Top Natural Remedies for Interstitial Cystitis Relief

I wanted to add some information to my comment that may help someone else in their struggle with interstitial cystitis (IC).

I had been taking the green coffee bean extract to lose weight, but used it far longer than what is recommended. According to a recent Dr. Oz (big promoter of this supplement) comment, the green coffee bean extract capsules are only to be used as a "jump start" to losing weight - especially fat around the waistline. I did not know this until after I had been taking it for two years! A friend told me about the Dr. Oz comment which was made during a TV segment.

I noticed that the green coffee bean extract label contains 50% chlorogenic acid (200 mg). I was taking one capsule twice a day, so I was ingesting 400 mg of this acid each day!

When my gyno suggested that I either lessen or eliminate acidic foods, it occurred to me that this supplement was probably worsening my urinary tract problems!

Since stopping the green coffee bean extract (over 2 months now) I haven't been completely cured of IC, but the pain and frequent urination has been greatly reduced! Therefore, I think that the extract was a big part of my particular problem with IC.

I hope that this additional information will be helpful to those who may have been taking green coffee bean extract and have been suffering with interstitial cystitis.

Black Cohosh for Interstitial Cystitis - Update

Following up on my previous post...good news! I took the Black Cohosh for 4 days, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and have not had to take any since! I am back to normal and that is a wonderful feeling. We are all unique and what works for one may not work for another, but this has been my Godsend. Blessings to all of you as you search for what works for you!

Wanted to update you...after I posted that the Black Cohosh worked for me, I got another UTI that was very painful, with blood. I'm not sure if it was because my body was "cleaning house" or what...got a prescription for Macrobid. This took care of the infection but I still had the terrible urge to pee all the time.

I looked more seriously at the foods I was eating, trying to change to a more alkaline diet as well as cutting out all coffee, soda, alcohol. Then I started taking the baking soda and hydrogen peroxide each morning. I also began taking turmeric. I took warm baths with epsom salts before bed. But the thing that has seemed to help me the most was the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. I rubbed it in externally over the bladder area for a couple of nights before going to sleep, and I am now also taking it with each meal.

I do believe our bodies want to heal themselves and I am trying to help with what I know and have read from others. I also know the Good Lord answered my prayers as I have been pain free now for a couple of days and I am so thankful.

Blessings to all--

I have IC. I found that MSM, a nicer derivative of DMSO works quite well. It reduces inflammation and that is what IC is, chronic bladder inflammation.

This is very interesting. For a while I have thought that IC is caused my by leaky gut syndrome in my case so the coconut oil would make sense because it helps shut the gut.

Hi All, Ive been reading over these postings because I was curious about Cayenne pepper as a Tx for I. C. I really empathize with you all and desire to share my Tx remedy. I suffered with mild I. C. for years while having my children (5, total). After my fifth, the I. C. really flared up and I just couldn't get more that 45 min. of sleep at a time. In addition, activities involving impact of any kind (ie. Running, household chores, intimacy) were out of the question.

My husband did some research and started me on a two week regimen of Cornsilk extract (20 drops in 1/4 cup water 2-3 times per day) followed by 2x daily dosing of Pumpkin Seed oil everyday. I have maintained the oil at 1 tablespoon in am and 1 tablespoon in pm, preferrably with food or drink, for about 2 years now. It has made all the difference in the world. If I maintain this dosage I have no symptoms except for mild ones during ovulation and the first two days of my period. I up my dose by another tablespoon sometime in the middle of the day during these times. If I run out of oil, pumpkin seeds (in any form, roasted, raw etc. ) will suffice until I can restock but they add a lot fiber to my diet since I need to eat almost 3/4 cup of them per day to achieve the desired effect. I also stay away from Tannic Acid whenever possible and have greatly reduced the gluten in my diet. I am otherwise a healthy 38 year old mother of five. I don't get back here very often at all so I may not be available to answer any questions but I truly hope that this helps as many people here as possible!

