How to Cure Cystitis
I’m a healthy person overall. But I’ve had my fair share of health issues nonetheless. Most of the people who know me probably don’t know that. When problems arise, I tend to be downright secretive about whatever ails me. This blog is my outlet though. I don’t tend to discuss my health problems when they’re afflicting me but I do like to share my experiences about treatments that work so that other people can perhaps find relief for similar problems too.
I've written about interstitial cystitis in a previous article that was composed about 2 years ago. It has some of the same information here combined with my experiences with intestinal parasites. I'm rereading it and updating it now (2020) to include treatments I've become aware of since I last wrote this article.
Several years ago, my daughter and I wrote a series of books called The Cancer Cure Catalog. We've traveled to over forty countries together and in almost every one we sought out traditional cures for different diseases. And at the end of it all, what we realized is that there is a cure for every disease if you're committed to looking for it and continuing to look until you find it. Finding good health is like going on a long journey. Everyone has to find their own path toward healing. My goal for this blog has changed and evolved over the years from presenting my own health issues to presenting the ways that I cured my own health problems to presenting the cures that I know of for other people's diseases. In 2017, our family relocated to Mexico because we realized that there are some big healthcare problems in the United States. We wanted to be on the outside so that we could access information about actual cures for diseases and propagate the information to the people who were seeking it out.
If you're suffering with cystitis, you probably have other health issues that need to be addressed too and many of the treatment options I name below will benefit your body holistically. But the cure for cystitis requires some effort and learning. You have to take responsibility for your own health and you'll need to follow a Cystitis Protocol that includes some lifestyle changes in order to be successful at it.
Because the bladder sits under all of the other organs of the body, it can become irritable if something is wrong with another one of the organs that are pressing down on it. The intestines can cause bladder irritation if they're inflamed, for example. But it's also important to note that if you're being exposed to a toxin, particularly bromide or fluoride, or organophosphates, then you'll need to limit this exposure in order to get better. So you'll have to learn about where you might be being exposed to these things. Do you work with paint or glue? Do go swimming on a regular basis? Do you eat a lot of commercial bread products or drink soda or bottled beverages regularly? Do you take any number of pharmaceuticals that contain bromide? Is your water fluoridated? The list goes on. Believe or not, it is possible to limit your exposure to these toxins, but first, you have to learn about them. If you're not familiar with bromide, fluoride, or the dialogue regarding organophosphate exposure, consider downloading our book called The Iodine Bible (see below). Or you can click here to learn more about the relationship between iodine deficiency, bromide toxicity, and organophosphate toxicity and how these things impact cystitis.
The Bladder: Pissed Off and Ready for a Change - BUY HERE!
Cures for Cystitis
Below is a list of at-home cystitis remedy options. There are a number of them and I'll comment briefly on each one and provide links at the bottom of the page to additional information. Please note, that many of the articles I link to below are actually about treating cancer, but the information in the articles will help you better understand how and why these suggested cystitis treatment modalities will work for you. I write about a lot of different diseases and it's important to me to disseminate the information to as many people as possible, so I expect that people who are really serious about finding a cure for cystitis will go ahead and read the articles and follow the scientific literature in the references section to connect the dots. Or they'll just give the treatments a try and see if they work for them!
Click here to buy Lugol's iodine 2%.
Natural Cystitis Treatment Options
Below is a list of natural cystitis cures. Follow the links to products that I recommend or that I once used myself to treat chronic interstitial cystitis.-
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- Iodine supplementation - Most Americans are deficient in iodine even if they eat iodized salt. They're deficient because bromide / bromine is in everything from the air we breathe to citrus drinks like Mountain Dew, Gatorade, and commercial bread products. Iodine deficiency is highly correlated with breast cancer as well as other reproductive cancers. And one of the major detox symptoms of iodine supplementation is cystitis or bladder irritation as bromine is purged from the body. After a full bromine cleanse using iodine supplementation, you can continue taking Iodoral 50 mg daily to keep the body clear of bromine and prevent cystitis from developing in the future. Be sure to read more about iodine below to understand how it works and why it can work to cure cystitis. Click here to get an overview of the Iodine Basic Protocol including all of the supportive nutrients that you need in order to properly absorb and use Lugol's iodine to treat cystitis.
