One afternoon in 1998 I thought I had a bladder infection.  I was very uncomfortable and thought I just needed to drink some cranberry juice and get some medicine.  My regular GP told me there was no infection and I should go to a gynecologist.  My gyne did an ultrasound and told me nothing was wrong and I should go to a urologist.  The urologist had me come back 3 times sticking a catheter in me each time and adding potassium, or other liquids in my bladder to see my level of irritation and then seeing how my bladder was evacuating.  At my third appointment the doctor said, “well I don’t really know what’s going on, but it could be intercysticial cystitis, but we can’t really definitively diagnose that.  But here you can try this sample medicine and see if it works.”  I went out to my car and sobbed to my boyfriend.  So Western medicine tells me “not sure what you have, but why don’t you try these drugs that we don’t really know anything about or their level of effectiveness.”

At the time I was also seeing a chiropractor who had an acupuncturist in their office. The chiropractor suggested that I try acupuncture to see if it helped.  I did acupuncture with a very kind woman for a month with no change in my irritation.  One day I came for another appointment and found a new acupuncturist, as the regular woman was on a retreat.  This new person, who after talking to me and treating me, told me about this woman Matia who specialized in what I had, this I.C. thing.  It was one of the most surreal moments in my life ….. the Gods had conspired to make me well.

Finally life changed when I darkened the doors of BomaMed, at the time on Robertson. I met Matia and could not believe that some one finally believed me when I said I was suffering and actually knew what to do about it.  After many long and difficult months (close to two years actually) of completely changing my diet and taking out sugar
something I was absolutely addicted to.  I felt better.  I felt in control and without the I.C. I had lived with for so long.

Fast forward 11 years and I am married with 2 healthy children.  I had a C-section for my first child and a wonderfully successful VBAC (vaginal birth after c section) for my second.  I continue to feel free of I.C. symptoms for the most part.  There have been a few times in the past few years where my diet suffers and I have the occasional mild flair up.  I’m finding that when I do eat something with red dye in it I feel irritated. The great news is that suffering is a great motivator and I don’t eat like that much and the irritation doesn’t last.

Life is soooo much better and I am forever indebted to Matia and her tireless work for her I.C. patients and her enduring kindness and compassion.

]]> http://www.icaroadtorecovery.com/los-angeles-2.html/feed 0 http://www.icaroadtorecovery.com/anonymous-uk-2.html http://www.icaroadtorecovery.com/anonymous-uk-2.html#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:01:30 +0000 Jane Peters http://www.icaroadtorecovery.com/?p=247 Continue reading →]]> “ Ps for any of your current patients going through the programme and needing some cheering up.  I am taking part in the Moonwalk in London in May this year. 26 miles walking through the streets of London in aid of breast cancer.  I must be feeling good to undertake that.  So if I can do it then there is hope for everyone no matter what stage they are in their recovery.  And Matia none of this would have been possible without you!!”

People who have made it through to a place where they are having little to no symptoms
anymore don’t spend time on the board generally. I know icama is lucky to have some
gracious people who chime in from time to time to give some words of encouragement.
But, generally speaking, people drop off once they are off and running.

So, it is nice to hear from people when they are doing well and when that happens, I try to
pass along the message.

Matia has been my doctor for almost two years and I am extremely grateful to her for guiding me through treatment and getting my health back.  I’m not 100% symptom-free yet–I still need to take my herbs every day to feel well and I only recently got the green light to try list four foods, but my bladder feels great most of the time and I know that with her help I will eventually be able to maintain a state of wellness without any supplementation.

My bladder problems started at age 17, shortly after I was given birth control pills to “treat” (ie – mask) my severe menstrual cramps.  I began to experience chronic UTIs every few months.  By age 18, I had stopped taking the pill, but the UTIs persisted.  I saw dozens of doctors, none of whom could explain my chronic UTIs (“some women just get them, it’s not a big deal”).  Each doctor handed me a refillable prescription for Cipro and hustled me out the door.

