I know you're out there...

I know you're out there...Even though you guys and gals aren't commenting on my blog! :) I see that I get hundreds of visitors here every day. Maybe I'm helping someone!


Hi! I got an email from a fellow IC-er and I thought my response to her may be helpful to you all. I know I post so many posts in the IC network, so I think the following information will be a great 'summary' of what I'm doing to heal my IC...(drum roll please...)


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I'm a strong supporter of the Weston A. Price diet. I did not just 'believe' in them haphazardly. It was through all my research that I later found them, studied them, and saw that they were in agreement with all I learned.

If you go to the Weston A. Price foundation's website, you will learn and read so much. Barring food intolerances, I eat according to their principles. So for example, I'm not able to tolerate any grains as of now, but I hope to be able to do so in the future. The autoimmune protocol diet that I've been doing over the past couple of years is a close cousin to the Weston A price diet; I just stuck with the AIP Paleo plan because it automatically excluded all of the foods I was intolerant to. The AIP diet had go-to recipes for me and it made my life MUCH EASIER as I navigated food intolerances. As I healed my gut (how? read on), I've recently added 2 very exciting ingredients to my diet: eggs and raw unpasteruized milk.

So here is my plan in a nutshell to heal my gut right now:

1. Eat lots of gut healing foods. This includes fresh bone broth. The fatty and gelatinous qualities of the broth will help to heal and seal the leaky gut. My family and I eat a nice soup each week made from this broth, and I drink a large cup of it in the morning. My secret ingredient to making my broth taste divine is to add 1/2 a cup of raisins to the broth as I'm simmering my bones/meat. It makes it taste superb. I promise. I'd invite you all over to try it if I could. You'd be a believer! :)

I have learned to can my own broth so I don't take up freezer space. It's nice to not have to thaw yet another ingredient! :) I found the big 1/2 gallon jars at Walmart (left)...they save a lot of space too!

2. Protect the gut flora, at all costs. I've spent countless hours learning about alternatives to antibiotics. Most recently, I have arrived at the incredible, and very reputable medicine of homeopathy. I've faced 2 bladder infections and one very serious strep throat infection ever since I 'swore off' antibiotics, and I've been able to treat each fully and completely with homeopathy. I have the before labs and after labs to prove it. I am currently taking an online course with a lady named Joette Calabrese called "the Drug Free Family". This has been instrumental in helping me devise a real plan to avoid antibiotics. I feel like I'm really learning the discernment needed in order to know when I can treat me/my family via homeopathy and when I will need to actually seek medical intervention and possibly antibiotics (in life-saving, heroic circumstances). I no longer make fear-based decisions to rush to the doctor and get stuffed with prescriptions. I know have the tools I need to make meticulous choices regarding my health and my family's health. I am in charge, and I don't just run to the doctors office for every little ailment. But, as I've said before, I'm grateful for these amazing doctors and their antibiotics should I need them in life-saving, heroic circumstances.

I now own 2 kits of 100 remedies each. The 1st kit is in 30 potency and the other kit is in 200 potency. I feel very prepared to make decisions and deal with my family's health. Discernment is key, and I'm growing more confident each day!

3. Rebuild the gut flor via probiotics, digestive enzymens (which aid in breaking down the food, thus giving the probiotics a break), eating pre-biotics (in particular unheated potato starch), fermented veggies (I don't tolerate beneficial yeast very well, which is in fermented veggies/kombucha/kiefer etc, so I'm going slow on this), and raw milk and raw milk yogurt.

I think my fermented veggies look pretty in their jars, just like these ones.

4. Maintaining my REAL food anti-inflammatory diet which includes lots of organic vegetables, grain-free meals made from scratch, soaking and dehydrating nuts/seeds, homemade yogurt, and eating minimal sugar (even honey!)

This is an actual picture of last night's dinner: home made 'tortillas' made from eggs and coconut flour (they are light, fluffy, and a rave with my family), shredded pasture-raised organic chicken, raw cheddar cheese (we get ours from an Amish farmer), homemade organic guacamole, organic cilantro, organic onions, plain homemade raw milk yogurt as a sour cream, and extra garlic for good immune boosting properties. Dessert was fresh organic orange wedges. It was a modern farmer's dinner alright!

