I wonder what your best health recovery story is about how YOU overruled the advice of your Dr. and decided on a different solution to your health crisis.
My stories
1- I had/have a ruptured C5. 2 surgeons recommended surgery. The 2nd surgeon even got visibly angry with me when I asked him if there was any other solution. I went home deeeepressed to say the least. I searched online and found a chiropractor site. It is interesting that I have never been able to find it again. After 3 months of once a week adjustment and 2 short adjustment regimens years later, I have no problems with my neck. When I went to the ((chiropractor)) the first time, I was experiencing numbness in my arm and 3 fingers and thumb were tingling.
Suckily, my ((chiropractor)) just had a slight heart attack and cannot see my wife who is experiencing the same exact symptoms right now. Odd how both of us have/had this same problem. Weird sex? Hmm.
2- plantar fasciitis. The Podiatrist said I needed surgery. While driving through Clarendon va. one day, I saw a shoe store with the words plantar fasciitis written on the front sign in big letters. I went inside what looked like a store that hadn’t had any improvements for the last 50 years. It was a time warp. The shoe salesman sold me a pair of shoes for $150 and then at the checkout counter cut some small flat spongy material and affixed it under the insoles of each shoe. 2 weeks later, I was dancing a jig. Interestingly, the store is no longer there.
My advice – be your own best health advocate. Doctors, just like any other professional, can be less than great at what they do. Not only that but any professional is prone to get lazy in their advice and simply stick to what worked last time. I am going to miss my chiropractor though. AND chiropractic care is NOT a hokey science.
I agree about chiropractors. Mine has reconstructed me more times than I care to recall. She’s a gem.
About thirty years ago, I became dependent on tricyclic antidepressants. My weight ballooned. I was having near-constant pneumonia-like illnesses. Worst of all, I was still depressed. I told my doctor I had to get off the tricyclics. He told me it would take at least two years. “I don’t have two years,” I said, and walked out. I cold-turkeyed off of those drugs (yes, I know it was dangerous), and for the next two years, I did not sleep more than two hours in any 24-hour period, probably dooming myself to dementia later on. (It ultimately took about two decades for my sleep to return to semi-normal.) In eighteen months, I lost over half my body weight, down to a normal size. 30 years later, I take no drugs and do not go to doctors unless I need sewing up. I trust my own instincts. It angers me when people get exercised over my “self-medication”. I believe that everybody needs to learn more about self-medicating and stop being so dependent on a health care system with no health and no care.
Western medicine relies on 2 things…pills and cutting you open.
It far too quickly moves from health care to health “management.” I am intrigued by the weight loss you experienced from stopping anti-depressants (which weren’t relieving depression, were they?)
I myself am in the process of completely re-evaluating my approach to medical treatment, by both doctors, herbalists and/or other alternative methods I deem appropriate.
And, fwiw, I discharged my in home health care provided by the kindness of the Veterans Choice program provided by the US taxpayer. While I could keep the service through my release from care, I decided to ask for early release.
Hmmm…..,recently have a 4th nerve palsy incident,means seeing double images in lower vision.I was lucky,no stroke/heart attack ect.,seems 90% of the time idiopathic,means they just don’t know and 90% of the time goes away(luckily did with me,that said,while driving with a eye patch did look like a dashing motor pirate!).They wanted me to use this eye lubricant for night,was like jamming gun grease/wheel bearing grease in your eye,not condusive to good sleep as rubbing me eyes all night,tried pure coconut oil,worked like a charm!As I already add this to am coffee was no big deal.
Donkey,get a inversion table,a good teeter about 100-150 used,has solved all me back problems/joint problems ect.,trust me,hanging like a bat for 10 minutes a day at end of day does wonders for ya,believe would take a lot of pressure off of your spine and allow the donuts between vertebrae to refill with fluid,chiros hate these things because they work,a honest chiro told me about and was eternally grateful,many friends have tried mine and went out and got their own.