Update::::: By now, I feel pretty foolish with all Ive gone thru these last 4 months with this horrible IC with natural remedies that didnt work for me, when all I had to do was take antibiotics, and Id be cured.

However, I had already tried 2 rounds of Cipro, and macrobid, and then started testing negative on all urine cultures, and being sent home empty handed, in horrible, horrible, horrible, crippling pain, feeling like I still have a bladder infection.

After finishing the z pack, I was almost all better, But 2 days later, symptoms returned full force and the nitemare was starting all over again for me. However, I knew the symptoms would return, and I couldnt get an appointment with my urologist, (which was 2 and a half hours away by the way, and I dont have a car) for another month. She wouldnt precscribe me another z pack, unless I retested again for the Ureaplasma. I would have to wait a month. Get retested, and wait an additional 4 days, then get more antibiotics, and hopefully be cured, but I knew it was impossible to wait the long, and it seemed horribly cruel, when I felt so close to a cure. Id have to start all over.

From the research Ive done on Ureaplasma, you almost always have to take more than one round of strong antibiotics to cure it, and some people take low dose long term antibiotics, from months to years to eradicate it. I saw a long painful road ahead, and I decided, getting Genital Herpes would have been a better fate for me than this, as at least with herpes u get periods of respite and you can SOMETIMES have sex, if your not having an outbreak. I was ready to Die.

I got the numbers of several Urologists closer to my area, about four. NONE of them tested for Ureaplasma, or even heard of it. I asked if they would do a test, they said no. You see. Many Urologist do not believe or even acknowledge the role Ureaplasma plays in IC, since 70% of the population carries this in their genital, bladder tracts without any problems. The community is split on the issue.

Ive been doing alot of research on this little bug, Ureaplasma. Its getting more and more attention, as more and more people are having problems with vulvodynia, and IC. Like I said, its considered sexually transmitted (but not), as we arent born with it, we get it thru sex.

A good gynecologist will also test for ureaplasma if you are having problems becoming pregnant, or have a history of miscarriages, or early deliveries. There's alot of talk about it on infertility boards on the net. The test is expensive. And the cure requires the use of long term antibiotics. Many doctors are hesitant to do that, these days.

As there is more and more hype about the overuse of antibiotics. Especially long term.

So I panicked, and I took matters in my own hands. I knew I needed more antibiotics. I had a reoccuring sinus infection for months. I made an appointment with my family doctor, and explained the situation, plus I made great emphasis on my sinus infection, (which had actually gotten better) but I wanted to make myself sound really sick (hammed it up), and she gave me Augmentin. A 10 day, supply and guess what. It is the third day, and I feel 95% awesomeness.

I then made a few more calls, and found out, I can get my doctor (the one that actually believes in Ureaplasma) to fax over an order to my family doctor or lab of my choice to do the test and everything will be gravy. So Im gonna test again for it, a week after I finish the Augmentin. Its also interesting to note that after researching IC, unrelentingly, for the last 4 months, and visiting, every IC website, and healthboard on the planet, and hearing people talk, Augmentin is considered one of the successful antibiotics for IC.

Thers only 3 that work against IC, only three.

Zinthromax (z Pack)

Doxicycline

Augmentin.

From what I read, its hard, hard, hard to cure. Harder than any STD. But its not incurable. It usually takes months to eradicate it.

many women just live with the pain, and take steroids, pain killers, and ANTIDEPRESSANTS. Isnt that sad?? Thats part of the protocol for IC patients. They give you an antidressant too, to cope with your life being over!!

I know on a gut level, this was some kind of elusive, hidden bacteria, embedded deep inside my bladder. Most people develop IC after a bad bladder infection. The pain lasts for years, YEARS. and its almost impossible to get a Urologist to help or even hear you.

I prayed to God to help me.

Its a miracle, and I will never doubt his presense and his ability to heal me again. Its a miracle the first Urologist I saw helped me, and was cutting edge enough to do this test.