5. Homoepathy for my CHRONIC illness (not just acute). So yes, I'm doing homeopathy for my acute problems (strep throat/bladder infections and the like), but I'm also doing it for my long-term IC issue and body itching (dermographia) autoimmune problem. I'm working with my Joette Calabrese on this, and I'm following the Banerji Homepathic Protocols (which my homeopath knows). For me, diet and gut-healing alone was simply not enough. It wasn't until I added homeopathy that I was able to actually start reintroducing foods. It has significantly sped up my healing. If you look through my previous posts, you can find 1-hour video that discusses what homeopathy is and how I'm using for both acute and chronic issues.

This is a picture of my homeopath Joette Calabrese (middle) with Dr. Prasanta Banerji (Left). She has done fellowships in India with Dr. Banerji learning his amazing form of homeopathy that has been clinically proven to cure even Cancer. She does Skype appointments.

So this above information is my current plan. Most of this I have learned by reading the information from Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF).

I was also asked to share some good books to read: 
I don't think they actually have one single 'book' you can read. Much of my above plan was pieced together myself. I just kept finding others (WAPF people/Paleo people/ GAPS diet people) who each had very similar plans to address their chronic autoimmune issues. But a few books do come to mind:

The Weston A Price foundation has a great recipe book that has lots of ethnic foods which promotes great guts and healthy digestion. Intertwined is in this book is a lot of WAPF information.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Another great book is GAPS diet by Natasha Campbell McBride. Technically, I am on the GAPS diet because I eat soaked nuts, milk (raw), and eggs but follow a grain-free diet. The GAPS diet is a  cousin to the Weston A Price foundation, and it is actually the diet that WAPF promotes for those who are suffering from Autoimmune diseases.

The GAPS diet by Natasha Campbell-McBride

Finally, another great book is the THE PALEO APPROACH by Sara Ballantyne. Sara Ballentyne is not necessarily a WAPF person, but much of the paleo principles are Weston A Price principles. They believe in drinking bone broth to heal and seal the gut, they believe in a grain-free diet, and they believe in good gut flora. So People who are Paleo or Auti Immune Paleo (AIP Paleo) pretty much another cousin to Weston A Price.  I think the main difference is that people who are Paleo choose to never again eat grains ever again in their life, ever. However, someone like me (a diehard WAPF) believes that good, organic, soaked and sprouted grains when prepared properly are good for you and that you should eat them in great moderation. I cannot eat these right now due to the gut troubles, but I'm not going to give up until I can eat a more diverse diet (and as a result have reversed my IC!). I hope to become a full WAPF.

The Paleo Approach by Sarah Ballantyne

I just wanted to give you a quick 'recap' in case you weren't able to read the dozens and dozens of messages I've posted in the forum! Ha. I just really want this info to get out to anyone who is interested in healing IC via gut healing. I hope I'm not the only one who experiences massive success from my plan. I think that I found the root of my IC problem...and I dare say this is the same for many others.

PLEASE PLEASE stick around on my forum, and post comments to anything interesting you experience/find.

Xoxo,

Paola
Paola

The most excellent update...

UPDATE: 

I'm doing incredibly well. Lately my plan has been to:
1) Heal my gut by protecting my gut flora and 
2) To NEVER take antibiotics again unless I'm on my deathbed. 

Let me address #1 first: This entire blog is dedicated to sharing how I have arrived at this goal and conclusion. I would recommend reading each of my posts, one by one, starting from the beginning. It will help you understand all the crap I've tried to get to this conclusion.

Now for #2: I know that sounds crazy, to not take antibiotics, but ever since my last experience in taking antibiotics (where I developed a 2nd autoimmune condition called dermographia), I knew that these drugs were ruining my life and that my body does not agree with it (I dare say NOBODY'S body agrees with it!).

So of course, within a week of me making this very difficult decision --to not take antibiotics--I of course caught strep throat from one of my kids.

I understand that strep throat is very serious and can develop into even more serious conditions. I went to the doctor and once my throat swab confirmed strep, I went ahead and purchased the penicillin to treat it. BUT I DIDN'T TAKE IT. Instead, I worked with my homeopath and began taking the Prasanta Banerji Protocol for strep throat. This protocol was:

1. Hepar sylph 200 every 3 hours during the acute, and as it improves you back of the remedy.
2. because I had a lot of saliva with my strep (as in it was gagging me!), I also took Merc Cyan. 200 WITH the hepar sulph. 

If you google Prasanta Banerji Protocols, you will learn more about this very specific and incredible form of homeopathy that even traditional medicine is recognizing and using to treat CANCER. You can also see my video here where I teach a 1-hour course on homeopathy. 

