The Pain Liberator; The Ultimate Self Help Health Guide On Alternative Pain Treatments That Will Tea

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Most men with BPH have no complications. But when there are problems, they usually come because of urine flow being blocked. This means being unable to empty the bladder completely. There are two kinds of urinary retention. The first is called acute urinary retention AUR for short. This means you cannot urinate at all, even though you have a full bladder. This happens suddenly and lasts only a short time. It can be very painful, and it can cause recurrent UTIs, acute kidney failure and chronic kidney disease. If you have AUR, you should contact your doc tor as soon as possible. The second kind of urinary retention is called chronic urinary retention CUR.

Chronic means it is a long-lasting medical condition. People with chronic urinary retention can urinate but cannot completely empty all of the urine from their bladders. They may not know they have the condition until it causes another problem.

One of these problems could be the accidental loss of urine which is called urinary incontinence. Another of them is a urinary tract infection UTI , which is an illness caused by harmful bacteria growing in the urinary tract. The first thing your doctor may do is ask you some questions and may run a series of tests. This means he will want to see you once a year or more often to keep an eye on your symptoms.

If he sees that BPH may be a health risk for you, or if it is a big inconvenience, he may decide you need additional treatment. There are many treatments that can make BPH less of a problem. These include drugs, minimally invasive procedures done in the office and surgery. You can learn more about BPH and other prostate issues by contacting your doctor and by visiting any of the following websites. Cancer of the prostate is caused by cells in the prostate dividing without control.

It may cause no symptoms in its early stages. But as it advances, it can cause urinary problems. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death in men, but if caught early, the 5-year survival rate is very good. Doctors are unsure of the exact causes of prostate cancer. They do know that if someone in the family has had the disease, it is more likely to be diagnosed.

Ethnicity can play a role. African Americans are twice as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than other populations. And the older you get, the higher your risk. Lifestyle choices such as diet, smoking and exercise may also have an impact. Research continues to better understand what causes the disease.

But most doctors agree, if you do things that are heart healthy, you may also keep your prostate healthy. Eating right, exercising, watching your weight and not smoking can improve your health and help you avoid this disease. In its early stages, prostate cancer often causes no symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they may include any of the following:. In the US, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death. It is estimated that approximately , new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in and there will be 29, people who will lose their life.

For some types of cancer, finding and treating the disease early may provide a better chance of survival and recovery. The first step is to diagnose. The key screening tools are a digital rectal exam DRE where your doctor will look to see if you have an enlarged prostate and a blood test called a PSA Prostate specific Antigen. He may order additional tests. If these are positive, you may need a biopsy where they take some tissue from your prostate.

Once diagnosed, doctors use a range of treatments to help with prostate cancer. If you are suffering from this disease, discuss these options with your doctor and ask if there are other potential alternatives. Some prostate cancers are very slow growing, so, like with BPH, your doctor may prescribe active surveillance watchful waiting as the best option. Your doctor may recommend taking hormones to lower your levels of testosterone male hormone. By doing this, you may be able to slow the growth of cancer cells over time. These hormones may also be used in combination with Brachytherapy radiation therapy to shrink the prostate and the tumor.

Brachytherapy is another prostate cancer treatment. These seeds stay permanently and deliver a dose of radiation directly to the cancer cells slowly over time. External radiation is another treatment for prostate cancer. It uses high-energy X-rays directed from outside the body at the prostate gland. Side effects may include problems with urination and impotence, as well as injury to the bowel.

With some prostate cancers, surgery may be required to remove the prostate and lymph nodes affected with the disease. The two most common side effects of this surgery are loss of bladder control incontinence and the inability to maintain an erection impotence. Several muscles and nerves have to work right for you to have normal bladder control. The bladder is connected to the urethra, which is the tube that drains urine from your body. When your bladder is full, the receptors and nerves send signals to your brain and you will have an urge to urinate.

Then the bladder muscles squeeze to push the urine out through your urethra. The sphincters open up and the bladder contracts. If the sphincter or other muscles around the bladder are weakened or otherwise working incorrectly, urine can leak. There are many things that can interfere with the urinary system working correctly. Surgery, menopause and obesity can also cause incontinence. There are many medicines that can cause you to lose bladder control or make incontinence worse: Urinary incontinence is more common in women than in men.

