I'm healed, and I'm not kidding.

Hi,


I'd like to apologize for my lengthly depart from the blog. I must say it's only because I've gotten back into life; I've been healthy, and I've been busy. Also, I want to note that the subject line of this blog post is not taken lightly.  I don't like the idea of giving people false and unfounded hope, so when I say I'm healed, I mean it.

The last couple of years have been very difficult for me, and it's hard to revisit those days by writing in this blog. But I felt like I needed to update you. It's the right thing to do!

I'm doing incredible. Those Banerji Protocols are amazing and have resurrected my health. My immune system is no longer confused, and I'll forever be grateful to Joette Calabrese for introducing the power of homeopathy and the Banerji Protocols to me.


Let me recap what has happened since my last post, which was a long time ago...


Insomnia:

I suffered with insomnia for quite a while, and nothing seemed to help. Since I knew homeopathy was so useful, I stuck with it. Homeopathy only works if you find the RIGHT remedy, otherwise it's not that homeopathy doesn't work, its that the right remedy has not been selected. So I stuck with it. The remedies I described in my last insomnia post really did help me fall asleep and stay asleep, but they were like bandaids, and they weren't addressing the source of the problem.


I finally realized that my hormones were not well, because I FINALLY started taking my basal body temperature again (I have done this in the past). I wasn't peaking in temperature after my body ovulated, which is a sign of low progesterone. Lab tests in my 2nd half of my cycle confirmed this. I was also getting some cysts on my ovaries when I ovulated, although I don't have PCOS.


All of these, including the anxiety and insomnia, are symptoms of low progesterone. 



Addressing the Hormones:

Joette put me on the Banerji Protocols for my type of hormone issues. We've tried this before, but we took a break and let my body show more symptoms (I observed better), and tried again. She put me back on Coninum Mac 3, but she didn't mix it with Sepia this time. Conium mac is for when you have hormonal issues, particularly with ovarian cysts (I take this twice daily right now). She also put me back on Sepia, but again we are not mixing these remedies. I take Sepia 200 twice a week; Sepia is a great hormone remedy for when you have that droopy exhaustion at the end of the day. These two remedies have been amazing for my hormones. So now I'm sleeping better without using the band-aid remedies; actually I RARELY use them! I also noticed that I spot 7 days prior to to beginning of my period. I've been doing these hormone remedies for about a month and at my next cycle, I had NO SPOTTING. This is very encouraging and a great sign that my hormones are getting the right push from the right homeopathic medicines.


The Reoccurring UTI's Return:


Next, I want to say how important it is to have homeopathic remedies in your home. If you have IC, then you can count on getting a UTI infection at some point. These infections must be dealt with WITHOUT antibiotics. Go through my posts here and previously, and write down the remedies I've used and order them. Chances are they may help you when the time comes. Make sure you are selecting the correct remedies for the correct situation. Unfortunately, this takes you studying and learning homeopathy a bit. One great place to start is to visit Joettes website. She has a great "QuickStart guide" page on her site. You can also select "free resources" and sign up for free access to her community area (http://joettecalabrese.com/free-downloads-and-articles/). I'm not trying to push you to her website, but if you want to replicate exactly what I did to get to where I am now (knowledgable on how to treat my uti's with homeopathy MYSELF), then do what I did. Once you're in her free community area, you can find an article on uti's. It was very useful to me when I started getting the reoccurring infections again (read on for more details.) Trust me, if I was able to learn this stuff,  you can too!


Over the last 6 months, I suffered from 4 uti's in a row.  At first, I was upset by these UTI's but then when I realized that the more I got the UTI's AND CURED THEM BY ALLOWING MY BODY TO USE ITS OWN DEFENSES, the more education/information my immune system would get on how to deal with bladder infections on its own.  I knew that I would be empowering my immune system by allowing these UTIs to be addressed via homeopathy. ---As LONG as DIDN'T USE AN ANTIBIOTIC to treat the UTI and instead used Herbs/homeopathy/even topical essential oils, I would RE-EDUCATE my immune system on how to take care of me the right way. Antibiotics, steroids, and really all drugs do exactly the opposite. They confuse your immune system and perpetuate the auto immune issues. Trust me. Ask me how I know.