I had recurrent cystitus for 30 years. Got to the point where I could not have sex without getting it. I would also get it if I got too dehydrated. Doctors advice did not prevent the attacks. I had to help myself, I cured myself by using a mild antibacterial cream instead of KY jelly before sex for six months. I have not had an attack since and that was 5 years ago. Sounds simple, but it worked. If you are into more natural methods you could try ACI-JEL which is just vinegar in a cream. You can also try 1/4 tsp of bicarb with water twice a day to keep you alkaline, as the problem thrives in an acid conditions. Good luck to all you long sufferers, my heart goes out to you.

I have had IC for 30 years. My main pain triggers are vinegar, lemon, citric acid, acidic foods, vitamin C, some of the B vitamins. I am unable to take any products with citrates, orotates, asporotates. The perfect remedy for me is 1/8 tsp. Baking soda (I use nonaluminum product from health store) mixed into very warm water. Usually pain subsides within the hour. If not, I take another 1/8 tsp. It is important to read labels carefully because many products contain triggers. My flare will occur within hours of eating a substance so I have learned that even small amounts of vinegar in mayonaise and salad dressing can be a problem. Before I reached menopause, hormones (I believe estrogen) were a trigger as well. That occurred at onset of menstrual cycle. An over the counter product for vaginal burning was very helpful to me at that time. It contained Benzocaine for numbing. I would only use for extreme pain though because it contains parabans, etc.

I learned these are common causes of flares at the IC website: Vitamin C, some B vitamins, the hormone Estrogen, acidic foods. Unfortunately, I suffered many years before I found what was helpful for my flares. Now I forget that I even have IC because I can treat it so easily. I'm hoping this will be helpful to someone.

You have to be careful if you have any other conditions. My hub has severe IC, but also has history of pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, and he retains fluid, so has to take blood thinners and water pills. Too much sodium swells him right up and can lead to CHF. So just a warning to others who may have any of these conditions to take it easy or avoid the baking soda.

after immense daily suffering, I found an article on glucosamine-chondroitin-MSM for IC relief. Provides cellular components that are essential to the epithelial bladder lining. Made a 180* difference - very noticeable after just 2 days. I am still taking it 6 years later, and I can TELL when I miss a few days.

It has been a real life saver. I hope this helps other women out there!

This is in reply to Renae from Minneapolis. Nowhere in The Better Bladder Book do I say that 91% of IC patients have gluten intolerance. You are misquoting a study on a subset of psoriasis patients who tested positive for anti-gliadin antibodies, and of whom 91% then went on to see an improvement in their psoriasis symptoms. Figures on the percentage of IC patients who are both gluten intolerant and who improve on a gluten free diet range from 31% (the ICA survey) to 41% (the Baylor study, which has not yet been published). I'm glad you got well and are telling people about the book.

That is wonderful to hear! I also had suffered from IC and never once thought to look in that area until I read this article:

"Researchers Ruben Gittes, MD and Robert Nakamura, MD, of the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation recently published a research study on Female Urethral Syndrome: A Female Prostatis" in the May 1996 issue of WJM. Their studies have conclusively proven that women do indeed have a set glands, the paraurethral glands, which are homologues of the male prostate. In the abstract for their research project, they state "The most important aspect of recognizing this microscopic 'female prostate' as an anatomical feature is that it's infections may completely explain many cases of the urethral syndrome."

I noticed my symptoms decreasing when I started using boric acid capsules for my recurring bv/yeast infections. I noticed within weeks that my IC symptoms improved dramatically. I now use a verrrry diluted oregano oil for my vaginal health and guess what???? No IC symptoms.... I take my daily turmeric just in case (it's a great anti-inflammatory) I just thank the Lord that I found Earthclinic over a year ago. I have found soooo many awesome remedies that WORK!

