Do You Have a ”Small Bladder” or Painful Periods? It Could Be Interstitial Cystitis Ft. FM Practitioner Grace Farren
Episode 110
In this episode of Integrative Wellness Radio, Dr. Nicole is joined by Functional Medicine Practitioner Grace to discuss interstitial cystitis which is a symptom of a larger root cause. If you’ve ever been accused of having a small bladder, experienced a C-section, or have fluid retention around your knees and ankles, this episode is for you. Interested in working with IWG? Book a complimentary consult call to learn more using this link: https://bit.ly/IWRcall2021 Noteworthy Time Stamps: 4:46 What causes adhesions 6:05 Hernias & mesh recalls 14:42 Case study relating to gut issues 16:45 Aging & your liver 18:32 Where are your adrenals? 24:41 Your body & fermentation 30:57 The spleen meridian
Topics: bladder, cause, interstitial, because, cystitis, root, painful, grace
Key takeaways from this episode
- Welcome back to another episode of the Integrative Wellness Radio.
- Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey.
- Because something like interstitial cystitis is just a label, it's not essential, it's a symptom basically.
- I'm Grace, I'm a functional medicine nutritionist, at IWG, and I'm here with Dr.
- So, that should also be a topic is more getting into the reproductive, but we're actually talking about, um, bladder and urinary tract.
Pull quotes
Imagine if medicine actually looked at you as a whole as opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems.
Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey.
I'm Grace, I'm a functional medicine nutritionist, at IWG, and I'm here with Dr.
Transcript
I've been up all night, no sleep. Imagine if medicine actually looked at you as a whole as opposed to looking at you as a bunch of separate systems. Dive into Integrative Wellness Radio with Dr. Nick and Dr. Nicole to learn more about the top trends in integrative medicine to learn about what the limitations are with testing and what you can do to start your health journey. Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Integrative Wellness Radio. That was amazing. I'm Grace, I'm a functional medicine nutritionist, at IWG, and I'm here with Dr. Nicole to bring you some interesting views on all that goes on down there. So, that should also be a topic is more getting into the reproductive, but we're actually talking about, um, bladder and urinary tract. So, we have recently had an influx of a variety of patients with interstitial This is our third podcast. Yeah. And, what I found interesting is that typically interstitial cystitis is a female-based condition. And we have actually recently had an influx of men that have been diagnosed. So, I always take everything with a grain of salt when we have individuals that are coming in because it's not as much about their past or current diagnosis. It's really a matter of let's dig in. Right. Let's, let's ask the better questions, and let's do some testing and see if there's anything more that's going on, or if there is a different root cause. Right. Because something like interstitial cystitis is just a label, it's not essential, it's a symptom basically. Well, it's inflammation of the interstitium and the bladder. Right. So it's not telling you why you're having frequent painful frequent painful urination. It's just letting you know that you are. Exactly. Well, I think that's majority of diagnosis is it's just merely a description of symptoms. Um, but with that being said is that when we're talking to patients, one of the things that often, uh, fascinates them, causes their mouth to to drop, uh, dropped and allows them to really have their minds blown is the way that we look at the body. And it's really not just a matter of looking at, let's say a urine analysis or bloodwork, but also considering anatomy. And what a lot of times is being overlooked, and again, because, because our medical system is based on specialists, then we are segregating out body systems. So, you are potentially working with a urologist if you're dealing with IC. Um, but if you're having dealing with gut issues, or reproductive, which are all in that same area, then obviously, you, you're working with a reproductive specialist as well as a gastroenterologist. So, just understanding that within your pelvic bowl bordering your bladder is your intestines, as well as as a female, your reproductive Right. organs. So, what's very interesting is that some individuals that have had surgeries for different reasons, they have had surgeons go in and say, well, your bladder was actually adhered to your uterus, or your bladder was adhered to your bowel. And that's, you know, there there's a lot of issues that coincide with that. But if that's happening, we have to consider, is this truly just a bladder problem? Or is this an environmental problem? Right. Because what is something