Today I’d like to share yet another success story in the form of an interview with blogger Callie Dixon of River&Quill.
I hope you will find reading her story as inspiring as I did and be sure to check out her tips for dealing with the challenge of chronic illness.
That’s it from me for now, enjoy the interview!
Unrecognized sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as Chlamydia or Trichomonas Vaginalis may share similar symptoms to cystitis and could also be a co-factor in bladder problems.
Kimberly’s story is one example where a chlamydia infection played a role in worsening her bladder symptoms.
If you haven’t been tested for STDs but are suffering from bladder issues, it may be a good idea to get this checked out.
Vitamin C is probably the most well-known and studied vitamin. I’ve come to believe that it may also be one of the most important ones for people suffering from chronic bladder problems, which I’d like to explain in today’s post.
If you have interstitial cystitis (IC), you may have been told to stay clear of vitamin C supplements – a.k.a Ascorbic Acid. Why? Because as the name suggests, it is rather acidic and could therefore be rather uncomfortable when getting in contact with inflamed tissue. But fear not, I will explain how you can take it without the burn!
Hippocrates already said over 2000 years ago that ‘all disease begins in the gut’. Today, we’re understanding more and more how right he was.
For me personally, gut issues preceded the onset of chronic cystitis and interstitial cystitis. When my gut was at its worst, so was my bladder. I have no doubt that, similarly to many other conditions, the gut is implicated in bladder problems.
I have been mainly clear of bladder symptoms for over 3 years now. One of the few things that can still flare up interstitial cystitis symptoms for me are B vitamin complex supplements. These tend to cause a burning sensation and a slight loss of bladder muscle tone. There is a reason why B vitamin supplements can be a problem for IC sufferers, which I’d like to share with you today.
Amino acids are derived from protein and they are the main building blocks in the body. For example, they are used to make hormones, neurotransmitters and enzymes. Some of them are essential, meaning they need to be taken in from the diet, whilst the others can be manufactured in the body.
As you hopefully can see from the above, amino acids are pretty important. But some of them can become problematic for people with bladder pain. These are tyrosine, tryptophan, tyramine and phenylalanine (called the ‘arylalkylamines’).
Exercise is generally considered to be health promoting, but not all forms of exercise might be ideal for someone with bladder issues.
Last time, I talked about why jogging may not be so ideal for bladder health. This week I’d like to look at some options that I consider to be safe and beneficial.
When I first had interstitial cystitis (IC), I started looking at diet and lifestyle changes that might help me get better. Exercise is generally considered to be health promoting, so I decided to include it in my routine. I knew quite a few people who were jogging regularly and decided to give it a go myself, since it required no special equipment or gym membership.
However, each time I did go for a run I would get a massive flare of my IC symptoms, as well as the urge to run to the toilet.
I eventually abandoned jogging (mainly because I was chronically fatigued and couldn’t do much at all). I only recently came across an explanation as to why jogging may not be so great for the bladder and I thought I’d share it with you!
Hopefully you know by now that the bladder and urine is NOT sterile but houses a community of microbes, collectively known as the bladder microbiota. Until now, we have mostly spoken about bacteria and fungi in the bladder. But a recent study has shed light on another never-before-seen member of the microbiota: tiny viruses called phages.
If you have been following this blog for a while you’ll hopefully know about the role of the microbiome in health, including bladder health. I’ve posted about this topic several times. Today I’d like to look more specifically at the bladder microbiota and interstitial cystitis (IC).