So. The last time I wrote about my health was in 2012 during my breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. My 10 year anniversary of that event approaches and I’m feeling the itch to write about my new health journey.
The prequel: In what I attributed to a stress-induced reaction, I woke up on June 15th covered in hives, head to toe. The itching was INTENSE, but ironically the more you scratch, the more histamines you release and the worse it gets. I could not. Stop. Scratching. I reached out to the dermatologist, and they were able to see me - in about 4 weeks. Seriously? Luckily, my primary care practice got me in the same day and I soon had a blessed dose of steroid coursing through my veins. Magic.
During my visit to get said drug, I wondered aloud to the doc if the rash might be the result of my immune system gone awry, due to some other unexplained rashes and itching I've had. She offered to order an ANA test (Antinuclear Antibodies), which is, in essence, an indicator of the immune system attacking itself. The lab was closed for lunch, so no biggie - I would just get it done at my well check the following week, when I knew they would do the whole kit and caboodle of bloodwork.
Fast forward to that appointment and, while I give credit to the doc for doing a pretty complete history, I never removed a single article of clothing and he didn’t even check my reflexes, something I consider standard practice. I certainly wasn’t HOPING to remove my clothes (I’m 57 and had 2 babies after all), but I just couldn’t wrap my head around a complete physical while fully dressed. No matter. I proceeded to the lab after my appointment, gave them a generous amount of my blood, and went home.
When I got the MyChart notification that I had new test results, I logged in expecting to get a completely benign ‘all normal’ message. It was a bit of a shock to learn that my ANA, along with another antibody, was positive. Although the test is not conclusive in and of itself, it’s indicative of Lupus. WHAT??? While this didn’t bring me to tears the way my cancer diagnosis did, it was certainly not the news I was hoping for. And then I thought, what if I hadn’t proactively sought out the test? Would the doctor have ever tried to figure out why I got the hives, or would she have just been happy to treat the symptoms? I know the answer. We all know the answer. Traditional medicine rarely asks why. Traditional medicine asks 'what can I cut?' or 'what can I prescribe?' because that's how physicians are trained. Quick fixes that rarely look for underlying causes are leaving us sicker than ever.
(Side note: when they gave me my referral to a rheumatologist, they were not able to see me for 3 months!)
It is my contention that our health care system is massively, undeniably, (but hopefully not irretrievably) broken. Our extensive resources are not used to build a foundation of health, but instead to treat people once they are already sick. Many people (myself included once upon a time) believe the U.S. has the best health care in the world. And there's no denying that we do have some great doctors and treatments. But the statistics on how we fare overall don't support the assumption that we are the best. Of 193 countries measured, life expectancy in the U.S. ranks 46th - smack dab between Cuba and Panama, a country still on the cusp of being a fully developed nation. Roughly 13% of the world's population is obese, yet 36% of Americans meet that criteria. Add in the overweight, and it skyrockets to 70%, the worst in the WORLD. You can see where I'm going with this . . . there are fundamental flaws in our healthcare if this is how we stack up on the world stage.
I'm turning to functional medicine this time around and documenting my journey is a sort of therapy for me. What is functional medicine you may ask? At its most basic, fundamental medicine looks for the root of the problem and asks why, why, why. There are five basic tenets of the approach:
•We are genetically and biochemically unique. FM treats the individual, not the disease
•FM is deeply science-based and operates on the understanding that our internal systems are intimately connected
•Our bodies have the capacity to self-regulate and create balance among the various systems
•Our bodies are designed to self-heal and prevent disease
•Health is not the absence of disease, it's the presence of vitality
This is a significant departure for someone who at one time had a motto of 'when in doubt, medicate' when faced with health issues (I sincerely apologize to my children who were often the recipients of said medication). However, the older I've gotten, the more I've come to understand that our bodies are like a finely choreographed dance and if one dancer screws up, it can cause all the others to fall out of line.
It's possible my quest to heal my body and equip my immune system to do the job it was intended to do will fail. But regardless of my particular outcome, it’s important that we begin having this conversation, and learning to ask the right questions about our care, instead of settling for a prescription and an assembly line approach to wellness. We simply HAVE TO change our approach to health and wellness, I believe this in my core.
At heart, I’m an optimist. I trust that my body has the ability to heal itself, but understand that my road to wellness will take time. In this instant gratification world, that alone is probably the toughest part of the journey. But I will educate myself, I will take the steps I need to take, and just maybe, in addition to helping myself, I will discover something along the way that can help someone else. But the only way we can help each other is if we share our stories. And so, we begin.
