Somewhere around 10 years ago I toyed with the idea of finding a doctor on my end of the city. A female doctor was recommended by a family member, and i decided to give her a try. When I came to meet her I asked... "So I guess I should call my doctor's office and have them move my file here, then?"
She answered sincerely, "No, I won't need that."
I felt quite shocked, and couldn't figure out what to say in the moment. I had long term struggles with my health and no answers, and I like to think that my doctor is interested in a complete picture of my health... Who knows what might come clear in time if she had my medical history. I didn't stay with this doctor for long.
Now, as I am starting down the path to discover if my body has what it needs to be healthy, and if there is anything toxic that could be keeping my body from functioning to its fullest potential, one of the first things THIS doctor did was hand me a binder filled with questions about my medical history.
It included questions regarding:
1) My current sense of well-being
2) My Priorities
3) Central Nervous Systom Symptoms
4) Gastro-Intestinal System Symptoms
5) Respiratory and Cardiovascular System Symptoms
6) Musculoskeletel System Symptoms
7) Urinary Tract Symptoms
8) Gynocological Symptoms
9) Skin-Related Symptoms
10)Ear, Nose, and Throat Symptoms
11)Emotional Symptoms
12)Sleep Symptoms
13)Psychological Symptoms
14)And a list of other questions!
15)Family History
16)An inventory of toxicant exposures in the home, office, community
17)An assessment of diet and nutrition
18)Questions related to my prenatal environment (This medical history went back before my birth!!)
(See My Medical History Here)
The history was relatively easy to fill out. For most sections the questions were answered with a number between 1 and 8, and for the symptoms I had personally, I was to clarify the severity of the symptom, how regularly it occurs, if something triggers it, if there's something that makes it better, how long the symptoms last and if they're getting better or worse, if I've had test done for it, or been treated for it,and anything else I felt I needed to mention.
This was more work than the average doctor visit, but there's no doubt that my health is being looked at it in a complex, complete way! And it has been very revealing to me. I knew I had struggled with my health since I was young, but this exercise has brought to light the patterns and development of some thing's I hadn't picked up on before. VERY EXCITING STUFF!!
Stay tuned for what came out of this and the tests that were done!
Happy Health!
Read Next Post: My Medical History (May 2011)
Showing posts with label New Adventures in Healing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Adventures in Healing. Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
It Gets Better!
This time I went back with a question that had been plaguing me for some time. How do you know if you have reached "healthy" or if there is still something more you can do?
I guess I was asking: Have I reached my health potential, or can I dare to hope for something more?
I was once again thrilled with what he said:
Despite improvements in health care, pharmaceuticals, diagnoses, and treatments, illness is increasing at an alarming rate! The gene pool hasn't changed, so what has?
Our environment. And as science has shown over the last decade, our genes are not our destiny. They indicate a predisposition to illness, but whether those genes express or not is determined by the environment of the body. If it has what it needs, and is not impeded by things that are toxic, it has what the doctor refers to as a powerful and "instinctive inclination to heal and protect itself!"
(See: Genuis, SJ. "Our genes are not our destiny")
You see this at work when your eye blinks to keep dust away, or when a doctor re-aligns a broken bone and it produces new bone to join itself back together. I have already experienced this principle personally on three separate occasions. A doctor stapled my abdomen back together following a c-section, and my organs and skin healed together!
"I don't heal anyone" He says to me. "I just facilitate the body as it does what it is designed to do."
Mainstream doctor training teaches that our genes are our destiny. You have an illness because you were genetically predestined to get it, and the hope that you have in most cases is to manage your symptoms by means of pharmaceutical treatment or surgery. Occasionally an illness may be caused by other factors.
(See: Genuis, SJ. "What out there is making you sick?"
Environmental Medicine looks at the environment of the whole body. My doctor draws the diagram below. It asks: 1) Does the body have what it needs to work properly? And, 2) Is there something toxic in the body/it's surrounding environment that is keeping it from doing what it's designed to do?
All of this to say, I was invited on a journey to find out the answer to the two questions mentioned earlier:
1) Does my body have what it needs to work properly?
2) Is there something toxic in my body/environment that is keeping it from doing what it is designed to do?
I already knew I was exposed to mold, so I was confident we would find something. But some of the things these tests have revealed were completely unexpected! I'll share them soon!
Happy health!
Read Next Post: The Lab Results (May 24, 2011)
I guess I was asking: Have I reached my health potential, or can I dare to hope for something more?
I was once again thrilled with what he said:
Despite improvements in health care, pharmaceuticals, diagnoses, and treatments, illness is increasing at an alarming rate! The gene pool hasn't changed, so what has?