Identifying UTI's at Home (vs. an IC Flare):


Here is a timeline of how I addressed each UTI, but first let me show you how you can diagnose a UTI vs an IC flare at home:

1- Get one of those test strips that reads different urinalysis parameters, and look for the following
  a) Protiens- This one is concerning because any time you have proteins in the urine it is because your kidneys is being affected. It's important to protect your kidneys in a UTI infection because of the potential for scarring. I know there are homeopathic remedies that address the kidneys, but I'm not familiar with them as my UTI's rarely ever get into the kidneys. But when I treat a UTI at home, I monitor my proteins to make sure that it isn't getting worse.
   b)  Leuk's - these are white blood cells which indicate infection and/or a flare up
   c)  Blo- this too indicates infection, but it is really a sign of inflammation. Infections and IC cause blood/inflammation
   d) Nitrites- these are the by-products of bacteria (bacteria poo, really). You usually can only see this in the morning when you first urinate. 


Conclusion: If you see A and D, you have an infection for sure. If you se just B and C, then you may have an infection or a flare, and make the effort to catch your urine in the morning after it has sat a long time in the bladder so that you can see if there are any of that nitrates (d above).


Reoccurring UTIs, a Timeline:
From March - August 2015...


First UTI- It was confirmed as ecoli in the doctor's lab, and I used the urinalysis strips at home to keep an eye on the kidneys. I could NOT find a homeopathic remedy that would address my uti's.  To be precise, I tried Cantharis 200, but again, that remedy did not work as well as others. I was very stressed and bummed out, and this clouded my mind and my judgement. I should have calmed down and let myself think through it better. I was really a mess.

 I ended up using this oil of oregano (timed release) for almost 2 months to clear the infection (I think I took like 5 pills 4 times a day. YOWZA! Not good...). This  likely killed some of my gut bacteria, but it was a better alternative than antibiotics. But I knew this wasn't the right way to do that.  The reason I feel this way is because I think that the oil of oregano was suppressing the bad bacteria as well as the good bacteria.   In my opinion, the essential oil was acting as a suppressant...it wasn't boosting/educating my immune system so that my body can fight it by it self .  For that reason it is my opinion that when you ingest essential oils with the intent of killing an infection, it is not actually teaching your immune system how to fight by itself (I also feel this way about colloidal silver).  Anything that kills gut bacteria is not worth it to me, in my opinion.  But again, to reiterate, this alternative was by far much better than resorting to antibiotic's. So it was kind of a step in the right direction with a small step back. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are not selecting the correct homeopathic remedy, then resort to this oil of oregano and/or perhaps colloidal silver (note that I've not used colloidal silver, but I hear it works great).


Second UTI: Since I felt like the oil of oregano was not the right way to go with the UTI, I studied up on homeopathy and UTI's while I was well. I already knew I would get another one due to my history. This second UTI returned rather quickly, within a month an a half of the prior one. 


I then had an epiphany:  I then realized during a special moment of prayer that the Banerji Protocol for UTI's--especially when it's an e-coli UTI--is to use Cantharis 30, not 200. I must have gotten the 200 vs 30 wrong in my notes or memory or something. But with the clear realization that I needed to use Cantharis 30, I was ready to go. (Note: The Banerji Protocols differ from classical homeopathy in many ways, and one of them is that they are extremely specific about what potency of remedy to use. The study of posology--the potency of remedies--is very interesting).   I would also like to take this moment to reemphasize the power of prayer. Having faith and trust in God and in his path for me has been an enormously powerful component to my healing journey.


So for that reason, I started the remedy Cantharis 30. The UTI was very painful, and burning. This is the Cantharis picture. I even smelled that tell-tale foul odor when urinated. It smelled kind of like corn chips...anyone else get that? ANYWAYS, because the pain was so intense, and because Cantharis 30 isn't a very strong potency, I began taking one dose every 15 minutes. By the fourth dose (so at the end of the hour), I felt a huge improvement. HUGE. I was suddenly stricken with the strong desire to take a nap. This is one of the laws of homeopathy, that when the correct remedy is selected, you may get an intense desire to fall asleep. This doesn't happen every time, but it does happen a lot when you are experiencing healing. They say sleep heals, and it sure does.