I also tried all the remedies for BV and also had continuous bladder infections (so I thought) most likely caused by douching with H20 and H202. I read about the boric acid capsules and quickly bought boric acid and veggie caps and made my own (very cheap). I inserted one capsule nightly for about 3-4 nights and it was gone. Totally gone, and like you, I never had another bladder infection again, which I later found out was I.C. And I never knew it. I also believe that the boric acid capsule cured the I.C. When I feel the BV or the I.C. coming on, I immediately insert a boric acid capsule and its totally gone. I also highly reccommend liquid colloidal silver for I.C. I read about it on this site for treating I.C. And also make that a daily part of my regimen. The first day I took the liquid colloidal silver I felt all my I.C. Symptoms go away. I take it everyday now without fail and no pain, everything is back to normal. I also take large doses of super cranberry extract everyday just to be sure I have everything covered. It may be over kill, but its better than dealing with the pain and discomfort of I.C. And BV on a daily basis. Thanks for your comment and thank your Earthclinic for helping me and others.

I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis more than 2 years ago and it's been excruciating. Having been told there is no cure, and after many painful and expensive treatments I had to be my own health care advocate. A couple of months ago I began to douche 2x a day... Morning and afternoon... Using equal parts apple cider vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. (Do NOT douche in the evening or the hydrogen peroxide will keep you from sleeping. ) Within 4 days, the constant urge to urinate was completely GONE and I was able to discontinue the Flo*** I was taking to help me urinate. After the second week, I was able to discontinue taking El***** because all my symptoms of I. C. disappeared! My doctor is utterly amazed and telling his other I. C. Patients. I am able to eat anything I want (with the exception of beets and hibiscus tea) without fear of a flare up. I have my life back!!!! Amazing that the help I needed was under my roof the whole time. I am still douching 2x a day as of today.

I have to agree. I suffer from IC as well and been dealing with it for 2 years now. I was just introduced to this site last week. After reading some of the rememdies on here, I decided to buy some Colloidal Silver and Cinnamon tabs. My symptoms tapered off in a matter of 2 days. BIG relief! Thanks to all!

I have been taking a teaspoon of colloidal silver daily for 6 months and its been amazing for my IC along w/ a little baking soda now and then. I feel human again, no more peeing razor blades.

Your absolutely right, its must be some kind of money making conspiracy, cuz I just cured my 6 month long, unrelenting battle with interstitial cystitus with Macrobid, basically. Coconut oil, and coconut water didnt help my interstitial cystitus, altho I have cured standard, garden variety UTI's, with coconut water.

Long term antibiotic therapy was the cure for me and my interstitial cystitus. The key is, you need to stay on a high enough dose, for a long enough time to get rid of the infection, and you have to get the right antibiotic for it, as antibiotic resistance is becoming an increasing problem. I was on Macrobid for almost a month (about three weeks, at 100mg, every six hours, (about 3 times a day) thats high, but normal, and prescribed to cure a persistant and severe infection which is what I had. I was rendered completely disabled by this bladder pain, I considered my life over, as I was told there is no cure. The problem is. Doctors are becoming incresingly reluctant to prescribe antibiotics nowadays. But in the old days, they understood, (as Ive talked to older people, my moms age, baby boomers) that sometimes, infections require antibiotic treatment, for longer than a week or two. These days, if you cant cure an infection in 14 days, at the lowest possible dose, your screwed, and there is "no cure".

Period.

I cant tell you how many times Ive taken my daughter to the emergency room, with 103 degree fevers, throwing up, sick as a dog, and they made me walk out of there empty handed, and told she had a viral infection, therefore doesnt require antibitoics. I now use homeopathic remedies (for kids) and thats helping her now.

Interstitial cystitus, (in my case) required hardcore antibiotics to eradicate the infection.

I tried EVERY, I mean every natural remedy known to man to try to fix the problem, and they didnt even touch it. What kills me, as I had to fight my doctors, and tell them what was wrong with me, cuz they didnt care, and they just do things by the book. I kept saying"how could this not ba a UTI", and "How can there be no cure??" They just put me on one or two rounds of antibiotics for a few weeks and when BACTERIA DIDNT SHOW UP IN THE URINE TEST, and I was still complaining of extreme pain and frequency, they dianosed me with interstitial cystitus. It didnt even occur to them to try me on different antibiotics and maybe for longer or higher, I had to FIGHT for that, and I became such a pain in the ass, they just wanted me out of the office.

