You do not have to live with constant pain or interrupted sleep

Wendy Cohan, RN, counsels patients with celiac disease, gluten intolerance and bladder-related health conditions. She maintains two websites on these topics (www.wellbladder.com and www.glutenfreechoice.com), and is the author of Gluten-Free Portland-A Resource Guide. Readers will periodically find author updates for this book at www.thebetterbladderbookinfo.com

Foreword	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xiv
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Introduction	p. 1
Finding Your Healing Path
A New Approach to Bladder and Pelvic Pain	p. 4
Seeing the Big Picture	p. 4
New Ways of Thinking about IC and Chronic Pelvic Pain	p. 6
Possible Pathways to IC and Chronic Pelvic Pain	p. 10
What You Can Do Now	p. 13
Understanding the Basics	p. 15
Understanding the Urinary System	p. 15
Urinary Dysfunction: What's Happening with My Body?	p. 19
Chronic Pelvic Pain and Interstitial Cystitis	p. 32
Urinary Tract Problems in Men	p. 45
What You Can Do Now	p. 51
Traditional Treatments	p. 52
Medications for IC/PBS and CPP	p. 52
Invasive Methods of Treatment	p. 62
Physical Therapy	p. 65
Treatment by a Chronic Pain Specialist	p. 66
What You Can Do Now	p. 68
Beginning the Journey
Learning to Manage Symptoms	p. 70
Managing Stress	p. 70
Benefits of Daily Exercise	p. 72
Tips and Tools for Relief and Wellness	p. 76
Fight Fatigue by Getting the Rest Your Body Needs	p. 89
What You Can Do Now	p. 94
What's Bugging Your Bladder? The Role of Food Sensitivity in IC	p. 96
Food Allergies, Sensitivities, and Intolerances: An Overview	p. 98
Gluten Intolerance and Celiac Disease	p. 103
Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance	p. 104
Gluten Sensitivity and the Bladder: A Special Case	p. 105
The Lectin Connection	p. 111
Recovery on a Gluten-Free Diet	p. 113
What You Can Do Now	p. 116
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet	p. 118
A Diet for Health	p. 118
Anti-Inflammatory Foods to Include	p. 120
Inflammatory Foods to Avoid	p. 121
Getting Started	p. 122
What You Can Do Now	p. 124
Stress and Chronic Pelvic Pain: Understanding Cause and Effect	p. 125
The Role of Stress	p. 125
Recognizing Pelvic Floor Muscle Tension	p. 128
Getting to Know Your Pelvic Muscles	p. 129
Tender Points, Trigger Points, and the Role of Neurogenic Inflammation	p. 131
Activities That Can Activate Trigger Points and Refer Pain to the Bladder	p. 133
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD)	p. 136
Addressing Pelvic-Related Symptoms	p. 139
What You Can Do Now	p. 145
Help with Hormones for Alleviating Discomfort	p. 147
The Sex Hormones and Bladder Health	p. 147
Pregnenolone Steal: One Reason Why Hormonal Imbalances May Exist	p. 150
Vulvodynia and Other Sources of Chronic Pelvic Pain	p. 151
Treatment Options	p. 155
Focus on Comfort-The Sensible Solution	p. 156
What You Can Do Now	p. 157
Fighting Adrenal Fatigue	p. 159
The Adrenal Glands	p. 159
Stress and Inflammation	p. 161
How Stress Leads to Adrenal Fatigue	p. 161
Adrenal Fatigue and IC	p. 162
Why Does Inflammation Persist?	p. 164
The Cat Studies: A Model for IC and Adrenal Dysfunction	p. 165
Stress and the Allergenic Response-Diet Does Matter	p. 167
Menopause and the Adrenals	p. 171
A Personal Look at Adrenal Fatigue	p. 172
Beyond IC: Other Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue	p. 173
Diagnosing Adrenal Fatigue	p. 173
Adrenal Recovery	p. 175
What You Can Do Now	p. 180
Further Along the Road to Recovery: Suggestions for Those Who Are Still Struggling
The Embattled Body: Dealing with Infectious Microorganisms	p. 182
Occult Bacterial Infections	p. 183
Bacterial Parasites and Occult Urological Infections	p. 187
Bladder Symptoms in Lyme Disease	p. 190
Candida Overgrowth	p. 193
What You Can Do Now	p. 197
Medical Conditions and Other Sources of Pelvic Pain or Bladder Symptoms	p. 198
Diabetes Mellitus	p. 198
Pelvic Endometriosis, Bladder Endometriosis, and Adenomyosis	p. 201
Pelvic Adhesions	p. 205
Pelvic Congestion	p. 206
Ovarian Cysts	p. 207
Ovarian Cancer	p. 208
Bladder Cancer	p. 210
Other Conditions	p. 212
What You Can Do Now	p. 213
Some Effective Complementary Therapeutic Techniques	p. 214
Neurofascial Processing (NFP)	p. 214
Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT)	p. 217
Acupuncture	p. 219
What You Can Do Now	p. 220
Other Helpful Diets to Consider	p. 221
Introduction to Alternative Diets	p. 221
Cultivating a Healthy Intestinal System: A Key to Recovering Your Health	p. 222
The Body Ecology Diet (BED)	p. 223
The Low-Oxalate Diet	p. 225
The Low-Histamine Diet	p. 227
The Allergy Elimination Diet	p. 228
What You Can Do Now	p. 232
You Can Get Well	p. 234
Keep a Healthy Outlook	p. 234
Ask for the Kind of Help You Need	p. 236
Appeal to a Higher Power	p. 239
Experience Healing Day by Day	p. 240
Measure Success by Your Own Standards	p. 244
Final Words	p. 245
Getting Started on a Gluten-Free Diet	p. 247
Gentle Herbal Remedies for Healing the Bladder and the Adrenals	p. 258
Homeopathic Remedies for the Bladder	p. 274
Notes	p. 277
Resources: Further Information and Support	p. 278
Index	p. 293
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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