I woke up much improved. That is what is so amazing about homeopathy: That often when the correct remedy is selected you can be much improved (from an acute situation) in only an hour! Chronic issues take longer, of course. 


So for the rest of this second UTI, I continued taking the Cantharis less frequently and less frequently as the illness improved. So I probably took another dose after the nap, for I had slept 3 hours. Then again before bed, then I probably kept on it 3x a day on the second day, and then I backed off even more as I improved, probably twice a day. Once the symptoms were completely gone, I continued taking the Cantharis 30 twice a day for an additional month, even though symptoms improved. UTI's tend to come back, and according to the Banerji Protocol, you should stick to the Cantharis 30 remedy by taking it twice a day for about a month or two to prevent reoccurrence. Please note that this is ludicrous when you're doing classical homeopathy, but with the Banerji Protocol it is the way to go. Remember, the Banerji Protocol for an e-coli UTI is Cantharis 30 (not 200 or 6)! 

Third UTI: At the end of my next menstural cycle, about a month later, I got ANOTHER UTI. At this point I realized that I was experiencing Herring's law of cure, where "all healing occurs from within out, from the head down and in the reverse order in which the symptoms have appeared." So for me, I realized that since I was much improved from the IC (the most recent illness), my body was then going back to the issue that preceded IC: chronic bladder infections. 

Unfortunately, the Cantharis 30 did not address this UTI, but because it came right at the end of my period (indicating a hormonal issue), and because this was clearly a reoccurrence of a UTI, I selected Sepia 200 to address this UTI. 

Sepia helps many different issues, but when it comes to bladder infections  this is the Sepia picture: "Sepia is immensely useful for recurrent urinary tract infections, especially when there is also a history of lots of antibiotic use and thrush. The woman often loses her libido, because sex is painful and she fears cystitis may result. She is often worn out by the recurrent infections, so exhausted by the struggle to keep going that she cries when expressing herself. Genital herpes may be present." That fit my picture quite well, except for the part about genital herpes, than you very much.  Sepia is one of the first remedies to think of when you are getting reoccurring uti's back to back in a short period of time (like every month at the end of your period, for example).  So I took Sepia 200. Within the standard 3-4 doses, I again noticed a shift in symptoms. I did not experience the desire to sleep and rest as I had in the prior UTI, but I did notice a steady and marked improvement. I stuck with the Sepia until the symptoms were completely gone. 

Today, because I'm balancing out my Hormones, I have continued on Sepia (for it is the quintessential hormone remedy) due to the hormonal insomnia that I previously mentioned above (Sepia 200 twice a week). Please note that I am doing this under the direction of my homeopath.


I also realized that my vagina had some terrible, fishy odor. I realized that I had bacterial vaginosis (BV), which was always worse at the end of my cycle. For this reason, I begain working with Joette to treat BV (note: BV is often an ecoli infection). The ecoli vaginosis was obviously triggering the UTI's, so Joette started me on a protocol for Bacterial Vaginosis with e-coli, which was: Hepar sulph 200 twice a day. Because my vaginosis was accompanied by some itching, she had me mix with this Hepar, with Arsenicum album 200. 


Final UTI: At my fourth cycle, I again got a UTI, and while the bacterial vaginosis was indeed improved, the fishy odor was again present.  I continued the aforementioned BV protocol, and I again increased the dosing of Sepia.


Remember, I was already taking Sepia for the insomnia/hormone twice a week, but in this case, because I was experiencing an acute UTI, I shifted from taking Sepia twice a week to taking it every 3 hours or so. This time, the UTI was swiftly addressed in a day or two.

Also, over this next month, my bacterial vaginosis greatly improved and completely disappeared, confirming that the Banerji Protocol for BV was right for me.

Conclusions: Ever since experiencing Herrings Law of cure, my IC symptoms have completely vanished. In other words, when I experienced a return of my old symptoms (the reoccurrent UTI's that actually preceded the development of my IC), and I addressed the acutes with homeopathy, I cured the chronic issue.

