An Interview
with Dr. Matia Brizman....
(courtesy
of www.icsuccessonline.com)
Today I
have had the pleasure of speaking with one of IC’s best kept secrets, Dr. Matia
Brizman, Ph.D., M.T.O.M., L.Ac. D.Ac & C.H. of BOMA-Med in Los Angeles.
Dr. Brizman is a very
gifted Doctor of Acupuncture and practitioner of Chinese medicine. She is a
truly amazing woman who has dedicated her life to helping people with chronic
illnesses. She specializes in the areas of the colon and the bladder and has
treated many IC patients successfully over the past six years. I am grateful to
Dr. Brizman for giving me the opportunity to educate IC patients about her treatment
methods and beliefs and for allowing me to spread her words of hope to others.
I had the pleasure of speaking directly to Dr. Brizmann and can testify to the
fact that she is truly a special person, a caring woman who radiates positive
energy and hope. I am glad that Dr. Brizman is on our side in the battle against IC.
Hi Dr. Brizman, thank you for taking the time
out to speak to me today. I have heard so many great things about you from your
patients.
Thank you Camille. First I would just
like to say that I think your web site is great and I think you are doing a
wonderful thing for people.
Thank
you Dr. Brizman. OK, let’s begin with a brief description of Chinese medicine.
Chinese medicine has been effective for
the treatment of illness for thousands of years and has consequently been
gaining popularity in this country since President Nixon “brought it over”
during his time in office after having experienced his own treatment during his
visit in China, having fallen ill at that time.
It is a system of medicine based on the
premise of checks and balances. Balance must be maintained in order to prevent
or treat disease. This balance is not as simple as yin and yang, although they
are the root. It is a quite complicated system in which each organ must be
balanced and in good “communication” with different aspects of each other organ.
It is quite deep, and quite complex, and in my own humble opinion, profoundly
eloquent.
There is so much more to be said about
Chinese medicine that can’t possibly be covered in this interview. For more
information one can go to
http://orientalmedicine.com/index.html
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A lot
of patients are very skeptical about using Chinese medicine for IC since they
are told it is too strong for them and that they can get hurt. Do you believe
that to be correct?
First, I should say that although many
may think that it is too strong, more most likely have been told or are under
the impression that it is ineffective for the treatment of IC. Secondly, I think
that all patients seeking treatment for any disease should be well informed
about the treatment that they have chosen to undergo and the doctor who is
administrating the treatment. One should carefully weigh his or her options
prior to commencing any treatment.
Chinese medicine is an invaluable
modality for many illnesses, yet despite this fact, as in Western medicine,
there are doctors whom are more appropriate to see for specific diseases. There
is an unfortunate misunderstanding that all the people in the world practicing
Chinese medicine have equivalent abilities. Because of this, if someone seeks
treatment through Chinese medicine and it does not work, they assume the
medicine is ineffective. They seldom assume they sought out a doctor with
inappropriate experience to their specific illness. In Western medical
treatment, if you do not get help, you do not criticize the medicine, you change
doctors!
For these reasons, I think any patient
should be skeptical since they can get hurt in the wrong hands. Chinese medicine
is based on the premise that there are many different treatments for the same
disease. In other words, individuals with the same disease need to be treated
differently. There is not one neat little answer that is “out of the box”.
This is especially true for IC patients. The more I treat IC the more I realize
that there are so many different possibilities of treatment for each patient.
A Chinese doctor lacking experience with
this specific disease would treat the patient based upon symptoms, which sound
very much like those we have been trained for in Chinese medical school (known
as Lin Syndromes, all kinds of bladder disorders). If one follows those
principles precisely without the advantage of experience with this disease, you
may make the patient much worse.
Another problem I have found is that some
people practicing Chinese medicine sometimes go against its principles and they
try to practice using one answer for all diseases. This will never work. Hence,
these are the kinds of problems one may experience when seeking treatment for IC
with Chinese medicine.
I am certain there must be many
wonderful people practicing Chinese medicine who are doing great work. What I
would recommend is asking if they have had experience with IC specifically and
if so, how much. Ask what they are specializing in. If they specialize in this
disease, then give it a try. It is normal for one to seek the top specialist in
any field of medicine when seeking treatment. It should be no different in this
case.
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So it is safe to say you do not recommend
IC patients treat themselves?
Absolutely not! I never recommend
patients treat themselves, for IC or any other illness. A patient trying to use
natural methods to treat oneself can be very dangerous. Just because it is
natural does not mean it is safe. The general public has a very misguided
understanding of alternative medicine in that there is an assumption that if it
does not help it can’t hurt. This is the furthest thing from the truth. Guidance
is definitely required by someone who has had the professional medical training
to assess and monitor the patient closely.
