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The Cure is You: Dealing with Chronic Illness Part 1

Thursday, January 8, 2015 0:26

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In my last update, I mentioned that over the last few months my husband and I have gotten some “answers” to the health issues we’ve been dealing with; this coming May will be 2 years for me, June will be 1 year for Anthony. With this post, I want to start off a series on dealing with chronic illness, share some of our experiences, but more importantly—share some of our “cures.”

I hesitate to use that word, “cure,” because of the implications and negative associations. Somewhere in my mind’s eye I see hippified doo-gooders worshipping crystals while drinking essential oil concoctions. My parents both firmly believe I am a hippy born after the hippy movement. I have no real problems with hippies… or crystals either, since as a pagan I have a pretty amazing array of crystals, some of which have been used for healing. HOWEVER, when discussing chronic illness and “cure” we as a society have a very narrow definition in mind when we bandy around a term like “cure.” But then coupling the concept of “cure” with healing that is neither conventional, nor readily accepted by Western Medicine, on the surface seems rather dubious to most, Muggles especially. Neither am I am opposed to alternative therapies. I began my work with alternative therapies while working as a production assistant for the web publication for Dr. Andrew Weil, one of the pioneers of the alternative therapy movement in the United States.

But, then again the quack cure industry is a multi-billion dollar one, and many truly bogus, dangerous methods are masquerading as genuine “cures” for whatever ails you. I’m dismayed that almost everyone has some magical healing elixir in their back pocket—one that was purchased with or sold for top dollar. So, often when you hear the term “cure” you should be skeptical. I know I am.

One quick note on Dr. Weil. I think he, like so many, have been lured by the snake oil peddlers and the billions they rake in. When I worked for Time Warner, I was a production assistant on his, then, new website. I learned that there were mistakes made regarding supplement dosages in the articles that were published after and based on his 8 Weeks to Optimim Health, which was published in 1998. After I left Time Warner, I saw how Weil quickly began marketing his own brand of supplements and you can readily find healthy critique of the so-called cures he’s attached his name to. It’s sad because his early work was instrumental in changing attitudes towards health and healing. I will refer to him on occasion, but I am skeptical of his health and wellness empire.

In our narrow definition, cure essentially means that you take it once and the results are forever and always and your health issues are a thing of the past and you can now sing rainbows and shit unicorns. That’s not only ridiculous, but sounds incredibly painful.

I think we need to adapt our concept of the word cure in order to accept treatments which cultivate health and a reduction of symptoms with an eye toward remission. I’d much rather say that over the last 2 years, I’ve journeyed to find treatments for our conditions that I believe, with time and perseverance, can become personal cures. Thus far, our symptoms have been reduced, we have moved toward regaining our health, and while we’re not in remission yet, I do have hope.

After starting this post, I picked up Dr. Weil’s 8 Weeks to Optimum Health. I haven’t looked at it, honestly, in 15 years, and when I last looked at it, I was using it as a resource for the articles I was copyediting and formatting for web publication. Instead of cure, Weil uses the term healing more readily, paying attention to what he calls “spontaneous healing.” Weil describes healing and illness thusly:

“When illness persists, the healing system is blocked, stalled or overwhelmed and needs help. The true purpose of medicine is to facilitate healing; the aim of treatment should be to unblock the healing system and allow it to do its work. Please keep in mind the distinction between healing and treatment: treatment originates from outside, whereas healing comes from within. …Suppose I come down with bacterial pneumonia… I go to a hospital, receive intravenous antibiotics, recover, and am discharged, cured. What caused the cure? Most people, doctors and patients alike, would say it was the treatment. But I want you to consider a different interpretation. Antibiotics reduce the numbers of invading germs to a point where the immune system can take over and finish the job. The real cause of the cure is the immune system, which may be unable to end an infection because it is overwhelmed by sheer numbers of bacteria and whatever toxic products they might make. Of course, the immune system is itself a component of the healing process. I maintain that the final common cause of all cures is the healing system, whether or not treatment is applied. When treatments work, they do so by activating innate healing mechanisms. Treatment –including drugs and surgery—can facilitate healing and remove obstacles to it, but treatment is not the same as healing. The best treatment is the least –the least invasive, least drastic, least expensive—that activates spontaneous healing.” (Weil, 17-18).

For me, Weil’s concept of spontaneous healing is the same as remission. For chronic illnesses or for small wounds, treatment helps spark latent healing ability. Because of the way we as a society rely on conventional, Western medical treatment, we’ve lost touch with our abilities to heal ourselves. Alternative treatments that are truly beneficial have become lost needles in the haystack of charlatans, snake oil peddlers, and magic bullet “cures” all touting so-called perfect health. Weil’s concept of health is not something we have perfectly all the time either because at some point in our lives, we will all face some crises of health:

“Perfect health is not possible: beware of persons and products that promise it. Health is a dynamic and temporary state of equilibrium destined to break down as conditions change, but most of the breakdowns need not be major. The point is that health is not static; it is normal to lose it periodically in order to come back to it in a better way. Whenever the equilibrium of the body breaks down, your healing system attempts to re-establish it. In other words, healing is an automatic process activated by any breakdown in health” (Weil, 12).

