I started to develop periodic symptoms of IC in my early 20s, over the course of which I was misdiagnosed and treated for recurring prostatitis, non-specific urethritis, and pelvic muscle spasms. At the age of 27 I began to develop a problem with urinary retention and frequency; at the time I finally sought a urologist to investigate the problem, I was visiting the bathroom about every 35 to 45 minutes, and waking up three or four times a night. As the urologist worked toward a diagnosis over the next two and a half years, the IC symptoms magnified enormously: I began to have burning pelvic pain, at first on and off, and then the frequency gradually increased to the point where it was almost constant.

I was diagnosed with IC at the age of 30, and began the traditional regimen of Elmiron, Prozac, and Hydroxizine, along with diet modifications. Over the following year and a half I certainly made significant improvements. The magnitude and frequency of pain decreased on the whole, as did the urinary frequency itself. I had long stretches of up to three months during which I felt almost normal. But I continued to have intermittent, very painful flares.

When I first met one of Matia's IC patients who told me about her treatment, I was quite leery about the idea of acupuncture and disinclined to believe that herbal treatments could be effective. Where was the proof? As I continued to talk with her, however, I was struck over and over by one fact, and that was that this patient, who was forgoing traditional western medical treatment altogether, had, over the course of 10 months, made exceptional progress in lessening her symptoms.

I saw Matia for the first time at age 31, in the midst of a flare that had been constant at that point for almost two months, and began a regimen of acupuncture, herbal treatments, and further diet modification. Within two weeks I was feeling tremendously better. Within three months I began to experience absolutely normal days for the first time in seven years; days where I visited the restroom two or three times, didn't wake up once at night, didn't give IC a second thought.

I've been seeing Dr. Brizman for treatment now for six months. On three or four days during that time, I've experienced quite bad days, the kind which in the past have been a signal of the inevitable approach of a months-long flare. Under Matia's treatment, these days have been isolated exceptions from which I've immediately returned to feeling normal. With respect to IC symptoms, my time in treatment with her has easily been the best six month period in the last seven years. That correlation may fall short of traditional western medicine's burden of proof, but it's more than compelling for me; I will all but personally escort the next IC patient I meet directly to her door.

Update:
Over the past 6 months, I've had only three or four medium-grade flares, which Matia has been able to get under control each time within a matter of days. That said, the intensity of the flares continues to diminish, as does the duration. If I feel a little off one day, I virtually always feel normal again the following day. There's no question that I'm continue to make progress.

I went off anti-histamines a few months back , and I have just recently stopped taking Elmiron altogether as well (after tapering down for months from 600 mg a day), and as those medications wash out of my system, I continue to feel good and stable.

I went back to Europe again this year on a three week vacation, and had virtually no pain at all; the degree to which I used to feel absolutely limited and confined by my IC is a circumstance of the past.

I'm looking forward to the next milestone, which will be starting to re-introduce some of the forbidden foods back into my diet. On that note, I have to admit that I have already occasionally indulged when I shouldn't have over the past few months: A few weeks back I had HALF of a large pizza (not half a piece mind you, but half a pizza), and had no subsequent bladder pain at all. I'm definitely looking forward to doing that on a more regular basis!