As for feet,besides decent boots ect. I have used the 3/4 inserts,a huge difference at end of day.When me feet feeling real bad from long hiking ect. also use a foot roller,about 3 bucks or so online,me feet love it.
I will say the practice of Tai Chi has been proven to have regenerative benefits,still more into combat martial arts but when too old for that will go to Tai Chi.
Ona side note,what kind of weird sex you and the wife having to cause such issues?
Thanks James, I will look into the bat hanging thing a ma jig.
get a used teeter,do not buy one at say costco ect.You only need a basic model,but one with basically useless bells and whistles cheap go for it,get used on CL(never understand why folks sell em).A friend once called me a weird looking idiot when hanging,told him they use these for the Rangers when doing jump school,tell that to them!
I would say even if it doesn’t do great things for specific issues does so much you generally feel better and will be easier to find/dal with what works.
I once had acupuncture treatment for me back,didn’t do a damned thing(inversion cured),but,and a big BUT,the guy said any other issues,had bad tennis elbow from swinging a framing hammer,so,needles for that also,in 16 years the elbow that bothered me for two years feels fine after one treatment,was almost immediate benefit!
Best of luck to ya’s both!
FWIW – Broke my heel bone in to several pieces (don’t recommend jumping off ladders). The surgeon recommended running shoes made by Hoka to prevent plantar fasciitis. For a year after surgery I wore them full time(one pair for work (dirty environment) and one pair for home). I am now back to wearing regular boots and shoes. I paid $2oo a pair which was a shock, glad I did.
I’ve personally witnessed several instances where chiropractic accomplished what can best be described as miracles. It’s no surprise many insurance wont even cover it. Why would they actually want healthy customers?
Story #3.
I had my wisdom teeth pulled and developed dry socket. Damn painful. I ran out of pain killers and the Dentist didn’t return my calls.
Remedy – go to drug store (CVS etc) and purchase emergency tooth kit. No script needed, it’s right on the isle not locked up. It’s clove oil. One drop and the pain is INSTANTLY gone. I used that until the pain went away. The solution was, I think $5.
Amazing, simply amazing, that the medical industry does not tell you these things.
I learned about clove oil decades back after reading the book Marathon Man!
Is it safe???
What? It’s a natural remedy. The painkillers didn’t even work half as well.
You’re a dentist, correct?
The reference to Marathon Man makes the joke.
Hmm, I missed the joke. Please explain it.
I believe so. meg
Clove oil is pure gold, saved many people with it over the years. Oregano oil on a cracker will knock a cold out in 24 hours. Lavender oil will heal burns and leave zero scars. I recommend picking up a herbal book like this one.
http://www.bigwords.com/details/book/Encyclopedia_of_Herbal_Medicine_3rd_Edition/9781465449818/1465449817
It’s worth every penny.
I like Osteopaths.
Popped out, dislocated a couple of ribs while a carpenter. The ER Doc kept poking them, showed a fellow doc how I jumped when he poked them. I mentioned that if he did that poking again he was going to feel a lot of sudden pain himself.
At any rate, he referred me to an Osteopath, a big one. This huge man wrapped me up in a twisted sort of hug and jumped on me while on the table. The ribs painfully popped back into place. He told me to take some pain pills, go to bed and then go to work the next morning.
Wife:
Over the years she developed increasingly GI problems, and her anxiety and depression got awful as well.
Doctors prescribed her a bunch of inconclusive (several thousand dollars) worth of tests, told her to take peppermint oil for her stomach, and do yoga for the stress she must be under. After that they put her on an SSRI that completely nuked her personality and made her sleep 16-20 hours a day.
We eventually found out she was celiac and self treated. All problems disappeared over the following year. We actually have MORE problems left over from that damned SSRI than anything else. God if I could go back and say “no” to that shit.
Second story, I tore out my shoulders when I was younger. Not quite the rotator cuff, but rather where they anchor deep in your back, near the spine. The doctor said I would need surgery. I couldn’t afford surgery plus the rehab and the time off from work. I just kind of…lived with it, I guess. I learned how to compensate enough with my biceps and turn “over head” work into more of a clean and jerk. It sucked, but I could keep working.
