Let's get started: to get great health you need to be an active patient of five wholistic health practitioners: a wholistic chiropractor, a wholistic acupuncturist, a wholistic massage therapist, a wholistic pharmacist and a wholistic medical doctor, all working together for your GREAT health.... not mediocre health, but great health! If you do nothing else but this, by the end of a year, your health is going to be soooo much better. I know, because that is exactly how I got well.
Already, I can hear some questions popping into your head. "What exactly is wholistic?" I'll explain this today. "I will probably be able to find a wholistic chiropractor and wholistic massage therapist in my area, maybe a wholistic acupuncturist, but how on earth will I find a wholistic medical doctor or a wholistic pharmacist?" Relax, I will give you some great ideas how to do exactly that in another blog. "Even if I find them, how will I ever pay for them?" This will be my third blog, but for now, just remember that great health is always cost effective. "Why do I need FIVE different practitioners to get well?" Because we all heal in many ways, and each practitioner has a different skill to help you heal. (yes, another blog--I'd tell you today, but all this takes time.) And your last question, I bet is the first one I will address: "Exactly how sick were you and how well did you become?"
Well, I was very sick. The most deadly illness I had was a failing heart. It was enlarging due to unknown reasons, and because the reasons were unknown, those reasons could not be stopped so my heart could stop enlarging. What happens if a heart keeps enlarging? It's power to pump blood throughout the body decreases. In fact, the more the heart enlarges, the less blood is pumped. This is called the ejection fraction....the ejection fraction decreases.
Technically, this illness is called either idopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Idiopathic simply means medical doctors don't know what caused it. Dilated means enlarged. Cardio is heart. Myo is muscle. Pathy is disease. It kinda explains itself when you break it down, although I have had all too many medical doctors not know what the heck it is LOL. And no, it is not comforting to go into a doctor and list idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy under new conditions and the licensed medical doctor turns to you and says "What the hell is that?" It is also called idiopathic congestive heart failure, and most medical doctors grasp that one a little quicker.
Just for the record, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is the number one cause of all heart transplants....it is what was killing 'Danny' on Grey's Anatomy. And for the record, heart transplants aren't what the media has made them out to be...not only are they very costly (around a million dollars), the last time I checked (eight years ago) only a quarter of the patients lived past five years!
That is NOT what I call a cure!
Bottom line is, nine years ago a cardiologist noted my enlarging heart, and stopped it's growth with a pharmacuetical called Coreg. To this day, I still take Coreg. But neither Coreg nor this cardiologist could increase my breathing capacity nor shrink my heart to within normal means. It took a wholistic chiropractor and a wholistic medical doctor to do that. More on that later.
For now, let me briefly tell you all the other illnesses and symptoms were I were and then I will close with exactly what wholistic is. I had the worst ADD the school of Educational Payschology at Texas A&M had ever seen. I had active Epstine Barrr Virus in my body manifesting itself in the form of chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia. I had had recurrent unrinary tract infections and irritations since I was five years old. I had what would now be called irritable bowel syndrome. Because of all of the antibiotics I had taken throughout my life for all those chronic urinary tract infections, I had non stop vaginal infections and athletes foot due to yeast overgrowth. This yeast had become resistant to all pharmacueticals. My knees hurt so much I couldn't walk around the block without hobbling for a week after wards. I had serious allergic reactions to jewelry, make up, some foods, a lot of pharmacueticals and as a result, would break out into hives often. I carried an epi pen with me always.
I can explain all these illnesses and symptoms, and recovery from them in later blogs. For now let me close todays blog with answering your question of "Exactly what is wholistic?" Most people answer this with something like ' the ability to look at the body and soul as one' or 'to look at the whole body'. But that is not my answer. Since I have a lot of experience in this, and since I have gotten well because of it, my definition of wholistic--and what I look for in my doctors--is this: 'the ability to not only look at the whole body and connect it to the patient's soul, but to then also look at every concievable health discipline to determine which one(s) will work best to help this patient to heal'.
