Top Natural Remedies for Interstitial Cystitis Relief

Baking Soda for Bladder Pain

Posted by Mama (TN) on 03/24/2021
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I have had trouble with bladder pain for the last year. Many things have helped, but baking soda has been the easiest, cheapest, most effective cure of all.

Red raspberry leaf tea helps if I drink at least 2 strong cups a day.

Marshmallow Root and Usa Urvi capsules help.

Quercetin and Bromelain help.

I was drinking the juice of a lemon for digestion and realized it was helping my bladder pain. I realized it was probably helping to make me more alkaline and perhaps that was what was helping.

Now I take some baking soda in water (1/4-1/2 teaspoon baking soda in 1/4-1/3 cup water) 2-3 times a day or as needed and rarely have pain.

I am thrilled to say the least. I hope others with this issue will have relief as well!

~Mama to Many~

Multiple Supplements

Posted by Eva (England) on 04/28/2020
★★★★★

I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis 10 years ago after many unsuccessful rounds of antibiotics for a UTI. At my worst, I was house bound and could not leave the house. I was searching for another remedy and realised that I had never written down what helped me recover and so thought I would pass this along to anyone else who needs help. Supplements I used: Marshmallow Leaf Tea Cornsilk Tea Iron (I was anaemic) Probiotics D-Mannose I went on to an acid free diet and ate lots of lettuce and cucumber, which helped. I also used exercises from Amy Steins - Heal Pelvic Pain. It was slow at first, but I gradually began to improve. I went back to my normal life and diet eventually, although would limit foods like oranges and coffee. If I get ill or run down it flares slightly, but I can quickly get it back on track. I live normally and for the most part do not give it a second thought, so if you are struggling- remember it is not forever. I would also have bad days in the beginning by trying to do too much, but when I rested I would feel better than before. Good luck!

Multiple Supplements

Posted by Julie (Oregon) on 04/24/2020
★★★★★

After much trial and error here is what tamps down a flare up of IC for me every time. Hope it works for others as well. Here is what I take: Grapefruit seed extract: 2caps. ( I think this works as an antibiotic.) UVA Ursi: 2 caps Prelief: 2 caps (I order from amazon but hear Walgreens carries it). D-Mannose: 2 caps ( I now buy this in bulk from bulk supplements on amazon. Way cheaper. Take a Tlb.) AZO 2 tablets. ( for the pain and urinary urgency) Aspirin, ibuprophen or Tylenol ( for the pain). I either lie down with a heating pad or I buy from dollar store a stick on heating pad.

One that heats up when air touches it. Has round disks embedded in fabric that heat up. There is no medication in it. Just warmth which lasts for hours. I usually can only find the kind that goes on shoulders but I put it on my lower stomach and it's held in place with the two self stick ends and my own pants. Feels very comforting. Usually I just have to do one round of this but occasionally I've had to do two rounds in a day. This works every time and stays away until something triggers it again. Sometimes I use it right away before symptoms flare up if I know I'm going to be triggered such as after intimate relations. This works as a preventative in that situation.

Diatomaceous Earth

Posted by Cheryl (Missouri ) on 04/19/2019
★★★★★

After trying several remedies and acupuncture that would temporarily relieve the pain but would not prevent flare ups, I finally found one that worked. I haven't had a flare up in 5 months! First thing when I wake up in the morning, I dissolve 2 tablespoons of Diatomaceous Earth in 1/2 cup of water. I will drink coffee but won't eat breakfast until 2-3 hours later. This allows the DE to sit in my bladder and absorb any inflammation.

This was a game changer for me! When I first started taking DE, I was in the middle of a bad flare up. It took a week to fully subside the inflammation but I could tell it was working. I take DE every morning. If I start to slack off, I begin to feel tingles in my bladder.

Don't miss a dose.

Antidepressants Caused IC

Posted by Denise (Milwaukee WI) on 04/30/2020
★★★★★

I have wondered the same about my Xanax. I did see something online about benzodiazepines causing interstitial cystitis. I have stopped taking it.

Antidepressants Caused IC

Posted by Anne (USA) on 02/26/2019
★★★★★

It took about five days after stopping SSRI antidepressant Sertraline for my IC symptoms to clear up.

Researching this issue, I found plenty of medical evidence that SSRI medications along with other common medications are notorious for causing IC and bladder contractions and symptoms of IC. Please check your medications and see if bladder or urinary symptoms is listed as a side effect.