When you treat an acute issue naturally and without antibiotics  you actually prevent your body from developing a chronic issue. The same goes for curing a chronic issue that has developed. When you have a chronic issue and treat any acute issue that may arise naturally (and with homeopathy in my opinion), you will over time cure the chronic issue.

Homeopathy then re-educated my body on how to fight off the bladder infections on it's own, and as a consequence, my now more educated immune system began to revive and let go of the autoimmune (confused-immune) issue of the IC.

Ladies, my IC is gone, and homeopathy did it. It did it!

I'm currently integrating grains back into my diet. I still drink copious amounts of bone broth in my soup or in my mug, but I love my diet of raw milk, eggs, whole foods, sprouted grains and seeds, and life is wonderful, just wonderful.

My Symptoms Today:

I must admit that sometimes when my hormones shift (ovulation or menses),  I sometimes may experience MILD IC symptoms.  At the most the symptoms occur for three hours once or twice a month.  But even these are becoming less frequent and less intense, and they are nothing close to a flare. In these times, I am still able to function completely normally. I'm ok with that as my body heals.

It bears repeating that the reoccurring UTIs and caring them with homeopathy is what triggered the dramatic shift in my chronic issues .

I now await as my hormones continue to balance themselves. 

Please note that I now work for Joette Calabrese. I am one of her educational specialists. I have been an online college teacher for years, and my skills help her implement and teach online classes on homeopathy. I mention this because I want to be transparent about what I do. But let me be clear: I work for her because I believe in her work with homeopathy and with the Banerji's. I do not promote homeopathy because of my employment. Indeed, life would be easier if I didn't choose to be employed for her! But I have suffered so greatly with IC that I cannot keep quiet about homeopathy. I must share, and working with Joette allows me  tohelp her do her important work better.

Hugs to you in your healing journey.

Paola

Great questions from an IC friend...

The other day, a fellow IC friend of mine emailed me a lot of great questions. I spent considerable time answering his questions, and I thought I would share these with you...

In a nutshell:
For me, the most important thing that I must do is protect my gut bacteria and regrow it. I must do this at all costs. In the past, I have done BIG detoxes (mainly I went on a Juice fast,  a Candida cleanse and 3 colonic sessions). But now that I did the BIG CLEANSE, I focus on maintenance cleansing by gently cleansing my body. I take Bentonite clay each night before bed, and I take REGULAR detox baths, alternating between an epsom salt bath, an apple cider vinegar bath, a kelp bath, and a baking soda bath...I do each individually, not all at once. Currently I'm in the process of saving up to buy a at-home Infrared Sauna (that has low EMF's) so that I can do sauna detox 3-4 times a week from home. 

But moving forward, now. I do believe in detoxing, but I do not think it is the magic bullet or the one solution to my IC. Many people do find huge success in eating a all-raw vegetable diet. More power to them. I think it's wonderful that it can help their IC, but I don't think it is how I can fully heal my IC. After reading Vasey's book on an Acid Alkaline diet, I went on a grain-free vegan diet for extended months in the past, and I decided to stop the diet to move forward in my own healing).

So I believe in healing the gut. Each morning, I drink bone broth. The homemade bone broth that I make is cooked in a pressure cooker for 8 hours (I add a 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the bones to help it cook, and I add water to the broth throughout the 8 hours). I love pressure cooking all things meat...it's a great "git-r-dun" pot. I drink a big cup of this broth each morning. It is the fatty, gelatinous quality of the broth that helps HEAL and SEAL the leaky gut, which is the root  cause of any autoimmune condition.

I also do eat grass fed meats, organ meats (like liver) and poultry. I eat lots of eggs and raw milk. All of these have special gut-healing nutrients. The raw milk in particular helps reculture the gut with good bacteria, which is essential. We do NOT eat grains. Grains are highly acidic, stress out the gut due to their anti-nutrients, and can cause leaky gut if they contain gluten. Grains include wheat (and the gluten in the wheat), barley, rice, quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, and more. I eat 0 grains. This helps our body stay more alkaline (but again, I eat meat--which is acidic--, so I'm not obsessed with alkalinity). Because we don't eat grains, we eat A LOT of vegetables. I will often juice carrots, leafy greens, cucumber, celery and more into a liquid drink to accompany dinner. In the summer time, we participate in a farmer's coop and we receive 4 LARGE bags of organic vegetables each week. We eat ALL OF IT each week. So we eat a lot of vegetables.

