I Begin the Long Journey to Better Health

Yesterday’s journal entry….

“It’s been a bad day in River City….I’ve been fighting a bad bacterial infection on my abdomen for more than a week. Today I broke down and went to see my new Grandville doctor today. I ended up having unexpected office surgery to remove two of the three sebaceous cyst she found there. The third one is too deep to take out in the office so we are hoping that the 10 day round antibiotics will take care of that.

Not to bore you with details, but my body parts were not cooperating and it took over 12 shots to numb the area so she could do the surgery. I won’t be moving around much for the next week or so.  I try so hard to avoid meds but here again I am taking antibiotics and pain killers…I HATE THAT. To me this represents just more toxins to detox from my body.

Husband Gene offered to come with me but he had an appointment at the dealer for new tires for his truck so I said “I can handle it.” BIG mistake! I needed his support and to drive me home as well as shop  at the health food store and pick up my prescription on the way home….six hours on the road…..It was a long hard and exhausting day.

Taking Keflex and 800 Motrin now…..and going to bed.  All plans for this week have been cancelled.”

I haven’t written a lot on this blog about my on-going health challenges. I don’t know if readers want to hear about these things. It’s all part of aging I guess and getting old is a job that is definitely not for sissies!

I have long been searching for a new physician one who is interested in and capable of an integrative approach; one who treats the whole body not just the particular system that is having problems at the moment.

The Positive Attributes of Alternative Medicine:

• Focus on proactive measures
• Treats the cause of illness and disease, not just the symptoms
• Is more cost-effective than Western Medicine
• Methods target whole body, as an interrelated system
• Generally safe with minimal side effects when used according to directions
• Best option for chronic diseases
• Requires more personal education and self-direction because it is not taught to most doctors and most patients never hear about it
• Can take longer to see results because addressing the root cause is more involved than simply masking symptoms

The roadblock for an alternative physician and treatment has been due to a lack of coverage by our standard health insurance and lack of free to spend money.

At long last think I may have found an empathetic heart at last, a DO who is an osteopathic physician that is fully licensed able to treat my skin issues and thyroid issues and practices an hour’s drive from my home. She is also voiced in the language of thyroid.

I get really frustrated because I feel like all I do is focus on preventative methods like choosing healthy food choices. I grow it, I source it. I cook it. We choose only organic, GM free foods. I thought I make healthy lifestyle choices; I never smoked, I rarely drank. I’ve always exercised. And yet I seem to suffer from  chronic and major health issues. Often I feel like no matter what I do it is not enough…and many days I get discouraged and feel like throwing in the towel.

I believe the core problem is a lifetime of exposure to environmental toxins, overactive and raging hormones and too many antibiotics I am learning that the skin.

I am learning that the skin, which according to the medical field has been called “the third kidney” because it is able to release toxins such as pesticide, solvents, heavy metals, urea & lactic acid from the body.

I also know first-hand that bacteria leave behind toxins and harmful by-products in the body long after the infection has ended. Fighting off an infection is exhausting, stressful and takes a lot of energy. All that lost energy can hinder our ability to get well.

The Literature Notes That Chronic Infections Are Due to:

• Hormonal imbalance
• Food allergens
• Internal inflammation:

As I begin this new journey I do have some concerns.

• I am not a pill person and working with this practice will mean I will be taking more supplements. That will be hard to swallow for me (no pun intended.)
• Historically adding supplements has meant an increase in my bacterial infections and cyst eruptions and that is not something I am fond of. Detoxing is a hard thing physically and emotionally to deal with.
• Much of the costs of this work will not be covered by Medicare or Blue Cross Blue Shield and will mean that our precious cash reserves will be drained.
• I will need to eliminate sugar, wheat and dairy and I will have to learn and all new way to plan meals, shop and cook. Because food represents one of the most time-consuming tasks of my week and I have taken responsibility for food in our house, this will also be a challenge.

But Gene and I agree that our health is our wealth and we are going to invest in ourselves. It’s now or never.

Wish me luck on my journey.

Small House homesteader, Donna