from your experience that would cause adhesions like that? When someone, okay, you're on the table, you're opened up. So, what, what would cause a surgeon, if someone's never really had a surgery, right? Even if it's exploratory, laprascopic, before to, for them to then say to them once they wake up, you, you this organ was adhered to that organ. Because that's got to be scary to hear, um, when everything else is also unknown. Yeah. Well, there is obviously going to be the external which would be something like a C-section. There are many women that state after a few, Right. It's some, it's after one C-section. And then some women will have two or three children, and they'll say, oh, you know, my third child, they actually cleaned out a ton of scar tissue. Yes. Um, or it's really just a matter of looking at the female. And what I will ask women about their C-section scars, if I'm working with them from a distance and they're not sitting in front of me is, you know, I'm like, listen, like, I'm not asking you this question for judgmental purposes, but I, I would like to know like, what is your scar look like? Did you have any infections in your scar? But also, do you have a little bit of a shelf from your stomach over the scar? Like, is it kind of flapped over? Because what that tells me is that there is a lot of tight scar tissue that is behind that scar that is creating that kind of overlap of the belly because it's creating that indent. And if it's creating that indent, then the scar tissue behind the scar might be adhered to the, uh, mesentery, it might be adhered to different organs, so on and so forth. Right. Um, so we definitely need to consider different surgical procedures that have happened. Hernias. Um, hernia repair and mesh is a another big factor to be considered especially when we're dealing with men. Um, there are many of the mesh that have been recalled. Recalled. And so that, one of the interesting things that we can do through our DNA-based testing is we can actually, um, once we know what the mesh is, we can actually test to see if it's stressing the DNA. Um, so that's a pretty interesting thing that we can do. So, we can actually help you to know, like is this part of the problem? So, we're not ignoring the fact that you have something foreign in your body. Right. But something that is less explored and less understood is first and foremost, you, you and I both know, we are in an epidemic of gut issues. Yes. Massive epidemic. And first of all, parasites are not uncommon. Um, we all eat sushi. Yeah. And uh, sushi, cantuna, dog kisses, dog kisses, swimming in lakes. Swimming in foreign bodies of water. Dirty water, traveling abroad. I just had a, um, exam with a patient who had been like white water, some, something along the lines of like rafting in Columbia when he was a child. And had such a horrific stomach virus after that, that they took him to the hospital and he was like, I don't know what I was injected with, nobody knows, but they injected me with something and my vomiting and diarrhea stopped after that. He, but I've had these, he was, you know, going on and on about what's transpired since and, and that was something that did it go away just because they gave a shot? Mhm. But additionally, Yeah. It was probably more of an antispasmodic. Yeah. Because of the way he was reacting. Yeah. But also, the pesticides and herbicides and insecticides that it's like, I've been organic my whole life. It's like, okay, do we treat the yard? Do you, do you grow up near a farm? Did you grow up, did you go to school near a farm? Did you go to school? Yeah, but most organic food. So, this is interesting. I don't know if I ever told you this, but it, it's a silly story. But I had, um, I lived in California, and there was a peach tree in the yard. And I pulled a couple peaches off the tree. I don't know anything about growing anything by the way. But I was like, oh, there's peaches in my yard. Cool. Pulled them off the tree. Literally within 24 hours they were moldy on the counter. And it just like was this aha moment, I'm like, hmm, I literally just pulled this off the tree and it's moldy within a day. So, how the heck is organic traveling from California to New Jersey, or on a plane. Mexico, Right. you know, to New York. So on and so forth. I'm like, there has to be, either, I know the primary things that they do is they pull things when they're not ripe, and then they chemically ripen, which is not necessarily a pesticide, but who knows what that does to the human body? And technically, they're still organically grown because they're treated with chemicals after they've been harvested. Yep. Yeah. How about when someone told me they don't eat peppers because they always make that squeak on their teeth? That's wax. I'm like. Isn't that insane? Yeah. No, it's, there's so much crap on the food that people are unaware of, and