Alternative Medicine and Interstitial Cystitis

Most IC patients, have tried, or have considered trying, some form of alternative therapy to help relieve IC symptoms. 

Known as alternative, complementary, nutriceutical, holistic, integrative, and various other titles, this form of treatment, a shift away from allopathic medicine (most Western medicine is based on the allopathic principle that a disease is treated by creating an environment in which the disease can no longer survive), is sweeping the country. Various types of alternative therapies have existed for centuries, and have been practiced in the US for many years. But within the past few years, many of these therapies have become "mainstream," and it is not uncommon to find rows of herbal remedies in pharmacies as well as supermarkets. Some physicians are now incorporating many of these treatments into their practices, and practitioners of alternative medicine are setting up shop in even the smallest of towns. Considered standard forms of medical treatment in most of Europe for many years, alternative therapies in the US marketplace are now booming.

Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act

One reason for this boom is that in 1993, when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began legislation to impose stricter regulations on the herbal and supplement industry, a massive consumer letter-writing campaign pressured the FDA to tone down their legislation. This resulted in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), signed in 1994. This guideline for supplements, which includes vitamins, minerals and herbs, requires no proof of efficacy, no proof of safety, and sets no standards for quality control of products labeled as supplements. Manufacturers cannot make claims that their products affect (cure, alleviate, diagnose, prevent) a disease (if a product did, it would have to undergo standard FDA clinical testing to determine its safety and effectiveness), but they can cleverly word the product packaging to grab the consumer's attention.

For example, typical wording differences between an over-the-counter (OTC) laxative medication and an alternative herbal treatment that is purported to help relieve constipation would be the following: the OTC, FDA-approved medication can call itself a laxative; the alternative preparation cannot. The OTC medication can state that the medication helps to relieve constipation; the alternative preparation can use phrases such as, "promotes regularity," or "promotes healthy bowel function." Also, should questions arise about a product, the burden of proving negative claims lies with the FDA, not the manufacturer of the product. In other countries with regulation of supplement products, the burden of proof lies in the hands of the manufacturer, and standards of herb quality and safety assessment are enforced by the government, similar to the way in which the FDA controls the quality of prescription and over-the-counter medications in this country. Since there is no quality control, supplements can vary in quality and strength from bottle to bottle, and batch to batch. The FDA is currently working to redefine the DSHEA.

How Safe are These Products for IC Patients?

The enactment of the DSHEA has not helped the FDA in its attempts to ban questionable alternative treatments, even ones like the herb ephedra (a natural form of ephedrine, that can cause IC symptoms to flare) which has been linked to serious medical complications, such as heart failure. In many cases, healthy people are using alternative therapies to promote health, not to cure disease. Alternative therapies may turn out to play an important role in preventive medicine. Since the cause or causes of IC are unknown, and since IC has a yet unexplained relationship to other conditions such as allergies, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and/or vulvodynia, caution should be used when considering any treatment, including alternative treatments.

Not enough is understood yet about the nature of interstitial cystitis. Many IC patients have been told by various practitioners of alternative therapies to boost their immune systems with preparations like echinacea and ginseng, yet many of these practitioners have never heard of IC. Since IC researchers are still debating the possible link between IC and an autoimmune response, it would be unwise for anyone with autoimmune symptoms to try to "boost", their immune systems even further. Scientifically defined categories for the various causes of IC have not been established, and most IC patients (and physicians) don't know the actual cause or effect of IC in their bodies. This becomes territory that is potentially dangerous to your health.