01 02 03 400 Things: Think Outside the Doctor 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Think Outside the Doctor

34

We have had several occasions to see a doctor this past summer to diagnose some mysterious illness or another, and each time, we came away from an M.D. with no answers, but plenty of medication.


Illness #1:


My 12 year old was having repeated episodes of high fever, chills, sore throat, and vomiting during the spring. Like clockwork, every 2-3 weeks, she would come down with the same symptoms. Since she has a history of strep throat, and those are it's symptoms, I dutifully took her to our family doctor for an antibiotic. They always tested her for strep, and it always came back negative, but they prescribed the antibiotic anyway.


When this happened 4 times in a row, I started asking more questions. At one point, her fever went up to 104.5 and our doctor told us to take her to the ER. I did, and they gave her more antibiotics and also tested her for mono (and again for strep). Both tests came back negative.


When the problem came back again (yes, AGAIN!), I called my chiropractor and my family doctor. We went to back-to-back appointments that morning. M.D. took blood cultures and prescribed another antibiotic. Our chiropractor did what chiropractors do, with his different muscle testing and all, and said her immune system is just very weak and if we built it up, she would recover quickly. He recommended lots of acidophilus, and gave her Congaplex (which he said worked like an antibiotic). I also had her take Emergen-C three times a day. Within 24 hours she was back to normal, and the illness did not return. And no, we did not get that last antibiotic filled.


Illness #2


I began experiencing middle-back pain that would increase with each passing day. It started to affect my breathing. I told my husband I must have a rib out of place for it to hurt where it did and cause my breathing to be labored. (I've had that before, and it was NOT fun!) So when it finally affected my sleep, I called my chiropractor. It took him about 30 seconds to determine that my diaphragm was in spasm. Huh?


He did some massage on the diaphragm area, gave me an adjustment, and said to put ice on my back. It worked. That same day, I attended my cousin's 16th surprise birthday party, which also happened to be a square dance. And I danced the entire evening!


I remarked to my husband that if I had gone to the M.D., I would have probably been given stronger pain relievers, and possibly been sent to see a specialist or to get a CT scan.


Illness #3


My 12 year old (again) has had headaches for several years, but this past month they have worsened, and been accompanied by severe dizziness. So I took her to our chiropractor, and guess what he said? She's dehydrated. As a mom, you can imagine the relief I felt to know that it was something as simple as dehydration, and not some serious spine or brain issue!


He gave her an adjustment and prescribed lots and lots of water. We can do that!


I share all of this because it's been a real blessing to get simple answers. And in case you're wondering, our chiropractor did not have us come back for 4 adjustments each week for 6 weeks or anything like that. We just go back because we are getting results!


If you are stuck in a rut with illness and not getting anywhere, consider a different route. It will probably save you money, frustration, and your health!


Read more on Thinking Outside the Box posts here. For more common sense living, visit my other blog, Prairie Sense.


Labels: ,

35 36 37 38