Black Cohosh?

[Shelleynz]

Hi, Has anyone tried this for IC? I'm asking for a friend who's on sick leave from work with an IC flare and doesn't have a computer at home. Her main symptoms are frequency & mild burning. She's tried all available anti-cholonergics here which either haven't helped, or helped a bit and caused unbearable side affects. She wants to try the Oxybutynin Patch but we can't get it here in NZ.

I hope someone can give us some info. We both vaguely remember Black Cohosh being mentioned on this site before but can't find it now.

Regards
Shelley

[jaime15]

Shelley,
If you click on the search word at the top of the screen, you can type in black cohosh for your search word and search all topics.
I did it and got back five topics where this was mentioned.
A few have tried it and liked it. So see if searching it that way will come up for you.
Good luck!

[rnewman]

Black Cohosh is an herb that has estrogenic properties. I have heard of it used for menopause, and even for conditions such as PCOS and ammenorhea. I dont know how it would treat IC. I suppose if the IC is part of a hormone imbalance, as I believe IC can be, it might help. But there is no guarentee with that.

I tried Black Cohosh after going off birth control pills to help induce my period (I didnt get it for nine months!) I believe it helped with that....my IC was in somewhat of a remission at the time....it didnt irritate my bladder....but I dont think it got rid of my IC symptoms, I attribute my remission to the accupuncturist I was seeing and the chinese herbs I was taking at the time.

Hope this helps some.
In a flare, I do LOTS and LOTS of water, almond milk (alkinalizes the urine) and if Im in a real bad place I will make a tea of licorice root, hmm....one other herb I would have to look up.....and marshamallow root. The marshmallow root is the real helpful ingrediant. You do not boil it (like you do the licorice root) you make a cold infusion with spring water. It is a mucilaginous herb, meaning it will make an "infusion" that is slippery...I think this helps to coat the bladder as well. I also eat a VERY bland diet (more bland than usual) until my flare subsides.

I hope your friend is feeling better very very soon. Hugs,
Rachel

[porphgoddess]

I tried it for about 4 months. It didn't make a difference with me. I did start to get headaches which went away when I stopped it. So be careful, as I understand that headaches can be a side effect.