The AlivenHealthy Iodine Bible - Everything you need to know to get started taking iodine and more!
- DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) - DMSO is one of the best kept health and healing secrets of our time. This substance is FDA approved for the treatment of cystitis in pregnant women, but Big Pharma keeps it hidden using a process called "shelving" where they recommend that doctors NEVER use the treatment. Yet, it's safe enough to use it in pregnant women! Indeed, transplanted organs are soaked in DMSO before being transplanted into the body. DMSO has one of the broadest ranges of medicinal action known to man and it's also one of the least toxic substances known. But, a whole new system of medicine could be based on this stuff. At a clinic, your doctor would administer DMSO directly into the bladder using a catheter, but you can self-administer DMSO by just drinking it with water. About 50% of DMSO will end up in your bladder naturally and the rest of the DMSO will go off to fight infection, injury, or cancer elsewhere in the body as needed. This is a tree-medicine with it's own consciousness and wisdom and it works on many levels. If you have only one substance in your medicine cabinet, it should be DMSO. Use it on wounds and old injuries. I could go on, but I'll stop there. Just know that DMSO is worth reading more about. See the link to my articles about DMSO and cancer below.
- D-Mannose Powder - D-Mannose is an important UTI treatment, particularly for people who have run out of options in terms of antibiotics. Most people who suffer from interstitial cystitis feel like they have a chronic UTI, but most people don't want to take antibiotics chronically. D-Mannose is a sugar that keeps bacteria from binding to the walls of the bladder. It can be used in conjunction with DMSO and iodine supplementation.
- Pyrantel Pamoate - This is an anti-parasitic that can be purchased online. Human dosage instructions are on the back of the bottle. If you have chronic cystitis, a parasite cleanse is necessary! Pinworms can make their way into the bladder to cause chronic irritation and a parasite cleanse can be a real life-changer. Take the pyrantel pamoate once a month for three days, taking 1 dose per day according to the dosing instructions on the bottle. If you've never done a parasite cleanse expect some good results. You may need to continue doing cleanses once a month for up to six months. Thereafter, you can do a cleanse bi-annually.
- Pau d'Arco / Tabebuia impetiginosa - Be sure to use only products that contain the inner bark of the Tabebuia impetiginosa tree because other types of Pau d'Arco won't work to treat cystitis, UTI, Candida albicans in the urinary tract as well as systemic Candida, or other issues. Add 2 tablespoons of Pau d'Arco bark for every 3 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil before adding the Pau d'Arco. After the water boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and add the Pau d'Arco, allowing it to simmer for 20 minutes before shutting off the heat. Drink 2-3 mugs of Pau d'Arco per day. NOTE that T. impetiginosa in doses above 2 to 3 cups per day can interfere with normal vitamin K activity in the body, which basically means that it causes the blood to thin similar to the drug warfarin.
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- Methylene Blue - Methylene Blue was the first synthetic pharmaceutical manufactured in the mid-1800´s and since that time, it's earned a reputation as a valuable medication in many different situations including as a treatment for malaria, a treatment for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and an alternative treatment of COVID-19. Methylene Blue can cause urinary irritation, but it can also clear up bladder infection, so it's a treatment that's worth a try given it's anti-inflammtory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and mood improving abilities. Be aware that Methylene Blue can cause your urine to turn blue or green while you're taking the medication. It is often used in combination with Methenamine, an anti-bacterial ingredient in Cystex. Cystex may help control the bladder irritation during treatment. But be aware that Methylene Blue is also a potent antidepressant, a COVID-19 cure, and a treatment that has even been used to control the cytokine storm to promote survival in Ebola patients. Do not combine Methylene Blue with DMSO.
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- Treat Candida - Chronic cystitis is sometimes caused by Candida albicans or yeast in the bladder. In this article titled What is cystitis? I talk more about how to treat chronic vaginal yeast infections without the over-the-counter yeast infection medications.