Our environment. And as science has shown over the last decade, our genes are not our destiny. They indicate a predisposition to illness, but whether those genes express or not is determined by the environment of the body. If it has what it needs, and is not impeded by things that are toxic, it has what the doctor refers to as a powerful and "instinctive inclination to heal and protect itself!"
(See: Genuis, SJ. "Our genes are not our destiny")
You see this at work when your eye blinks to keep dust away, or when a doctor re-aligns a broken bone and it produces new bone to join itself back together. I have already experienced this principle personally on three separate occasions. A doctor stapled my abdomen back together following a c-section, and my organs and skin healed together!
"I don't heal anyone" He says to me. "I just facilitate the body as it does what it is designed to do."
Mainstream doctor training teaches that our genes are our destiny. You have an illness because you were genetically predestined to get it, and the hope that you have in most cases is to manage your symptoms by means of pharmaceutical treatment or surgery. Occasionally an illness may be caused by other factors.
(See: Genuis, SJ. "What out there is making you sick?"
Environmental Medicine looks at the environment of the whole body. My doctor draws the diagram below. It asks: 1) Does the body have what it needs to work properly? And, 2) Is there something toxic in the body/it's surrounding environment that is keeping it from doing what it's designed to do?
All of this to say, I was invited on a journey to find out the answer to the two questions mentioned earlier:
1) Does my body have what it needs to work properly?
2) Is there something toxic in my body/environment that is keeping it from doing what it is designed to do?
I already knew I was exposed to mold, so I was confident we would find something. But some of the things these tests have revealed were completely unexpected! I'll share them soon!
Happy health!
Read Next Post: The Lab Results (May 24, 2011)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The First Visit
I went for my first appointment, unsure of what to expect. Last time I was there as an Obstetrics Patient. I brought my symptoms on paper (otherwise I was sure to forget to mention something). I was afraid that if anything was left out it might lead to a misunderstanding of what was gong on.
I explained the tests that I'd had done, and the dreaded words that my last doctor had left me with (he had essentially given up on my health once again). Then, this doctor compassionately explained that when doctors don't understand something it is easy to write it off as something psychological (as though it must all be in your head). You can imagine that put me at ease!
I also told him about a mold problem we currently had in our house (which I had mentioned to my family doctor as well, but was sort of laughed at). He explained that when someone is exposed to mold, we know it can cause certain things, and so he tested me for them.
The Diagnosis:
Imagine my relief as I get back results that actually tell me something. My insulin is at toxic levels. How did my family doctor miss this? The problem is called Hyperinsulinemia (brought on by mold exposure): Basically my cells have become resistant to insulin, so when my blood sugar goes up even a little, my body produces insulin. But because my cells are resistant to insulin it doesn't lower my blood sugar like it is supposed to, and my body continues to make more and more insulin until it reaches toxic levels. I also learned that fructose (which is in table sugar) is a trigger for this illness.
The Treatment:
1) No sugar or sweeteners (low glycemic foods only)
2) No chemical exposures.
3) Exercise every day.
4) Take something called GR-Plex (a combination of the things the body naturally uses to regulate blood sugar, and some natural substances that had been scientifically shown to regulate blood sugar as well).
I was relieved he didn't jump to a drug solution. I would have been VERY resistant to beginning another drug - especially one I'd potentially be on for life - if there were a way to mange this illness naturally. (see why in My Health Story)
At this point my insulin remains quite high, but the shaking has decreased rather quickly! While it hasn't taken care of all of my symptoms, many of them have disappeared. (They do return when I don't continue to live a healthy life and follow the instructions of my doctor!).
I know. It sounds like I'm healed. These changes brought me a good deal of relief! But if you can imagine, there is a fuller level of health that I will come to know. I'll share more about this soon!
Happy Health!
Read Next Post: It Gets Better!
I explained the tests that I'd had done, and the dreaded words that my last doctor had left me with (he had essentially given up on my health once again). Then, this doctor compassionately explained that when doctors don't understand something it is easy to write it off as something psychological (as though it must all be in your head). You can imagine that put me at ease!
I also told him about a mold problem we currently had in our house (which I had mentioned to my family doctor as well, but was sort of laughed at). He explained that when someone is exposed to mold, we know it can cause certain things, and so he tested me for them.
