"You must be the change you wish to see in the world" (Ghandi) 

Maria's Story 

    Maria was referred to me (Renee Simon, CNS, Total Wellness) by her urologist over four years ago. She had just been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis (IC), a chronic bladder disease caused by inflammation in the bladder walls that causes urinary frequency, burning, pelvic heaviness or pain and in some cases can be so severe that the urge to urinate occurs every 30-60 minutes. That’s how severe Maria’s symptoms were when she first came to see me. She was 45 at the time, which put her into the age group when many women start to experience hormonal changes. In addition to the bladder problem she was experiencing fatigue, food allergies, night sweats, sinus problems, mood swings, and depression. She had been on Prozac for her depression and was in tears during our meeting wondering how she was going to cope with this new illness.

Please read more about Maria's story!


Laura’s Story

 

    To tell my story right, I felt like I needed to tell it from before my disease began as I think there are connections. As a child, teen, and 20-something, I frequently had bladder infections as often as every three months. With each, I would go to the doctor and be administered antibiotics, which took away the infection.

 

I remember distinctly when it all changed – I was driving back from a haircut a few weeks after my 26th birthday, in April of 1995, and I had that ‘getting a bladder infection’ feeling. I squirmed on the long drive to get home and made an appointment to see my doctor. At the appointment the next day, I received a surprise when the culture came back negative and I was sent home. During the next few weeks I visited the doctor a few more times thinking the test was incorrect, but it was not.

 

Over the next year I struggled with the feeling of bladder fullness and urgency where I thought about going to the bathroom all the time. I was frustrated, stressed, and unhappy all the time. I wasn’t in pain, I was just uncomfortable and as a result, I ate badly and gained weight, ballooning from 175 pounds to close to 310. During that time, I visited a urologist, which was a painful and anger-filled process. He was older and never spoke directly to me, and also never found a diagnosis for my ongoing problem except to point out that perhaps if I lost weight it would go away! Attempting to tell him that the weight was a result of my discomfort fell on deaf ears. . . 


Please read more about Laura's story!

Check back for more courageous stories soon!