A New Kind of Doctor

My prayer for this blog has always been that God would use it to help others who need encouragement, or who might be going through the same things that I am.  That's why I have kind of an "open book" policy when it comes to sharing certain things (like my struggles with infertility, or being candid like when I shared about my attitude about being on Akron's waiting list).

I visited a new doctor last week, and I've decided to share my experiences on my blog.  Again, if this can help even one person, then sharing was totally worth it.  So here we go.

I've been hearing certain buzz words more and more in the past few years.  Things like: "natural health care," "holistic treatment center" or "dietary supplements."  Two years ago, when I went from being an all-around healthy person to someone who never, ever felt "good," more and more people would bring up these buzz words.  Enough so that I started researching what they meant, and becoming very interested in the whole thing.  If you're unfamiliar with it like I was, here is a little summary, taken right from a pamphlet I got on Wednesday at one of these "holistic treatment centers":

"We are a holistic health care center, meaning that we treat the whole body. Services provided include chiropractic, nutrition, massage, and acupuncture.  We provide a warm positive environment to help facilitate healing."

At first I was a little hesitant to try this center, because it seemed expensive and I didn't know if it really worked, or if it was more of a mind over matter thing.  

Eventually, though, I heard more and more people tell me how much they loved it!  I heard success story after success story, all about this same doctor.  And the weirdest thing was that I was hearing it from so many different people whom I know from different places - family members, friends, and even co-workers. 

Finally a few months ago, I decided that since nothing else was working for me, I might as well give it a try!  But for some odd reason, I felt God telling me to wait.  I have no idea why, but I just didn't feel a peace about it for a few months, and I wanted to wait until the bulk of the school year was over until I started treatment, because I was afraid my high stress levels might affect my body's ability to heal.

Finally one night during March, I was up all night unable to breathe, and the following day I wound up in the emergency room for a breathing treatment.  And  that's when I felt totally ready and at peace (and let's face it, desperate too!)  to call the doctor's office and start treatment.  

Last Wednesday I had my initial appointment, and I'll just give a quick summary of what happened.  The appointment took about 50 minutes, and it involved a lot of questions.  The doctor was taking notes about everything I said, and did not seem rushed at all, which was one of my favorite things.  Then came the weird part: "contact reflex analysis and nutrition response testing."  Again, here's a little information about that from the pamphlet:

"Systems by which body reflexes are used to accurately determine the root cause of a health problem.  When a weak reflex is identified, nutritional products are used to aid the body in healing....They provide nutrition that the body may be missing in your diet."

The reason this was weird was the way she tested it.  I had to try to push up with my arm to resist hers, as she touched certain pressure points that corresponded to systems or structures in the body.  When she reached a weak spot, my arm went straight down and I couldn't resist her at all!  It was so weird!!  But in a really cool way.  

Anyway, during the appointment she was definitely able to pinpoint exactly what was going wrong with my body, and she found some supplements that will help me. 

I did a few other tests (blood pressure and some strange test that they said would predict how fast my body would respond to treatment.  Again, weird!), and the doctor told me to keep a food diary for the next week.  On Wednesday I go back again for my follow-up report where she will tell me more about what's going on in my body, and she'll put me on a nutritional plan and some supplements.  I can't wait to see what she has to say!

My main purpose for going to this center is that I have major allergy/breathing problems, fertility issues, and stomach problems.  Somehow, I always just thought that these were all symptoms of a more central problem, and I thought a holistic treatment center would be the perfect place to go.  Plus, I hate, hate HATE taking medicine and filling my body with chemicals that give me side effects.  I like the idea of treating things naturally first, before going to a fertility specialist.  And I know that I am not the healthiest eater, nor do I have the most active lifestyle, and I want to change that before I get too old!  

And if you are considering seeking natural, holistic, health care, I thought I'd provide a quick pros and cons list based simply on my first appointment:

Pros:

The doctor spent almost an hour with me

Along with that, when I filled out the intake report, it was all just logistical information (contact information, emergency contacts...things like that) and instead of having me fill out a bunch about my medical history, the doctor asked me the questions during the appointment, which was awesome!  I could give her all the information that I thought would be important or helpful, instead of just putting check marks in little boxes. It felt more personalized.  

The entire office had a calming feel to it, with relaxing music, good smells, and extremely friendly staff members.  It was the complete opposite of what I usually feel when I go to a doctor's office

Natural treatment/no chemicals

They treat the whole body instead of just the symptoms

I for some reason expected this doctor to have a sort of "anti M.D." attitude, but she really didn't at all.

My biggest positive was that the doctor gave me so much hope!  (I know skeptics might say it's false hope, but I'll take all the hope I can get right now!)  

Cons:

It's not cheap, and insurance doesn't cover it.

It was a little weird!  

So far, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.  I'm still trying to keep my guard up a little, and feeling a tiny bit skeptical.  But for the most part, I'm totally hopeful about this!  I've heard people say that this kind of healing is all in the mind.  To that I ask, do you know how instrumental the mind is in any type of healing anyway?? It's huge.  But that being said, I do believe that we are poisoning our body with all the toxins we put in it these days, and I also believe that natural health care  is actually healing people, and it's really not just all in their minds.  I've heard  multiple success stories about women getting pregnant by treating their fertility issues naturally before going to a fertility specialist. And as far as I know, you can't get pregnant just by thinking about it!  Ha!  Also, holistic treatment may be a bit expensive, but it is NOTHING compared to what I would be paying for fertility treatments, which most insurance companies don't cover either.  

I know I went on and on forever about this, but like I said, if I can help even one person, then it is totally worth it!  Also, whenever people find out I am seeking this kind of health care, they are usually extremely curious about it, and have a ton of questions.  So I thought I'd just lay it all out there for anyone who's considering it. 

And before I sign off, I don't want to put the name of the center or the doctor on my blog, because it just doesn't feel right.  But if you live near me, and want to know about the specific doctor I saw, just shoot me an email :-)

Wow, that was a long one!!  Ha!  Have a Happy Monday!