I just received an email from a patient who apparently was very upset after reading another post from someone who said she had been in treatment for many years and is still suffering.

I won't go into any details on any specific person bc of confidentiality, however, I do want to say this:

As with any treatment, there will be some who don't do as well or don't go through it as fluidly as others. If one takes a closer look at the situation, perhaps there are reasons for it, and in some cases, perhaps one cannot find those reasons, although, I am certain they are there.

But, while considering what may be the right path for yourself, or contemplating what you think your journey may be, it is probably best to focus on the masses and not the few. Most people who go through this treatment do incredibly well-many right from the beginning, and others after a bit of time. This has been an avenue that leads away from suffering for so many people over the years whereas prior to it, I am not sure any such avenue existed. It is not easy, but, it is a road that is an option for many people searching for this kind of a route.

One of the challenges that I have faced over the years is to improve upon my own methods for those who go through the treatment in the more "normal" way so that they can feel better faster and more easily. The other challenge has been to identify the reasons that those who dont do well continue to struggle and come up with new ways to help them. I am accomplishing the first goal everyday, in my opinion. I think my methods are far more efficient than they were when I first started a decade and a half ago-definitely. And, my intention is to continue to accelerate that rate of improvement. The second goal is an individual one-case by case-trying to determine what is the problem with that specific person. And, I do think that I am uncovering many various reasons in each case and I am trying to figure out what to do about each case so that no one needs to continue to suffer endlessly. 

My passion for helping those in pain from IC is really something that comes from deep inside of me. I care very much about each of you. This is why I am available almost all of the time. It is because I care. I have remained committed to unravelling this issues with this condition since I started practicing in the mid 90's. I promised myself then I would take each person who came my way seriously and figure out how to help them because when I myself had been sick no one took me seriously. I have not wavered on that commitment in all of these years.

IC is a terrible condition to have, but, the this approach to it, in my opinion, is an incredible option for those who are able to embrace this kind of thinking. So, when one hears that someone has suffered for many years without becoming better, realize that they are few and far between in a sea of people who have been helped in getting their lives back. And hopefully one day, that sea will be complete with everyone on board, leaving no one behind.

Dr. Matia