even when we're dealing with organic, you know, let's use Dole as an example. So, Dole banana has been non-organic conventional for years. Now they have organic bananas. But the organic farm is directly next to the non-organic farm, and they use planes to spray, you know, over top, which what if there's a wind gust? Right. So, overall, we have to understand, this, this is not for you to live in fear. And like, you have to have a greenhouse. That would be awesome. One day, we'll have an IWG greenhouse. I would love that. Um, but just understanding that there's still a lot of contamination on the food and pesticide residues in the gut is one of the primary driving forces for celiac disease. Yeah. So, there are and, and really gluten intolerance as well. So, it's just understanding that that is a huge problem. And yes, there are issues when it comes to yeast and fungus, but it's not because of Candida because those of you that are in this functional medicine realm, you may have heard of candida. So you're like, oh, you know, I had a test and I think I have candida, and I, I resonate with all the symptoms. But there's a lot of mold on food. Yep. Uh, there's a lot of interesting things that I've come across, uh, through, you know, my own healing journey, as well as my journey as a physician. And one of the, uh, it's not really a food, but, uh, the primary thing that is chock-full of mycotoxins is wine. Mhm. And, you know, there's a lot of people that enjoy their wine. Right. Um, so there's issues in wine, there's issues in coffee. I was going to say coffee. Yeah. Most of us are drinking coffee every day. Yeah. And it's like, and so now, now if I have to get a coffee, like I just took a road trip, for example, and I like had to stop for a coffee, and it's I'm like, this is just dirty mold water swill. This, like, this is just undrinkable. But the number of times a day I have a conversation about the foods that are contaminated with mycotoxins in someone who I know through testing is dealing with candida, or penicillin mold toxicity, or deoxynivalenol toxicity, and all these different T2 toxins and mycotoxins that build up in their system, the number of times I have to have a conversation about coffee, gluten, chocolate, rice, corn, soy, mold, I know we're just ruining your lives right now. It's everything I love. Like, and I checked all those boxes. So, speaking from experience, I think we'll obviously resonate with patients more than not. So, people, what I want you to understand about this too, and again, we're going to circle this back to the bladder cuz it's all very relevant. But, um, what I want you to understand is that it's not, like, we shouldn't fear some of these pathogens. But the problem lies in this new way that we are farming food and processing food. So, there was an amazing docu series. I don't know if you actually watched it, Cooked. I haven't seen that. It's so fascinating. But, uh, some of the specifics was air. So there it was the elements. And air was all about bread. And it was the true process of how to ferment the dough, which is pretty much sourdough. And how that, uh, fermentation process creates these microbes, these probiotics that actually break down the gluten molecules so that it's partially digested so that it's not affecting the human gut. And then they had a whole other segment about cheese. And that was the earth segment. And it was getting into the old world practices of cheese making, and how now everything in cheese making is done in stainless steel because it quote unquote is more sanitary. And this woman, she was a nun and a, um, microbiologist. Um, and she literally proved that, because they tried to shut her down. She was making cheese in a wooden barrel. Oh, wow. And they were like, this is listeria heaven! You're going to kill people with listeria! And she showed that the little lactobacillus probiotics in the cracks of the wood, in the little crevices of the wood, was actually what combated the E. coli through the cheese making process. So she literally proved that the E. coli in the cheese made in the stainless steel was an E. coli party. And I was just like, Wow. This is awesome. So, it's like when you have the opportunity to work with these farms or some small farms, you're, first of all, you're supporting, unfortunately, people that don't make a lot of money. These farms kill themselves, and they barely make enough money to support their families. But secondary, you're getting way better quality. Right. So, it's something to definitely be said. But one of the specific cases that really stood out to me because this poor guy went everywhere. And he was obviously very focused bladder, bladder, bladder, bladder. And he had a very interesting, uh, history of travel. So there was so many possibilities when we were going through his consultation. But it ends up being multifactorial. But one of the