Pregnancy, childbirth and hormonal changes that come with aging can all make incontinence more likely. The older you are, the more likely you may experience incontinence. It is a medical problem and your doctor can help you find a solution, often without surgery. Incontinence can be a problem for children too. Preschoolers by the age of 4 -6 years old should be completely trained during the day with occasional accidents. Normal school age children should have normal daytime continence with few exceptions.

If this is not happening medical attention should be sought.

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There are medical conditions that could be triggering this. These include urinary tract infections, diabetes, kidney problems, nerve problems, constipation, obstructive sleep apnea a condition in which breathing is interrupted during sleep, often because of inflamed or enlarged tonsils , obesity or a structural problem in the urinary tract. Your doctor will ask you questions about your medical history and give you a physical examination.

In some cases, your doctor may find causes of leakage that can be corrected. Impacted stool, constipation, urinary tract infection and vaginal infection or irritation are some of these causes. Medications you may be taking and restricted mobility are other causes that are not difficult to resolve. Pads or diapers can prevent embarrassing leaks, but other treatment options may allow you to stop using them. Your options for treatment depend on three things: You may need more than one treatment. It is likely your doctor will recommend the least invasive treatments first listed below.

If these lifestyle changes do not work, your doctor may move on to other options. Managing What You Drink. One method for reducing urinary incontinence is to keep track of the fluids you drink. Drinks like fruit juices, and caffeine containing drinks such as colas, coffee and tea can irritate the bladder so your doctor may recommend limiting those. Your doctor may also recommend drinking six to eight glasses of water per day, which can help reduce bladder irritation. Your doctor may recommend you keep a journal to record the details.

By regularly emptying your bladder, leaking should become less of a problem, particularly with stress incontinence and urge incontinence.

Learn How To Eat Right For Your Brain

With this technique, you may also use a journal to record the details of when you urinate. The goal here is to reduce frequency. Your doctor may suggest you slowly increase the time between bathroom visits by 15 to 30 minutes per week. You try to extend the time between visits so that you are going only every two to four hours while awake. This can help reduce urgency and incontinence. The pelvic floor muscles support the bladder neck, rectum and vagina. Kegel in suggested using exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor. Like any exercise, they must be done regularly to remain effective.

With this technique, you contract or tighten the pelvic floor muscles, which are the same muscles you use to hold urine or stop urine flow. Hold the muscles tight for two seconds and then relax for two. If this is easy, try holding for five seconds and relaxing for five. Repeat this cycle ten times and do this three times per day. If you have trouble figuring out how to tighten these muscles, your doctor can help. If none of these therapies help, your doctor may recommend other treatments as well. Some drugs help with incontinence by either tightening the bladder neck or allowing the bladder muscle to relax.

If you are a women who has become incontinent after menopause, hormone treatments may help. All drugs carry risks and possible side effects, so your doctor will need to guide you to the right choice. There are devices designed for women with incontinence that can bring you relief. Some options include a urethral insert which is temporary and acts as a plug to prevent leakage or a pessary which is worn all day. It helps support your bladder to prevent leakage. Some examples include injections of bulking material to help keep the urethra closed and reduce leaking.

Botox and nerve stimulators which may help some people by activating nerves to control urge incontinence. Absorbent pads are often no more bulky than regular underwear and are very effective at capturing leaks. If you are incontinent because your bladder does not empty properly, you may need to learn to use a catheter. Your doctor will show you how to insert this soft tube into your urethra to drain your bladder. Ask your doctor to discuss the risks and benefits of any of these treatments mentioned above with you and help you find the appropriate treatment for you.

Left untreated, urinary incontinence is a condition that can be upsetting and isolating. He or she can work with you to find the treatment that will allow you to resume your normal activities. There are a number of places you can find more information. Click here to find some help or to view all the references from the article above.

Urinary retention UR means someone is unable to completely empty their bladder. They may only produce a "dribble" of urine. Others strain to push out the urine, or can't urinate at all. It can be very painful, and it can be a life-threatening medical condition. If you have AUR, you should go to the emergency room as soon as possible. There are a number of conditions that can keep your bladder from emptying. Each typically falls under one of these four categories:.

Conditions that may cause this block include: Benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH. BPH affects the prostate, which is typically a walnut-sized gland that surrounds the urethra. It is a condition in which the prostate is enlarged but not cancerous. When it is enlarged, it can compress the urethra, making it difficult to pass urine.

Over time, the bladder wall becomes thicker.