Please make sure the coconut water and coconut oil is made from FRESH coconuts not dried coconut because dried coconuts have mycotoxins which will make you sicker! I believe interstitial cystitis is caused from fungal overgrowth, ureaplasma, food allergy or some other type of microscopic germ that goes undetected under the usual tests.

I'm glad baking soda helps your bladder pain. I remember reading that rutin is good for the bladder wall, although I never have had bladder pain, myself.

Mornings, I take one Swanson brand, 250 mg capsule of the bioflavonoid, rutin from SwansonVitamins.com. It's a bottle of 250 capsules.

But it sounds like you have your pain under good control.

Thanks,

Tom

Hi Dr. Howard, this is valuable information. Thank you for sharing.

Would Calc sulph also be helpful in healing intestinal lining / mucosal barrier, specially for those that have allergies due to leaky gut?

I'm looking to heal keratosis pilaris which manifests rough, bumpy and itchy skin of the arms, shoulders, etc. caused by inflammation and a buildup of keratin in the hair follicles. It's somehow related to hormones (worse after pregnancy) and diet (does away while fasting). I wonder if Calc sulph would address the allergy component.

Would you agree that everyone should take Calc sulph for a period of time to allow the body to overcome any deficiency?

After trying several remedies and acupuncture that would temporarily relieve the pain but would not prevent flare ups, I finally found one that worked. I haven't had a flare up in 5 months! First thing when I wake up in the morning, I dissolve 2 tablespoons of Diatomaceous Earth in 1/2 cup of water. I will drink coffee but won't eat breakfast until 2-3 hours later. This allows the DE to sit in my bladder and absorb any inflammation.

This was a game changer for me! When I first started taking DE, I was in the middle of a bad flare up. It took a week to fully subside the inflammation but I could tell it was working. I take DE every morning. If I start to slack off, I begin to feel tingles in my bladder.

Don't miss a dose.

I have wondered the same about my Xanax. I did see something online about benzodiazepines causing interstitial cystitis. I have stopped taking it.

Interstitial Cystitis and DNA Testing One place to start is to rule out an infection however although culture techniques have improved since first adopted in the sixties they aren't always accurate and/or effective and can miss a surprisingly large majority of pathogens. However today's technological advancements in science have allowed labs to merge microbiology with DNA in order to accurately identify the unique genetic code of over 30,000 known pathogens (bacterial & fungal) along with susceptibility testing which leads to better treatment outcomes and less antibiotic resistance. There is a company called Microgen that specializes in this very field and is used throughout the US by savvy physicians. This test was once very expensive upwards of $700-$1200 but with continued advancements in DNA testing price points have considerably dropped. Microgen in particular will accept most insurance carriers and if for whatever reason your insurance refuses to cover the cost, they charge patients a very reasonable cash price (just under $200). This is at the very least something to do utilizing cutting edge modern science before tumbling down the IC rabbit hole. It could save you alot of suffering and aggravation not to mention countless prescriptions of needless antibiotics that can do more harm than good.

Low does naltrexone works very well for IC. It is an FDA approved drug at 50 mg/day, but was found in the 1980's to work at very low doses of 1.5-4.5mg/day, taken at night, to put into remission many autoimmune disease, MS, Crohn's and many more illnesses. It is non-toxic, no side effects (except possible sleep disturbances for a week or two, in which case it can be taken in the morning) out of patent so very inexpensive drug used by thousands. Here are reports from users for IC:

https://www.ldnresearchtrust.org/video-categories/interstitial-cystitis

Find the site at www.ldninfo.org and join the Yahoo Group at the top part of the page. It has over 13,000 members who take LDN, and they are very helpful in answering any questions you may have. Best wishes to feel better!