UPDATE: Since this article was written, I've learned a great deal about pH and it's role in human health. Coffee causes the body to become acidic. By making my body more alkaline, I was able to achieve much better health overall (I'm much healthier at age 40 than I was at age 30, for example). Specifically, I've written a lot about the role that pH plays in the development of cancer, but according to the scientists who've studied pH and it's effects on the body, any chronic infection or disease state is a sign that the body isn't functioning properly. A higher, more alkaline pH can change the course of cystitis. Today, about a decade later, now that I follow an alkaline diet, I don't suffer from cystitis at all.
But back to the story:
So I started paying more attention to the interstitial cystitis. When did it happen? What had I eaten before it happened? Was there a pattern in my life that could help me predict when I’d get it?
Around this time, I went to an acupuncturist for the first time. Her name was Robin at Acupuncture Boulder in Colorado and she told me that she’d worked as an editor before becoming an acupuncturist. She’d decided to change professions because she’d had extreme interstitial cystitis for many years and nothing had worked to cure it except acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). She recommended that I cut back on refined sugars and start using D-mannose powder daily to prevent UTI’s. I love D-Mannose powder. This stuff helped me psychologically deal with interstitial cystitis because I worried much less about getting a UTI when I was taking it.
My acupuncturist also offered me a bottle of Yin Care for yeast infections. (If you buy this stuff, be sure to buy a douche too.) Often, my cystitis was caused by vaginal yeast infections and I just hadn’t realized that vaginal inflammation and yeast could cause bladder irritation. At the time, I didn't realize that vaginal yeast infections were a harbinger of more serious issues (like a systemic Candida albicans infection). Again, pH Therapies can help reverse the problem of chronic Candida infections, vaginal or otherwise. I'm linking to an article that I wrote about pH Therapies for cancer, but these therapies work just as well for treating Candida. And the best part is, the therapies are affordable and you can do them at home.
UPDATE: Below is an article I wrote about the protocol that I used later in life to cure Candida albicans, after I'd developed a systemic Candida infection: https://www.alivenhealthy.com/2018/08/14/how-to-cure-candida/
Over time, the over-the-counter yeast infection medications stopped working for me but Yin Care works really well and it works reliably because it's an herbal remedy. I have to use YinCare more often than over-the-counter yeast medications when I get a yeast infection, but it’s an herbal formula so it’s less toxic to my body and the yeast won’t develop a resistance toward herbs. I also use Pau d’Arco (an herb that can be made into a tea) and Oregano Oil drops 3 times a day when I get yeast infections and this usually helps within 24 to 48 hours. In a pinch, when I was traveling and didn't have access to other treatments, I could use a garlic clove, halved and placed inside the vagina overnight, to rid myself of a vaginal yeast infection.
Note that there are different species of Pau d'Arco, but there is really only one that has a strong medicinal action: Tabebuia impetiginosa. And a lot of Pau d'Arco formulations contain various parts of the plant, but it's the tissues right under the bark that are meant to be used medicinally. Below is a link to a Pau d'Arco brand that I use and trust:
Almost immediately, I started realizing that sugar was part of my problem. Not eating refined sugar seemed to really reduce the number of cystitis episodes that I was having. Instead of refined sugars, I started cooking with Coconut Palm Sugar, Maple Syrup, and Agave Nectar. Later, I removed these products from my diet and replaced them with honey and stevia. And then, when I was ready, we got rid of all sugars and instead started using only stevia and monk fruit. My daughter started a blog at www.travellingtreats.com that includes healthy recipes that are low or no-sugar, gluten free, and sometimes vegan to get people started on the process of removing sugar from the diet (Hint: it's much easier to go sugar free in steps as I did--sugar is addictive.)