Finally, at age 23, I developed UTI symptoms that didn’t respond to any antibiotics.  I knew I had IC.  I didn’t even bother with a formal medical diagnosis.  It was clear that something was very wrong with my bladder and equally clear that western doctors couldn’t do anything thing about it.  My bladder felt like an exploding balloon, whether it was empty or full. There was no relief.

I found Matia on the internet and scheduled the next available appointment with her. I had to come in person for my first visit, as those have been the rules for the last two and a half years I understand. Sticking to the program was difficult in the beginning.  I couldn’t eat garlic powder or spelt, and I was bored with my food choices.  But I did feel nourished, despite my limited choices, and Matia constantly reminded me that treatment was temporary.  Eventually I would be able to eat whatever I wanted.  My poor bladder still felt like an exploding balloon most of the time, but gradually the intensity of my symptoms decreased.  The change was so gradual that it was practically impossible to perceive from one day to the next.  But I charted my symptoms as much as a I could and when I compared how I felt on a particular day with how I felt several months prior, I could start to see some improvement.

And now after nearly two years my symptoms have faded so much that I barely notice them anymore. I have moved on with my life with a new found sense of compassion and an appreciation for good health.

Thank you Matia!!

I did see that urologist, since I still felt terrible weeks later. I primarily had urgency & frequency – I had to go to the bathroom at least once an hour, and had spells during which I had to go every 10 minutes for several hours at a time. As time went on, I also began to have terrible pains shooting through the entire lower half of my body.

I then had a cystoscopy done under anesthesia at a hospital in my area, and they found nothing indicative of IC – just a little redness and irritation, which they determined was not the cause of all of my problems. I was put on suppressive antibiotics indefinitely, and given Detrol to relax the bladder muscles.

I then found Matia Brizman through a friend of mine. I set up my initial phone consultation with Matia, and she understood the symptoms that the other doctors did not. She asked tons of questions in order to really understand my story and figure out what the underlying problems were. I hung in through the numerous changes in herbs, and the changes in diet. At about the two year mark, I reached the point that I felt like I was back to leading a normal life, and can now say that I am about 99.9% healthy. I still take acidophilus, primarily to fight yeast. I am now back to, for the most part, eating a normal diet, although I am still careful to avoid a lot of sugar. I am thankful that I found Dr. Brizman at the time I did, or I might still be suffering with the same symptoms.

14 months ago I made the trip to LA from the UK. I’d suffered from numerous UTI’s over the last 20 years and developed symptoms known as IC about 2 years ago.

I was in constant pain and tied to the bathroom.  I rejected investigative procedures from urologists and decided to embark on Matia’s program.

The treatment process was far from easy. Months of yo-yoing up and down, a good day here, to then have a bad few. The anxiety of whether this would really work for me, or whether I was beyond Matias program. I was tempted at times to call my Dr and beg to be pumped full of painkillers.  I kept a diary of good days (hours too!) and bad, to try and find a pattern.  Any question Matia had for me, I could answer in great detail.

About 6 months ago I noticed when Matia asked me specific questions (urine flow/colour etc), I had to admit that I hadn’t taken note, and had actually forgotten.

Fast forward to my appointment last week and I spent most of it discussing how to deal with the pressures of my new job. There was little mention of IC.

I don’t often think of my bladder now.  I ride horses for a living (having given it up due to IC), something not exactly suited to an IC sufferer!  I am no longer a victim but someone who has taken back their life, and a much healthier one.

My advice is to stick to the diet religiously (it will save you from other more life threatening dis-eases in the process) and take the recommended pills/herbs seriously. Try (although hard) to remain positive that you will get better and remember that having been made aware of Dr Matia Brizman you are one of the lucky ones.

Anonymous-UK

My name is ________ and I am your patient _______’s husband.  You and I exchanged
some emails a few months back.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of the great work you have done in helping _____
feel better.  We know we still have a long way to go — but I cannot tell you how amazing it has been to see _____ getting better.  Over the past few months, she has started to be her
old happy, normal self again — mainly because she is finally not in chronic pain constantly.  She feels better, she looks healthier, she smiles again, and she sleeps through the night.  The transformation has been amazing.