That is great that the bone broth healed your IC! I have been having it every day and it has helped a lot with burning, but I'm still having the urgency. Did it also help with your urgency/frequency? I know that's only a symptom in some IC patients. Thanks!

Tyler! I am so glad that the bone broth is helping you. You will still find that there will be foods that will cause you to flare. Sour cream and something in brown gravies cause me to flare. But I can once again have an occasional piece of citrus and can eat tomatoes.

I have intersticial cystitis and was cured in just a few weeks with a very new treatment called ozone installations. Most traditional doctors know nothing about this. I had it done by my integrative medicine doctor and she's only been using ozone to treat this for about a year. It's very new. Anyway, it involves being catheterized and having ozone (a gas) put into the bladder for 20 min. That's it. No pain at all, other than a little discomfort when the catheter is put in place, but that is only for a few seconds. To get full relief, a number of installations will need to be done, depending on how bad it is. Initially, I went about 4 times a week. Then 3, then 2. You taper off. While having these done, I also followed a careful diet given to me by my doctor and drank water with baking soda in it to keep my urine alkaline (1/2 teaspoon 5-6 times a day). Decrease as you begin to feel better. Use Ph strips that you can buy at the drug store to test your urine and try to keep it 7.0-7.5 for best results. Not many doctors do this treatment yet since it's so new. You can read about it on the web and hopefully find an alternative medicine doctor (or integrative medicine) that does it, or knows someone who does. It can be expensiveBest wishes!

I went to Stanford in 2001 and received pelvic floor therapy for my IC. It seemed crazy at the time, but it literally saved my life. I still do the exercises when I have flare ups.

I've been dealing with health issues for a long time. I have struggled with chronic Lyme and ulcerative Colitis. I've just gotten to a very good place with the Lyme and the ulcerative Colitis is very quiet. Back in September of last year I had a UTI infection that did resolve with antibiotics. Eight months later it returned and felt better after a few days of antibiotics except for an allergic reaction to the antibiotic- it was switched and then I felt better. Just to mention that I haven't taken antibiotics in many many years and just felt so desperate with the bladder infection that I felt I wanted it to be resolved quickly. But a month later, the symptoms returned, constantly feeling like I needed to urinate and my bladder feeling like it was so swollen. Doctor appointments led me to possible early signs of interstitial cystitis which I'd heard of because a relative suffers from this.

I quickly began reading about remedies here and around the Internet. It's been three months and the only thing that has helped is a douche with apple cider vinegar, curcumin capsule opened, aloe juice and distilled water. If I do this three times a day the pain stops completely. The issue I am having now is that I'm nervous that I'm putting things constantly in my vaginal area and changing the natural state of things, which I guess was obviously not very good anyway considering my bladder is having all these issues, but my vagina seems to be OK and now I'm concerned that I may be harming things further. I did a little bit of a internal exam and the skin inside my vagina seems very different raw - and I'm concerned as to whether the Apple cider vinegar maybe too acidic. I was fIlling half of a summers eve disposable douche bottle with apple cider vinegar which is obviously way way way too much so now I reduced it but I don't want to stop doing what I'm doing which will cause the pain to return full fledged and I also want the skin to heal - so this is half of a suggestion for a temporary relief but I also wanted to know if anyone has had any similar experiences or recommendations.

I am finishing my lYmir treatment and didn't want to do anything to interact with that so I plan to do prolozone Therapy at the end of the month when I complete my Lyme treatment. Also I'm taking aloe capsules and nutritional bladder support, a probiotic, colloidal silver and a few other things.

Thank you, Amanda - I've been plagued by IC for several years and tho my doctor had tried to help with antibiotics, it has come to the point that she won't because the urine test is negative.

I've been in misery and found nothing that would help.

I just had a glass of this mixture and I'm certain that I will get relief just by reading your post.

I know this is an old post, hoping you will see it.

Blessings to you!

THANK You!

I wanted to share that Puritan's pride is an excellent brand at an affordable price. Disregard that it's directed toward men, it's for women too. But you can buy any brand as long as it is cold pressed. Try it!!