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You
mentioned that when you first began practicing on patients with IC you were not
too successful in their treatments?
Yes that is true. There was a lot of
trial and error in the beginning but with much tenacity, eventually I was able
to unlock the treatment methods that would effectively treat the IC patient. In
order to learn how to treat IC I did a lot of detective work. I began to
understand the ailment and I began to see that I had to develop my own treatment
methods. I realized that the traditional methods for treatment of urinary
diseases according to Chinese medicine were inadequate for the treatment
of IC. So I combined a traditional Chinese medical understanding and a modern
physiological understanding of the condition and merged them together to form my
own treatment methods for IC. Eventually I began to unlock the disease and
started to make a lot of progress and I am still making progress to this day. I
hope to continue to do so in the years to come. It is my goal to make the
treatment faster and easier and to be able to anticipate what each patient is
going to require ahead of time before administering treatment. Since IC is a
very complex disease I have a long way to go but that is my goal.
So it is safe to say that there is a lot
less trial and error with IC patients today? Also, how do you go about treating
new patients?
Yes there is a lot less trial and
error. When a patient walks into my office I sit with them for at least an hour
and go over their total history. Then I take what we call in Chinese medicine
the pulse and tongue. After assessing the needs of the patient I start off with
a regimen that is fairly conservative since the IC patient is so sensitive and
then I build from there. Since I have acquired a great deal of practice and
knowledge in mixing herbs and placing needles for many IC patients over the
years about 70% of those patients do well right from the beginning. With other
patients I have to do some adjustments to get the right treatment for them. I
stay in very close touch with new patients. I keep the lines of communication
open and stick by them until we get it right. I am always available to my
patients, even in my off hours. I am very much a part of the lives of my
patients until they improve to the point that they don’t need me anymore.
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I know
that you use acupuncture as part of your treatment methods for IC patients. Can
you tell me a little bit about that and how it works?
When patients are in town I always
recommend acupuncture because I think it is an invaluable treatment asset when
done “properly”. Properly means consistent with my methods. So, I ask that
long-distance patients refrain from acupuncture, as I then have no control over
the treatment methods of the other acupuncturist. So acupuncture done in
accordance to specific treatment methods is a great help and will facilitate
healing. Other treatments with different applications and approaches can
actually increase the pain and worsen the condition.
The
insertion of acupuncture needles when placed at certain points and in particular
combinations can stimulate the body’s healing process in many ways. However, the
needles must be placed with the same amount of precision that the herbs and
supplements must be combined. Treatments that are inconsistent with the
patient’s needs can actually make the patient feel worse and stimulate them in
the incorrect way. This, however, is true for all illnesses, not just IC.
Do you recognize that there are other
diseases involved with many IC patients and if so how do you treat or address
those other diseases?
There are many typical illnesses that
accompany IC and there are also many that are not typical to the IC patient but
which must also be addressed. Let me be more clear.
Some common conditions, which come with
IC are:
-
Bowel problems either constipation or diarrhea.
-
Epigastric problems (Either acid reflux or ulcer).
-
Chronic Fatigue.
-
Vulvodynia in women (a medical term meaning vagina pain).
-
Painful periods in women.
-
Fibromyalgia.
-
MVP (Mitral Valve Prolapse).
These conditions are common because they
are associated with the constitutional condition of the patient. It is not a
mistake that these conditions so often come together. They are connected
and tied in ways that are understood through Chinese medical diagnosis. Hence,
as the IC is treated, typically the other problems are addressed as well.
In addition to these problems, the
human condition being what it is, there are often other problems to contend with
simultaneously. These could include such things as hypotension (low blood
pressure), herpes simplex virus, panic attacks, or more serious conditions. When
these kinds of problems are present during the treatment of IC, all problems
must be taken into consideration for effective treatment to take place.
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Have you ever treated any patients with
severe IC or patients who have had IC for many years successfully?
Yes I have. Sometimes these patients
may take longer to improvel due to “layers” of complications or the length of
time that they have the disease however sometimes they do not.
Do you believe bacteria and yeast are
connected to IC?
Many of my patients have yeast and
bacteria but many do not. However, let me back up and say that just because
someone does not test positive for yeast and bacteria does not mean that they
don’t have it. So I always treat at least a little bit for it. I have had
patients get better though with very minimal treatment for yeast and bacteria.
What
do you think causes IC? It is all speculation I know but I would love to have
your views.
There is a very long and
involved answer to this question in terms of Chinese medicine. I will keep my
answer brief here because to explain anything about Chinese medicine requires a
lot of conceptual explanations first, and I think I will bore most people before
they finish the first paragraph.
So, Basically, I think
that IC is a combination of problems occurring simultaneously caused by:
1. Weakness in the
bladder and the kidneys, and the colon on a constitutional level.