Shortly after beginning treatment with acupuncture, I also visited an energy healer in Denver who told me that I needed to stop eating gluten. I was really resistant to this idea. I’d already cut dairy out of my diet after reading The China Study and watching the documentary Forks Over Knives, but I decided to go ahead and try it. Our whole family changed to a diet that excluded wheat, sugar, and dairy products. It wasn’t a change that happened over night. Rather, it took several years, but eventually, most of our grocery shopping started to happen in the produce aisle. Later, (almost a decade later) we did add gluten back into our diet, but this was after we learned about some of the other very real dangers posed by products containing gluten (see UPDATE below).
UPDATE: About 2 years ago, I started researching iodine deficiency and learned that everyone, but particularly American citizens, are exposed daily to Bromine, an element that's in everything from children's pajamas to citrus sodas and drinks (gatorade, Mountain Dew, etc.). Bromine is in insecticides like methyl bromide and ethylene dibromide. It's used to disinfect both drinking water and the water in swimming pools (because it stings the eyes less and has less of an odor than chlorine). But most importantly, in the 1980's, bromine replaced iodine in commercial bread products. Prior to this time, iodine was put in bread products to supplement the food supply so that people, particularly women and children (since these populations need more iodine), did not become iodine deficient. You see, bromine competes with iodine in the body. Bromine is an endocrine disruptor that causes a variety of symptoms such as chronic foggy-headedness and unexplained weight gain (among other problems). Pay attention, because here's the thing--if you get a high or higher dose of iodine in your diet (from seaweed or some other green leafy vegetable, for example), bromine will be released by your reproductive organs and your thyroid gland and you can end up with bladder irritation and even a rash (there's a long list of rather strange symptoms that happen when the body finally gets the iodine it needs and kicks bromine out of the glands--and there are strange symptoms that happen when the body reaches a critical level of bromine, such as fibrocystic breasts). Speaking from experience, putting 10 drops of 5% Lugol's iodine on my wrist or taking Iodoral once a day has changed my life. I still experience bladder irritation occassionally if there's bromine in the water supply or in insecticides that I'm exposed to, but I can control it by drinking a sea salt mixture. For more information about Iodine and it's role in causing all kinds of health problems including cystitis, I recommend reading the books Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It by Dr. Brownstein or the book by Lynne Farrow calledIodine Crisis: What You Don't Know about Iodine Can Wreck Your Life. The iodine-bromine connection can impact your health on many levels, but it's something doctors know nothing about. Here's a link to information about how iodine deficiency plays a role in the development of cancer and other diseases.
I don't have cystitis anymore except when I travel on long flights overseas, but I can predict these episodes and plan for them. A Rolfer told me once that I could probably fix this problem of stress-induced cystitis if I went to a visceral manipulation specialist to have them reposition my bladder. Visceral manipulation is a little bit like massage for the visceral organs. It’s a process that’s done on the fascia that holds the organs in place inside the body. I tend to put my stress in my bladder and when that happens, the muscles and fascia in my lower torso pull my organs out of alignment causing irritation, particularly in my urethra. My husband puts his stress in his abdominal muscles and as a result, he often has tummy troubles when he’s stressed (usually on our big travel days as well). My Rolfer encouraged me to “be kind” to my bladder when it starts to flare up and to treat it like a child that’s upset and that needs consoling, which was good advice. I often neglect my bladder and my excretory system most when I’m stressed. Giving my poor bladder some extra attention meant drinking water, taking the D-mannose, and perhaps some Uva Ursi (an herb) did help keep the pre-travel cystitis flare-ups under control.
And I did go to an appointment for visceral manipulation, but the girl who did the appointment was new at visceral manipulation. Instead of relief from my cystitis, I stopped getting my periods for four months. I’ve read that it’s important to be gentle when performing visceral manipulation on or near the reproductive organs. A little bit of work can go a long way. The visceral manipulation girl did, however, recommend that I regularly try to hold my pee until I feel like my bladder is totally full as a sort of therapy. She said that this stretches the bladder wall and makes it less sensitive. So I tried it. And it helps a LOT, especially when I’m stressed. I also spend several days holding my urine before I take a big trip overseas, for example. But I’ve read that some women get more UTI’s when they hold their pee, so you’ll need to decide for yourself if this is something that would help or hurt you. It could be that you’ll need to let your bladder heal for a little while by changing your diet, nixing the coffee-habit, and other things before you’ll be able to stretch your bladder without getting an infection.
