Is there a cure for interstitial cystitis?
Interstitial cystitis can be a real bane to one’s existence. I speak from experience on this one. I suffered from interstitial cystitis for many years before I finally got rid of the problem permanently. As a young woman, I went from one doctor to the next with what always felt like a urinary tract infection. But most of the time, doctors would tell me that I didn’t have an infection, therefore there was nothing they could do for me. Interstitial cystitis is essentially mystifying to conventional medicine doctors and I suffered for many years until I gave up on conventional medicine. Click here to learn more about The Lugol's Iodine Protocol for cystitis. My cystitis flares were often stress related. They would come and go without any obvious provocation except stress. Cystitis, by nature, is a very out-of-control, anxiety-provoking feeling and the lack of answers about what might be causing this problem intensified that overall experience. My stress would provoke cystitis and then cystitis would intensify my stress. After nearly a decade of suffering and at least seven doctors who were unable to help me, I began to experiment with different alternative treatments for cystitis. In fact, cystitis was one of the health problems I sought to overcome when I traveled abroad. It was not an ever-present thing in the sense that I’d have periods of relief from it with inexplicable flares of varying duration and intensity. So I was able to travel and experiment with different treatment modalities with practitioners outside of conventional medicine. I eventually stumbled across an acupuncturist named Robin Schiesser. She had been an editor for an architectural magazine for many years before developing interstitial cystitis and, like me, she had visited many mystified doctors over the years who had had no idea how to help her. One day, Robin walked into a Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture clinic. These practitioners were able to get rid of interstitial cystitis which changed her whole life and her view of conventional medicine. So she quit her job and signed up for classes to become an acupuncturist. It was through our shared cystitis experiences that she and I found each other. But at that time, I lived about 4 hours away from Robin’s acupuncture clinic which meant that I usually wasn’t able to visit her in the throes of a cystitis flare. As such, she never officially was able to make my cystitis go away as I never officially had her work on cystitis as the focal point of my visits with her. Nonetheless, I never forgot about Robin or her story about how she came to embrace Traditional Chinese Medicine. Robin was a very tall, thin woman. She was a bit slimmer than me, but I’m also tall and thin. My metabolism runs on the fast side. I tend to be anxious and high-powered. My thyroid gland is definitely in high gear most of the time. This seemed to be true for Robin as well. The thyroid-cystitis connection is worth noting because there is, indeed, a strong connection between the thyroid gland and cystitis / painful bladder syndrome. But I’ll say more about that later.
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Interstitial Cystitis Observations
I have not had cystitis for many years at the time of this writing. In fact, my cystitis went away when I started taking Lugol’s iodine 2% at a dose of 50 mg per day. But recently, I’ve had flare-ups again. So that got me thinking about some new layers to this puzzle that I need to write about so that other people can benefit from it. First of all, my life has changed a lot over the past year. My husband and I built two houses, one for ourselves and one for our daughter. He and I enjoy doing big construction projects together. We’ve done all of the work ourselves, every shred of it. I never stopped taking iodine throughout the construction project. Nonetheless, I was exposed almost daily to paint, paint fumes, new furnishings, new carpet, sealants, and a variety of other toxic things that essentially “pool” in my southern regions when my cells get too toxic. It took me a while to make this connection between cystitis flare-ups and doing construction projects and exposure to toxins. Though I was very cognizant of toxins and chemicals when John and I first started working on our house-building project, as time has gone on, I’ve gotten tired and less cautious about wearing gloves and protecting my skin and lungs. Some days, I would be covered in paint from head to toe. I’d bathe in water that was essentially contaminated with all of that paint and the toxic chemicals I’d been covered in throughout the day. I’d put on my jammies, and then go to bed with residues of it that would soak in throughout the night. And, as it turns out, my bladder is especially sensitive to bromine and other chemicals. So I shouldn’t have been surprised that I started having cystitis flare-ups what with the sheer amount of chemicals I was exposing myself to each day. I could time my flares with my Lugol’s iodine supplement to some extent. I would take the iodine in the morning and then start to experience symptoms around 3:00 PM. These symptoms would often last until 4:00 AM the next morning. My sleep suffered as a result. My thoughts became foggy. I was anxious and unable to focus for the part of the day when my cystitis flares would start.The Iodine-Bromide Connection: How to Use Iodine to Cure Interstitial Cystitis Permanently
Iodine is a complicated topic when it comes to interstitial cystitis. Why? Because when a person first starts to take Lugol’s iodine cystitis can get decidedly worse. And this is a huge deterrent to taking iodine. The bladder feels like this deep, unreachable organ and when it manifests a tickle or an itch that can’t be scratched, this is disconcerting to say the least. A person who has suffered with cystitis who then takes Lugol’s for the first time and experiences a major flare might be inclined to avoid iodine supplementation for the rest of all time. But actually, it’s not the iodine itself that’s causing the cystitis. Rather, the body absorbs and uses the iodine and kicks toxic halogens like bromide and fluoride out of iodine-receptor sites that they’ve been occupying, and these halogens end up in the blood supply. From the blood supply, the toxic halogens then travel to the kidneys, where they’re filtered out of the blood and then travel onward to the bladder where they “pool” at the bottom of the body until they can be excreted in the urine. When the body has been exposed to a lot of bromide or fluoride, there’s a constant flow of these toxic halogens into the bladder causing the tissues to become raw and ulcerated.