We really feel like we are blessed to have heard about you and been able to
get _____out to see you.  We are blessed and lucky that there is someone in this world
who understands ____’s problem, and spends so much time trying to fix it.  We were so
low when we found you.  And after having 10-20 doctors around the country either tell us
we were crazy or recommend some experimental and invasive treatment, we were at our
wits end.  You have made her life (and my life) so much better in the last seven months.  We are very, very thankful for all that you do — you really have changed our lives for the better.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

If there is ever anything we can do to re-pay for this great gift you have given us, please
do not hesitate to let me know.  You have given us so much and we are just so thankful.

Response after Dr. Brizman asked if  she could post his letter:

Matia — of course you have my permission to do that.  That would be great.  We want
everyone to know how great you are.  I know there are lots of women out there right now who were just like _____ was seven months ago — in pain and running out of hope.  The more
people learn about you, the more people you can help.

You absolutely have our permission to post it.  And if you ever want us to write a more
fulsome account of where we were before seeing you and how far we have come thanks
to you, we would love to do that too.  _____ and I have already talked about writing out
the whole story once she is completely better.  We want to do anything we can to spread
the word about how there is hope for women with this illness, and how there is an amazing doctor in California who can help.

In my opinion, Matia’s approach seems to be “fix the persons body, and the body will fix the specific problem.” It’s a lot of organic powders, and capsules, and in the beginning, a very strict diet. However, it works… not quickly (in most cases), but it works. When I first saw her, my problem had developed into mild IBS as well… however these symptoms stopped immediately with the diet and have never come back. My IC was a different matter. It has taken a couple of years to really get under control, and I still have to be responsible about what I eat/drink, but in that time it was always getting better. It happens so gradually, I remember after a year I was disappointed that I was not completely cured… yet realized how much better things were. IC was taking over my life… and within a year it was a mild inconvenience every so often…. The flare ups were much less annoying and didn’t last as long. Now I have occasional bouts of irritation, but it’s usually a direct result of my diet and never seems to linger for more then a day or two. Plus Matia is always a phone call or email away when you experience discomfort, and usually has a helpful adjustment to solve the short term problem.

It’s a humbling thing to have a “condition” nobody knows what to do about. A condition that effects your social life, sleep patterns, self esteem, anxiety level, ability to concentrate, ability to travel… and generally makes you miserable most of the day and night. My urologist is very well known, and had guided me through some other difficulties, but had no answers for me. I’m only thankful he had the wisdom to recommend Matia, who in a lot of ways, has helped me restore not only my health… but my life.

– S.

In the beginning of treatment, I was put on a strict but very health diet with a supplement regimen to restore my healthy balance and ease the pain of my bladder. Within the first month of my treatment, my bladder pain decreased by a good 75%.  I was on the first part of the regimen for a good 5 months.  It helped get me stable and comfortable into a new way of life of eating and taking care of my body.

Through the months, Matia would tweak my supplement and regimen to be tailored made just for me and to see where my bladder was at every turn. I was able to communicate with her via email if my symptoms seemed to flare up every now and then.  She continued patiently and with so much understanding and wisdom in this whole health restoring process.  I must say that this is a slow and steady process, getting my health back for me has been an eye opener and continues to show me what my body is saying through my bladder.

There are more good days which continue to get better than there are bad days.  If you stick with the treatment plan and respect the process, this is a full proof, guarantee of healing in all areas of your internal organs and it manifests externally.  You feel at peace and balanced more and more.  If you are patient and remember that time heals all wounds through respecting your body and the physician who knows the path to a better you through her unique treatment plan, than know from someone in her care, that you will be a success story just like me.

I believe that Matia is a God send and without her many people would still be suffering from IC.  If you are reading this, as her patient, she is kind, encouraging, supportive and very much a true healer.

Thank you Matia and there’s not enough words to say how much I’m blessed to have met you and continue to be in your care.  God has truly given you a gift and perserverance to find more and more ways to heal peoples broken bladders and with hope through the testimonies of lives you touched, people will continue to come for that healing touch.

Sincerely,

Nadia R

It takes courage and trust to travel all that way to a strange place, and I really admire the people who do it. But it is so worth it!