primary issues was his gut. And he's like, yeah, I had gut issues since I was a kid, but that's not why I'm here. Like I'm here for my bladder. And I, I need you to help me with my bladder. Like, I'm, this is torture. It's been three years. I was like, listen, totally get it. Uh, but what happened is the primary endotoxin, um, which was a toxin coming from his gut that was in his bladder was called mercaptan. And mercaptan is a byproduct from fermentation and also from a parasitic infection called giardia. So, what was happening is that he had this very significant gastrointestinal infection that was wreaking havoc on his gut. And when you have these infections, it gives off these gases, and they're called endotoxins. And this endotoxin was accumulating in the lower portion of his gut, which was then getting picked up by the lymphatic system, which was then getting picked up in the bladder. Right. So, there was a little bit, there was some of the issue partly because the lower bowel was affected. But it's also, if the mercaptan gets into the bloodstream, the kidneys will filter. And if the kidneys filter, then it pretty much has to go down into the bladder before it's excreted through the urinary tract. So, this was a double-edged sword is that the mercaptan was getting into the bladder, getting into the lymph around the bladder, because it was leaching out of the gut, but then secondary, it was getting into the bloodstream, which then was allowing it to get into the urinary tract. So, this was a huge, huge part. And this guy was specifically getting a variety of different, you know, therapies and treatments to focus on the bladder, bladder, bladder, when the root of the problem was actually in the gut. In the gut. Right. Right. And something that I think we always deal with is that, oh, I didn't have this problem when I was younger. And, oh, this is just because I'm aging. Is this just what it is to get older? And, and I could eat whatever I wanted when I was younger, I could travel, I could eat raw meat, I could eat raw fish. And that's why your gut's messed up now. Yeah. And at the same time, it's like, okay, we just went on a rant about pesticides, herbicides, insecticides. But when the liver has been so overta, uh, overtoxiced, and overtaxed essentially. On top of that, I like that, overtoxed and overtaxed. Yeah. Then it's not going to be able to detox. It's like the filter's full. Exactly. The filter is full. And where's that going? Where are all those toxins that can't move out of a congested, stagnant liver going? They're going back into the gut, into this toxic, dis-circulation and this backflow of build-up. And that's leaching back, kind of like flowing easily back into the gut. That's going back into the, uh, bloodstream. That's leaching back into the lymphatic system. And where's that hitting? Your brain, your bowel, your bladder. Yeah. Well, it's just, it's like the path of least resistance. If the liver is maxed out, then things get into the blood, and then the kidneys gotta work harder. Yeah. Once the kidneys get maxed out, then the lymph has to work harder. Or, you know, that pattern can diff, differently person to person. Right. So, yeah. So, it's, but when all three are maxed out, which unfortunately our a lot of the people that we work with, they just feel horrible. Yeah. And something else that I've found really interesting, when we were talking about anatomy when we started, and how, uh, strategic we are in the way that we go about dissecting what's going on in all parts of the body, is that nobody knows where the adrenals are. Oh, really? Yeah. I, oh, you don't get that? I deal with that all the time. Yeah. Like, the adrenals sit directly on top of your kidneys. Yeah. Like, little Santa hats. Well, I feel like everyone gets diagnosed with adrenal fatigue. It's like the I had a patient who I sent to another, um, practitioner because he was in Florida to get a therapy that I recommended. Mhm. And this, this doctor was like, yeah, I don't know if I'm buying everything that this doctor in New Jersey is saying. I just think you have fireflight. And I literally just died. I was just like, that's your revolutionary diagnosis. My patient has fireflight. Thank you. Fan-fantastic, bro. Seriously. Thank you so much. Well, you know, why don't you put him on some adrenal supplements and maybe he'll get better. Yeah. I'm like he's been there, done that, and that's why he sees me now. But anyway, that's my side tangent. That's outrageous. Just some glandular therapy, you'll be fine. Yeah. But it's but yeah. But like you're saying is that there's, once these detox pathways get taxed is, it's, it's a sh--, it's a sh-- show. It's a sh-- show because you said earlier serotonin's made in the gut. Okay. So then that automatically should pull the adrenals in because you want to see how their cortisol is being regulated. And then