A person with cystitis does not miss even one moment of the experience of having ulcerations in the bladder. The bladder, as it turns out, plays a huge role in mental health. Indeed, in nursing homes, patients with urinary tract infections or cystitis often first develop dementia as a result of bladder irritation. In other words, irritation in the urinary tract can hijack one’s thoughts with such consistency and urgency (no pun intended) as to cause certain susceptible populations to literally “lose their minds”. This is what makes the topic of Lugol’s iodine therapy so challenging as it pertains to cystitis. If I tell someone that their cystitis will only last “until the bromine is purged from the body”, the inevitable question that comes next is: “How long will that take?” This is impossible to predict exactly. If the person is not consistently being exposed to bromide through their bathwater or kitchen faucets or in a swimming pool, methyl bromide, insecticide / herbicide sprays in a field next door or even a mile down the road, new furniture, new curtains, paint or other chemical-y items, then it will probably take about a month or less to detoxify from bromide. But if the person in question is being consistently exposed to bromine, it’s hard to say how long it will take. In other words, if you have interstitial cystitis that won’t go away even with iodine therapy, take a close look at your surroundings. Are you being continually exposed to bromide or fluoride somehow? Check your environment, your food, your bathing or drinking water, and simple things like new curtains or furnishings that are likely to have been sprayed with bromide as a “fire retardant”.
Iodine Deficiency and Cystitis
Maybe you eat iodized salt and you think you're getting enough iodine in your diet. But if you're an American, it's very unlikely that you're not getting the iodine that you need. I say that with confidence because the United States is the only country in the world that still allows farmers to us methyl bromide as an insecticide on crops. Bromine is used in swimming pools, it's used as a fire retardant on children's clothing and furnishings, and it's in citrus drinks like Mountain Dew and Gatorade as Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVOs). Bromine / bromide is also in commercial bread products made with white flour. Bromine competes with iodine in the body. And bromine can cause all kinds of problems including thyroid issues and obesity or unexplained weight gain. Iodine is a big topic and we discuss it in depth in The Iodine Bible. Chances are, if you have cystitis / painful bladder syndrome, iodine deficiency and bromine toxicity play a role in it. If you suffer from brain fog or fibromyalgia or other health issues of any kind, iodine supplementation and a parasite cleanse is a good starting block, but your cystitis may get worse initially as your body purges toxins. Once you've completed the detox though and you're up to daily maintenance doses of Lugol’s iodine 2% chances are your cystitis will be greatly improved.Chloride Displacement by Bromide and Neurogenic Bladder
Bromide can take up residence not only in iodine receptors in human tissues, but can also displace chloride in the body, which can cause nervous system diseases and nerve-related issues. Cystitis might be regarded as a nervous system issue in some cases. Indeed, removal of bromide from the body through iodine supplementation is vital, but supplementing with chloride might also be important to restore proper nerve transmission.Other Bladder Irritants
Here’s where things can get confusing. So let’s say that you’re just beginning to look at your lifestyle and your environment in terms of bromide and fluoride exposure. If you haven’t really started taking Lugol’s iodine yet, bromide and fluoride exposure might actually be less likely to cause a cystitis flare than iodine exposure. This confuses people. If iodine exposure is causing the flare, then it seems like you should avoid iodine rather than taking high doses of it. But in reality, exposure to iodine is actually causing bromide and fluoride to be released into the bloodstream, which in turn, diverts these toxic halogens directly into the bladder via the kidneys. At this point, I need to restate the situation with iodine in no uncertain terms. Iodine can cure cystitis, but before it can cure cystitis, it has to remove bromide and fluoride from the body’s tissues. The bromide and fluoride are the bladder irritants that cause cystitis in many people, but it’s the iodine that gets bromide and fluoride moving into the bloodstream to be removed from the body via the bladder. So at first, iodine seems to make cystitis worse. Indeed, if iodine makes your cystitis worse at first, you probably have bromide and fluoride toxicity and the iodine will likely clear up the cystitis almost entirely if you can get through treatment to remove these toxins.Foods That Irritate the Bladder
Below I list some bladder irritating foods, but keep in mind that many (not all) of them contain iodine and this is why they irritate the bladder. Some also contain nutrients that promote the assimilation of iodine by the body thus releasing bromide and fluoride. It is the bromide and the fluoride that cause the bladder irritation, but the release of bromide and fluoride into the bloodstream is provoked by taking in bigger quantities of iodine.- All alcoholic beverages including champagne