Eventually, the bladder may weaken and lose the ability to empty completely, leaving some urine in the bladder. This is a common cause of urinary retention for men in their 50s and 60s. This means there is a narrowing or closure of the urethra. Surgery, scar tissue from surgery, disease, recurring UTIs, or injury can cause it.

Prostatitis, which is inflammation of the prostate, is a common cause of urethral stricture in men. And since men have a longer urethra than women, urethral stricture is more common in men than women. Urethral stricture and acute or chronic urinary retention may occur when the muscles surrounding the urethra do not relax. This condition happens mostly in women. Urinary tract stone s.

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When crystals form in the urine, they can build up and form urinary tract stones. These crystals may build up on the inner surfaces of the kidneys, ureters, or bladder. Stones in your bladder may block the opening to the urethra and cause urinary retention. A cystocele is when the bladder pushes into the vagina. This allows the bladder to sag from its normal position and bulge into the vagina. It may also press against and pinch the urethra. A rectocele is when the rectum pushes into the vagina. The rectum sags from its normal position and bulges into the vagina and may press against and pinch the urethra.

A hard stool in the rectum can cause urinary retention by pressing against the bladder and urethra. A rectocele makes this more likely to happen. A cancerous or noncancerous tumor in the bladder or urethra can gradually grow larger. Over time it may block the bladder outlet or press against and pinch the urethra. Either of these can block urine flow. Nerves pass signals between the brain and the bladder and the sphincters.

Both the bladder and sphincters small ring-like muscles tighten or relax to control the flow of urine. There are a number of events or conditions that can interfere with these signals. When this happens, the brain may not get the signal that the bladder is full. Or the bladder muscles that squeeze urine out may not get the signal to push. Or the sphincters may not get the signal to relax and allow the urine to flow out. Nerve problems like this can happen to you no matter how young you are.

For example, a baby may be born with spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord and can cause urinary retention. The most common causes of nerve problems that can lead to temporary or permanent urinary retention are:. Urinary retention can also be caused by medications that interfere with nerve signals to the bladder and prostate. If you are a man with prostate enlargement, some over-the-counter cold and allergy medications can increase your symptoms of urinary retention. This is true of the ones that contain decongestants, like pseudoephedrine, and antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine.

As you age, many of your muscles may weaken, including the bladder and the muscles around it. They may not contract strongly enough or long enough to empty the bladder completely, resulting in urinary retention. When urinary retention is acute, it can be very painful. It can also be life-threatening. None of these symptoms may seem severe enough to require seeing a doctor. But if you have chronic urinary retention and do not get treatment, you have a higher chance of developing more serious medical problems.

Your doctor will try to diagnose your problem with a physical exam and by measuring how much urine is left in your bladder after you urinate. The physical exam includes the doctor finding out more about your symptoms and examining your lower abdomen. He or she may tap on your belly to see how full your bladder is. An ultrasound machine which uses sound waves to create a picture is sometimes used to measure the amount of urine remaining after you urinate.

A catheter may also be used. It is a thin, flexible tube the doctor inserts through the urethra into the bladder. It drains any remaining urine. If milliliters or more remains, it tells the doctor your bladder is not emptying completely. To find out what may be causing your urinary retention, your doctor may use an instrument called a cystoscope to see if anything is blocking the urinary tract like urethral stricture or bladder stones. He or she may also use a CT scan.

This device uses a combination of x-ray and computer technology to create a picture of your lower abdomen. It helps your doctor determine if a urinary tract infection, urinary tract stones, tumor, cyst or injury could be causing your urinary retention. A technique called electromyography provides more information for your doctor.

Because cells throughout your body including your digestive system, heart and vascular system, skin, and lungs respond to histamine as part of its protective response, the response occurs widely throughout the body and can be multi-systemic causing all of the symptoms I list in the next section.

Histamine produced in the brain acts as a neurotransmitter — a chemical involved in signaling in your nervous system; in the stomach, histamine stimulates the production of gastric acid necessary for digestion. Learn about this hidden one, here. While histamine intolerance is not a true food allergy , and thus not usually considered life threatening, the symptoms can be quite severe and have led many people to the emergency department! Here are the most common symptoms:. However, due to either genetics or acquired reasons, your body might not produce enough of one or the other, or both of these.