it's like, okay, what access are the adrenals communicating with? Yep. Your hypothalamus and pituitary. And your thyroid. Yeah. So Oh, that's a whole another. I feel like we can't even say thyroid anymore because everyone thinks there's an overwhelming problem with just their thyroid, like how this patient you're referencing came in just about the bladder. And it ends up being endotoxins, it ends up being, uh, bilirubin, toxic bilirubin circulating actually through the bloodstream. And it's just, it's, it's sad because they don't know what they don't know, and they don't even know what they're looking for at this point. Well, you know, the thing is is that a lot of people have a dysfunction in the thyroid, but the problem is is it's usually not the root cause. Exactly. So, they're fighting the wrong fight for, you know, many years because that's what they're being told is the primary problem. Right. But, and you know, this definitely goes for the bladder. But in addition to that, is one of the things that I find myself talking about a lot is, uh, biofilms. And most people have no idea what that term actually means. So, when you have, even going back to the gut, when you have different issues going on in the gut, maybe it's parasitic, maybe it's bacterial. Getting bacteria in your gut is not an uncommon thing. There's bacteria on your produce, there's bacteria on majority of the things that you put in your mouth. So, if you get this over growth of bad bacteria in the gut, and it gets into the bloodstream, again, your kidneys filter your blood. So, maybe, you know, that's one of the ways that bacteria is getting into your urinary tract. That's more of a top-down issues. There's 100% the possibility that it's a bottom-up issue. The thing is is that the urinary tract is very, very, very small. Um, especially in a female. So, there's not like things are going up there that would be contaminating with bacteria. But what's more common is that bacteria is getting into the vaginal tract and the, the walls border. So very often when we are doing our testing, we're finding that the same bacteria that's in the vaginal tract is also in the urinary tract. Right. But if it's there long enough, it works its way into the bladder. And what's a very interesting thing that happens with bacteria. So, bacteria's been around for longer than humans. FYI. It is, um, alway a, uh, ever evolving and changing. Hence, why there has to be new antibiotics that go on the market because these Old strains are resistant. Yeah. They've become resistant. They, they learn how to protect themselves against what you're using to kill them. So, what they also can do is a bacteria sitting in your bladder can produce this sticky fibrous substance that we eventually call a biofilm. So, it's almost producing this sticky fibrous substance, it's standing behind this sticky substance and kind of waving at your immune system saying, haha, you can't get me! And that is what you call a biofilm. And biofilms are very common in the sinuses. They're very common. Uh, that's actually what plaque is in your, in your mouth. Right. Um, it's very common in the bladder, it's very common even in the urinary tract. So, this is why women especially get a lot of recurring urinary issues, and even despite the use of antibiotic. Right. So, that is something that also needs to be considered because these are the true root causes of interstitial cystitis. And a lot of people will report that they have issues with certain foods. And they have issues with foods like vinegar or spice. And what were you just saying about mycotoxins? I was just about to say I was just talking about mold and how it's on all the foods that you love. And, a lo I think though at the same time, this causes, this is the reason why IC can be thrown around as a diagnosis connected only to mold. Mhm. Yes. Yes. But there's, you know, when you're eating, it's multifactorial, and I wanna say this because maybe you have a mold problem in your body because you were exposed to it. If you know, you do, if you don't, you don't. And that's why you're getting triggered by foods that are moldy. Because not everybody gets triggered by them. It's the people that already have a mold or fungal problem in their body. Right. But the secondary thing, is that if you have parasites, or if you have bacterial dysbiosis in your gut, is that you're probably not breaking down food effectively. So, what happens is you get a lot of fermentation. A.K.A. the food sits and it doesn't get broken down properly, so it ferments. And that fermentation gives off these endotoxins that get into your blood, which then get picked up by the kidneys, and then go down through the urinary tract into the bladder. So, it definitely, there's a lot of possibilities when it comes to what is truly the root cause of the interstitial cystitis. And, I would say majority of the women