Quitting Sugar & My Journey to Find My Interstitial Cystitis Disease Cure!
First, before I chat about my health journey, let me tell you about an awesome SALE!!! You can SHOP IT HERE! Then I am going to chat about my journey to find the interstitial cystitis disease cure…
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How I Am Quitting Sugar…
It’s amazing the difference just a little over a week can make! Last Monday I shared the very beginning of my journey to quit sugar via the book “I Quit Sugar“. And 18 days in I can definitely say that so far I HAVE QUIT SUGAR. And not just cookies and cake, we are talking sugar as any ingredient in any form in any food. As a self-described sugar addict that is absolutely HUGE for me! I have tried to do this sooooo many times. And failed. Yet this time I was determined. The super competitive side of me finally came out and I became as determined as I was nine years ago when I started down the path of an absolutely huge weight loss goal. I stuck to my guns then and I knew I could do it again. I forever changed my life on that path nine years ago now and this time I decided I was ready to change it again. Yet this time for a very different reason… finding an interstitial cystitis disease cure. More on that shortly! Three weeks ago I literally could not even envision a life without the most sugary coffee you can imagine first thing every single morning. Like so much sugar that it was kind of crunchy. Oh so healthy I know.
On this 18th day of my journey to quit sugar, I have actually ended up on a journey to cure interstitial cystitis disease. Something that I have dreamed of for YEARS now. A journey to CURE interstitial cystitis… my “incurable” bladder disease. A disease I have never blogged about before. First, let me start by saying that I am NOT a nutritionist. At all. Whatsoever. I am sharing my own unique journey to get healthy (in my opinion) and cure an “incurable” disease. More on that shortly. I am not offering advice or cures or any such information. I am just sharing my life, as I always do.
My Journey… Interstitial Cystitis Disease Cure
Now that all of that is aside, let me go waaaaaaay back. Nine years ago, yes right around the time I decided to start losing weight, I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis. And what is now known as Painful Bladder Syndrome. It is absolutely horrible. Something I would not wish on my worst enemy. Truly. After back to back UTIs (probably my first ever actually!) and continued pain, I was referred to a Urologist where I underwent miserable testing and finally received the life changing diagnosis. It literally hurts all day everyday and I have had to sleep on a heating pad every single night to even fall asleep for nine years now. That and high pH water are the only ways that I have seen relief from this awful and what doctors call “incurable” disease. A disease that is sometimes mind consuming and absolutely life altering. A pain that never ever goes away and has restricted my diet in so many ways.
Fast forward to today and I am no longer the girl who believes I have been cursed with a painful condition that I will have for the rest of my life. I am now a girl who truly believes in the power of food as healing and in the possibilities of unconventional medicine. As you may have read on my blog before, after gaining a ton of weight and suffering horrible side effects from anxiety medication eleven years ago, I do not like medicine. Doctors have tried prescribing me pills to “maybe” mask the pain of my IC (interstitial cystitis) for years and years now and I have aways declined. I have found what works for me, what foods to avoid and how to deal with flare-ups and I have just stuck with that plan. Yet for most of this time I found myself constantly Googling “how to cure IC”. I just KNEW there HAD to be something out there!
So after years and years and years of screen-shotting and searching and praying, I finally found quite a few articles and studies that claimed there was a cure. Not an easy cure but a supposed cure nonetheless. A “supposed” cure with amazing results. Testimonials from people who are still cured years later! And that is where my initial quest to quit sugar began. It seemed that every article I read referenced a sugar overgrowth as one of the initial causes of IC and the source of continued problems. That paired with a yeast overgrowth that so many of use suffer from and don’t even know it along with several other factors all aligning together creating this horrible disease called IC. As I mentioned last week, between reading that over and over as well as every other article on Facebook about sugar leading to all sorts of diseases and conditions, I decided about a month ago that it was time to ditch the sweet stuff.
And so I did. Well, so I am. I am currently ditching sugar and it is in some ways way easier and in some ways way harder than I imagined. I started out week one with a simple lessening of sugar intake. I added half of the sugar to my coffee and avoided sweets but didn’t research labels or avoid other forms of sugar like honey and agave. About nine days in, I then decided to start ditching it ALL. Like I said before, this is not necessarily a forever journey to quit sugar although I do hope to continue eating much like I am today for the long haul. I have gotten quite a few headaches and have DEFINITELY felt irritable and cranky. However, what I have been most surprised about is my lack of cravings. I did cheat and eat a cookie about seven days in during the “lessening sugar” phase like I mentioned last week but that has been all. Although the cravings haven’t been AS BAD as I feared, it has been a very goal driven, laser focused mindset that has kept me on track. I have always said that I can do ANYTHING (well, almost anything) for a set period of time with a set goal in mind. Maybe it’s the overachiever good grades schoolgirl in me but I have always been good at defining a goal and achieving it. And it’s in that strong point that I am hoping to retrain my body and my mind to concur the other me that has ZERO willpower on a typical day on a non-laser focused track. Whew, that probably made zero sense. LOL.