Dealing with strep ended up being a transformative experience for me, and while it was a slow struggle, I was able to heal my strep completely without antibiotics. If you ever get a serious infection like this, be sure you're working with a smart homeopath. And if you don't have the correct Banerji Protocol remedies on hand, don't be stupid like me and order them online via regular mail...RUSH ORDER THEM AND OVERNIGHT THEM, no matter the cost!  *Lesson Learned.*

Then I developed a bladder infection. The strep throat bacteria somehow got to my bladder (no surprise there! Compromised bladder = easy access to strep! It was strep A, not group b strep). Well, once again, I turned to my Banerji Protocols for homeopathy, and I healed the bladder.

I have labs confirming the befores-and-afters of each infection. Strep before. Nothing after.  Maybe I should post pics of these labs. I'll look for them.

Homeopathy is incredible. 

My IC is getting permanently better each day and I have homeopathy to thank.

I hope my message is helping someone.

OH! And I forgot to say the most important thing! Remember how I was on a crazy limited diet? Any deviation from the PALEO AUTOIMMUNE PROTOCOL diet would cause massive bladder pain? Well, great great great great great news!

I have introduced eggs, and raw unpasteruized milk into my diet for 2 months now, and I'm have 0, absolutely 0 bladder symptoms, or digestive issues. I know, some of you are going to freak out about me drinking unpasteruized milk, but please, do your research and learn for yourself why I have chosen to drink it. In my experience, it has been incredibly safe and beneficial. A good place to start is to google http://chriskresser.com/raw-milk-reality.  Basically, when I drink raw milk, I'm drinking a probiotic-rich drink that helps recapture your gut flora with beneficial bacteria.

Please be aware that I'm not making any recommendations to your life...just sharing my experience. If you do try this or any of my other ideas, please come back and share with us!

Many people who are 'lactose intolerant' have switched to raw milk and suddenly can tolerate lactose again! Hmmm....maybe it has something to do with the fact that raw milk is rich in digestive enzymes and probiotics designed to digest lactose?

One other great article you can listen to and read is on NPR. Google http://www.npr.org/2013/05/03/180824408/michael-pollan-you-are-what-you-cook
...it helps you not fear good good bacteria!

How did I arrive at my Diet Decision?

Let's review. The following foods cause me bladder pain, so I'm:

• Grain Free (including gluten and corn)
• Dairy Free
• Egg Free
• Soy Free (soy is a type of bean)
• Potato free (potatoes are vegetables in the nigh shade family)
• Limiting my sugar (to kick my candida problem)

I've heard of the Paleo Diet, the vegan diet, the vegetarian diet, the gluten free diet, the Primal diet, the low-oxolate diet, the GAPS, the IC diet (of course!), the AIP diet, and more. 

How did I ever choose one that worked for me?
One reason I recommend picking a diet is because it helps me find easy go-to recipes. Thinking up foods on such a limited diet is exhausting at the very least.

Because my IC doesn't really seem to flare really badly to acidic foods, put the IC diet on the back burner...it became secondary on my food-priority list.

So as I experimented with bladder pains and food varieties, I went through various diets. For a while there, I was a vegan who ate low-oxolate vegetables, and who was doing a modified version of the GAPS diet. My IC was manageable, but eating was very complicated. 

The GAPS diet is THE BEST diet for sufferers of the leaky gut, so I tried that first. It does not allow, of course, grains.  A lot of people on the GAPS diet are also low-oxolate, and since I know that some people have a strong connection between low-oxolates and IC, I tried both these diets together. (Note: Join the yahoo group 'Trying Low Oxalates' for support if you're interested in trying it...LOADS of IC peeps are members of that group. We chat all the time about the discussion I'm trying to start here).

But this diet wasn't working out perfectly for me. I wasn't satisfied with my IC, so I ventured out again and began exploring other diets.

Today, I'm on the Auto Immune Protocol (AIP) Diet. 

The AIP diet is a version of the Paleo diet (again, it is a grain-free diet). Of all the diets that I've tried out, this one fits me best. Basically, when I compared my list of foods that I KNEW made my bladder flare, this diet came closest to my list. Basically, if I eat AIP, I am automatically avoiding foods that make me flare. This is how I arrived at my diet decision. 

There is one caveat to the AIP diet:

My single and only caveat of the AIP diet are foods that are high in potassium. On the AIP diet, you can eat bananas and asparagus in abundance, but for some reason, those 2 foods made me flare. When I was on the low-oxalate diet, I avoided these foods, and my bladder felt better. I THOUGHT that this meant that I was intolerant to oxalates, but CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION. I later learned that it wasn't the oxalates in these foods, but most likely the high-amounts of potassium.

