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Date: Sat, 21 Aug 1999 21:56:15 -0500
To: mgold@holisticmed.com
From: Virginia Shemeliuk
Subject: Acupuncture & Interstitial Cystitis
In January of 1994, I had surgery which found endometriosis covering
uterus, ovaries, kidneys, bladder, general abdominal cavity. The doctors
removed as much of it as possible and I felt fine until June of 1994 when I
developed what appeared to be a bladder infection. It did not respond to
antibiotics so I was sent to a specialist who performed a cystoscopy. This
revealed the classic signs of Interstitial Cystitis (cracked bladder walls,
Hunner's Ulcers, etc.) I was put on Ditropan and proloprim to try and
control the problem. Everything gradually detereorated until I was
urinating up to EIGHTY times a day, was in constant pain and had VERY
adverse reactions to the medication. Surgery was scheduled to reconstruct
my bladder.
About this time, my GP went to a course in acupuncture. When he came back,
he asked me if I'd allow him to "practice" on me. Nothing else had worked
so I began once weekly acupuncture treatments. Within 3 months, the pain
was lessening and I only needed to get up perhaps twice in a night (I had
been up and down 8-10 times a night before this). There was enough
improvement that I cancelled the surgery. About this time I also altered my
diet so that I eliminated all fruits, juices, anything high acid, used only
decaff tea and coffee or plain distilled water.
Within 6 months, I had stopped all the pills causing such adverse
reactions, was able to sleep 5-6 hours a night before needing to void, and
the pain was at a level where it was very much bearable. I gradually
extended acupuncture treatments from every week, to every two weeks, to
every 3 weeks and now to once a month. I had another cystoscopy done in
June of 1999 and the doctor was amazed - he was seeing a completely healthy
bladder - no bleeding, cracking, ulcers.
The specialist still will not concede that perhaps the acupuncture/diet
change has had an effect even though he himself has seen the improvement. I
don't know how else he might explain the improvement quite frankly because
the PHYSICAL aspects of IC were there in 1995 - this was NOT something
psychsomatic and yet I was able to throw away all but one pill and lead a
fairly "regular" life (barring the fact that I have to know when I go
somewhere exactly where the washrooms are. My bladder capacity is still
small and the acupuncture hasn't eliminated the problem that I have to go
right NOW, and cannot wait!)
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