My patients report back to me that
they are becoming increasingly aware of the effectiveness of my own approach
to health and healing in my holistic medical practice. It's not at all unusual
for a patient to ask me why a "traditionally" trained physician
such as myself has become so immersed in and committed to holistic and alternative
modalities. And the answer is quite simple: I had great personal motivation-the
desire to overcome a serious genetic malady, severe migraine headaches.
My father, his mother, my aunt, and a first cousin all suffered from the
same kind of debilitating headaches. My headaches started when I was 13
years old. For 23 years- to the age of 36-I never felt normal and healthy.
I had good reason to worry that if I stayed up too late, or ate the wrong
foods (and at the time, it was hard for me to figure out what was "wrong"
for me), or became too stressed I would quickly find myself in bed suffering
with a migraine.
Over that same span of years, it seems my migraines were leading me down
a path of additional health problems. Many of them had strong genetic links.
I was obese, had hypertension, high cholesterol, PMS, thyroid and "female
troubles"-all conditions that were common within my family. In addition,
I began to have hip pain. This was especially disturbing because my mother
and her two sisters either had, or should have had, hip replacements. All
of us have a genetic malformation of the hip joint that causes abnormal
pressure to be placed on the joint, leading to early arthritis. |
I was frightened by the growing belief that I would need hip replacement
surgery before the age of 50. Traditional medical doctors offered me only
one piece of preventative advice: "lose weight."
CHANGING THE PATH
I am willing to share this personal information with my patients because
many of them are dealing with the same kinds of health problems that beset
me for so long- which I finally overcame. To deal with my headaches, I
made dramatic changes in lifestyle, especially in what I ate, how I cared
for my body, what I chose to think about, and how I focused my energy.
As the headaches became less frequent, I gave my new path to good health
the ultimate test: I chose to devote my professional energies to emergency
medicine, and eventually became board-certified in that specialty, after
earlier earning board certification in family practice medicine. I assure
you, there are few more stressful jobs in the world than that of an emergency
room physician. Amazing to me was the fact that I could do this tremendously
stressful work, enjoy it and find it satisfying, and not worry that the
every-day traumatic events around me would lead to a headache.
So I come to this stage in my life and reflect on the fact that all of
the serious health problems of the past have simply melted away. Through
the use of alternative medicine practices, the use of natural hormones,
as well as supplements and a special diet, I have moved to a place of
excellent health.
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The "female problems" have resolved. I have lost
weight. I have normal cholesterol, blood pressure, freedom from headaches-and
no hip pain!
Many women believe they carry a genetic curse with them. Because their
mother had a hysterectomy, for example, they are convinced they will need
one also. But in my practice, I find that most maladies that lead to hysterectomies
can be prevented and, when present, treated effectively. Many of my patients
and I derive great pleasure and satisfaction from avoiding unnecessary
hysterectomies.
Other patients tell me they are convinced they have inherited the heart
disease that took one or both of their parents at a too-early age. And
I tell them that clogging of the arteries can be prevented-and it can
also be reversed!
I can share this kind of good news with my patients from a place of true
conviction, because I have learned, over these years, that we can beat
the genetic hand we have been dealt-and I'm living proof that it can be
done successfully.
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