Early in 2012 I was going to bed and right after I used the bathroom I felt like my bladder fell out. I doubled over from the feeling. It felt like a bladder infection, but I had never had one before. I did what other people did and drank cranberry juice and tried d-mannose some other things, nothing helped. It actually got worse. I saw a gynecologist. He tested me for a UTI and bladder stones, both neg. I left with no answers.

I started researching like crazy because I was so scared this feeling wasn’t going away. After a month I found the Bomamed website. Back then it had a forum and I read every bit of it. I was finally finding hope! So many people who felt like me were finding relief with a Dr. in Los Angeles. Diet, herbs, probiotics, supplements, things I was drawn to since I was not a big user of medications. I booked my appointment and saw Matia about 3 months after all this started.

She was so much better than a traditional Dr. She listened and wanted to know everything about my past, things I currently used, my diet, even my family life and what my tongue looked like. I went home feeling a sense of hope. Those first three months before meeting her I was miserable. Some days I couldn’t even get off the couch. I had terrible insomnia. Every waking thought was about IC and my bladder.

The first 6 months I ate mostly from her diet list 1. It was limited but I didn’t care, I just wanted relief. Slowly I felt better and after 6 months I said if I never get any better than this at least I can live like this. But I did get better. It was slow but I always made progress.

I was in treatment for 3.5 years. I remember our last phone consult when we discussed my next appointment and I told her, “ya know, I think I’m good, I’ve been symptom free for a couple of months”. I learned so much, and changed so much. I still drink spring water, I make my own laundry detergent, I stopped using antiperspirant, fluoride toothpaste, most lotions. I buy the healthy shampoos and conditioners, I stopped using candles. I’ve recently started to use beef tallow on my face, I love it!

I was symptom free for a good 8 years, until I needed a root canal. The pain was horrible and I took 1 ibuprofen 3x a day for 10 days. Bam, the IC was back! I couldn’t believe it. I made an appointment with Matia, started probiotics, some herbs and the strict diet again. I was lucky that my bladder always calmed down at night and I could sleep. My insomnia was a thing of the past, I think Vit. D was a big help with that. It took 3.5 months this time, but I was back to feeling like old self and symptom free.

I’m not sure what brought on my IC in the beginning, I was never on the pill, hadn’t used many, if any antibiotics as an adult. I was pretty healthy, or so I thought. I think I had metabolic syndrome and didn’t know it. I remember I got a lot of skin tags the year before I was sick, and that’s when the insomnia started. I was consuming a ton of Splenda because I heard it was safe, eating ramen noodles by the ton, I was pretty over weight and loved chardonnay. Now they are all just part of my past.

I don’t think about IC much anymore. I buy probiotics once a year just to make sure my gut bacteria stays healthy. I was not a perfect patient, I did drink alcohol from time to time. It never seemed to bother my bladder like sugar did. I really don’t like chardonnay anymore but I do have some tequila and I’m fine with it. I’m not saying you will be, so don’t drink it because I did. Matia is not a fan of alcohol. All I can say is she saved my life and it is so much better because of her!

Christine M.