I was speaking to a friend of mine the other night, who, is not a doctor, but, she works to help women get well emotionally through sharing the wisdom of her own personal experiences and her years of yoga work. We were discussing our philosophies about recovering from chronic unwellness. She communicated many of her thoughts regarding the subject and it is so funny to have your own thoughts itterated by someone else. She said so many of the exact things that I think. This morning, a patient sent me a quote by Christianne Northroppe, who, encapsulated some of these thoughts as well in a succinct way: http://www.healyourlife.com/affirmations/dr-christiane-northrup/2011/11/.... also. So, I thought even though I have posted so many times on this subject, perhaps I would chime in today a bit on the same subject.

Getting healthy is so much more than taking a pill and being on your way. So many people don't understand what a process it is and how each day can become better and brighter. It is difficult to lok at illness as an invitation to really positive and wonderful change and embrace it completely as an opportunity of a life time. But-it can be that, if you are able to shift your persepctive a bit and look at the bigger picture.

Basically, your body succumbing to chronic illness, especially that of IC, is the culmination of many years and layers of negative changes occuring in your body. And, when the IC hits-it is your body saying, "ENOUGH!, I Cant take it anymore!" And, getting on the road to getting well again means changing th course your life path has been on both physically and emotionally and embracing different choices for yourself. These changes will effect you in every way. Ultimately over time, these changes will redirect you along a path of balance and well being that you perhaps never realized you could attain. 

This path is an invitation to make permanent changes not temporary ones. When someone asks me, " how long will it be before I can go back to eating the way I was eating before.?" I am hearing someone who perhaps has not really understood that eating in the way that they were eating before led them to where they are today and is probably not the best choice for them.

Many ask me why other people can eat in that manner and not have reactions, but, is that true? I don't think so. In my opinion, that is where other longer term illnesses emerge from such as cancer, and parkinson's disease, arthritis, chronic allergies, heart disease, alzheimer's, and many more. 

A situation like IC is life changing-but it CAN change you for the better if you take it as an opportunity, and not a death sentence. This is hard, I KNOW! But, it CAN be done. And, when you get through it, you will see how many wonderful changes will come from it, and how your life may evolve in a very unexpected and positive way.

Dr.M