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Interstitial Cystitis - Hormone Allergy

We are successfully diagnosing and treating some patients with Interstitial Cystitis where hormone allergy is found. The diagnostic tests are performed at no charge to qualify patients who might benefit from the treatment. Call us toll-free at 800-842-6349 to see if you qualify. About three out of four experience dramatic relief.

Allergy causes soft-tissue swelling and irritation. It causes irritation of mucus membrane, in the eyes, ears, nose and throat, and in other parts of the body including the urinary tract.

When there is irritation in the throat, the most obvious symptom is the chronic "sore throat" that many allergy sufferers experience. The constant mucus drainage and resultant histamine release result in tiny disruptions in the protective surface layers of the mucus membrane lining the throat. This disruption makes the sensitive inner layers of tissue susceptible to irritants such as spices and foods like hot sauce and orange juice. It can also diminish the tissueInterstitial Cystitis Treatment integrity to the point where normally harmless bacteria, even in small numbers, can set up an infection. That leads to more irritation and even to hemorrhagic tissue changes (bleeding).

The urinary tract is also lined with mucus membrane. Some allergic people are especially sensitive in the bladder area. If this tissue becomes irritated or inflamed due to allergy, becomes hypersensitive there may be disruptions in the tissue, and if there is severe irritation, there may even be bleeding and pain. These symptoms are often referred to as Interstitial Cystitis.

Antibiotics and pain medications often don’t help Interstitial Cystitis any more than they do mucus membrane irritation in the eyes, nose, or throat. When Interstitial Cystitis is a hypersensitivity reaction - an allergic reaction due to hormone allergy - the pain is caused by the inflammatory reaction as a result of the hormone allergy. This type of pain is not often responsive to pain medications - not even the most powerful narcotics. Steroids often do help because they have a powerful anti-inflammatory action. But what is infinitely more important is discovering the underlying cause of the irritation.

I think a frequent hormone allergy cause of Interstitial Cystitis is an allergic reaction to the hormone progesterone.

Most of my patients with Interstitial Cystitis relate the onset of the problem to hormonal changes. The symptoms are frequently worse during the pre-menstrual period or in post-menopausal women are immediately relieved by the administration of "neutralizing" doses of progesterone. The tiny doses are tested by intradermal injection or sublingual drops. Relief is usually achieved in thirty to sixty seconds. The immediate relief of pain results in less inflammation. As the pain diminishes dramatically, the inflammation and soft tissue swelling does also.

When we suspect hormone allergy as the cause of Interstitial Cystitis, we treat it by daily use of weak dilutions of the very hormone causing the problem…usually progesterone. Once the pain is minimal everything begins to go back to “normal”. With pain in control we look at blood tests to determine the levels of sex hormones. We measure Estradiol, Testosterone, Cortisol, DHEA and Thyroid. We also order blood tests to determine the levels of IgE antibodies to progesterone. A clinical definition of allergy is a high level in the blood of IgE antibodies to an antigen (in this case progesterone).

We have published the first paper demonstrating the existence of hormone allergy (Am J Reprod Immunol 2006, 55:307-313). There is also a description of hormone allergy and hormone imbalance on this website.

Having diagnosed and treated hormone allergy in the patient by diminishing or eliminating the pain symptom and by the blood test for hormone antibodies, we begin the road back to recovery. The sublingual drops will usually bring the pain levels down to the point where mild analgesics allow the elimination of most pain. This doesn’t work for every case. On average, we experience a greater than 65% reduction of pain in three out of four patients. One in four patients will still experience some reduction in symptoms, but not the dramatic results we all like to see. Next we use the physical exam, the hormone history, the social history, and blood tests to try to correct the balance of the hormones. Balance requires levels in the proper proportions. Most patients are going to have hormone levels “within normal limits”. But, some patients need high normal levels while others need low normal levels. Many are very low or completely “out-of-range. Reducing or eliminating the pain by dealing with the hormone allergy using sublingual drops of dilute progesterone as needed is the beginning of the process to solve the whole problem. The rest of the treatment program addresses:
  • Hormone balancing – something is always out of balance
  • Dietary changes – no stimulants, spices, acids, sugars
  • Low level movement (walking) one hour twice a day
  • Stress reduction – spirituality, yoga, meditation, job change
  • Supplements – Nutritional supplements, vitamins, adrenals Once again, the diagnostic tests are performed at no charge to qualify patients who might benefit from the treatment. Call our toll-free number at 800-842-6349 to see if you qualify. About three out of four experience dramatic relief.
Click here for more information on hormone imbalance and the success Dr Roby has had in treating Interstitial Cystitis.

 

4407 Bee Caves Road · Suite 122 · Austin,TX 78746 , 512-338-4336 · 800-842-6349
© 2006 Russell Roby M.D., J.D., A.C.A.A.I., F.C.L.M.

All materials on this website are copyrighted by Russell Roby, J.D., M.D., except where noted otherwise.

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