HNMT is produced inside the cells and is usually more genetically influenced. DAO, however, is produced in the intestine, and is also the enzyme responsible for breakdown of ingested histamine, so if there has been intestinal damage, DAO production might be reduced. This can occur as a result of:. DAO-blocking foods including alcohol can also lead to decreased availability of DAO to break down histamine, resulting in elevated levels. Consuming high histamine foods can also cause a problem, especially if your enzyme system is impaired. Dysregulation in the stress response system — whether adrenal overdrive with high cortisol, or inhibited adrenal function with low cortisol — can also impair the immune system leading to increased reactivity to foods, and stress seems to worsen HIT in many individuals.

A reduction in symptoms on the diet, and a return of symptoms when higher histamine foods are re-introduced, suggests that there is histamine intolerance. Most of my patients go on to live completely normal healthy asymptomatic lives, but usually do have to pay attention to food triggers. There are 3 steps to treating histamine intolerance:. A low histamine diet is the first line of treatment. The best approach is to remove all high histamine containing foods, as well as foods that cause the release of histamine, as well as avoiding all DAO blocking foods and whatever DAO blocking medications you can also avoid work with your prescribing doctor to come off of medications for 30 days.

During this time keep a food journal to record how you feel you can download a sample food journal here both immediately and about hours after each meal. That said, sometimes it is. For example, I had one patient who discovered that popcorn shot her blood pressure up sky high and caused her to break out in hives. If during this day period you notice that your symptoms have disappeared or have been dramatically reduced, I highly recommend sticking with the low-histamine diet for 3 months total before trying to reintroduce foods from the lists below.

If they do, you are probably sensitive to those fruits, and omit them for now. Wait until the symptoms have passed before introducing the next group, for example, nuts, and again track, and so on. You have to sort of experiment with it — and ideally, work with a knowledgeable practitioner who can help guide you. Gut healing can take weeks to up to a year so you have to be patient with the process.

Aged and fermented foods, leftover meats, poultry and fish, and wine are often the biggest triggers; however, any of the foods on this list may be a problem for you, so remove them all for 30 days. Citrus, bananas, dairy products, chocolate sorry ladies! If you are planning to conceive, however, it is still important to be on folate or folic acid in some form for at least 30 days prior to conception and during pregnancy. Healing the gut is central to my work with patients with histamine intolerance and is described in detail in my book, The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution , in my Day Gut Reset program, and you can read about it here in this article.

Tame the Stress Response: As mentioned earlier, when your stress response system is disrupted, your immune response may also be over-activated. Include simple daily stress reduction practices in your lifestyle and head over here to see if you have symptoms of adrenal imbalances that suggest this area needs more attention. My book The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution will support you in a stress response reset.

While supplements for histamine intolerance have not yet been well studied, in addition those used for gut healing, several have shown promise, and have been quiet effective in my clinical practice. Living with the symptoms of histamine intolerance can be annoying in the least, debilitating when severe. I hope this article gives you yet another tool to be a Root Cause Revolutionary and start to take back your health. For more on the Root Causes of poor thyroid function and how to heal them, check out my book.

Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. This is a very interesting article. Thank you for posting. I have a gluten and processed sugar also corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, maple syrup intolerance that I had to figure out on my own. Doctors weren't able to diagnose. After years of taking antihistamines, it finally dawned on me that the symptoms may be food related. I stay away from all wheat and sugar products. I'm also allergic to all chemical sweeteners. Aspartame and sucrose make my hair fall out.

Sugar alcohols give me terrible heart palpitations. I make my own chocolate with honey, coconut oil and unsweetened cocoa powder and I'm okay with small amounts. I've dropped sizes in clothes, work out regularly, stay hydrated and for the most part am happier and healthier than I've ever been. Thanks so much for this article. It's very helpful in illuminating an area about which I'd been unaware.

Romm, you have done it once again!!! I am always blown away by your brilliance and how clear it is that you just want to help people. As someone who has been healing from Chronic Lyme I am talking I know a lot of it has to do with gut integrity, but I just don't know how to go about healing my gut. I have tried a lot of different things, but I react to so much, to it is a real challenge. I think I need to just make an appointment with you and get started I live outside of Boston. I am so excited for your Facebook Live on this topic, and I will ask my questions there, if I can Since you mention histamine's role in stomach acid production, would HCL be beneficial or counterproductive?

