Earth Clinic Mobile: Home Remedies for People and Pets

Coconut Oil for Interstitial Cystitis

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Maggie (Philadelphia, Pa) on 08/10/2013:
5 out of 5 stars

I had interstital cystitis in the form of bladder aches and pains for about 4 years or so. Some days it was more painful than others, but it often felt irritated. I changed my diet completely about 6 months after onset (veggies and lean protein - no sugar or carbs) and about a year and a half ago, I stearted taking a lot of coconut oil - up to 5 tbs per day. The diet helped, but the coconut oil put me over the top. I almost never have any issues anymore unless I get an infection (I take garlic and grapefruit seed extract for those) and I can eat fruit, although I only eat it occasionally because of the sugar, and drink decaf coffee with no issues. I also can take B vitamins several times a day, which is often a no no for people with IC. Try coconut oil and cleaning up your diet, but stick with it for a while and you will notice that your symptoms will diminish with time.

Hannah (Paris, France) on 12/14/2012:
5 out of 5 stars

Hello all, I have what seems to be IC, and have had vaginal burning/itching/discomfort, pretty much everywhere and in every situation for the past two or three years.

I just recently eliminated acidic foods from my diet, since I'm trying to treat the IC, and I noticed the vaginal itching and burning has been gone completely since.

When I first started having vaginal pain, I did notice that certain foods, like chocolate would trigger almost immediate burning. This was before I developed IC symptoms.

Now, I notice the only time I've had burning or itching has been during or right before and/or after my period. I started taking coconut oil regularly (1 tsp in the morning and 1 at night) and I haven't had any burning or discomfort this cycle expect for the one day that I didn't take the coconut oil!

Everyone's body is different, and perhaps this isn't a solution for everyone... but for those of us that have really sensitive bodies (prone to IBS/vulvodynia etc) like me, I have a feeling that diet plays a really important role.

I wonder if trying to eliminate acidic foods for a while would help relieve the symptoms for other vulvodynia sufferers? I would recommend starting with the IC diet and then adding in foods little by little to find the real culprits... I was surprised when I realized I could eat dairy, which I thought was a big no no, but not oranges!

I guess what I realized was that food was playing a huge role in my suffering, maybe for some it has nothing to do with acid at all, but the burning is a symptom of another food sensitivity that could easily be eliminated.

I hope this is helpful to someone!

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