Layla, Author at Bladder Help

5 Chronic Illness Resources To Support You Through The Festive Season

ByLayla | On December 09,18 | 0 Comment

The festive season can be really difficult for people with chronic illness. When I was still suffering from interstitial cystitis, I used to feel deprived and sad during the Christmas holidays and cheating on my diet meant flare ups!

Back then, I didn’t have many resources to help me get through the festive season. Luckily now, I don’t have these issues anymore but I’m also part of a great community of chronic illness bloggers that is very supportive. So today I’m going to share with you 5 great chronic illness resources for the festive season, including a healthy Christmas recipe and tips on how to stay healthy and pain-free.

Interstitial Cystitis, Protocols

Aloe Vera for Interstitial Cystitis (and a Giveaway!)

ByLayla | On December 02,18 | 2 Comments

Aloe vera is a traditional herb that has been used in ancient cultures and is used today both topically and orally for various therapeutic purposes.

Aloe vera is one of the herbal remedies used for interstitial cystitis. Today, I wanted to have a closer look at how and why it’s used for IC and, as usual, what evidence we have behind it. Plus, I have a giveaway for you (who doesn’t like free stuff?!) so make sure you read on till the end!

Cystitis, Cystitis

Uva Ursi for Urinary Tract Infections

ByLayla | On November 25,18 | 0 Comment

Uva Ursi is an evergreen shrub of which the leaves have been used traditionally as a remedy for urinary tract infections. It is also known as bearberry.

It is traditionally used as a tea or tincture, but also available in capsule form. I have previously listed it in natural antibiotics, but today I would like to take a closer look at how it’s used and what evidence we have behind its usage.

Conditions, Interstitial Cystitis

Are Bladder Instillations Evidence-based?

ByLayla | On November 11,18 | 3 Comments

I never had a bladder instillation when I suffered from ‘interstitial cystitis’ – my doctor at the time couldn’t even diagnose me, so I didn’t get to try any conventional treatment for IC. In my desperation, I very quickly turned to natural interventions… and the rest is history.

We often speak of orthodox medicine as being ‘evidence based’ and anything ‘alternative’ as being ‘quackery’. I have long come to understand that a lot of ‘alternative’ interventions are in fact very much following the newest evidence but also that ‘quackery’ (and maybe more importantly ego) can be found in all walks of medicine.

So far, I’ve mostly stayed away from writing about conventional treatments and it’s not my intention to slag anything off. But after hearing from so many sufferers I’ve spoken to that instillations have not helped them, I wanted to see if their use is actually evidence-based.

Cystitis, Protocols

D-mannose for Urinary Tract Infections

ByLayla | On November 04,18 | 5 Comments

D-mannose is one of those supplements often used for chronic urinary tract infections. While I’ve heard some very positive reviews about it, it never helped me back when I took it myself.

Therefore I wanted to examine the evidence behind D-mannose a bit closer to see how useful it actually is for those struggling with chronic UTIs.

Protocols

Low-Level Laser Therapy For Chronic Pain

ByLayla | On October 28,18 | 6 Comments

Low level laser therapy is also known as light therapy or photobiomodulation. There’s different forms of light therapy, but this form mainly refers to red-light therapy of a specific wavelength.

It sounds pretty esoteric, but actually it has been used by NASA to help plants grow in space and by farmers for breeding chicks and other livestock. But it has also been used therapeutically for humans, especially in the context of recovery from physical exercise.

Health Articles

Tried and Tested: My Experience With Helminthic Therapy

ByLayla | On October 21,18 | 2 Comments

In this installment of ‘Tried and Tested’ I’m sharing my experience with infecting myself with ‘probiotic’ worms. Sounds like a stupid thing to do, but actually it’s quite an interesting therapy.

I decided to give helminthic therapy a go last year, not long after I found out that I suffered from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid and usually leads to under-function of the thyroid (please note that I was already free of bladder issues at that point, so that’s not what I tried it for) .

Health Articles

Worms as Medicine: Helminthic Therapy for Chronic (Bladder) Disease

ByLayla | On October 14,18 | 1 Comment

We mainly associate parasitic worm infections with disease, but what if there are parasites that are actually good for us?

There are many different types of helminthic worms and some can be really bad for our health. Other types, however, have been used therapeutically for several years.

Helminthic therapy is one of many therapies I have investigated in recent years and also tried on myself. Today, I’d like to give you all a little introduction on this rather interesting therapy.

Conditions, Interstitial Cystitis

Key Takeaways From My Experience With ‘Interstitial Cystitis’

ByLayla | On September 23,18 | 4 Comments

After having suffered for two years of what I now understand was ‘Interstitial Cystitis’, years of researching and writing about bladder health and working with clients who suffer from chronic bladder issues I’ve gathered some key points to consider.

If you don’t want to read through all the information I have compiled on this blog, I think this could be a good starting point for anyone afflicted with these problems.

Interstitial Cystitis

Low Dose Naltrexone for Interstitial Cystitis

ByLayla | On September 09,18 | 1 Comment

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) is one of the few allopathic medicines that seems to be rather popular in functional medicine circles.

I have heard of people taking it for interstitial cystitis and therefore wanted to investigate the why and how it could be used and whether its use makes sense for this condition.