It’s both daunting and comforting to think that health is not a stagnant, unmoving thing because for me, I’ve always watched the pendulum of my own health swing. Sometimes it’s a quick return to “equilibrium” and sometimes it’s a very lengthy process. I think, however, that there are steps we can all take in helping stimulate our own healing processes, focusing on treatments to allow our bodies to better handle chronic illnesses and chronic conditions.

A few words of caution however:if you’re reading this hoping for a magic-bullet cure for whatever ails you, I’m afraid you’re in the wrong place. There are no perfect cures and there is no perfect health. I can only speak to issues that I and my husband have been dealing with: for him, elevated cholesterol levels, and diabetes and diabetic complications; for me, fibromyalgia and epilepsy. I can’t speak to issues like AIDS or cancer or Autism. I can’t speak about conditions that afflict children or newborns, and my suggestions are NOT TO BE USED ON CHILDREN. I have zero experience treating children and while herbal treatments can be used effectively for children, I can only address treatments for adults. If you’re a parent seeking a cure for your child, speak to a health care practitioner, of both conventional and alternative treatments. And for some conditions, conventional treatments are the way to go.

I am not here to preach or sell you anything. Do not stop your meds or stop going to the doctor. Always seek medical attention for any illness and always discuss health options with your doctor. This blog and my suggestions should not be used in lieu of the advice from a licensed medical practitioner.

Understand your Illness: Chronic or otherwise

The first step in the journey to health is understanding what ails you. Understanding the condition, regardless of what that condition is, requires a lot of legwork on your part, a lot of reading, discussion with your health care provider, and more reading and discussion. It means a lot of self-education—on the condition, on treatments, and on the realities associated with the condition. It involves educating yourself so you can trust your own judgment regarding your treatment. It involves investigating treatments, especially for illnesses and conditions not readily treatable by conventional Western Medicine, treatments that are considered ‘alternative.’ It involves the possibility of embarking on an alternative treatment. It means thoroughly researching all the pros and cons of any treatment. When possible, it means speaking to people who’ve undergone the treatment and speaking to health care practitioners knowledgeable on the treatment, and any related side effects. It involves a lot of common sense—in terms of traditional and non-traditional treatments, as well as evaluating the research you gather.

To refer to Weil again, he says (his italics for emphasis):

“To optimize the function of the healing system, you must do everything in your power to improve physical health, mental/emotional health, and spiritual health”(Weil, 28.)

Part of that “everything” is making sure you understand the situation. Just before that little nugget of healing wisdom, Weil recounted a story of a friend of his with a persistent digestive complaint. After suffering for 2 years in silence, that friend went to the doctor and was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Weil recounted how that friend, paralyzed by the diagnosis allowed his family and friends and coworkers and colleagues to inundate him with what he should and should not do. Weil urges his readers, as I urge you, to consider how you would react to such a radical diagnosis, and to “develop sensible plans of action” including creating an “inner circle of advisers” (Weil, 19-21).

Don’t take my word for it—and don’t take anyone else’s word either if those words are the only words you take on the subject. During the height of the recent ebola freakout, I had a student ask me in all seriousness if ebola was the start of the zombie apocalypse. I thought she was joking. Alas, she wasn’t. She had read a post online somewhere that claimed ebola victims were rising from the grave. She figured since what she was reading was “published” then it must be true. I don’t mean to make light of a serious situation and this was an extreme case of believing everything you read, but even Dr. Oz just had to explain to Congress why he’s a sham and was named “The World’s Best Snake oil Salesman” by The Daily Beast.

Read and read and cross reference and become an academic with one subject in mind: your health.

If you are in a situation with limited time where you have to decide on a swift and decisive course of action, try not to react through fear alone. Don’t be pressured into accepting the first treatment your doctor tries to force on you. There are always options and second options. But, if time is truly pressing, you can take a few minutes to breathe and listen to your gut instinct. When my husband was diagnosed with off-the-charts diabetes, several doctors said insulin was the first and only course of action. Granted, a diagnosis of diabetes doesn’t equate with esophageal cancer, but we needed to make a quick decision. Our initial, individual gut reaction was a big NO on the insulin. I had experience with insulin-dependent diabetics in terms of my father’s struggle with the disease and I did not want that for my husband. We knew insulin may be an ultimate course, but to make the doctor happy while we did our homework, Anthony did take a prescription for Metformin and agreed to start that.

Inside of two weeks, he was off the Metformin. Inside of 3 months, his blood sugar readings were normal—without prescription medications and without any OTC gimmicks. Admittedly, he’s due for more bloodwork at the doctor’s, but his daily blood sugar has been within normal range. Does it mean he’s no longer diabetic? No. But, using a combination of diet and natural supplements, Anthony’s diabetes is on the road to remission.

Source: http://www.green-and-growing.com/2015/01/the-cure-is-you-dealing-with-chronic.html

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