Something I find interesting is that you mention pineapple on the "avoid" list, yet some histamine supplements like D-Hist contain Bromelain from pineapples. I am also curious about probiotics, because mine contains Lactobacillus Paracasei, and I am reading up to see if it is essentially the same as Lactobacillus Casei.

If it has the same impact on histamine, then I will switch. As someone who has been trying to navigate this for years it is very interesting to notice the seasonality of it all. It's that whole "rain bucket" idea When you are getting stimulated by environmental allergens on top of the food you are eating there can be a lot of cross reactivity and histamine overload.

Obviously I geek-out to this stuff So exciting to help each other and put an end to people suffering and missing out on life! Does Histamine cause redness in the face and red, puffy eyes when crying? When I get emotional with tears my entire face gets very red, especially around my eyes and take hours to return to it's normal coloring. I get this too, after having a shower my face goes red and blotchy.

Although when I was on an elimination diet I didn't notice it happening. Thank you for this article. I noticed that you mentioned dairy kefir and fermented vegetables in the list of foods to avoid. I am wondering if that would also include fermented drinks such as water kefir and kombucha. Hari om love will follow you everywhere. Gosh, sounds like you're having a bad time of it. I'm also vegan with leaky gut and suffer from fructose, sorbitol, mannitol and histamine digestive problems.

In terms of food, while I'm on the elimination diet I can handle carrots, broccoli, kale, a bit of cauliflower and zucchini. Can serve with rice or rice noodles. Not the most adventurous, but it gets me through! Perhaps you'd benefit from a good naturopath to guide you too. Best of luck with it.

I can also recommend Aviva's book - it's great. I am also curious to learn more about the hormonal interplay. I find that when inflammation is up due to menstruation and the added burden on the liver , I am less tolerant of histamine. Also, I have found with both myself and others I coach a connection between histamine issues again, especially seasonally and dental problems. Again, the way histamine impacts the swelling of tissue, and especially the gums, is significant.

I believe this is why I have sleep apnea-type symptoms only when the pollen count is high, or I have had some sort of chemical exposure. Since I am in that pattern right now I think I will try a little activated charcoal to try to lower my overall burden and see if that helps. In brief there does seem to be a connection between histamine intolerance and premenstrual migraines due to a natural dip and DAO prior to menstruation. I've not found much literature on this but the connections you describe make sense.

I'm not a fan of activated charcoal for this though. Thank you for this, I'm wondering if there is any link between this and sulphite allergy? I have a fairly severe self-diagnosed sulphite allergy and have very bad reactions to things like wine and dried fruit. I see a number of the foods to avoid seem to overlap.

Never heard of this before. Seems a lot of things fall into the category of symptoms and it would be difficult to know if you really have this or not!

Histamine Intolerance: Could It Be Causing Your Symptoms?

I must take Methylfolate, B12, etc Is it safe for me to discontinue those supplements for a month or more? It seems that if those were causing me problems, I would still have to take them to prevent other sever health problems. Sorry, would love to help, but can't give direct health advice without seeing someone as a patient. Thanks for your understanding. I think it is important for people to know that Histamine Intolerance is a real condition and that it can be healed over time. There is a growing community with more and more support as more people suffer from this.

It's horrible to deal with and the anxiety that comes with it is very real and can be very debilitating if you allow it to be. I dealt with this 2 years ago and fortunately figured out what it was pretty quickly on my own , but it still took a good 6 months to heal. But I'm still scared of certain foods! Wow, thank you so much! What a fascinating article and a topic I will certainly be exploring further for our whole family.

We eat a lot of fermented foods, can you tell me if coconut yoghurt is as high in histamine as dairy yoghurt? Thank you so much! Couldn't come at a better time. We've been trying to figure out my sons hives and stomach pain for over a month. All allergy testing came out negative. He's been on the 4R diet with me so I thought the stomach pain was bc of all the high fiber gassy foods like cabbage but this makes so much more sense!!!!!

Thank you so much for covering this topic! I was diagnosed nearly a year ago but have suffered with symptoms for years without answers. I also wonder if you could provide a list of supplements or medications that should be avoided that either create histamine or reduce DAO. Lastly, what are your thoughts about using an infrared sauna and if that poses any risk of inducing histamine reactions? I have been using one to help with stress, as well as to detox and support my taxed liver. I don't have onset histamine reaction during use though hard to tell since I'm flushed!

Does the benefit still outweigh any risk?

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