2. Intestinal health
imbalances eventually effecting the body systemically to the point where
pathological bacteria and or yeast have penetrated the tissues of the bladder as
well as other areas of the body. When bacteria and or fungus (yeast) gets into
areas of the body where it does not belong it causes pathological tissue
irritation and this, I think leads to the ulcerations and subcutaneous bleeding
that urologists are looking for in diagnosis. Where there is any amount of
tissue change, there will be pain as a result. In addition, the yeast or
bacteria themselves congesting the urinary system and compromising tissue will
create additional urgency, burning and discomfort.
I think these are the two basic problems.
However, how they manifest themselves through Chinese medical diagnosis may be
very different. For example, If you have a weakness in the kidney “system”
according to Chinese medicine, your disease could manifest in a lot of different
ways. You could have menstrual problems, bowel problems, heart problems, etc…
all because of weak kidneys. So, what happens is IC patients all have the basic
problems in common, but manifest the disease differently and require different
treatments to feel better.
Some patients have a strong weakness and
need more support, while others need more bacteria or yeast killing treatment.
Some patients need more attention on regulating blood flow because disruptions
have taken place over time. Changes need to be made to support the progress that
the body is making as the process continues until the patient is no longer in
treatment.
Other complicating factors are all of the
treatments that patients have undergone prior to the time that I see them. The
installations and the medications can add on to the layers of problems that the
patient manifests.
In my work, I try to clean out the
urinary system of pathological material, rebuild the kidneys, bladder and
tissues, and re-establish proper energy and blood flow simultaneously. At the
end, a balance is restored.
I think that these problems come about
through:
1. Imbalanced eating habits. Such as overuse of alcohol,
sugars, carbohydrates, etc. This weakens the immune system and allows
inappropriate growth of pathological matter.
2. Overuse of antibiotic therapy, which kills your good
bacteria and therefore throws off the balance of health in the gut allowing bad
bacteria or yeast to grow.
3. Use of certain kinds of prescription drugs, which can
cause an unlimited number of imbalances including immune suppression and
dysregulation of energy flow which, in itself, can cause disease.
4. Inappropriate use of natural or prescription bowel
cleansers or laxatives or other colon therapies which further weaken the immune
system of the bowel and encourage the downward movement of bacteria into tissues
outside the colon.
5. Incorrect use of natural supplementation for many
conditions which can also transfer yeast and/or bacteria into the bladder from
the colon.
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Why are you so passionate about what you
do and why have you devoted your life to bladder and colon diseases?
Several years ago I was very, very
sick and there was little that Western medicine could do for me. I was left
feeling hopeless with nowhere else to turn. So I turned to Chinese medicine.
When Chinese medicine helped me regain control over my life I vowed that I would
be dedicated to helping others. I had a lucrative and successful career in
another area but I quit and decided to go to school to learn how to practice
this type of medicine. Giving people their lives back is what I live for. I
love to take someone who has tried everything and can’t get better any other way
and heal that person. Again, giving people their lives back is what I live for.
What is the difference between Western
and Chinese medicine?
I think it is important for us to
remember that there is not one answer that is right for anything in life. It is
always important to establish the appropriate solution for the appropriate
problem. It is no different with medicine. It seems however, that many of us
want only one of these medicines to have validity and this is where I think
misunderstanding comes to play.
There is no replacement for Western
medicine when it comes to many things. Things such as miraculous surgical
techniques, ER procedures, incredibly advanced diagnostic capabilities,
prosthetic limb replacements, vaccinations, and more. I myself would not be
alive today without the life-saving gift of a particular surgical procedure.
However, for many other ailments
especially those of a chronic nature, I think Chinese medicine is more efficient
and appropriate. By recognizing these chronic ailments through a different
system of diagnosis, conditions are treated with a quite different approach with
the idea of correcting the problem whereas Western medicine would treat that
same problem with drugs, which only manage the symptoms. This is the
fundamental difference between Western and Chinese medicine in the treatment of
certain ailments. Some might say that there is nothing wrong with the management
of symptoms since it is easy and it usually ends the suffering quite
expeditiously. Yet, there can be many side effects that the body is subjected to
with drug management whereas with Chinese medicine there are none when
administered correctly.
I think the perfect world in medicine
will be when medical doctors and alternative doctors of all kinds will be able
to co-exist and guide patients back and forth and route them to the
appropriate caregivers as necessary.
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IC is known to be an “incurable disease”
yet you say that you can help people. What makes you think that you can?