that we work with, they are also dealing with a major scar tissue issue. Right. And that scar tissue is from potentially C-section, maybe just so people understand is endometriosis is scar tissue, it's fibroid, abundant fibroid tissue. Yep. So, that's a pos-possibility. Um, cysts on your ovaries is another form of tissue growth. Wow. Um, and then you can also have a lot of lymphatic issues in your pelvic bowl. That really comes from the chronic infection. So for the women that say, like, oh, I have like bumps on my bikini line, or I, you know, I needed to get, I have to get wax cause I get super irritated all the time. That is usually a sign that the lymph nodes in your groin are very clogged. Right. And I think that also it's what we're using as personal products. Mhm. What we're using, and and if that's causing micro tears, and if that's causing very, almost microscopic adhesions to form in the vaginal tract. Are you talking about tampons? I am. I am. And so that's something that we've been, you know. Have I told you what I did a toxicology report on tampons? No. Yeah. And then all the, we were very immature in school and the, they, uh, it was my roommate at the time and one of my husband's friends, and he was like, are you going to carry organic tampons in your office, dude? Um, and I was like, I'm going to punch you in the face. Yeah. Seriously. But it's something that obviously came about as like a, um, empowerment. Obviously. Which isn't something you and I think about, but it's something that our grandmothers thought about. And so that's on the one hand not something I ever want to take away from a, from a female patient. Yeah, of course. But if you're someone who is suffering with endometriosis, if you're someone who is suffering with maybe undiagnosed endometriosis, and you're just having painful periods and almost like, you know, incredibly heavy flow. That's something that needs to be discussed because what you're using, whether or not really it's organic, could just be the fact that it's a foreign object and that insertion and removal is doing more harm than good. Well, and if you are using your more conventional tampon, uh, which majority of people are, it is, uh, it contains everything from, uh, propylene glycol to fiberglass. To dioxin. Dioxin, formaldehyde. And if you were to look up any of those chemicals, they are all classified as carcinogenic. And, you know, we obviously have many women that are getting diagnosed with HPV, um, or abnormal cells, and having abnormal pap smears, and, you know, it's all thought to be HPV related. Um, but very often, my question to women is, uh, when they say, oh, yes, I've had abnormal paps, it's because of HPV. I say, you know, uh, how'd they determine that? Was that strictly by abnormal cells or it's because they actually cultured for the virus or did a blood test? And they're like, oh, no, it was just from the abnormal cells. God. And very, you know, often, it's like, why are we not considering the other factors? But again, it's because most physicians are not versed in toxicology or even aware that there is so many chemicals in the majority of the personal products that we put on us and in us. In us. Yeah. Absolutely. So, uh, so yes, I was horrified when I did this toxicology report, learning about this. And, um, you know, there's some theories around the fiberglass that is present in the tampon that it actually causes you to bleed more so that you use more tampons. You're bleeding. Holy sh--. Yeah. So, and it is interesting because just speaking from experience is, um, I haven't, you know, I, I stopped using tampons after I understood more of this, and my periods actually shortened and better Yeah. Um, and they were not close to as heavy at all. So there is definitely something to be said about some of the chemicals that are present. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, uh, so overall, you know, the, the biggest thing that we want you to take away is that interstitial cystitis is not something that you're just doomed to have, that is incurable. There is a lot of factors to be considered. And one is, is there scar tissue in your pelvic bowl? Is it because of a superficial scar, like a C-section or a hernia, or is there internal scar tissue? And that internal scar tissue is maybe from endometriosis or cysts or, uh, different issues that you've had with inflammatory bowel. And sometimes it's because you were a horseback rider and you fell on your tailbone a bunch of times, or you were a skier. Or you had some type of low back injury. Those are things that tremendously affect the pelvic bowl, which alter the muscular insertions, which then puts a lot of strain on the bladder. Like that alone can create major pain in the bladder. A lot of women have their, um, their pubic bone becomes compromised from birth. It will slip, it will separate. Um, so there's, there's a lot of things anatomically that need to be considered in addition to to scar tissue. Yeah. As well as lymphatic drainage. And what would be the signs if they have poor lymphatic drainage because their lymph nodes are blocked in their pelvic bowl? What would be the sign of that? Is that they would have swelling and tenderness on this spot. It's I'm touching it right now and it's about like two inches below the inside of your knee. Yep. And if there is tenderness here, and there's almost like a it's sometimes there can even be a dimple or an indentation. I see some women that they, like, they're like, oh, I have a fat knee. And they'll have like puffiness in the, that upper portion of the, the knee as well. