Medicine Journey

            I am in no way disparaging medicine, those in the medical field, or anything like that. I am very dependent on the industry as a whole because of all my medical conditions and diseases that I have to deal with on a daily basis. This is just my personal account, my personal opinions, and my own personal feelings. So take it as such. It is just something that I feel the need to talk about because I am dealing with so much at the moment. In fact at the moment my brain is on full tilt, trying to figure out what I am supposed to do, how to do it, and where to go from here. 

            I take a combination of over 75 pills (both prescription, vitamins, and supplements) a day plus nose spray, two inhalers, and once a month an IV infusion. Can I just say that is a lot of medicine to take each and every day? I have had to buy the largest pill containers they make to hold all pills and they still weren’t large enough so some of my pills stay in their containers. I have one half of a cabinet and two drawers in our kitchen that are all full of medicines. I am thankful that I don’t have swallowing problems that can sometimes come with MS; I am able to swallow a handful of pills without choking and gagging too much. 

            I tell you all this because we as a country are at a crossroads. There is the largest opioid addiction to face America going on at this very moment. Methadone is being made in bathrooms and car trunks all over the U.S. People are more addicted to prescription drugs now than in any other time in our history. In fact addiction to prescription medicine has far exceeded that of addiction to illegal drugs such as heroine and cocaine. We are living in a world where prescription medicine is being doled out like Pez candy. We are in a time where the good doctors are getting a horrible rap because the bad doctors are in bed with the big pharmaceutical companies and are out to make as much money pushing these drugs to as many consumers as possible. I know this because several of my doctors have told me that they are getting told all the time by the pharmaceutical sales reps that need to start pushing specific drugs to make as much as they can. 

            I have been really blessed with my doctors that they all fall into the great category of physicians. Now that hasn’t always been the case and I have had to travel around and see various doctors to find the correct ones for me. That has been a long and tedious process in and of itself but one that I am so thankful for. I would not trade any of my doctors now, and I am so thankful that they are kind, caring and willing to work with one another to give me the best care. I do have to stay on top of things myself and remind them from time to time to send lab reports and things like that but I am okay with doing that work since that means everyone is on the same page with my care. 

            Not everyone I know is so lucky. That is where it comes down to you having to step up and take your own personal health into your hands and find the answers you are needing. Part of my search is trying to find more natural ways to take care of my diseases and issues. There are so many chemicals that go into making prescription medicines and those can interact with chemicals from another drug and it becomes a terrible cycle where you have to treat side effects from interactions. That is where I am finding myself at the moment, I am having side affect issues and those have to be treated with more medicines, which means more pills. It is crazy the amount of pills one person can take in a single day just to combat all the other pills. 

            I am grateful that my doctors support my efforts to try and find other means of treating my diseases while they are still doing their work to try and help me get better at the same time. But, being in the state of Alabama there is an idea that anything related to cannabis is a bad thing so now we are at a place where there have been trials after trials on how well the oil from the cannabis plants work to help with issues many people face. I am not going to get into that debate, but I have been doing a lot of my own research into this and I am amazed at the stories that I have read. The same thing goes for steam cell research; people are confused and think that steam cells only come from aborted babies, which is the farthest thing from the truth. 

            The point of me saying all this is to let you know that you have to take care of yourself, do your research, and find the best doctors to treat you. Please be careful about the type of medicines you are prescribed, looked into the interactions of them with the rest of your medicine. Think about how the entire body works, I have been amazed to learn that so much of our immune system is in our gut I honestly didn’t know that and after some research it makes so much sense as to some of my issues I am dealing with. I am continuing to research, to learn, and to try to be as natural as I can with my medicine. 

I love getting acupuncture and reflexology to help drain my lymph nodes. I do understand that if people don’t understand what those two practices actually do they are a bit afraid of them and think they are some sorts of strange religion. I know that at times some New Age type of religion may have been associated with acupuncture and the like but if you study what it truly is then you realize that it is a simpler form of medicine that has been used for thousands of years. I have been amazed at my results from these eastern forms of medicine. In fact one of my doctors prescribes acupuncture for his cancer patients to help them deal with the nausea and pain. This is why I love my doctors because they are so open and willing to look to outside the box for answers for me to get well. 

            Again I am not sure why this is on my heart but I felt I needed to share it, maybe you are looking for answers and are questioning what your doctors are doing. Never be afraid to seek answers, second and third opinions, your health is yours and you are only here for a short while so make the most of it by getting the answers and help you need. Don’t be afraid to tell your doctors that you won’t take medicine that is addictive and you want another method to deal with the pain, seek that out, test it out and see what come of it. I am going to continue my research into the oils, the more natural remedies and continue to take my prescribed medicine as my doctors have prescribed. I am here if you have questions, if you want resources to amazing doctors, or if you just need to talk about your journey with medicine. Like I said I am not sure why I needed to write this, but God has really put this on my heart lately and I am just wanted to share it for those that need it and let you know you are not alone in our fight for answers.