have hope again. As luck would have it I live in Los Angeles so I was able to make an appointment and go see Matia in person. 

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Matia and the work she does. Not only is she kind, but she is a powerful healer. She listens thoroughly and without judgment. She treats the whole person, not just the symptoms and as a result the body begins to heal itself and find its way into balance. And in my case as I’m sure with others, when the body heals, the spirit begins to heal as well. 

I have been working with Matia for almost a year now and my results have been incredible. I no longer have asthma and allergies on a daily basis. If I have to be around dogs and cats I only have to use my inhaler and antihistamines. A year ago I would have gone straight to the emergency room and was using my medications every day. I still get headaches but they have decreased in both severity and frequency and I trust there will come a day when they are no longer a problem for me. My energy and libido are back. I got a cold sore for the first time during my treatment with Matia and she was able to get the virus in check immediately. Best of all, my bladder symptoms have improved remarkably. I feel like I have normal bladder function now and I never have to alter my lifestyle because I’m worried about being uncomfortable. During treatment I have been able to travel extensively, work hard, and plan my wedding. In fact, I feel so much better that I have signed up for all kinds of classes and am finally pursuing things that I only dreamed of two years ago. My life is better now than ever before. 

I’m not going to lie to you. Following the diet is a pain in the ass. But you will get used to it and even learn to enjoy it to a certain extent because you will feel and look better than you have in years. And it is temporary. All of this is temporary. 

Getting well is a journey, and Matia is a caring doctor who will get you on the right path soon. I believe in her so much that I have sent both my sister and fiancé to her, and they both found her to be as competent and compassionate as I have. If you’re tired of feeling less than your best, go to Boma-Med. You have nothing to lose.

IC started for me during Christmas of 2002. (It had been brewing before that but I became symptomatic around Christmas). I had what I thought was a UTI starting, and because we were going away for the holidays I thought I should get it checked out. They saw things in my urine so they prescribed antibiotics and off I went. Well they didn’t work as they always had in the past so I just thought I needed a stronger prescription. When I got back and called, they said there was only one problem, I didn’t have a UTI, the labs came back normal. That was crazy, something was wrong. I still had frequency and the constant urge to pee, especially at night. I had discomfort after I urinated that lasted for many hours. I also felt some burning, itching, soreness etc that came and went from day to day. I went in to see the doctor and he said I had a prolapsed bladder. Could this be causing my symptoms, maybe, maybe not, he wasn’t sure so more antibiotics, Ditropan for a while and then Detrol. It seemed to help with the frequency but the uncomfortableness was getting worse. We then discussed surgery. I was also craving sugar like crazy. I had always loved my sweets but this was getting worse.

I started to look to the Internet to find answers. Every time I put my symptoms in, back came this disease IC. I asked my doctor and he immediately said “NO” and wanted to try other things. I just couldn’t figure it out and the more I read on the IC sites the more frightened I became. I knew in my heart it was IC and the prospect for treatment was hopeless. In March, after 3 months of going back and forth about what to do I just prayed to God, not for him to take it away, but for him to lead me to someone who could help me. That night I found Jane and Alyson’s site which led me to Matia. It was an answer to my prayers. I started the diet the next day and threw away my birth control pills, I had only taken these for two years and it was for painful periods not anything else, so out they went. I started with Matia about 3 weeks later and I have been on the road to recovery since.

I am now in month 7 of treatment ( 8 months total ) because I started the diet a month before. I have to say I am feeling great. Matia thought it was antibiotics, sugar and the birth control pills that led me down my path. Pretty quickly after I started the diet I started to feel a little better so I knew I was on to something. Matia told me she could turn this around fairly quickly and she did. Each month I felt a little better. I had good and bad days but they kept going better. The amazing thing was that each month she was so right in her description of how things would go. My uncomfortableness was less each month and the times I felt bad after I urinated decreased. My frequency improved and it got less and less. I still had good and bad days but they became good and bad times of the day instead of all day. One thing I did that was so helpful in this treatment was to keep a journal of the days and pain. It really helped me to stay positive, see my progress and describe my symptoms to Matia. 

Today, I feel almost normal, a twinge here and there but I could easily live like this for the rest of my life although I truly believe this will go away too. Other things have gotten better also and what’s really amazing is I didn’t ask for help with them. My constipation is better, no cottonwood allergies this whole spring/summer, cold hands are gone, my cramps/bloating that caused me to go on the pill in the first place have been gone since I started treatment, my night sweats went away and guess what, no more

problems feeling like I had a prolapsed bladder. Matia says when you have a healthy immune system these things don’t happen and she is SO right.

The diet is ok, I can eat and drink everything on list 1 and 2 and I find I don’t mind at all. I think other people feel worse about it than I do. I know I will never go back to my old ways of eating and I am trying to turn things around for my family to spare them problems later in life. I also believe there is another plan God had for me in getting this disease and finding Matia. Not only was it to see how I was living, change my health and draw closer to him but it is to help my daughter Rayanna who probably has the beginnings of IC as I write this. Matia is now helping to get her back to health and out of pain.

I started this journey not know anything about Chinese medicine but I now completely believe in its ability to heal. I share my story with anyone who will listen and know I am going to come out stronger and balanced both physically and spiritually. I thank God for Jane and Alyson for starting this site and Matia and her staff for helping me to feel better than I ever though I could. I also am so grateful for my husband, family, friends and and my support group because they have encouraged me every step of the way. If you are thinking about starting, please talk to Matia. She knows this disease and will give you everything she’s got to get you on the road to recovery. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. She’s only a phone call away. God Bless!

I have been a patient of Boma-Med’s for many years now for chronic candidiasis. It took me approximately two years of working very hard to get my body back into balance. I felt great for a stretch of time and went about my life.

Suddenly, after having been with a new sexual partner, I started to have what felt like an infection in my urine. Urination was very hot and burning, I could not hold it without a lot of pain, and I was going very frequently. 

I went to my regular doctor and he examined my prostate and my urine. He determined I had enterococcus in my sperm and needed to go on antibiotics. 

Because I have been a patient of Matia’s for so long, I thought I should consult with Boma-Med before taking anything. 

I was referred to Matia because this is her area of expertise. After discussing my situation she encouraged me to try taking herbs for the enterococcus because it is such a resistant bacteria and taking antibiotics would likely be necessary for a tremendous amount of time and would probably undo all of the progress I had made with my candidiasis. Because I trusted her judgment, I decided that was probably my best option. I started them right away. It took me the better part of a year, but from the time I started taking them my symptoms got better and better. 

I was tested after I felt no more symptoms at all, and the enterococcus was completely gone. 

I am so happy that I did not have to go on the antibiotics to solve this problem and subject myself to the risks of the side effects that they may cause me. I eat a normal diet and live a normal lifestyle and am now more careful with sexual contact.