I have suffered chronic pain and infections for over nine months and it all cleared up in five days after stopping Zoloft/Sertraline.

Colloidal Silver, Garlic

Posted by Anne (USA) on 02/16/2019
★★★★★

Colloidal Silver

After 9 months of antibiotics and Doctors visits for interstitial cystitis and biofilms, I drank one quart of colloidal silver 10-15 ppm and ate 9-12 cloves of garlic which I chopped and swallowed each day. I spaced the silver and garlic out for three or four doses a day not exceeding a quart of colloidal silver a day. I was advised to use this protocol for three months. After one month, I am symptom free unless I start missing doses. I will complete the 3 months.

Online I found a video on how to make a colloidal silver generator cheaply using three 9 volt batteries, two .9999 silver wires, distilled water and two dual ended alligator clips. It costs me about .37 cents a guart to make a quart in 45 minutes using two 10 gage silver wires. I started out slow and increased my dose of garlic and silver until I was at the full dose.

DNA Testing

Posted by MariCarol (USA) on 02/20/2019

My regular lab will do susceptibility testing with a urine culture if it is ordered by a physician. Way cheaper than Microgen, and gives the same information.

DNA Testing

Posted by Aaron (Los Angeles) on 01/04/2019
★★★★★

Interstitial Cystitis and DNA Testing One place to start is to rule out an infection however although culture techniques have improved since first adopted in the sixties they aren't always accurate and/or effective and can miss a surprisingly large majority of pathogens. However today's technological advancements in science have allowed labs to merge microbiology with DNA in order to accurately identify the unique genetic code of over 30,000 known pathogens (bacterial & fungal) along with susceptibility testing which leads to better treatment outcomes and less antibiotic resistance. There is a company called Microgen that specializes in this very field and is used throughout the US by savvy physicians. This test was once very expensive upwards of $700-$1200 but with continued advancements in DNA testing price points have considerably dropped. Microgen in particular will accept most insurance carriers and if for whatever reason your insurance refuses to cover the cost, they charge patients a very reasonable cash price (just under $200). This is at the very least something to do utilizing cutting edge modern science before tumbling down the IC rabbit hole. It could save you alot of suffering and aggravation not to mention countless prescriptions of needless antibiotics that can do more harm than good.

Pumpkin Seed Oil

Posted by Lynn (United States) on 10/13/2020

Has anyone else tried this?

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Gins (Los Angeles) on 08/27/2020

What medications in your instills?

Peppermint Oil

Posted by Celestine (Berkshire, UK) on 07/16/2020
★★★★★

I realised quite recently that I have suffered from interstitial cystitis for a long time. It has been aggravated at times when I was on the pill and again now that I am on HRT. In the past I thought it was straight cystitis - but often the urine samples came back as negative for infection.

After it became bad again recently, and I was getting up in the night a lot - even though I was only doing a tiny bit of wee each time, I decided to research further. I found a research paper online. It was a very small study. The key learning was that women who DON'T suffer from interstitial cystitis have more menthol in their urine than women who do have IC. Menthol is a by product of kidney function I believe. Peppermint is the plant that contains menthol.

Immediately I started to drink peppermint tea which helped somewhat. Then I bought some peppermint oil capsules. Mine are the High Strength 100mg soft gel capsules and I take one in the morning and one before bed. I'm in the UK so I get the brand Nature's Best. Complete gamechanger! I am getting up only once in the night now. Going much less often during the day. Also just less aware of bladder pain. They are not very expensive so perhaps worth a try?

Turmeric

Posted by Hilary (Uk) on 11/02/2018
★★★★★

So utterly grateful to you for the measurements of turmeric. I've just tried this and I swear already I can feel a settling of my bladder. I shall keep on with this - positive thinking, no doubt, will help. Utterly fed up of these ‘bees in my bladder and other parts'. Hopefully my low grade fever will improve too as I'm shattered.

Alkaline pH

Posted by Vicki (Atlanta) on 07/07/2018

That's what the Interstitial Cystitis help site says. “Take Calcium Glycerophosphate daily to reduce unintended acids in your diet and decrease IC symptoms which result from ingesting bladder irritants.”

They recommend L-arginine, Chondroitin Sulfate, and Probiotics from studies indicating that they help relieve IC symptoms. I've upped my dose of L-arginine and ordered Chondroitin Sulfate. You probably know of Glucosamine & Chondroitin a popular supplement.