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I have like messages to my friends trying to explain this to them, and it's just pictures of me holding this spot on my leg. So, I have all these photos on my phone of my leg up in the air with my two fingers right on this point. Um, and so if you're an avid, uh, believer in traditional Chinese medicine and and you seek out acupuncture, but you're like, oh, you know, I still go for runs, and my groin is still so painful and tender, and it's so inflamed, or sex is so painful and tender. Or you get waxed, or you shave, and you have all these bumps, and then you're embarrassed. Like, that doesn't mean that acupuncture isn't working for you. That means that your detox pathways and your lymphatic drainage has not been optimized. And that's actually what's not working for you. Well, that's also, um, just to kind of circle that together is your lymphatic pathways and your meridians, which is the foundation of Chinese medicine. They actually run through your fascia. So, they're running through your fascial interstitium is technically what it's called. So, very often, if you have poor lymphatic drainage, you have a poor meridian system and and vice versa. Um, so, yeah. So, some of the signs that you might have this issue is the, that pain point and that inner portion of either, I would even say above the knee and below the knee. I always kind of poke in there and people are like, no, it's not and they'll be like oh my God. Oh yeah. Um, and some women will notice that they're, they get a little fluid in their, uh, ankles. Right. I always ask, like, do you see a sock indent after wearing a sock all day? Yeah, something else is important to mention in that regard is that like, if you wear heels. Mhm. So, I wear heels to the office every day. And when I've gone too long wearing them back to back, I will notice that it doesn't matter how many saunas I do, it doesn't matter how many runs I go on, I will have indentation after I take my socks off for hours and hours and hours. Yeah. So it's something. So, maybe you need to take some advice from this podcast. I do. Cuz I just, I was hitting that point. I was like, ow. I think I have those fat knees. No but it's, it's a constant, I think battle, if it's something you're dealing with with endometriosis, with inflammation in the pelvic bowl, and and we throw that term around. But it's because we're talking about more than one organ system, more than one issue. And we're not grouping them together in a way to overlook the root cause, or to get by without figuring out the root cause. We're grouping them all together because we can work on everything at once. Because of adhesions, because of scar tissue, because of endometrial tissue, and fibroids, and cysts. And and all of that can impair your drainage. It can impair your fertility, and it can cause significant pain and swelling. Well, and I think that even just like if you don't mind, just like a brief story about you with what you're describing is like for you, your bladder wasn't really a complaint, but your periods were a complaint. Well, I was just used to the bladder issues that I had for my whole life. Yeah. So, I um, like when I to became my normal. Yeah. So, I was just used to having to quite literally run to the bathroom every 20 minutes. Yeah. For my whole, and even when I was in school and the bell would ring, we'd change classes. I would have gone to the bathroom in class and then go in those three minutes we had to change classes. Yeah. And that's just and like my friends would laugh and it was funny and never take me on a road trip, and all this stuff. And it was just something that I just was just dealing with cuz I didn't know better. I just thought I had, I literally thought I had a tiny bladder. Well, that's what they'll say is like. Yeah. That's what every yeah. I just have a small bladder. But then uh, having had a cycle for, I mean, I don't even know how many years now, 18 years. Um, and having had terrible, terrible, terrible periods for 18 years. Um, everything makes more sense now in knowing what I know. And how there is so much interconnection in the pelvic bowl and how toxicity