I believe that this part anti-inflammatory diet, part alkaline diet, and a mostly gut-healing diet is key to reversing and curing my IC.

As far as supplements go, I take the following:
1- Grassfed Gelatin/Collagen (in powder form, mixed in water)...this helps add to the bone broth I drink regularly
2- I drink 2 tablespoons of RESISTANT STARCH in the morning.  Resistant starch is a type of starch that only gets digested by the large intestine. The large intestine is where most all of the GOOD GUT BACTERIA resides. There is much research on resistant starch, and let me suffice it to say that it is a great way to help regrow the good bacteria you currently have in your gut. Note: I use plantain flour (from the bananas) as my form of resistant starch. Other people use potato starch. DO NOT USE  just any starch like corn starch or arrowroot starch. You must find a resistant starch that you like and use that. I stir 2 TBSP of my plantain flour into cold water and drink it fast (because it does not taste good). It must be prepared in cold water. If you warm up the starch (i.e. to use in your cooking), it no longer is resistant starch because cooking it breaks it down and makes it easier to digest...and you don't want that. You want it to make it to your large intestine.
3- Bentonite Clay- A few Tablespoons in water in the morning.
4- Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO). It has many good immune building qualities. You can spend a day researching this supplement alone. It has lots of Vitamin D3, which all of us ICers are deficient in. Don't even bother getting your blood work done. You're are for sure diffident in it (ok, maybe do get it checked, but I'm still right!) Actually, almost everyone in the world is deficient in D3, but especially people with autoimmune conditions. When I take my FCLO, it burns the back of my throat a bit, but this is normal. I just chase it down with a nice tall glass of raw milk.
5- Vitamin K Butter- This is butter made from cows that eat rapidly growing grass. It is REALLY good for you, and again, you can spend a whole day researching this alone. But in a nutshell, trust me. Good for you.
6- I eat a high fat diet, full of lard (like bacon fat, not the synthetic Franken-Crisco or Canola oil that people buy), coconut oil, butter, and more. I know this sounds scary and that I would be giving myself a heart attack, but to their astonishment, my doctors at the Mayo Clinic said that my good Cholesterol is SO HIGH that they think I'm the last person on earth to ever have a heart attack. Imagine their surprise when I told them I ate a high-fat diet full of butter, real cream, and lard! A great place to learn more about this and break up lies about 'low fat diets' is to watch the following video on YouTube: The Oiling of America.

It blew me away. Low Fat Diet = Chemical Crap Fest
7- Because I have a histamine-based autoimmune disorder, I don't do well with any YEAST products (yes, the yeast in bread, but there are lots of other things that have yeast in it like vinegar, ketchup, and any naturally fermented vegetables like Sauerkraut). For this reason I DO NOT eat many fermented vegetables yet, but hopefully I can tolerate this someday soon. I do take little bites here and there without any bladder repercussions, but I'm not ready to take risks. I hope to eat naturally fermented vegetables so that this food-which is rich in good beneficial soil-based bacteria-can help regrow my gut bacteria.
8-So since I can't have naturally fermented vegetables, I take a probiotics called Bio-Kult. It has a VARIETY of probiotic strands and this is good.
9- I also take a probiotic manufactured by Divine Nature in Mesa, AZ. This probiotic in particular is encapsulated in an ENTERO CAPSULE. Entero capsules are better than the traditional gelatin pill capsules because they survive the acidity of the stomach and will end up dissolving in the large intestine, which is EXACTLY where you want your probiotics to go.
10-I take adrenal remedies because my adrenals are WEAK. This is typical with most ALL IC people. I bet you money that if you have IC your adrenals are weak. This supplement is made from food-based ingredients that are organic and pure. Best supplement quality supplement I've ever seen so far.
11- I take time to bathe each evening, meditate, pray, and relax. Relaxation should be considered a 'supplement' :)
12- Homeopathy has been incredible for my IC. Meddorhinum in particular is a Banerji Protocol for Interstitial Cystitis. I have improved greatly with this remedy. I have also used a few other remedies like Bovista to heal food intolerances, Nat Sulph to help with the dermographia (itching skin) that I currently deal with [but is much improved!], and cantharis when I'm having a flare (which is rare, but now only occurs when my menstrual cycle is peaking-ovulation/menses).
13- I believe it is CRUCIAL for IC people to understand how to treat a bladder infection without antibiotics, otherwise you are only taking 1 step forward and then 100 steps back when you get another infection--which is inevitable to happen as our bladders are compromised. So I believe learning homeopathy for cystitis is crucial. I do the Banerji Protocol or bladder infections, and it has worked magically for me. I will post this protocol on my blog soon. I also think it would be more than prudent to learn homeopathy for other conditions where antibiotics may be necessary, like strep throat. I had this myself a few months ago, and I was so grateful to have homeopathy in that situation. Avoiding antibiotics is HALF THE BATTLE.

