In early January 2000 I started feeling like I had a chronic bladder infection. I felt a burning in my low pelvis, but I felt most of my irritation after I urinated. This irritation was accompanied by a sensation to empty my bladder after I had already urinated. I immediately started drinking lots of water and cranberry juice. I went to my gynecologist and they told me I had a slight yeast infection and perhaps that was what was irritating me. I immediately started taking an over-the-counter yeast infection medication. After that treatment didn't effect my symptoms I went back to my gynecologist. They did more tests, but couldn't find anything. They referred me to a urologist. 

I then went to a urologist and had 3 appointments with her. She filled my bladder through a catheter, which was excruciatingly painful, to see if my urine flow was normal. She filled my bladder with different liquids to see which were irritants to me, also very painful. By the 3rd appointment I was in tears and the only thing the doctor could tell me was, she thought I had IC but wasn't sure and thought that if I had IC it was a mild case and I should try some sample drugs that she gave me. I asked what the drugs would do and she really wasn't sure if they would do anything. She referred me to an internist who would take a sonogram of my bladder to insure that there weren't any cysts or fissures, etc. I had the sonogram which told me I had, from what the internist could see, a very healthy bladder and uterus.

After these 3 months and much pain from both my IC and these appointments I had no answers. I was seeing a chiropractor who I had told my story to. She had a woman in her practice that was a healer and practiced acupuncture. I made an appointment as a lark, as I was at the end of my rope. I am not the most open-minded person when it comes to health and medical issues. I went to this acupuncturist and though she was very gentle and sweet, the treatments were doing nothing for my symptoms. After seeing her once a week for 2 months she went away on a retreat and had a replacement acupuncturist come in. This new acupuncturist was very clear and performed acupuncture like a Western medicine doctor which I was comfortable with. She spoke in clear terms and said if she couldn't help me she knew a specialist who I should see. After a month of treatment of both herbs and acupuncture my symptoms eased a bit, but the results weren't enough. She referred me to Matia Brizman.

The moment I met with Matia I felt such a sense of comfort and security. Matia is clear and concise and so incredibly thorough. She treated my like a Western medical doctor and again I was very comfortable with that. I have seen Matia for 2 years and I feel like I haven't just addressed these symptoms, but I have changed my life and health and I am symptom free. My process with Matia was rigorous and hard. I was seeing her twice a week for a while and we changed my diet drastically and changed herbs, but the outcome was so positive. I am by nature a skeptical person and the thought of acupuncture and herbs would have been laughable to me 3 years ago, but I am a convert to Eastern medicine now after my experience with Matia. Currently I have little to no symptoms. I try to maintain a sugar-free diet with little alcohol, as those are the two things that seem to trigger my discomfort. Also, Matia and I strongly feel that part of the reason I am doing so well is that I discontinued taking birth control pills. I am no longer taking any herbs and see Matia every 6 weeks for a follow up appointment. I am a huge advocate of Acupuncture and herbal remedies with a trained specialist as a guide, and I will forever be indebted to Matia for helping me through this with such kindness and love. She clearly does this because she cares about people.