Letting go of food...
On the IC-forum, I've had a discussion about the emotional repercussions involved with eliminating foods that I love. I thought I'd re-share that here as it seems very pertinent.

I'm going to open up here for a minute, because this is actually therapeutic for me...please indulge...
When my husband and I go out to a restaurant with friends, and everyone at the table orders, and I pull out my lunch box, I often have to explain to our friends that I've had to divorce pleasure and food [side note: I know they mean well, but the 15-minute-long conversation that then ensues from our friends about how that is 'so sad' really isn't helpful. I live it. I don't need to hear about it as well!] So yes, it is a serious bummer to have to change my diet...and by bummer I mean really really sad. Especially since I'm the girl that likes EVERYTHING. I was born in Brazil. I've lived in Africa. I lived in the Southwest of the US and then to DC. I've gone to Europe. I lived in Texas. I ATE EVERYTHING AND LOVED IT (except for pickled mangos. Kinda gross). But for someone like me who has a daring pallet, I was pretty ticked off all of the time about my dietary constraints. I was mad for a while...and that anger seeped into all other areas in my life.

But then one day I just snapped. I began to look at the other side of the matter: I have 3 young kids (the oldest is 5), and because of the diet I've figured out, I don't wake up in excruciating pain. I can be a mom. I can teach my college classes at night. I can have a life. I had (let's be honest, still HAVE) really really bad IC. My doctors would always say it was one of the 'worst cases' they've ever seen (grrrreat. Misery! Thy name is BLADDER!). And although my pain level today fluctuates from 0-30%, I'm glad. 30-100% was NOT working. The pain management I have now is huge when nothing else worked. I know that I am managing this pain due to my diet. I'm not on any drugs. I do herbal stuff and vitamins (i.e. Vitamin D, multivitamin, some herbal anti-histiamine, fish oils, but nothing really hard-core), but no drugs, so I know that a huge part of my pain management is my diet. If I deviate for even one bite, my IC comes back with a fierce vengeance and I'm in bed with a diaper-towel in between my legs for hours. So anyhow, after that day where I 'snapped', I was able to overcome my frustration about something I couldn't change and I just go with it. I don't like it, but I do like the level of relief the diet brings me. So I'm going to embrace this gift, my diet, for now.

So to answer some questions:
1)Do I plan on being on this diet forever? Yes and no. I kind of believe in the high-vegetable intake thing and in the grass-fed meats thing, and I really find power in eating whole foods, but part of the goal from getting better is to be ABLE to eat whatever I want, in moderation and on occasion. So while I'll probably be mostly a whole-foods girl with grass fed meats (after remission), I'd love to reintroduce a moderate amount of grains back in my life. I think my body was designed to eat all foods...so I'd like to have a more 'normal diet' some day. Maybe I'll refer to myself as a 'dirty Paleo' someday...one who mostly follows Paleo-ism, but who may deviate from time to time .

2) Yes. I do think my current Paleo-AIP diet is sustainable, but... While I don't feel starved, and while I do think I have enough nutrition, I don't think it's good to eat this limited FOREVER. I plan on doing this Paleo-AIP diet for at least one year...possibly longer, then I'll decide if my gut has healed enough to add something like nuts into my diet. I know. Woooweee...almons?! Such crazy talk. :)

3) I don't believe in prescribing any one diet. Someone told me once that they think everyone's body is constitutionally different, and I like that concept. Low-oxolates may be important for you and your IC, but it doesn't seem to be right for me. Meat may make you feel a little sick, but it antibiotic free, grass-fed meats make me feel great (the nasty hormone-coated antibiotic injected meat I ate before DID make me feel digestively icky however). I later learned that meat has some good amino-acids that help with gut healing. Anyhow, you need to be your own doctor and figure out diet you need. BUT, having said that, I do think that we, as a whole, eat FAR TOO MANY GRAINS. FAR TOO MUCH DAIRY. and FAR TOO MUCH MEAT! I think grain-free is one of the best things to do for me and my IC. It forces you to eat more veggies!

I hope you find this note encouraging. I'm not trying to be preachy at all to anyone. I just thought I'd express some of my journey about the food-thing. I can really really relate to many frustrations. It also felt good to put this out there since it's something that I've been mulling over for a while. I respect everyone who is trying to work this out in their own way! 

Here's to all of us and our health [raises a glass of Evian]! And honestly, I DO BELIEVE we can beat this. I know we can!
Paola