No, I didn't create this definition. My health practitioners created this definition of wholistic through the majic of it's application both in helping me to heal, and now in keeping me healthy. Who are my wonderful wholistic health practitioners? Honey, I have faith that you are going to find wonderful wholistic health practitioners in your area, but just in case you are really sick and need someone right now, here they are:
Dorene Witter, DC The Witter Center for Natural Medicine, Houston, Texas 713-522-2886
Dr. Witter is amazing. She is the first wholistic health care pracitioner I had. It is she who truly turned my life around. I credit her with saving my life. www.thewittercenter.com It was she who introduced me to the concept of healing the body in all kinds of ways. She is also my acupuncturist.
Gilbert Manso, MD The Whole Health Center, Houston, Texas 713-840-9355
Dr. Manso is on the teaching staff of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Houston and was Whole Foods first doctor, setting up their supplement line. www.drmanso.com Dr. Manso takes phone appointments also, with great success. It will probably take you four to six weeks to get in, but it is well worth it. Dr. Manso has been practicing wholistic medicine for over a quarter of a century. They ship all the supplements listed on their website.
Peoples' Pharmacy Bill Swail, RPh is the owner of all locations in Austin. Bill has put together an unblieveable group of health care practitioners, from pharmacists to homeopaths, who will help you with your every need. All pharmacies sell both pharmacueticals and supplements and you can order both over the phone, from any of the locations. How awesome--to get the best of both in one convenient, easy to access, don't need an appointment for, locations. Seriously, if you are thinking about going off of a pharmacuetical to go onto a supplement, and you are not going to tell your doctor ( I heard this story a lot working in a health food store) then call one of Bill's pharmacists who can help you weigh the pros and cons.
All phone numbers are listed under their website. www.peoplesrx.com They ship everywhere.
Janice Poole, DC Austin, Texas
You will soon find out that I have three different chiropractors, all in different towns. Janice lives and has her practice in Austin. I lived there for a year while my husband and I were divorced. Oh, honey, that is a whole other story. And yes, I will tell you all about it. For now, know that the main reason my dear husband, Curtis, and I were able to get back together was due to Dr. Poole helping us to understand and treat our separate ADD symptoms accurately. I kid you not. My first chiropractor, Dr.Witter, saved my life. Dr. Poole, saved my marriage. God Bless them both. Dr. Poole is associated with a collective group of wholistic practioners called Remedy. Her phone number is 512-371-9595.
Marcy Halterman, DC College Station, Texas
Dr. Halterman was my first chiropractor and is still my chiropractor. Dr. Halterman is on the teaching staff of Texas A&M's Medical School, teaching a class in alternative medicine. Dr. Halterman is not only a licensed chiropractor, but also a licensed attorney for the state of Texas. As if that wasn't enough, the woman recently got her Masters in Rural Health. My husband and I adore her as well as the whole office. If you live in the Bryan-College Station area, and you are looking for a wholistic chiropractor, Dr. Halterman is the one to see. You can find her at DC Health Center, 979-696-1995. The office offers acupuncture as well.
Massage?
Because I am currently in massage school, I am getting tons of massages from my fellow students. The benefits of massage are worth a whole week of blogs later on. I am confident you will find a wholistic licensed massage therapist in your area because massage therapist can't help but be wholistic: not only are they treating the whole body and soul of the client, but their clients almost always use not only massage for health, but acupuncture, chiropractic, medical doctors and pharmacueticals as well. In other words, they are going to know which doctors have gotten the bes results for their patients.
Some massage therapists have even taken advanced training for everything from clinical myofascial work to energy healing. If you don't currently have a massage therapist, it is worth it to sit down and start calling every massage therapist in the phone book to see what knowledge each has.
If you are limited by money, call your areas' massage schools for dates and prices of their internship. Schedule appointments for yourself. Massage alone does wonderous things like stimulate the immune system, as well as lower anxiety and blood pressure. You will get all that alone without even asking if they know of any good wholistic chiropractors, acupunturists, medical doctors or pharmacists. But throw out that question to them as well, you never know, you may get someone like me who knows them all and is as eager to help you find great health as I am!
Well, that's my blog for the day. It's Saturday, it's after ten am, and not only am I a Texan, born and raised, I am an Aggie to boot, which added up together can mean only one thing--it's time to watch some FOOTBALL! Hope you learned something and enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it to you! See you tommorrow!
Love,
Susan
