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I live in chronic pain. The reason for my pain, is Endometriosis. I was diagnosed through surgery when I was 17. I have decided to have this blog, so that those in my life can get a peek into my day to day issues that affect my life in every way.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Skullcap for Interstitial Cystitis

well i have been working on the post i said i would be doing next, but i am having issues getting the details on one of the treatments, since to be honest most doctors don't know about it and apparently there isn't exactly research on its use either, and i don't know how to give details about it without quoting right now so i will start off with the safest treatment that anyone should be able to get their hands on, and in the next post i will cover the next treatment and so on.

Alternative treatment for bladder issue, in my case semi diagnosed Interstitial Cystitis (i think i have explained being "semi diagnosed" in a past post, though later i might check and if not, i will explain it in a later post)


Herb (found at health food stores)
name: Skullcap (
Scutellaria lateriflora)

Traditional Use:
It is used in alternative medicine as an anti-inflammatory, abortifacient, antispasmodic, slightly astringent, emmenagogue, febrifuge, nervine, sedative and strongly tonic.
Traditionally it is known as a nerve tonic and sedative for relieving anxiety, neuralgia, and insomnia. In China it is found in prescriptions for fevers, colds, high blood pressure, hypertension, insomnia, headache, intestinal inflammation, vomiting of blood, and other
conditions. Because of its calming effects on the nervous and musculoskeletal system, it was also at one time considered to be a remedy for rabies, thus it's name "mad dog weed."

Percautions: A medicinal infusion of the plant is used to promote menstruation, it should not be given to pregnant women since it can induce a miscarriage. There have been no documented cases of negative interactions with other herbs or medications, it does have a sedative effect and should not be combined with prescription sedatives.(for the record i have never had it effect my menstruation in any way at all, and i have taken scull cap and then a prescribed sedative without thinking and no issues personally). Overdose symptoms include giddiness, stupor, confusion, irregular heartbeat and twitching

Preparations:
Skullcap is available in dried form as teas, capsules, tablets, and tinctures. Care should be taken to buy skullcap from a reliable source to ensure the identity of the plant material.


How i take:
2-4capsles (
425 MG each) when i am starting to get a flair or getting really bad sudden issues. (granted i find my IC flairs are at times semi anxiety related so that might be why it helps me but it being a sedative effecting nerves might also be part of it, so who knows. But i do often find it impressively effective.  I find if i am feeling urgency and pain before i take it, it takes effect and makes it so i don't feel the need to rush to the washroom within 20-40minutes of taking the pills. This seems to happen for more anxiety based flairs or when its not too extreme IC flair.