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Been really sick this week but started getting acupuncture/cupping therapy from a chinese Dr in Edinburgh, she has a clinic in Edinburgh but also does home visits and goes to a clinic in Kirkcaldy twice a week too. Called her out on Tuesday I think, because I was peeing every 2-3 minutes for the past two days previously and was ready to hang myself. She came out a couple of hours later which I was really surprised at. It's £55 a session, 3 sessions a week for at least the next 5 weeks, possibly upto two months, and then it will go down to twice weekly, once weekly, twice monthly etc.
I was supposed to be getting acupuncture only, but when she saw me she said the problem was too big for just acupuncture to help so needed to do the cupping aswell.
She seemed to have a good understanding of what was wrong (given that ALL I said on the phone was I had bladder problems). When she saw me she knew right away it was quite a severe problem, and guessed I'd had it for many years. She said my pulse was very disorganised and couldn't believe how cold my whole body is. Then she said that the IC developing means there's something wrong with the kidneys, either heridatary or something that happened during my mums pregnancy, and that the kidneys being weak is why I have so many problems because it effects your whole symstem and that it's given me bad circulation which is why my knee's and feet are usually a different colour. She also guessed that I'd been having problems with my periods (again, I said nothing to suggest this to her) and said that's a very common thing to happen. She was nice to talk to and she guessed that I probably suffered a lot of panic attacks and problems going out, and that I'm constantly exhausted and depressed and anxious, and kept saying I'm a "positive person who has very little confidence" and that for this to work I have to believe in myself more. Bleh.
As far as changes to my diet/lifestyle. There's a very strict "nothing going into your body that is not warm", and by "warm" she means above room temperature, and I've stuck to that, which in summer is awfully crap to do (no more Ice Poles!!:-( ). I have to drink boiled water, eat boiled pears etc, then stick to the usually IC diet of no acids/flavourings, etc. She also diagnosed me as having IBS (I don't know if I can actually follow this considering all she did was talk to me, how does she know it isn't cancer or something?!?) but I'd suspected that for a while and the past few weeks have been awful as far as that's concerned, which makes the IC worse in turn. Getting no relief from either and just can't even face going to the nextdoor shop because it's got me feeling so anxious and horrible. Then she told me I need to eat a more varied diet but I have no idea how the fuck I'm expected to do that. I don't even know if I'm supposed to tell my non chinese DR about it, because when I thought I had IBS she didn't really do anything, and I'm not gonna go up there anyway and face being more than 5 metres away from a bathroom for more than a minute. I don't really think they'd do another housecall..
Then said I must keep my body warm at all times, especially my feet, no barefoot, no sitting on cold furniture, leaning on cold walls. It's KILLING ME lol, it's so hot just now, I just want to lie naked in the freezer or something and not be wrapped up like it's the north pole! and she's got me taking 40 herb pills a day.
The acupuncture is ok. She says she's glad I don't mind needles so she can put them deeper in than she has to with a lot of needle phobics. They go in my ankles/calves/lower tummy for 15 minutes, it's kinda relaxing I guess. The cupping is horrible though, it hurts so much and my back is COVERED in big round bruises.
and that's only half of it lol! The darker the circles the more severely sick you are..and the black dots are a very bad sign. It's really painful and I couldn't sleep the night after or wear bra's right now, but it should lessen up over the next few months, if it works, and get lighter and lighter..
I have to be pretty patient and give it time to work, only had it twice so far, the day after though my IC is usually better, in terms of frequency at least, but still very uncomfy and lots of "urge". Then the day after that it's every few minutes, today it's every 10 minutes so far. IBS was only ok on Friday. I really should've wrote this update on one of the more positive days when I was feeling more confident about it, there's tonnes of stuff I'm missing out updating on about it.
Seeing her today around 4ish again...whoopee.
The DR is pretty hopeful though, and says youth is on my side. Also last year she treated two women both in their 60s, who had bladder problems for 10-15 years, were completely incontinent and had to wear, like "diapers" I guess, one of which noticed a big improvement after only a month, the other 3 months, they now both have full bladder control. So she's pretty confident it will work for me.
P.S. It's nothing to do with that chinese herbs link I posted last week, her website is http://www.acupuncture-cupping.co.u
July 17 2005, 14:13:40 UTC 6 years ago
right now i am getting pelvic floor therapy and it is helping SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! this morning i used my lil "hat" to measure how much i peed when i woke up....(which was pretty urgent and had a lot of pelvic pain) and it was about 10cc!!!! which is like holy crap! it still hurts now though even after i went...but my pain is def getting better.
that one bruise is so dark and a perfect circle! yikes! are you on elmiron??? cause elmiron makes you bruise easier also.
i think gwenyth paltrow got cupping done once before an awards show and you could see it all over her back...haha i just remember people talking about it.
xoxox
July 17 2005, 16:22:28 UTC 6 years ago
I'm not on Elmiron, we don't get it in the UK (I've been trying to get it for years but my Uro won't have it imported)
The bruises are a normal result of cupping, it indicates how unwell you are, when they're light (like Gwens were!) then it means there's very little wrong really. My backs covered in even more since that picture was taken lol, I look such a mess!
July 17 2005, 22:41:10 UTC 6 years ago
also involves skin rolling on my abdomen.
i do the skin rolling at home...next session she is gonna teach me how to do the vaginal stuff myself.
it's expensive though...i'm currently fighting my insurance company to cover it...i have my fingers crossed that they will...i've already spent over $1000 since june.
i hope the cupping works for you!!
xoxox
July 18 2005, 13:28:00 UTC 6 years ago