Look at this list above. How many non-food items are there on this? Technically 3: Homeopathy, Probiotics and Adrenal supplement. That's not that many. Food is healing. I repeat, food is healing. Better yet, the RIGHT food is healing.

To answer some more of your other questions:

How are you doing Paola? I've never been so well bladder wise. I'm now eating a lot more food with almost 0 bladder pain. Currently, my bladder gets worse right after I ovulate and just before/during my period. This ends up being half of each of my menstrual cycles. But the other half of the cycle, where my hormones are more steady, I have never felt better. I have many days--during that 1st half of the month--where I feel almost completely normal.

How long have you had IC now? For 4 years, since 2009

How much are you improved with all the dieet and supplements and stress management?  I would say I'm 80% better. If my entire month was what the first half of my cycle feels  like, I would say I'm 98% better. But I'm now working on getting my last half of my menstrual cycle better.

Do you feel like your bladder lining is better healed? Yes. Absolutely. I had a surgery to repair a hernia in the abdomen, and my urologist looked in my bladder at that time. There were MINIMAL signs of IC. I'm much better, as proven by the cystoscopy!

What did the most for you? Homeopathy and diet.

Stress management? Yes this helps a lot, but I have 3 young children so my life tends to be stressful. I do take time to relax in a hot bath, meditate, and pray each night.

Exercise? What are your toughts on excercise? Great question. Exercising helps alkalize your body (if it is not too intense--otherwise I believe it can make your body more acidic due to stress) and detox it (through the sweating). I chose to exercise mildly (walking/chasing the kids/gardening)  in order to stay healthy, but I no longer do rigorous exercise like I have in the past. In the past, I was a real athlete, and competed in 3 triathlons (I swam one mile in the ocean!), I've done 1 half marathon, and dozens of races. But today, I want to focus on healing and not excessing. So I keep this to a gentle minimum. I think it's important to keep anything I do to my body on a gentle level to promote healing and rest.

What about Omega 3 Fish oil? I do eat fish every week, so I benefit form it's wonderful anti-inflammatory Omega-3's. But my Cod Liver Oil gives so much already that I don't stress about consuming lots of wild-caught fish. My weekly fish-dinner is plenty!

Do you eat bread? I do not eat bread, not even paleo bread [grain free bread]. I occasionally make muffins out of coconut flour and eggs, mixed with honey and some fruit like bananas. But this is a treat, not a common thing.

Do you eat eggs? I used to be VERY intolerant to milk and eggs, so be careful with these if you have IC and if you have not healed the gut very much. I did not eat these for years, but recently with the use of the homeopathy and perhaps with the bone broth, I have been able to safely reintroduce these into my diet. It is wonderful too because RAW MILK and pasture-raised eggs are so healthy and helpful to repair your body!

I know there is a lot of food involved in my daily life. But literally, Food Is Medicine, and it SHOULD take up a large part of my day.

Xoxo,
Paola

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...)


----------

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