The condition that made me suffer in silence.

Urination. Pee. Go to the Jon. Use the loo. Tinkle.

Whatever you call it, we all know what it means, but for me, it wasn’t a typical bodily function. It was depressing, anxiety inducing and generally a huge inconvenience.

Let me start from the beginning. The urinary issues.

In my twenties, I started having to pee a lot. I mean at least every 30 minutes throughout the day. It got so bad that I just didn’t have a social life because I didn’t want to be too far from a bathroom. It wasn’t a regular sensation to urinate, but a “I have to go now or I will pee my pants” sensation and it usually came on quickly, almost without warning.

Sometimes I would go to the restroom, sit down and a trickle would happen. I almost felt disappointed because I knew I would be back in the bathroom in a half hour anyway. I would feel pain in my bladder, burning when I urinated and even abdominal pain really low, like in the bladder area.

I went to several doctors thinking it was a UTI and it always came back negative, which was almost frustrating that I had no idea what was going on.

I finally went to a Urologist, at the suggestion of my primary care physician, and was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, sometimes known as painful bladder syndrome. The condition causes symptoms like frequency, urgency, and pain in the bladder and is often self-diagnosed as a UTI. Doctors may even try to treat it as a UTI, even if tests come back “normal” because they want to take precautions. This happened to me several times. I took very strong antibiotics I never even needed to take.

The Urologist recommended I take prescription medications, do Kegel exercises (article at the bottom will help you learn more about this), cut out food that might irritate my bladder and nothing seemed to help completely. I got very temporary relief and that wasn’t enough for me.

My doctor then suggested a Bladder Distention surgery. It’s basically where they put you to sleep under anesthesia, fill your bladder with water to stretch it and increase the capacity so you can basically hold more urine and not have to go so urgently. It also is supposed to block those sensors in my bladder that were screaming at me to pee right away!

I had this done twice, by two different doctors, due to relocation and I felt it helped, but only temporarily and again, after a while, the feelings were back.

After a few years, I just gave up and decided to live with it. I would only accept invitations to go out with friends if a bathroom was nearby and I found myself making excuses for why I was going all the time like ,”Oh my gosh, I was so tired today and drank so much coffee!” or “I felt so dehydrated and drink a lot of water, it’s making me pee so much!”.

The truth was, I was suffering. I had very little quality of life, I was up all night going to the bathroom and sometimes when I sneezed, I’d pee a little. I ended up wearing period pads all day, everyday, but I just dealt with it.

I learned to cover my frustration and depression with jokes or little excuses, but I was getting increasingly worn down and it took a toll on my mental health.

When I started my natural health journey, I mainly focused on essential oils, but I have gotten more into herbs and supplements for my health recently over the last year because I got sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I figured there had to be a solution to some of my issues through herbs and supplements since nothing else gave me the relief I was hoping for.

Now, I must mention that I did not expect a cure, nor was I even looking for one. I wanted relief and if even a little relief would greatly impact my life, I was on board for that.

I was googling herbs for urinary issues and found one that kept popping up over and over again. Marshmallow. Not the fluffy, white marshmallow we all know and love in our rice crispy treats.

Marshmallow root has been used for centuries for a variety of issues such as skin and hair conditions, intestinal issue and urinary issues. I figured it was just another herb to ease urinary discomfort and wouldn’t be much different from others, but when I read article after article, I repeatedly read that it’s widely used for Interstitial Cystitis.

I made sure that it wouldn’t interact with any of my prescription medications I had to take and it didn’t so I decided to give it a try.

Marshmallow can be used different ways such as teas, tinctures and capsules and I decided to try capsules. I felt it was easier for me to take and easier to remember to take instead of drinking a tea every single day or using a tincture. I was already on prescription medication that is in my routine to take for anxiety, so I thought adding another pill would be easy enough to remember.

I started taking it about 2 months ago and used it as suggested on the bottle. The particular one I got suggested two capsules twice a day. So I did this and I’ll be honest, I did not expect anything to happen.

I have been pleasantly surprised.

After two months, I feel less urgency and less pain. My pain was mainly in the mornings when I would go to the bathroom after sleeping and it was a burning sensation similar to that of a UTI.

This pain was probably a 7 on a 1-10 scale and it was increasingly getting more painful as the years went by.

After taking this, I can honestly say that I feel it’s decreased down to a 3 and even though there is still slight discomfort, being able to use the restroom without feeling like I’m going to cry is a huge improvement for me.

I know with regular use, it will continue work even better and I plan on keeping it in my daily health routine.

Take a look at the articles below and maybe this would help you. No one needs to suffer over something that is treatable. There is hope.

Not everyone’s results will be the same. I want to tell you that it may not work for you and I don’t say this to discourage you, but when you have tried everything else, what’s the harm in trying something in the natural realm?

Always talk to your doctor, especially if you are on any prescription medications or have health conditions. Just because a bottle or treatment says it’s natural, doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you, better to be safe than sorry.

I’m also going to do a review of a migraine herb that works fantastically, so stay tuned!

Here are the two companies I have tried and love them both, I am currently using Nature’s Way which you can get through www.swansonhealthproducts.com

Just click the picture.

 

 

or on Amazon below.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises/art-20045283

http://www.urologyhealth.org/urologic-conditions/interstitial-cystitis/treatment

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/marshmallow-root

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Disclaimer: Sweet Honeybee Health and it’s owners are not medical professionals. Content on this website is intended for informational purposes only. I research and write on numerous health topics and companies. Do not use the information you find on this site as medical advice. You are encouraged to seek the advice of a medical professional prior to trying any health remedy, no matter how safe or risk-free it may claim to be.