First let me start off by saying that one
of the principles of Chinese medicine is that illnesses are simply imbalances,
which once addressed will be corrected. This is a fundamental difference
between Western and Chinese medicine. There, of course, is controversy on this
issue in our field because there are practitioners with very different levels of
conviction. I have known many practitioners who have expressed absolute horror
and disbelief in some of the things that I have endeavored to treat and I know
just as many who treat other illnesses, which I would be too frightened
to even think of treating. I would say, however, that I am among those with an
immense amount of conviction and belief in this philosophy. Although I cannot
effectively treat all diseases, it is my opinion that there are effective
treatments for all diseases and finding the appropriate person qualified for
this task is the obvious challenge.
I think we are as capable as the
amount of limitations and constraints we place upon ourselves in our lives.
How many IC patients have you treated?
I have treated many patients from 1995
when I was in my internship to present. I started practicing on my own in 1996.
I have been strongly building my practice since 1996 and now I see about 65
patients per week of which about 60% are bladder related.
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What are your suggestions for long-term, continuing
lifestyle?
I think health is greatly misunderstood
in our culture. We are of a society that is under the impression that sitting in
front of the television, eating chips and drinking alcohol on a daily basis is
fine. Somehow we have created this illusion for ourselves that we do not have to
take any responsibility for our health and that our body should be able to
sustain itself with the terrible things that we put in it. I do not subscribe to
this theory and I think if one does not correct certain abusive behavioral
patterns one's general state of health with always be poor.
Now, this is not to say that one can not
resume eating and drinking many things that they were required to abstain from
during treatment, however, moderation and balance is key to the perpetuation of
long-term health.
I teach my patients about health and
longevity because I want them all to live out extraordinarily long lives. I
think all human beings would live many years beyond what they currently do if
the common abusive habits that are so acceptable in our society were simply, not
so acceptable! If a person adheres to this theory, a healthy body will support
him or her through a long and happy life!
You are based in Los Angeles. Are you able to treat IC
patients long distance?
Yes, I treat patients long distance.
After an initial in-person appointment, I
have enough experience now where I can continue the treatment over the phone
and mix the right herbs for them. However, it may take longer for the patient
to get better without the acupuncture. I must also add that I highly suggest
that the long distance patient not go to anyone else for acupuncture. If the
needles are not placed in accordance with the treatment I am administering, they
can be way too strong and can lead to more harm than good.
Is it true that most health insurance
does not cover Chinese medicine?
Some years ago that was true but not
so today. 95% of our patients are covered by health insurance. Most of our
patients have to pay only small co-pay or a percentage of the bill.
One more question for me personally
before we finish. Since you have seen my website I am sure you are aware that I
feel that there is a possibility I got my IC by taking birth control pills.
Birth control pills = yeast = toxic body = bacteria = IC. Sometimes that just
sounds totally nuts to me but I can’t help but feel that there is some sort of
connection. Do you think that I am crazy?
I think that synthetic hormone
supplementation is absolutely unhealthy. I very much believe that this kind of
medication can cause poor health and disease.
The idea of chemically controlling the
body at all unless there is absolutely no other choice is beyond my
comprehension. The pill is meant to synthetically control our menstrual cycles
by altering our natural hormone fluctuations. Whenever you go against what is
meant to be in the body you have created an imbalance. Wherever there is an
imbalance created many more will follow.
For every action there is a reaction.
This is a simple law of physics, so to think that you can put something in your
body to cause unnatural physiological effects and that there will be no other
unwanted effects from altering what is otherwise natural is at best naïve.
Furthermore, I have treated patients
whom I believe became ill because of the pill. I can not prove this theory. I
can only share my experiences. Additionally, it is my impression that, if there
are yeast and or pathological bacteria in the body that they will be fed off the
hormones we put into our bodies. This is partly why IC symptoms are worse during
ovulation and menstruation, because of the high load of hormonal activity during
those times.
Basically, I believe that we need to work
with the body at all times so as to maximize its efficiency instead of
synthetically controlling it in any way, which will only serve to weaken it at
best and create illness at worst.
There is a great book to read on this
subject for all of us women no matter what age. It is called “What Your Doctor
May Not Tell You about Menopause, by Dr. John R. Lee and Virginia Hopkins. This
is wonderful information for all women. There is also a book out now that is
written by the same authors for younger women specifically. The book is called
“What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Pre-menopause, Balance your Hormones
and your Life from Thirty to Fifty”. Get the books!
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I am glad to hear that I might not be
crazy after all. I know that a lot of my friends who take the pill do not want
to get off of them and have no intentions of doing so no matter what happened to
me or what I think. However, at the very least, I still try to urge them to
take acidophilus, anti- fungals and to keep their immune systems healthy while
taking the pill. I also encourage them to take breaks and not stay on them six
years straight like I did. There are many women who see problems with yeast as
vaginal and no more then that, just like I once did. If there is a possible
risk involved I feel that the people I love should at least be aware of it.
Dr. Brizman, thank you so much for your time.
I am so glad you are on our side. Please don’t ever stop doing what you are
doing.
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