Honestly Holistically

This is an odd topic. Notwithstanding, the older I get, the more I have come to believe in it. I have become a firm believer in holistic medicine. This comes from three chronic illnesses in my life that were treated conventionally for years, and ultimately resolved by an holistic approach to the problem.

Let me qualify my comments by saying that I fully believe in conventional medicine. I would never counsel ANYONE facing a serious illness to forego the medical doctors and the miracles modern medicine has to offer. Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs did, and an untreated curable form of pancreatic cancer cost him his life. On the other hand, one shouldn't overlook holistic approaches to illness to compliment whatever the doctors are recommending. Many modern medical centers offer holistic supplements as a matter of course. The human body is wondrous mechanism, and as I can personally attest, acts in strange ways to odd thngs.

After I graduated from college, I was diagnosed with bi-polar disease, except then it was called manic depression. Whatever the name, it was awful as I vacillated between periods of extreme depression and periods of euphoria. I bounced from doctor to doctor and clinic to clinic who offered various anti-depressants, most of which worked a little bit, but mostly left me lethargic. But after years of feeling bad, I was happy with what little I could get.

Then about 15 years ago, I ran out of my medication thinking I had another bottle. One thing anyone who is on mood altering medication knows is you can't quit cold turkey. I called the doctor for a prescription renewal and he had gone to Europe without leaving a referring physician. I panicked. A friend of mine suggested I try St. John's Wort, an over the counter mood enhancer, to help me until the doctor got back. I took two pills, my whole body tingled within ten minutes, and a lifetime of problems dissipated within an hour. IT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT. All studies show that it was minimally effective, if that, for my diagnosis.

When my doctor got back, he was mystified. He knew right away that whatever I had, it was not bi-polar disease. We did a complete review of my lifestyle from exercise to what I ate. I am a chocoholic. I was eating copious amount of chocolate on a daily basis. For those of you who don't know, chocolate contains serotonin which can have adverse effects on certain chemical processes in your body. I eliminated chocolate from my diet, and within two weeks it was determined that I suffered from what can be called a glorified food allergy.

Since that time, I have learned that only certain types of chocolate sets off the problem (dark chocolate and  chocolate rich in cocoa is verboten!!. I get along well with Hershey's. Locally I can eat Philadelphia Candy milk chocolate, but not Gorant's, which will have an almost immediate effect on my mood. I still use a minimal dose of St. John's Wort as a precaution, but I have had no bi-polar symptoms for 15 years. Other folks I have known suffering from the same type of problem have discovered that exercise and sunshine help more than any medication.

Now....bi-polar disease or clinical depression is serious business. Those suffering from it should ALWAYS take their medication and work with their medical doctor. But simultaneously, diet and exercise should be explored with your doctor who can hopefully work with an holistic practitioner in a joint effort to alleviate symptoms.

My other experience turned out to be two chronic issues seemingly unrelated, but solved simultaneously. As the depression problem was "cured", it was replaced by back issues and colitis. The back issue was horribly painful and debilitating. And there seemed to be no relief from any doctor I contacted. They finally sent me to a neurologist who put me through a series of very painful tests and another series of MRI's which showed nothing. The pain was excruciating, and there were times when I could barely walk. At the same time, I developed a relatively severe case of colitis and ended up in the hospital for 10 days after passing out. The doctors were able to control it with some heavy duty medication, but it was chronic condition that was literally a pain in the you know what.

About 2 months ago, in search of relief for my back, I visited a recently opened massage business. This place was NOT designed for therapeutic massage, although all of the folks there are licensed therapists and they offer it as well as more spa type treatments. I discussed my back problem with the therapist, and told him whatever he does, DO NOT TOUCH MY LOWER BACK NEAR THE SPINE. Well....he sort of did. I jumped up, but the back felt better. Over the past eight weeks, he has continued to work on my lower back muscles particularly at the base of the spine, and the pain was relieved...and all of my muscles relaxed in a manner I hadn't experience in years, even after weeks of traditional physical therapy.

He taught me to relax all of the muscles deliberately, and worked on moving the muscles away from the bottom of my spine and relaxing my butt muscles. This is the best my back has felt in years. But the surprise was the colitis disappeared. Gone. No symptoms. And it happened within a week of him working on my lower back.

I have an appointment with my physician next week. The cause of colitis is up for grabs, although most doctors believe it is an immune deficiency disorder. But like the chocolate, I wonder if the cause of my colitis is that I simply was a literal tight ass, and scrunched all of the muscles around my lower back and stomach to the point where it affected me in ways that it shouldn't have. Whatever it is, the massage therapy did what neurologists and GI guys couldn't.

All of this has caused me to believe that holistic approaches to medical issues are not as farfetched as you might believe. Always use your medical doctor. But sometimes it may be good to search around for some alternative type treatments to supplement the traditional. Be it massage, or meditation, or diet, or exercise, or various herbal medicines...they may be worth a try. It worked for me.