Dear Dazzo11,Welcome! You have come to good place! My name is Mary. I have been in treatment for 14 months and I feel like I am doing really well at present.  my symptoms have improved tremendously and I've had IC a long time- 6 years.    Feel free to post and ask questions regarding treatment especially about the diet here-although some things you will have to ask Matia about -you will find alot of support and wonderful suggestions through this board.  I think it is really normal to feel nervous about taking this path- It is a for most of us a life changing experience but I can honestly report that even though the diet is challenging at first it is most definetely something that after a time comes naturally. I love food too! The diet lists are restrictive at first but as you get well you can add back most everything. Your palette and sensitivity to food will become stronger too which is nice by the time you get to add back fruit it is as sweet as any cookie. It is important once you begin treatment to stay on the lists and don't cheat! This can delay your getting better. do the best you can right now. as you go along you may have alot of questions as I did. maybe you should kind of practice list one foods - until you see Matia and then really stick to list 1 like crazy until you get to move to list 2.  andyou should take with you  have a whole list of questions to ask her- I wish I had asked more but there was so much to learn and take in in our session! I buy hormone free if possible fresh meat- beef, chicken, lamb, or pork. I cook it in butter or plain olive oil- make sure it is not extra virgin olive oil. the cheaper stuff that just says- pure olive oil.  or if its a fatty piece of meat then it doesn't need any cooking oil and I just season it with a little garlic powder or sea salt and cook it on medium heat in my iron skillet.( I season with fresh garlic and fresh basil now at list 3)You can find spelt ( its a kind of wheat ) or Kamut in health food stores. look for the Pacific or French Meadow brands. it will be in the frozen bread section. defrost in refridgerator. It must be yeast free. toast it then top it with real buttter. some people do not tolerate spelt or kamut. try brown/white basmati rice for a starch. try to keep all your meals a balence of 1/2 veggies. 1/4 protein- (meat) 1/4 carbs- like the bread or rice. or potatoes.  I have never cheated on the diet conciously- occasionally I ended up doing something wrong and my bladder tells me so and I figured out what I did Just do the best you can for now.  I didn't know how to cook or eat right before this and I still love food and eating. In fact I appreciate food so much more now. I know it can be alot of changes but you are going to be fine. You are going to get better. Even though I have dealt with some pretty crappy increases in symtoms during cleansing- it wasn't eveyday/ all day  100 % of the time. I had many coutnless days that I functioned as a normal living being.  I have also had amazing days without any pain and depression. Matia took me out of a really bad place right away with her herbs and diet guidance. I'd say even at my worst place - when I was feeling bad during major cleansing times in my  treatment it still was not as bad as it was before I saw Matia.   It is been sooo worth all the challenges to feel what I feel right now. take heart. you are not alone and you have a totally wonderful caregiver to guide you towards wellness. Think of your food right now as part of your medicine. It is right now about optimum nourishment and putting things in your body that are not going to increase the inflammation. search the ICAMA website - there should be some recipies. also if you look on the forums there have been topic discussions on what people eat for breakfast. there are folks who are on ICAMA who live in the NYC area too. We will have a chat meeting with Matia the second week in september. be sure to call Bomamed to get the number to check that out. anyway good to have you. Its hard to relax sometimes with IC- anxiety is a common symtom but you are going to fine. You will learn how to do everything you need to do to take care of your body- simply by engagin fully in this process you will learn sooo much - about how you may have gotten sick and how to get well and how to stay well. you will also learn how to keep your baby healthy too! YAY! there are alot of Mamas on this board! you can do this! I ain't gonna lie to you it can be soo hard sometimes but it is more than possible to find wellness again. take care- hope you receive releif and healing very very soon. I hope this was helpful.Mary

Hi,I too live on Long Island.  I'm not sure where you are exactly but you want to get real familiar with the Whole Foods in Jericho (right off the LIE).  It's my savior.  It's an hour and a half drive for me so I try to stock up once or twice a month.  They have lots of spelt and kamut bread in the frozen section (though I think I bought them out of kamut and last I went they didn't have it in stock still).   If you know of any other good places to shop on Long Island let me know.  I'm out in the Hamptons and the health food stores are a complete rip off so I try to order online when I can.  Stay in touch fellow Long Islander!