Show Notes: Kassie Dewitt, OT, shares her journey of going from smoking cigarettes, drinking vodka, and eating Taco Bell and struggling with incontience when she was younger to being completely continent as she is about to have her 4th child! With summer travel coming up, Callie and Kassie dive into how to prevent flares when traveling with IC and other bladder conditions.They provide plenty of tips and hacks for traveling via car and airplane and how to minimize symptoms once you’re at your...

Many people with interstitial cystitis think they have a bladder problem and place a lot of the blame on the food they eat, but today Nicole Cozean debunks these common myths. As a pelvic floor therapist with almost 20 years of experience in the field, she takes an orthopedic approach to treating the pelvic floor. The most effective treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction is physical therapy, which has been proven time and time again. We also dive into the misconception that the IC diet is...

Women’s stress management and mindset coach, Lindsay Dorka, joins Callie this week to share her expertise on how stress affects the body, ways to deal with perfectionism, and how stress is related to interstitial cystitis. With a background in healthcare as as an occupational therapist, she found that the root of many of the issues patients were coming in with could be traced back to one thing: stress. While stress is normal to a certain extent and helps us survive, chronic stress is not and...

This week, Callie talks to Laura Santurri, a board chair of the Interstitial Cystitis Association. Laura is an IC warrior of 25 years with a background in public health, and is passionate about patient education on managing chronic diseases, like interstitial cystitis. Laura discusses the importance of making decisions about our health care including taking into account your preferences and needs, the expertise of your interdisciplinary healthcare team, and the best evidenced-based data or...

Today Callie is joined by Kiah Paetz, an eating disorder Dietitian from Australia. With personal experience with disordered eating and food fears, Kiah understands the physical and mental toll that having a negative relationship with food can have on our bodies. Now, she’s dedicated to promoting health at every size and breaking away from diet culture to build a healthy, balanced relationship with food. In this episode, Callie and Kiah discuss the struggle that many people with interstitial...

This week, Callie sits down with Dr. Robert Moldwin, a urologist who has worked in the field for over 30 years and specializes in interstitial cystitis and pelvic pain. Dr. Moldwin has witnessed an increase in awareness of interstitial cystitis over that time as more and more people have become aware of it and discusses what can be done to treat it.  Dr. Moldwin believes that every person is so different and there isn’t just one solution for people who are experiencing pelvic pain. His...

On this week’s episode, Callie talks to pelvic floor therapist Dr. Zarina Vitebsky. Zarina shares her knowledge and expertise on everything from TMJ, to what to expect when you see a pelvic floor therapist, to how you can handle the changes that come from menopause.  Zarina’s educational background and studies have helped her develop pelvic floor therapy practices that get to the root of the issues by evaluating the entire body, instead of just one area. She has successfully helped patients...

In this bonus episode of IC You, you’ll hear a recording of an Instagram live Callie did recently with her support Dietitian, Beverly. In this episode, you’ll hear Callie and Beverly reveal some trends and mistakes they’ve been noticing among the IC community and how they help their clients correct those mistakes and get on the path to relief. This episode is also great to listen to if you’ve been considering joining Road To Remission and want to get a sense of the vibe inside the R2R...

Today Callie sits down with Andrew Hollar, the co-founder of Fig, an app designed to make living with food allergies and insensitivities easier and help people with dietary restrictions enjoy food again. After developing and struggling with health issues from 2014-2017, he found a functional medicine doctor who was the first to ask if he had thought about how food might be linked to his symptoms. Within weeks of testing out new nutrition guidelines, 90% of his symptoms were cleared up. Now,...

This week, Callie talks to Lindsay Mitchell, the founder and CEO of Vital-Side, a brain re-coaching program that helps people find relief from chronic symptoms through nervous system regulation. With a background as an Internal Medicine PA, Lindsay found herself diagnosed with Lyme disease and wanted to find a way to integrate a more holistic approach to her treatment. She learned about neuroplasticity and applied that to make a full recovery from Lyme disease in just a year! We discuss what...

Welcome to the season 3 premiere of IC You! In this episode, Callie talks to content creator and entrepreneur Mik Zazon about her experience being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis and endometriosis. She shares about her journey to getting her diagnoses, the medical gaslighting she’s dealt with, and her experience with pelvic floor therapy. Being in a relationship, Mik shares how she and her partner handle her diagnoses and advice she has for those who might be struggling to communicate...

The season 2 finale of IC You is here!  Callie has had a busy summer and shares her updates for the podcast. She has been traveling a lot and hasn’t had one flare-up on all the trips. Callie shares her tips for managing flares during travels, the importance of consistency, and what she was experiencing flare-free after years of hard work on learning her triggers and management strategies.  Callie also met with top IC doctors in New York at the International Society for the Study of...

