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Still doing great with the d-mannose, hoping I'll continue to do well with it.
I find that as long as I take a good heaping teaspoonfull (maybe almost two teaspoons?) each morning and then again before I go to sleep, I don't have any bladder pain or symptoms, I can eat/drink what I want, and I sleep through the night usually not even waking up once to urinate, and my capacity amazes me (I had no idea my bladder could hold so much urine, LOL!)
I really hate paying so much though. I just bought a big 250 gram container (equal to five of the smaller size jars) for about 95 bucks if you include shipping. Expensive! I'm hoping that will last me about two months but it might not last quite that long. I feel like that's a lot of money. So I'm really happy with the results, and I'm not having any side effects that I can tell yet, and my doctor says it's okay for me to use, but I wish wish wish it didn't cost so much.
I also found out d-mannose has different effects outside of just stopping e coli from attaching to the bladder walls. Apparently (I've been reading) it has antiinflammatory effects, some immunomodulatory effects (they've been using it on patients with chronic autoimmune diseases and a few researchers are reporting some success) AND it temporarily increases sialic acid (that IC'ers have less of than normal, the stuff that works as a force field to keep irritants away from the bladder lining) in the bladder. So, I have NO idea which of these mechanisms is working for me. All I know is, I haven't found anything else that works for me, and this seems to work for me, and it's not killing my kidneys or anything, so even though I hate paying so much, I guess I will keep buying it. Maybe it will come down in price someday. I mean, it's worth it, I'm just a cheapskate is all. I buy nearly all my clothes in the thrift store, if that's any indication, LOL. So for me, 95 bucks is like, a summer's worth of clothing, LOL!
Anyway, if you do some google searches, you'll see all this information about d-mannose. Try to read only the studies that aren't attached to advertising sites. Anything an advertising site says, take with a grain of salt.
I can tell you it hasn't cured me, that's for sure. If I miss even one dose, I can feel the irritation starting to creep back. So it's just kind of a remedy for me, something that helps me so I keep taking it.
I have no idea if this would ever help anyone else here. My IC seems to be so odd - I didn't respond to any of the medicines that others have been helped by, so I really think I have a "weird" case of IC, if that makes any sense. I think I have heard from a couple of people saying they found this soothing to their bladders too, but I've also heard from others who said it flared them or else didn't do a darn thing for them one way or another.
I'm not sure what to think about d-mannose. I just figure, heck, it's working for me, doesn't seem to be harming me, might as well keep taking it.
Blessings,
Lori
P.S. My thyroid levels are finally right - they have me on 75 micrograms of synthroid still - but my free t-4 is still at the very edge of normal (very low) and I still feel kind of sluggish and lazy, and 90 degree weather feels exactly right to me (not too hot or anything) so I still feel as if I'm having some hypo symptoms, you know? I wonder if it just takes the body awhile to "catch up" after the levels are straightened out. Maybe in a month or two I will feel less lazy.
I find that as long as I take a good heaping teaspoonfull (maybe almost two teaspoons?) each morning and then again before I go to sleep, I don't have any bladder pain or symptoms, I can eat/drink what I want, and I sleep through the night usually not even waking up once to urinate, and my capacity amazes me (I had no idea my bladder could hold so much urine, LOL!)
I really hate paying so much though. I just bought a big 250 gram container (equal to five of the smaller size jars) for about 95 bucks if you include shipping. Expensive! I'm hoping that will last me about two months but it might not last quite that long. I feel like that's a lot of money. So I'm really happy with the results, and I'm not having any side effects that I can tell yet, and my doctor says it's okay for me to use, but I wish wish wish it didn't cost so much.
I also found out d-mannose has different effects outside of just stopping e coli from attaching to the bladder walls. Apparently (I've been reading) it has antiinflammatory effects, some immunomodulatory effects (they've been using it on patients with chronic autoimmune diseases and a few researchers are reporting some success) AND it temporarily increases sialic acid (that IC'ers have less of than normal, the stuff that works as a force field to keep irritants away from the bladder lining) in the bladder. So, I have NO idea which of these mechanisms is working for me. All I know is, I haven't found anything else that works for me, and this seems to work for me, and it's not killing my kidneys or anything, so even though I hate paying so much, I guess I will keep buying it. Maybe it will come down in price someday. I mean, it's worth it, I'm just a cheapskate is all. I buy nearly all my clothes in the thrift store, if that's any indication, LOL. So for me, 95 bucks is like, a summer's worth of clothing, LOL!
Anyway, if you do some google searches, you'll see all this information about d-mannose. Try to read only the studies that aren't attached to advertising sites. Anything an advertising site says, take with a grain of salt.
I can tell you it hasn't cured me, that's for sure. If I miss even one dose, I can feel the irritation starting to creep back. So it's just kind of a remedy for me, something that helps me so I keep taking it.
I have no idea if this would ever help anyone else here. My IC seems to be so odd - I didn't respond to any of the medicines that others have been helped by, so I really think I have a "weird" case of IC, if that makes any sense. I think I have heard from a couple of people saying they found this soothing to their bladders too, but I've also heard from others who said it flared them or else didn't do a darn thing for them one way or another.
I'm not sure what to think about d-mannose. I just figure, heck, it's working for me, doesn't seem to be harming me, might as well keep taking it.
Blessings,
Lori
P.S. My thyroid levels are finally right - they have me on 75 micrograms of synthroid still - but my free t-4 is still at the very edge of normal (very low) and I still feel kind of sluggish and lazy, and 90 degree weather feels exactly right to me (not too hot or anything) so I still feel as if I'm having some hypo symptoms, you know? I wonder if it just takes the body awhile to "catch up" after the levels are straightened out. Maybe in a month or two I will feel less lazy.
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