SO, I am currently sugar free. ALL forms of sugar free. From honey to corn syrup to agave to everything in between. And I am now ALSO gluten and dairy free as well. So basically I eat nothing. Hehe KIDDING! To avoid making this a forever long blog entry, I will make this short and sweet. Several weeks prior to my journey to quit sugar, I reached out to a social media friend and certified naturopath Kasey with Dose Wellness. It was around the time I was feeling weak and tired and we set up a virtual appointment. That call ended up falling about a week into my sugar journey and also at a time where my body was mega detoxing from sugar and my IC was flaring up horribly. I felt so miserable that I was motivated to do ANYTHING to start working on my IC. Although I initially planned to first detox from sugar and then tackle my disease, I decided that day to just start it ALL. Kasey had done some research along with all of my research and she came up with a plan to correct my body entirely. From hormones to low iron to IC to adrenal fatigue. The thing was that they are almost all connected. And almost all needed the same “recipe” for correcting.
As I mentioned above, most of my research on IC pointed to a four-point plan… eliminating intestinal yeast and sugar overgrowth, balancing estrogen with progesterone, infusing ozone into the bladder, and correcting pelvic floor disorder. Two of which have also caused some of my other conditions as well. Kasey helped me create a “diet” plan around the first two parts of the plan and I actually started pelvic physical therapy on Monday. I am still working on the ozone treatments but the relief I feel just ONE DAY after therapy and SEVEN short days of being sugar/gluten/dairy free is AMAZING. I told Mark last night that I have not felt this clear minded, full of energy and PAIN-FREE for as long as I can remember. I haven’t had afternoon slumps, I have been wide awake at 7am every morning and I have not complained about my bladder in several days now. The “diet” is INTENSE but the way I feel makes is 110% worthwhile. And as I said in the beginning, I can do ANYTHING with a goal in mind and the will to reset my body and my mind.
So first, here’s a peek at my daily eating plan and some great sugar free products I have found…
Every single product below is DAIRY FREE, GLUTEN FREE & SUGAR FREE!
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BREAKFAST…
Every 3-4 days, I stir-fry a bag of kale salad and store in the refrigerator. Every morning I scramble eggs for the family and heat up the veggies. Add a sliced avocado and it is super yummy and healthy!
LUNCH…
This is what I have been eating for lunch every single day and so far I am not tired of it yet! I love the idea of eating a “starch” for lunch yet the pasta I have found contains lentils, beet, carrots and so many other veggies. You can see more options in the next image as well. I make an entire box at once and it lasts several days. Sometimes I also add seafood and/or veggies we have leftover from the night before.
SNACK & PRODUCTS I LOVE…
Lentil Pasta / POW Pasta / The Jersey Tomato Sauce / LaraBars / Lilly’s Hummus / Almond Cashew Butter /
Treeline Cheese / Mary’s Crackers / Blue Diamond Almonds
Also, here is my LIFESAVER for yummy coffee every morning that is SUGAR FREE & DAIRY FREE!
I will share all of my supplements for curing IC very soon but first, here is the main one I swear by for killing bacterial overgrowth!
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Thanks for reading!
XOXO, Brittany Hayes
I just started seeing a pelvic PT as well and I LOVE HER. I’ve had chronic pain for six years since the birth of our first child and nobody has been able to pinpoint the source of the problem. I’m praying that she is going to finally be the one to “fix me.” The appointments are verrrry different than any other kind of treatment I’ve received and they can get a little awkward since she has to work with my pelvic floor, but it will be worth it in the end if it works! I hope you heal quickly!
Yes girl, SO strange! I love it so far though! It totally makes sense too that we would need that after childbirth and everything else women go through. Hope you find relief! XOXO
How are ou balancing the estrogen with progesterone? Is that the kale/cruciferous veggies? I’m really interested in your post (I don’t even know how I found your blog!). I’ve cut down the amount of sugar I ingest a LOT and I feel so much better. Sometimes I am darned near no-sugar and sometimes I eat more, but it’s a process, I figure.
I use a progesterone cream twice a day! XOXO
I have been trying to cut my sugar in take. I love Lara bars but notice they have a high sugar at 17 grams. Is there one you go to with less sugar ?