The Diagnosis:
Imagine my relief as I get back results that actually tell me something. My insulin is at toxic levels. How did my family doctor miss this? The problem is called Hyperinsulinemia (brought on by mold exposure): Basically my cells have become resistant to insulin, so when my blood sugar goes up even a little, my body produces insulin. But because my cells are resistant to insulin it doesn't lower my blood sugar like it is supposed to, and my body continues to make more and more insulin until it reaches toxic levels. I also learned that fructose (which is in table sugar) is a trigger for this illness.
The Treatment:
1) No sugar or sweeteners (low glycemic foods only)
2) No chemical exposures.
3) Exercise every day.
4) Take something called GR-Plex (a combination of the things the body naturally uses to regulate blood sugar, and some natural substances that had been scientifically shown to regulate blood sugar as well).
I was relieved he didn't jump to a drug solution. I would have been VERY resistant to beginning another drug - especially one I'd potentially be on for life - if there were a way to mange this illness naturally. (see why in My Health Story)
At this point my insulin remains quite high, but the shaking has decreased rather quickly! While it hasn't taken care of all of my symptoms, many of them have disappeared. (They do return when I don't continue to live a healthy life and follow the instructions of my doctor!).
I know. It sounds like I'm healed. These changes brought me a good deal of relief! But if you can imagine, there is a fuller level of health that I will come to know. I'll share more about this soon!
Happy Health!
Read Next Post: It Gets Better!
Friday, December 3, 2010
New Adventures in Healing
This story goes back over 30 years, which will strike you as strange if you know I'm only 30 years old. To make sense of it, well go back around 2 and 1/2 years, shortly after my last post entitle "My Health Story" where I recounted my two-plus year journey from the loss of my health (and the life sentence from doctor types that this would be my life - for the rest of my life) to finding a doctor who would really listen to my symptoms, trust that I know what I'm experiencing, and who was able to look on my health with understanding! The story ended on the joyous note that if I did the things I knew I needed to, I DID experience glorious health!
We pick up the story now a few months later, when I suddenly began experiencing extreme neurological symptoms that sent me on another (possibly hopeless) search for answers. I was somewhere around five months pregnant with baby #3 at the time.
Some of my symptoms included:
- Shaking/trembling 24 hours a day
- Muscle spasms
- Deep muscle and nerve pain
- Loss of the ability to grasp things with my hands
- Spots on my body that would feel like they were on fire
- Muscle Weakness
- Vision problems
I went to my family doctor, and after a number of blood tests, an MRI, and a subsequent clean bill of health based on the results, I heard what I feared most: "I know these symptoms feel very real to you, but all of your tests have come back clear, and there is no medical explanation for the things you've been describing. You may find it helpful to see a psychologist."
I've seen counsellors, psychologists, and even a psychiatrist before. I certainly believe they can help for many things - in fact my undergrad was in the area of psychology - but I just didn't believe that this was the problem. At this point I decided to call the office of the doctor who brought me back to health the last time I faced a crisis like this.
Follow my blog as I share my experience of being treated by a Specialist in Environmental Medicine. These posts wont come in real-time. You're experiencing a delay because I am in the process of healing, and my health varies a lot from day to day, but as i am able to write these things down on the pages of cyber space, you'll be able to read them here!
I'm really excited about what is coming from all of this, and I look forward to sharing it with you!
Happy Health!
Read about: The First Visit""
We pick up the story now a few months later, when I suddenly began experiencing extreme neurological symptoms that sent me on another (possibly hopeless) search for answers. I was somewhere around five months pregnant with baby #3 at the time.
Some of my symptoms included:
- Shaking/trembling 24 hours a day
- Muscle spasms
- Deep muscle and nerve pain
- Loss of the ability to grasp things with my hands
- Spots on my body that would feel like they were on fire
- Muscle Weakness
- Vision problems
I went to my family doctor, and after a number of blood tests, an MRI, and a subsequent clean bill of health based on the results, I heard what I feared most: "I know these symptoms feel very real to you, but all of your tests have come back clear, and there is no medical explanation for the things you've been describing. You may find it helpful to see a psychologist."
I've seen counsellors, psychologists, and even a psychiatrist before. I certainly believe they can help for many things - in fact my undergrad was in the area of psychology - but I just didn't believe that this was the problem. At this point I decided to call the office of the doctor who brought me back to health the last time I faced a crisis like this.
Follow my blog as I share my experience of being treated by a Specialist in Environmental Medicine. These posts wont come in real-time. You're experiencing a delay because I am in the process of healing, and my health varies a lot from day to day, but as i am able to write these things down on the pages of cyber space, you'll be able to read them here!
I'm really excited about what is coming from all of this, and I look forward to sharing it with you!
Happy Health!
Read about: The First Visit""
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