These days, interstitial cystitis is not an issue for me. It’s something that happens when I’m extremely stressed and occasionally right before I get my period. If you have interstitial cystitis, start by changing your diet. I would recommend eating a lot of organic fruits and vegetables and eliminating all refined sugars, caffeine and even decaffeinated coffee, dairy products and heavily processed foods. Use D-Mannose powder daily to keep UTI’s to a minimum at first. Later, after your bladder has time to heal, you may not need to take it every day (I haven't taken D-Mannose for years). Visit an acupuncturist. And take Pau d’Arco (4 capsules up to 4 times a day) and Oregano Essential Oil (3 drops in a tablespoon of olive oil up to 3 times a day). Take a look at the article above on eliminating Candida albicans from your body and follow the protocol.
Work with this regimen and give it some time. Drink a lot of water. Try holding your pee to let your bladder stretch. Do you find that you’re able to wait longer between pee sessions if you stretch your bladder once a day by letting it fill to the max? Or do you have problems with UTI’s when you hold your urine. Decide what works best for you and then make it happen! You don’t have to live every day of your life with the angst of interstitial cystitis!
UPDATE: Recently, I found information stating that DMSO (Dimethyl sulfoxide-brand name RIMSO-50) can be administered via a catheter into the bladder to relieve interstitial cystitis. The DMSO is instilled into the bladder and held there for 15-20 minutes. It was the first and only FDA-approved bladder instillation treatment for interstitial cystitis. How it works is not fully understood, but it reduces bladder irritation and pain, relaxes the bladder and pelvic muscles, it relieves bladder pain and increases bladder capacity by breaking down scar tissue and preventing the formation of collagen (a protein that the body uses to create scar tissue).
Rimso-50 causes the patient to emit a strong garlic smell, but there are other No Odor versions of DMSO on the market today. In fact, anyone can buy DMSO, but in order to put it in the bladder, you'd need to go to a doctor for catheterization.
I have not tried this myself, but I've read that 50% of the DMSO [see article] that's ingested orally collects in the urine within 36 hours which means that it's possible for DMSO to be ordered online and taken by mouth to treat interstitial cystitis. DMSO can also be applied to the skin, but only 12-25% of the DMSO that's applied to the skin will end up in the bladder. But if you're taking any other prescription or over-the-counter medication, note that DMSO CAN INCREASE THE EFFECTS OF THESE MEDICATIONS AS WELL AS HERBS AND ANY OTHER SUBSTANCE INSIDE YOUR BODY. Do your homework and talk to your doctor before using this substance if you're on medication of any kind!
Though FDA approved, DMSO has been scandalized in some instances because it is used to increase the permeability of cell membranes and it has been used as an effective alternative cancer treatment by itself and in combination with low-dose chemotherapy that has a high cure rate at a lower cost. These treatments are therefore threatening to the pharmaceutical industry's monopoly on cancer.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR TRAVELERS: Schistosomiasis (blood flukes) can result in cystitis among other undesirable symptoms. If you've traveled to Asia, Africa, or South America and you were exposed to freshwater (you swam in it, walked through it, or drank it), then you may have contracted blood flukes (they enter by burrowing into the skin). Your doctor isn't likely to check you for this disease and may even resist the idea of schistosomiasis. It can be treated using praziquantel or artemisinin (Artemisia annua), or MMS.
References:
[1] University of Maryland Medical Center (2017). Reiter Syndrome. Available online: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/reiter-syndrome January 5, 2017. [2] The Mayo Clinic (1998-2017). Interstitial cystitis. Available online: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/interstitial-cystitis/diagnosis-treatment/treatment/txc-20251968 January 5, 2017. [3] Interstitial Cystitis Association (2017). DMSO. Retrieved March 13, 2018 from https://www.ichelp.org/diagnosis-treatment/treatments/bladder-instillations/dmso/