Those are my faves for now! The sugar is from dates so it’s a natural alternative. I only eat maybe one or two a week. Someone just mentioned RX bars too.
I was diagnosed with IC 2 years ago after constant “bladder infections.” I had a horrible experience with a urologist that kept prescribing me meds that didn’t work or made me have horrible side effects. Every time I told him a med didn’t work he would just say well it should. What has worked for me so far is cutting all
Sugar substitutes and not eating processed foods. I would love to see the articles you have found. Could you post links? This disease feels so isolating because there is so little research and it’s not something people can see. So happy you are getting relief!
Gosh I am SO sorry you are dealing with it too! So much more prevalent than I ever realized. I don;t have any saves links I have just jotted down ideas as I have gone which I shared above. Yes, I totally agree with cutting out those items. I haven’t had any sugar substitutes in years! Hope you get relief too! XOXO
It sounds like you are doing a diet close to Whole 30, which is so good for cleaning out your system! One of the snacks I enjoy when cutting out sugar are RX Bars. They contain less than 5 ingredients and the sweetener is dates. Praying you’re headed towards complete health!
Yes, very similar! Awesome love new snack ideas! Thank you SO much! XOXO
Yeah, Ozone!! Super happy you are feeling great! Healthy is the best!!
Yes, really wanting to do the ozone but so hard to find someone! Any ideas?
What are ozone treatments?
Good for you! About 2.5 years ago (before my first baby) I searched high and low for a diagnosis for the pain I was having. I saw 2 gynos, a urologist, and my primary doctor all to be told nothing was wrong. After scouring the internet, I self diagnosed myself with IC. The only relief I could get was from AZO over the counter which my doctor said could be preventing the bladder from spasming, hence providing relief. I knew I could not continue that way. I tried supplements, diets (tried to cut back the sugar but not like you…not completely), and as a last ditch effort I got off my hormonal birth control. That “cured” me. Apparently mine was related to hormones. I have had very little if any problems since, so I only add this to say that your hormones may play a huge part in this, but I also believe sugar is a culprit and something gets off balance inside and can’t rectify itself properly. Wishing you success in your journey to find healing… I understand your pain! (And the frustration from having a pain no one else can see or sometimes believe)
Mine started AFTER I stopped birth control and I wonder if that’s related?!?
Yes!!! Same here you are not alone. Finally someone who has said this. It’s so hard some days. It’s been over a year for me and it’s been hell. I research endlessly…order everything under the sun, but I will find a cure. I will not settle for this forever.
Dinner?
I suffer from IC, I have an interstem inplant to help with mine. It does help but i still get flare ups. I did some research and found that marshmellow root tea helps. I use it during flare ups and it helps a lot. You can order it on amazon. I wish I could get off the Elmiron, but it does provide some relief also and I am scared of the pain I could cause if I get to get off of it. Has the sugar free diet provided continued results for the IC?
I have ICS and omg
I have a high tolerance for pain but this shit is bad –
Oddly enough – Saturday night I had 3 margaritas
No mix –
All natural with high end tequila
Lol
My pain has subsided by 95%
not sure I’d its the tequila or if it’s properties of something else in margarita like lime or and grand m
I JUST HAD A MARGARITA LAST WEEK AND AVOIDED SYMPTOMS TOO! (I never drink alcohol anymore..) weird huh?
I have not been diagnosed …. but have twice had two small operations on the bladder to stretch the uretha and a bladder stretch…. today, the flare up is bad …. I’ve been about 60 times to the toilet ….. and I’ve consdiered smashing my car up a tree…. my doctors have never suggested IC, but I know my symptoms match up to it… a constant feeling of a UTI but not having one… it’s like torture …. I had it for 1 year last time, until the hospital suggested they ‘try’ stretching my bladder because I was at my wits end …..I’m distraught it’s back…. but had a look tonight for myself online and found your blog…
This week, I have eaten so much chocolate…. 10 biscuits every morning …. with 3 sugars in my tea…. justifying it because I don’t put on weight …… but could this really be purely from sugar/ food? I think my flare up is stress too…. but the sugar will be cut as from tomorrow as I can’t cope ……. anyway; off to sit on the loo for two hours…. thanks for the advise x
I’m so sorry for all the pain you’ve been going through. I also have this condition, and it’s exhausting, to say the least.
Have you joined any of the groups about IC on Facebook? I recently joined a couple just to maybe get some ideas or at least feel less alone.