- Carbonated drinks
- Coffee (including decaffeinated)
- Tea — black or green, regular or decaffeinated, and herbal blends that contain black or green tea
- Apples
- Apple juice
- Bananas
- Brewer’s yeast
- Canned figs
- Cantaloupe
- Cheese
- Chicken livers
- Chilies/spicy foods
- Citrus fruits
- Chocolate
- Citrus fruits
- Corned beef
- Cranberries
- Fava beans
- Grapes
- Guava
- Lemon juice
- Lima beans
- Milk Products
- Milk
- Cheese
- Cottage Cheese
- Yogurt
- Ice Cream
- Nuts
- Hazelnuts/Filberts
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Mayonnaise
- Artificial Sweeteners
- NutraSweet ™
- Saccharin
- Aspartame
- Corn Sweeteners
- Honey
- Fructose
- Sucrose
- Lactose
- Onions (raw)
- Peaches
- Pickled herring
- Pineapple
- Plums
- Prunes
- Raisins
- Rye bread
- Sour cream
- Soy sauce
- Strawberries
- Tomatoes
- Tomato juice
- Vinegar
- Vitamins that are buffered with aspartame
- Vitamin B Complex
Ketogenic Diet for Cystitis
One client that I’ve worked with for quite some time swears by the ketogenic diet as a way to keep his cystitis under control. This man developed cystitis as a result of a schistosomiasis infection originally, but after the infection went away, Lugol’s iodine was something he literally craved in high doses (over 50mg per day). The Lugol’s iodine helped immensely, but he noticed that the keto diet keeps him from experiencing flares.If you take a look at the bladder irritating foods listed above, you might note that there are only a few foods like milk products and chicken liver that are animal products. Milk is supposed to contain iodine (when it is derived from free-range cows), but if it doesn’t contain iodine, it may not cause a cystitis flare.
Read more about the importance of eating free-range animal products and organic produce items in this article.
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Ketogenic Diet for Cystitis
One client that I’ve worked with for quite some time swears by the ketogenic diet as a way to keep his cystitis under control. This man developed cystitis as a result of a schistosomiasis infection originally, but after the infection went away, Lugol’s iodine was something he literally craved in high doses at up to 100 mg per day. The Lugol’s iodine helped him more than anything and he combined his daily supplementation with the keto diet with excellent results. If you take a look at the bladder irritating foods listed above, you might note that there are only a few foods like milk products and chicken liver that are animal products. Milk is supposed to contain iodine (when it is derived from free-range cows), but if it doesn’t contain iodine in most cases anymore so it may not cause a cystitis flare. Read more about the importance of eating free-range animal products and organic produce items in this article.Licorice Root and Red Clover
I’ve had several clients through the years who have worked through their cystitis symptoms with me and one of the herbal remedies that could often quell a flare was 1000 mg of licorice root with 1 tablespoon of red clover combined together in a tea. Licorice root is an anti-inflammatory herb (besides having numerous other medicinal properties), and red clover is a highly nutritive plant that supplies some of the supportive nutrients needed in order for iodine therapy to work, including some B complex vitamins, magnesium, and zinc. Licorice root likely contains a small amount of iodine and red clover contains amygdalin / vitamin B17, two nutrients that can lead to cellular inflammation when they are deficient. This herbal tea can reduce intestinal inflammation which can contribute to symptoms of cystitis. Red clover is also a deobstruent herb that can help clear out and detoxify the kidneys, liver, and gallbladder which in turn, supports bladder health. My personal experience with this tea is that it is particularly helpful where there is intestinal swelling that’s contributing to cystitis although the anti-inflammatory properties of licorice root may benefit people who have cystitis symptoms due to inflammation in other organs surrounding the bladder as well.
Click here to buy licorice root extract.
Frankincense and Myrrh
Frankincense and myrrh work together synergistically. They also support the body’s use of iodine providing trace minerals that help in processing iodine. Studies have shown that low-dose frankincense and myrrh increase cell proliferation and migration in acute interstitial cystitis. The use of frankincense and myrrh reduces the frequency of voiding and increases pain tolerance in animal models of painful bladder syndrome. The administration of frankincense and myrrh modulates urothelial wound healing in the bladder to diminish pain and irritation at the same time. As a natural treatment for cystitis, frankincense and myrrh are both administered at the same dose: 200 mg per kilogram of the patient’s body weight. They should be administered in tandem with Lugol’s iodine 2% for best results.
Click here to buy frankincense extract.
Resources:
• Chen, Y. H. et al. (2020). Efficacy of Frankincense and Myrrha in Treatment of Acute Interstitial Cystitis / Painful Bladder Syndrome. Retrieved June 10, 2023 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32279153/
• John’s Hopkins (n.d.). Bladder Irritants. Retrieved June 10, 2023 from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/johns_hopkins_bayview/_docs/medical-services-gynecology_obstetrics/bladder_irritants.pdf