Dr. Curtis Nickel, a professor of urology and urologist at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario joins Callie to discuss his work studying and educating people about interstitial cystitis. Dr. Nickel discusses his career trajectory from microbiology to urology and his experiences along the way. As one of the pioneers in research on interstitial cystitis and chronic prostatitis, Dr. Nickel shares his findings and the evidence behind an individualized approach to treatments for IC and chronic...

We return to talk about gut health in this week’s episode. Callie is joined by Leigh Merotto, a gut health dietitian specializing in IBS and SIBO. Leigh talks about her work as a gut health dietitian, a general overview of gut health and anatomy, and breaks down the Bristol Stool Chart.  Callie and Leigh also talk about key nutrients to support gut health, how they relate to interstitial cystitis and IBS, and break down the topic of fermented foods for gut health. Pre- and probiotics are a...

Finding resources to support your pelvic health is a daunting task. There is so much information on the internet and it can be hard to find reliable sources. This week’s guest, Marnie Glavin, is the founder of Pelvic Health Support, a one-stop-shop for resources on pelvic health from bladder-friendly recipes to mindful movement practices. Marnie is also an interstitial cystitis warrior and shares her experience with IC and coping with a chronic illness that led her to found the site to help...

This week, Callie continues her discussion of the nervous system’s involvement in interstitial cystitis with guest Grace Mackie, a holistic psychotherapist and nervous system coach. Grace shares her journey and career trajectory before diving into what nervous system dysregulation is, where it may come from, what people may be feeling, as well as what the healing journey can look like and the strategies used to retrain the brain. Callie and Grace discuss common observations they have seen in...

Pelvic floor health is critical in managing interstitial cystitis for some people, but how do Kegels fit in (or not)? This week, Callie is joined by Darla Cathcart, a pelvic floor physical therapist with over 20 years of experience to talk about kegels and how they fit into pelvic floor health. Dr. Cathcart demystifies Kegels by talking through what they are, why they are used, and who they are appropriate for. Callie and Dr. Cathcart also talk about the intersections of IC, stress, and...

This week, Callie is joined by Molly Pelletier, MS, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian specializing in gut health digestive issues, and weight management. Molly shares her journey with gut health and why she wanted to specialize in gut health as a dietitian. Through her personal experience and her work, Molly found that a lot of people don’t have the time or access to a dietitian, so she created FLORA, an integrative gut health community with everything you need to heal your gut and live with...

After working with IC warriors for a few years and living with IC herself, Callie has gained a lot of experience navigating people’s IC triggers and root causes. Elimination diets are a critical part of managing your IC, but is diet always a trigger? What about Hunner’s Lesions…how do these affect diet sensitivities? Callie talks through how diet and food fear can play a role in IC and why people may not have diet sensitivities when they think they do. She also talks about how other root...

The Vagina Rehab Doctor, Dr. Janelle Howell DPT, WCS joins Callie on the podcast this week. Callie and Dr. Howell talk about how the nervous system and the pelvic floor interact and cause pelvic floor dysfunction. Navigating a chronic illness diagnosis is challenging, so Callie and Dr. Howell talk about some of the current challenges. Callie shares some of her experiences with treatments for IC and Dr. Howell discusses how to know when to move on to find a provider that will work best for...

IBS awareness month continues - this week, Katrina Cox, a Registered Dietitian specializing in IBS and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) joins Callie on the podcast. Katrina talks about her journey to being a dietitian, specializing in gastrointestinal conditions, and becoming an entrepreneur. Katrina then talks about SIBO and the similarities and differences between SIBO and IBS. Bloating is a common experience among people with interstitial cystitis or SIBO, so Callie and Katrina...

Happy National IBS Awareness Month! In this episode Callie interviews Christine Olivo, a social media content creator who has been living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome since 2007. Struggling to manage the pain, anxiety, and loneliness that come with IBS, Christine created an Instagram account called MyIBSLife in June of 2019 as a way to cope through humor. Her page has now become a home and community to 64,000+ chronic illness warriors who are looking to be heard, understood, and...

Getting any kind of illness can cause a flare in your interstitial cystitis symptoms. After recovering from illness herself, Callie talks about the impact of illness on your interstitial cystitis symptoms. Medications, illness symptoms, and changes in eating and drinking while you’re feeling bad can all affect your symptoms. Callie also talks about the importance of vitamin C and zinc to support your immune system to prevent and recover from illness. Tune in to hear some tips to manage flares...

Callie takes a break from interviews this week and talks about common mistakes she sees that keep people from finding relief from interstitial cystitis. The list ranges both psychological aspects and mindset to supplement use to diet. Callie also shares her recommendations to get past these roadblocks and get closer to relief from IC! If you’re struggling to manage symptoms, tune in to see if there are changes you can make to help in your IC journey! Work with me: Fill out this application...