Why I Speak

When my health issues first began, I fully trusted that western medicine would ferret out the cause and prescribe a treatment.  It did not happen.  I had doctors, including my father, who were willing to explore every possible defined cause for my ailments (even those that were possible but extremely unlikely) and try treatments for possible but unconfirmed illnesses.  I also had doctors who advised me that my symptoms were a natural part of the aging process.  It took a number of years for me to understand that western medicine did not have all of the answers, which was when I turned to alternative medicine.  I speak to those who have reached the limits of western medicine

Back in 2006 my grandmother died from a stroke.  The stroke was the culmination of a long stint of illness, irritability, depression, and nausea.  When my grandmother stopped eating, the family intervened - convinced her to see a doctor.  Her doctor essentially told her that she was getting old and suggested that in lieu of eating she drink Ensure to get sustenance.  I am quite sure that my grandmother's doctor's apathy toward her situation helped to seal her coffin.  I speak to those who are being ignored or diminished by the system.

When my grandfather died a few years later, his cabinets were full of powdered herbs and tonics - supplements he was experimenting with to improve his quality of life.  I speak to those looking for guidance on improving their quality of life.

Every structured alternative therapy claims to have an approach to every ailment - but having an approach to an ailment does not equal having an answer.  Sifting through numerous approaches looking for answers has been a long and mostly frustrating journey.  I hopped blindly from one alternative therapy to another, looking for snippets of wisdom that might help .  While I ran into many alternative practitioners who genuinely wanted to help, I ran into few who actually could help.  Each plausible therapy (therapies with overwhelming anecdotal evidence, solid theories, and/or scientific evidence) that I've tried offered a unique perspective and insight into health, some providing evidence for pieces to what I now believe is a complex puzzle that facilitates chronic illness.  I speak to share what I have learned.  I am not a practitioner beholden to one approach to chronic illness, I am someone on the journey aggregating my experiences and trying to organize them into useful information for anyone looking for help. I speak to those looking for answers. 

I speak because I have learned that it is possible to rise from the shadows of chronic illness.  There is hope.  If you are suffering and do not see specific guidance in this blog for your ailment or symptoms, write me a comment letting me know and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.