At one point I did a poorly planned no-sugar diet for a few months to see if it would lessen my symptoms, which it sadly didn’t. I’d been reading about how IC might be connected to candida overgrowth. That said, it seems that everyone reacts differently to whatever you decide to try, so it might be worth looking into dietary changes. I’m considering giving it another go, but my depression makes it pretty hard to even cook for myself.
Anyway, I sincerely hope you’ll stay strong and not give up hope. Much love. <3
Hey, my friend has IC and I have been doing a lot of research to help her. It does seem so many people have different experiences and with IC and there are multiple causes so not everything works. Here are some things I found that might be helpful to you:
https://butternutrition.samcart.com/products/hair-tissue-mineral-analysis <— Hair tissue analysis that can tell you what imbalances you have. Also a lot of people work on healing their gut, IC is increasingly considered an autoimmune disorder, meaning symptoms could’ve been a result of the immune system going haywire and attacking your own bladder tissue as if it were a foreign invader. And lastly because the causes of IC vary so much it could be helpful to make a journal of your good and bad days containing what you ate and your activity that day to develop the diet that works best for you.
I dont think you truly have IC if you drink coffee and tomatoes!? That’s a big no no if you really have IC. I feel like I’m being scammed here!
Different people can have different IC triggers. I am crazy sensitive to spices and processed meats, but coffee and tomatoes aren’t a big thing. I do have mostly decaf coffee, though, as I can’t handle much caffeine. It actually took me much longer to find relief because I listened to what I “should” stop eating instead of listening to my own body.
I felt the same way , but as Courtney says different thing cause a flare, seems odd to me but ok.
I did have a really good lunch yesterday it consisted of lettuce a grilled chicken breast and feta cheese. The feta really made me not even miss dressing.
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I’m in need of help. I have this absolutely horrible condition and i am barely surviving. After a seven month flare I can’t even stand or buy & prepare my own food. I’ve had to give up my job to go on disability allowance and my husband and I are in the process of splitting up due to my sadness and depression because of IC. If this was a men’s issue, I really feel that we wouldn’t be scrambling around looking for trial and error cures. I’m at the end of the line. I haven’t touched a piece of sugar (refined and otherwise) in 7 months. I am completely gluten free and soy free, I’m on a raw vegan diet, herbal teas (marshmallow and dandelion), d mannose, the works. Ive had a dozen procedures. It is worse than it has ever been. I’m suicidal at this rate. I don’t know what to do.
Lorie, a good resource for me was Jill Osborne’s youtube channel and her IC-network website. She explains in depth many of the possible subtypes of IC. Pelvic floor disfunction, nerve damage, viral infections, chemical damage, can all be possible sources of the pain. Prayers for you and your healing journey! I know it can be a long, tough battle! -S
I understand thIs feeling and I am so sorry you are going through so much with this. It is really a debilitating ordeal and I too have been at the end of my rope. I am praying for you and for some resolve. ❤️
Hi- thanks for your post and hope for those of us with IC. I’m wondering where you stand now. Are you still symptom free? Are you following the same sugarless diet you outlined above? Personally, I have a mild case of IC (bit still definitely annoying) stemming from one bad UTI 17 months ago. Never had UTI issues before or since but constant yeast issues and I kind of always wondered if there was a coordination. My best friend has a severe case of IC so we are always trading info with each other. She’s found huge relief with UQORA but I haven’t found relief from it. Thanks for your help!
Allie
Thanks for this really helpful post. I was diagnosed with IC 2yrs ago but this year it has been awful.. I have given up caffeine, chocolate, citrus, onions, tomatoes, spices, alcohol & all sugar & it has really helped. I can’t even tolerate Agave. It’s all v frustrating but I also have MS & so am guessing this is an auto-immune condition aligned to the MS. My husband died suddenly in Feb so things have been really pants but the restricted diet means I’m no longer reaching for morphine to kill the pain. Am in UK & interested to hear of others’ management of this v ploppy condition!
Hi Laura, I’m in the UK too and I’d love to chat further about your changes to feel better. I’m so sorry for your loss.
My Instagram page is sitwithwill maybe you could follow me and send me a message? Thanks so much Suzy
I see that in your meal plan you eat tomato sauce. Does that not bother your ic? I find that acidic foods really cause a flare up.
I have hunner’s lesions. Just wondering if you or anyone else has the lesions? I can’t seem to tolerate a lot more foods due to the lesions and wondering if anyone has been able to cure their IC with lesions?
I felt the same way , but as Courtney says different thing cause a flare, seems odd to me but ok.
I did have a really good lunch yesterday it consisted of lettuce a grilled chicken breast and feta cheese. The feta really made me not even miss dressing.
Do you have a cook book or example of meals