Having done some reading about IC and noted that it is an inflammatory condition, I drank one glass of about 8oz water with about 1/2 tsp turmeric and a small pinch of black pepper. Then I lay down in the only position that offered a shred of relief, on my back with my knees out. I felt somewhat better within a half hour and was able to fall asleep shortly after. I woke up 2 times to pee, and did again when my alarm went off for work. Each time the burning and urgency were further lessened. The following day I felt almost normal again. I continued to take turmeric and it has not lost its effectiveness for me.
I have tried buying turmeric capsules with black pepper extract since then, and they work pretty well. I have also tried aloe, which seemed to have more effect when it was juice rather than dried in a capsule. These are all helpful, but I am still learning which foods bother me, and when I eat something that triggers an incident, the powdered turmeric spice with a little black pepper stirred into water is what helps me recover the most quickly and fully. Not sure why. I may try making my own capsules because the taste is not delicious. Totally worth it, though.
Replied 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.Replied By Lynn (Michigan, USA) on 12/08/2022
Thank you, Amanda - I've been plagued by IC for several years and tho my doctor had tried to help with antibiotics, it has come to the point that she won't because the urine test is negative.
I've been in misery and found nothing that would help.
I just had a glass of this mixture and I'm certain that I will get relief just by reading your post.
I know this is an old post, hoping you will see it.
Blessings to you!
THANK You!
Replied By Susan (Lake Charles, La) on 02/17/2025
Many thanks to Amanda for posting the information regarding what helped her. I too was struggling with what I thought was a UTI. When I first woke up in the morning, I could urinate normally however once I was up and moving around, the pain would increase throughout the day along with a constant, unrelenting sense of an urgency to urinate. At night, I could sleep without pain or having to get up to urinate. I went to an urgent care and they found blood in my urine but no bacteria. They sent the urine sample to the lab for further testing. In the meantime, I was prescribed phenazopyridine but it provided no relief. A couple of days later, I called them back to see if they had received the lab results for the urine sample yet because I was in severe pain and the prescription they gave me was not helping. They had not heard back yet from the lab but they did prescribed an antibiotic, however that did not help either. I continued to drink a lot of water with unsweetened cranberry juice and take D-Mannose throughout the day but it was not helping. I continued the antibiotics on the outside chance they may begin to help but they never did. I went to the ER and they also found blood in my urine with no bacteria. They ran a CT scan and Ultrasound and ruled out kidney stones or other possible serious issues and diagnosed me with Interstitial Cystitis, (IC). They sent me home with pain medicine and advised me that I may want to make a follow-up appointment with a urologist, which I did. Since my appointment with the urologist was in about 6 weeks, and I was in constant pain and willing to try anything. I started reading everything I could about IC and stumbled across Amanda's post on this website. What she wrote about it being related to inflammation resonated with me as logical and I also began drinking 8 ounces of water with 1/4 teaspoon of organic powdered turmeric with a small pinch of organic black pepper - 3 times a day. I also drank 2-4 ounces of distilled Aloe Vera juice twice a day and took an organic, raw, live probiotic specifically tailored for vaginal care. I cut out any spicy or acidic foods and began to eat a bland diet. I substituted Turmeric & Ginger tea in the morning in place of coffee. I purchased some organic Turmeric supplements for the times when I am away from home and do not have access to the Turmeric powder and water. The pain did gradually improved each day. I began to have ‘good' days alternate with ‘bad' days. On the ‘good' days, I could go a whole day without pain. About 10 days after my trip to the ER, the symptoms subsided and I returned to normal. No constant sense of urgency to urinate and a normal feeling of emptying my bladder completely without pain. I did read that cranberry juice was one of the worst things you can drink if you have IC because it is so acidic. I hope this information can be of help to someone.