I took the herbs from Matia and the UTI cleared up in 7 days. I felt better quicker than when I've taken the antibiotics too. I'm keeping more herbs on hand in case I have another. This was my 4th in the last year. Do you usually test negative after the herbs? I keep testing positive. Matia tells me this is not uncommon with ICers. Thanks for sharing. Tammy
yes somtimes i do test positive after the infection is over, but i know the infection is gone because i feel much better. i think that when you have IC and chronic inflammation of the bladder there are always going to be some white blood cells in your urine and that's why you get a false positive.
Thankfully, I've never had a UTI on top of the ic, at least not to my knowledge. herbs for flares always calm my bladder down, so I would think herbs for a UTI would do the same. In any case, I'd much rather take the herbs than the antibiotics, which can cause a horrid flare if you have yeast, or drinking cranberry juice, ouch!
Hi Tammy:
When I started it took some time to find the right mix so that my urgency and frequency was not affected. I was constantly emailing Matia in the beginning and afraid that she would be upset or frustrated with me but she sure did not show it if she was. We did find the right combination that did not cause the urgency and frequency to be worse. All I can say is make sure you communicate with Matia and you will get to a point that you won't be feeling worse. I have been in treatment for 6 months. I still have to play with the dosages with Matia's direction of course but overall the urgency and frequency is becoming more manageable. I do have my times when it is worse like about the 8th day after the beginning of my perod. I also realized a few months into treatment with Matia's help that garlic was causing me problems so I cut that out what a differnece that made. All along I have been trying to take the fish oils for dryness and eye problems and this still causes me problems but it seems from others that it takes time for your body to heal and to become less reactive and accepting of these herbs and supplements. This may be a frustrating period for you but hang in there and I am sure it will get better and manageable before you know it. All the best Kriste.
Yes, you can definitely bounce back and forth! That is common. Esp in the beginning. I once had a terrible bladder flare and had to contact Matia often--I was afraid she would give up on me or be upset but she helped me through. And your hormones/menstrual cycle can have such a huge impact, causing symptoms to bounce back and forth. And I mean the whole month cycle, ovulation, etc, not just when you are on your period. I have had many times that one day I would be responding great to herbs, etc, and the next day my body would rebel. It made no sense. So I understand. Ultimately, the herbs won out, at least for me
icnot4me
Everyone is going to react different so what may happen to one person is not going to happen to the next. You should stop having your UTI's as you heal. The herbs are usually balanced in a way to make things as plesant as possible. WHen the toxins begin to release sometimes foggy head, depression, obsessive thoughts and flew like symtoms can occur to say a few. THat doesn't mean you are going to get them though. Some people get rashes and some don't. It often happens in layers and some feel they are regressing but really it's just deeper serfaces dieing off. Try not to worry about it or compare yourself to anyone because your path is unique and although we all go through a lot of the same stuff your herbs and your protocall is unique to you. You don't want to expect certain things because they may or may not happen. The best thing you can do is nurture yourself and just know you are in the best hands.
I've had several UTIs during my 20 months of treatment with Matia.
I keep a package of UTI test strips in my medicine cabinet at home
just to be sure. Matia prescribes me chinese herbs for UTIs (usually dianthus) and I also keep a large bottle of that at home. It usually takes about 5 to 7 days for the infection to clear up. It was really scary the first time, but now I know that Matia can treat it and there is no need to go on those awful antibiotics.