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Lynnann (Florida) on 05/07/2018

Follow up by LynnAnn in Florida: OK, so after two days of doing extracts and healthy supplements for the bladder, the pain returned. I was so disappointed that these healthy things did not have a long-lasting effect. Back to the drawing board, since the pain was unrelenting and I simply could not stand it. Further research led me to info about the Wise-Anderson protocol, a series of stretches for bladder and pelvic pain. I pulled up the first video I saw (I did not realize it was intended for men, by the way). But whatever, I gave it a shot.

After the first round of these stretches, I was 50% better! I did the stretches four times a day for the next five days and today, I am pain free!!! No pain meds of any kind. Apparently, all the sitting I was doing at work and the stress I was going through had irritated the nerves that go from the spinal column just to the bladder. I can't believe this much pain was caused from sitting and stress. These stretches saved me!

Also, I ordered a standing desk, and now alternate between sitting and standing which is so much better! Takes some getting used to, but it is way healthier for the body.

So folks, if you have severe bladder pain, you might want to try these stretches. They certainly can't hurt. Any stretching is good for the body.

Good luck to all, and good health!

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Lynnann (Florida) on 04/28/2018
★★★★★

After two weeks of misery and what I thought was a UTI, I came to the conclusion it's something more serious. After reading up on IC, it seems like this is what I have, and after two rounds of antibiotics plus tylenol, ibuprofen and AZO around the clock I was still in extreme pain. I have cried more in the last week than I have in the last 3 years. I was beside myself. I realize now that long hours of sitting at my desk and working a stressful job where I am overloaded were clearly contributors to my condition. Since the antiobiotics weren't working, I did some research here and found much helpful info from all you folks! Thank God so many people get on here and report what works for them. I went to the health food store and loaded up: uva ursi extract, marshmallow extract, a powdered berry drink called UT Vibrance, colloidal silver, tumeric caps, cinammon caps, parsley caps, quercetin.

The first thing I did though, was ACV and baking soda, and this did seem to help right away. 2 Tbs ACV, 1/4 tsp baking soda (I tried 1/2 Tbs and it was too much, I got diarreah! My bladder did feel better though), and 8 oz of water. I ran out of Stevia so put a little honey in there. It wasn't bad.

Yesterday I stopped all meds, including pain meds, and I did the extracts, the powder and the colloidal silver on an empty stomach, then ate some healthy greens and such a while later and did all the caps. Today I've done a couple rounds of extracts and caps with food, and I am still pretty much pain free! I have hope again! I still feel a little discomfort, but I am not writhing in pain anymore. I do the ACV an hour after I've done the extracts. Don't do this with food as it interferes with digestion.

I am convinced that some of the problem is that my pH was terribly out of balance, and that was a lot of the problem. But stress and sitting for too long were definite contributors. Time to change my life! I truly thought I was a goner, I was in so much pain. I'm going on a trip to Italy with my family in a little over a week and I was afraid I would not be able to go. I have hope today! So don't give up trying, folks. Try these remedies or others on this site to see what works for you, especially if you've tried antiobiotics and have no relief. Also, eat foods that make your body more alkaline, consider juicing (guess I'm going back to this good habit! ). Don't give up. You will find what works. My best to you all!

Treat for Ureaplasma

Posted by Wendy (Columbus, Oh) on 04/04/2018

I've dealt with UTIs my entire adult life. Since my kidney transplant in June 2016, I average one every other month! My go-to antibiotic has always been Cipro, BUT, after the UrgentCare lab did a CULTURE (VERY IMPORTANT TO DO A CULTURE, since this will pinpoint exactly which antibiotic will kill the bacterial infection! ), the lab prescribed Augmentin. I discussed this change with my post-transplant coordinator and he and I both thought that I was becoming resistant to the Cipro, and that I still had remnants of the infection after taking the Cipro! I'm now on day 3 of 10 days of the Augmentin. We'll see if this totally gets rid of the infection. I'll check back in a month or two with the status!

I also agree with prior posts about avoiding wheat, sugar, dairy, meat and nightshade vegetables for a while. Lately I've be eating more bread and sugar, so this probably was contributing to the issue.

Dietary Change, Probiotics

Posted by Lea (Ca) on 03/21/2018
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Healing my painful bladder problems:

For years I suffered with over-active bladder and later Interstitial Cystitis. Major OUCH! I couldn't eat many foods, such as tomatoes or citrus, without it irritating my bladder. I would be up all night, needing to urinate every half hour. The symptoms were much like a bad UTI, of which I had many.