of personal products and how lymphatic drainage, and how being an athlete and then ceasing to be an athlete after so many years contributes to that. Yeah. But also for you, once you really dug in and did the testing, you ended up realizing the amount of, you know, infections that were in your gut and then you also had a, a run-in with mold exposure. So, it's been a matter of, you know, helping to get the bad stuff out of your body, and then also addressing, you know, that fibrosis tissue that's been built up, so on and so forth. So, that's a really key thing I wanted to mention just because it's about strategy. Like, going in and saying, like, let's address your periods right off the bat, that wasn't going to Right. create the outcome that you were looking for because there were still things that were in the body that were contributing to that inflammation and that congestion in the pelvic bowl. So, it was kind of starting with that foundational issue and then, you know, moving forward from there. Right. And one of the other things that I want to mention for women that are trying to really gauge, like gosh, do I have this going on is yes, you can have some of the water retention and yes, you might see that, you know, sock indent. But you also might have varicose veins. You might have spider veins going on. Um, those are other things to, to consider. You might have really cold feet. So, when it comes to understanding the integrity of your pelvic bowl, it's considering all of those elements. You know, are there scar, have you had procedures that have resulted in scar tissue? Have you had tailbone injuries? Have you had low back injuries? You know, do you have bumps in the bikini line? Have you had laser hair removal on your bikini line? Yep. Which this is just an observation. This is not anything clinically studied, but a common denominator that we have seen is a lot of lymphatic congestion in areas that women have had laser hair removal, um, which usually results in bulging veins, um, in that groin area and also uh, you know, different, uh, congestion in the lymphatic pathways, uh, connected to that. So, uh, so again, that's more of a observation that we've seen over the past few years, more than, uh, something that's been clinically studied. Clinically proven. So, uh, so overall, you know, we, we hope the biggest thing that you've gained is that there is always a root to the symptom, and there is always a solution to the root cause. Yeah. And that things like, I wasn't discounting acupuncture or anything like that. But the modalities that can be made available to you that are outside your comfort zone, like physical work, um, can make a huge, huge, huge difference. Oh, 100%. And that's the thing why we became integrative because the functional medicine realm was really focused on better testing. But we found that the toolbox when it came to therapies was limited. And we had a broad spectrum of knowledge based off of our background and our continued continued education. And we understood scars, and we understood meridians, and we understood lymphatic system, and we understood, you know, the, the benefits of the supplements and the diet and how it all worked together. And that's really how we've created some of the protocols and really helped people that have been stuck or platooned with other approaches. Right. So, it's not just about diet and supplements and detox, it's also about considering those physical components. And, you know, what can be potentially limiting your ability for your bladder to get good blood flow, for your bladder to have proper drainage, for your bladder to not be adhered or have scar tissue around it. Um, so all of those things have to be considered when you're truly trying to recover from interstitial cystitis, or really any bladder issue in fact. Right. Right. So, we thank you guys for being with us. We hope you enjoyed it. Uh, so we will be busting out some fun podcast I think that we're going to have to go to the thyroid route for the next one. Um, so keep your eyes peeled and we'll see you in the next episode. We thank you for being a listener and subscriber to Integrative Wellness Radio. If you're looking to learn more about Integrative Wellness Group, as well as Dr. Nick or Dr. Nicole, you can check out Integrative Wellness Group dot com. I feel like I'm always dreaming. Right away, that's okay.
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Integrative You Radio is a root cause medicine and integrative medicine podcast hosted by Dr. Nicole Rivera and Dr. Nick Carruthers — two integrative doctors who build personalized wellness protocols from your DNA, minerals, hormones, gut, and nervous system rather than from a population template. Looking for an integrative doctor who reads your labs together instead of in isolation? This is the show.
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