prisd

I have Interstitial Cystitis and TMJ. I also have some Knee pain, Groin pain, and Shin splints. But the one that worries me the most, and the reason I'm here, is interstitial cystitis. It makes me have to be very careful about what I eat, affects my sex life, and has caused many sleepless nights. It all started while I was doing IVF treatments to get pregnant, then got worse after my daughter was born, then going back to work sent me into level 8 bladder pain that forced me to quit my job.

I have done bladder instillations of lidocaine for the pain, taken pyridium and hydroxyzine and tried dozens of natural remedies. I've seen urogynecologists, acupuncturists, gastroenterologists, naturopaths, physical therapists, a rheumetologist, and an ayurvedic healer, all to find the root cause of my pain. I just could not accept that there is no known cause for IC. For a long time, I was convinced that "disease begins in the gut" and started down the whole "Leaky Gut" path: drinking bone broth, taking probiotics, avoiding gluten and dairy, drinking green smoothies. I felt good doing these things and it really helped my digestive issues, but my IC has persisited.

Then, someone in my local IC support group claimed they got better reading Dr. Sarno's "Mindbody Prescription". She also did journaling in Schechter's workbook, meditated daily, and took a local Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class at a local hospital.

So, here I am. I would love to read more IC related success stories as I still feel some doubt that my IC is caused by TMS since people with IC have so many different presentations of symptoms. I have no doubt that I have had other TMS symptoms in my lifetime, and I have the classic personality traits.

I have already read a couple of Sarno books and Ozanich's book. I also journaled from Schechter's 30-day mindbody workbook. I have insight into why this is happening, but so far unable to change my pain level, which currently sticks around a 1-2 level. My only evidence that it may be working was having 3-4 pain-free days after reading the Mindbody Prescription.