The doctors were of no help, often prescribing antibiotics, ever though the UTI causing bacteria was no longer found in my urine. The symptoms would come and go. Some weeks I would be fine, then the pain would mysteriously start up again. As the years went on, I soon discovered a pattern. Eating too much sugar, or taking antibiotics would bring on a serious flare. Yeah, I'm a slow learner.

After a UTI and being on antibiotics, I would be fine for about a week, and then the painful IC symptoms would return with a vengeance.

Then, while on this very site, Earth Clinic, I ran across a post describing exactly what was happening to me.

The antibiotics I had been taking had killed off the good bacteria in my bladder and had also given me a horrid sinus problem. I had read somewhere that the two issues usually go hand in hand, but I had never connected the dots.

I discovered I had Candida, an over abundance of bad yeast. The sugar I ate had been feeding the bad bacteria. So, this made sense. The yeast had created little holes in my bladder lining, causing certain foods to irritate it. This also made sense.

The cure, for me, was cutting way back on sugar, staying on a good diet, drinking lots of water and taking GOOD Probiotics. Lots of GOOD Probiotics! That was the real answer, but it wasn't cheap. I didn't care at this point and just bought them.

The good bacteria in the Probiotics soon over took the bad bacteria and healed the little holes in my bladder.

For 2 weeks, I would take one pill with every meal. Soon my sore bladder issues were gone and so far have not come back. It's been two months now. Fingers crossed.
I can now eat anything without a problem. No more getting up all night, going to the bathroom. I still have a slight sinus problem, but it's getting better. I am no longer getting UTI's, so am able to avoid antibiotics. I still take daily maintenance Probiotics and can now tolerate Cranberry pills, which keeps the UTI's away.

Why oh why could any doctor not have told me this years ago? All they would say is "Stay away from the foods that hurt your bladder." They could not direct me to the root of the problem.

I have read that there are thousands of women who have over active bladders and now believe that in many cases Candida is the problem.

I hope me taking the time to write this helps at least one sufferer.

I can now enjoy life again. Hugs to you all.

DMSO

Posted by Debbie (Philadelphia) on 02/03/2018
★★★★★

If you can find an IC specialist in your area ask about DMSO this is a procedure where they inject a chemical cocktail into your bladder for 20 mins once a week. It is what gave me back my life. I suffered for about 6 years before I found Dr. Philip Hanno (Philly). He now lives in California.

Marshmallow Root

Posted by Kaylap (Abbotsford, Bc) on 02/03/2018 5 posts
★★★★★

I have been *mostly* free from any IC flare ups for probably at least 3 years now (THANK GOSH). I say mostly because sometimes after intercourse if I am not very careful about keeping the area very clean, using lots of lube (coconut oil) and soothing any inflammation then I feel a wee bit of irritation that is mild but may last up to a week. I second the marshmallow root or leaf. My naturopath recommended that I drink it in tea format. I drank lots of that tea, probably 3x per day. This tea in combination with other natural remedies cleared things up within a matter of months. HUGE amazing results seeing as I had been suffering for over a year under the care of a general doctor who just kept prescribing me drugs. I feel it is very important to note as well the possible correlation between yeast infections, GI issues and IC. I feel like my IC cleared up once I also worked with my naturopath to clear my recurrent yeast infections and strengthen my GI tract. The gut has LOTS to do with health and inflammation, so what with my gut being out of wack, consuming too much sugar and fighting yeast infections, it was no wonder my bladder was getting inflamed also since it is in that same general body area.

Cornsilk Tea

Posted by Kaylap (Abbotsford, Bc) on 02/03/2018 5 posts
★★★★★

Cornsilk tea for IC

This tea, along with marshmallow tea, really helped! Several cups per day (at least 3). I would try and let it steep for as long as possible so that it is nice and potent. I forget as I have been IC free (and so have not used this tea) for about 3 years, but I believe my naturopath said to put very warm but NOT boiling water over the tea so that it does not over heat the tea and destroy the healing nutrients.

Boric Acid Suppositories

Posted by Kaylap (Abbotsford, Bc) on 02/03/2018 5 posts
★★★★★

Yes, I agree on the boric acid. I found that recurrent yeast infections were exacerbating the inflammation in the pelvic region and thus causing IC flare ups. I experienced lots of relief from IC once I started taking probiotics as well as another herbal supplement (forget the name) to heal my gut, and boric acid to fight yeast.