About the time my wife discovered celiac she was doing personal training with a friend from high school. Her friend said she could help my shoulders. I disagreed, but she offered to train me if I came at the same time as my wife. Sure, why not, I could use the work out (I’m a desk jockey these days).
She started me out with 2lb weights. It was mildly embarrassing, but I did what she said and by the end of the day I would always be sore – the good kind, not the “god my shoulder is going to be gone in 10 years” kind. After about 8 weeks the “clicking” in my shoulder and the tender spots in my back were gone. I stopped going once I hit the limit of her barbells, what had started out as work with 2 pounders ended up with 45 pounders. I stopped going when I hit the limit of her gym 🙂 Nowadays I do pushups, planks, and walk with my wife in the evenings. I could be healthier, but at least my shoulders are back.
Last story, I had a farm accident when I was 9 and wrecked my lower back. Doc said I would need surgery. We couldn’t afford surgery, so I went to a chiropractor. I went every other week for a couple months and whatever the issue was went away.
you don’t need an inversion table, just lay sideways across your bed, hook your toes under the mattress on one side, and hang your head arms and shoulders off the other side of the mattress, do this for five minutes a day.
Green,glad that works and suggest folks try,that said,benefits of 70 degree inversion minumum for joint refilling,for me the upside down can feel body stretching in a good way and just a cool head rush.
So folks,try Greens idea as will save you some bucks and works,awesome,find it doesn’t or does but not enuff,get the table.
Inversion table works for some lower back, sciatica.
Have to use it regularly, tho.
Chiro I see recommends 30 minutes a day hopping on a rebounder. One of them mini trampolines about 5 ft. in diameter, it rests on post legs about 12 inches high. $30 at any sporting goods store.
You’d think it would compact your vertebrae, but, no. It elongates your spine, and triggers your lymph nodes as one benefit. Helps balance, coordination, builds your core, and the motion helps prevent those stabbing pains off center of spine, at the high buttocks area, which sometimes have gone out of whack, and pinched nerves there are excruciating. Astronauts reportedly trained with rebounders / trampolines, to prep for G force conditions.
For years when a tot was in the house, there was one of those mini trampolines around we would jump on from time to time. Do you really do this on occasion (hop on the mini-tramp NO PUN INTENDED) and do you think it worth my suggesting to my dear husband, whose sciatic nerve is only one of the things I irritate?
In any case, with my condition only recently upgraded a bit, I will not be hopping for my health, though I could probably think about having a beer.
Seriously… does the hopping help?
Like all good health practices, I struggle w having consistent discipline to maintain a schedule.
As of late, a bum ankle has prevented me from rebounding.
I need to resume it, and likewise, daily use of the inversion table.
Constantly dealing with painful lower and mid back soreness and pain.
Preventative exercise and stretching beats taking pain meds every other day.
Stubborn. At times, just lazy.
And I pay the price for it.
Old lady Pangloss said a stiff neck is the sign of wild sex. In your case, I doubt it.
AWD said podiatry is the refuge of quack doctors.
Now wouldn’t that just be some shit if he died from a foot fungus?
My uncle was a doctor who told us if we want to live a long time, avoid doctors except for emergencies.
Doctors will tell family things they’d never admit to their patients.
Herniated L5, chose Chiro, muscle stim, and physical therapy. Two months later, healed.
That was in 1992 and still OK.
Three years ago my knees were bothering me enough to see an orthopedic surgeon.
He was 72 and with a grin on his face he offered me three choices.
Steroid injections, knee replacement, or 1500mg of glucosamine/chondroitin capsules per day.
He said “They may not work, they don’t for everyone”. Still on them and hallelujah!
Had intermittent chest congestion and cough I couldn’t kick for a year. MD’s couldn’t find a thing wrong. I finally got pissed off and switched from chemical decongestants to Fire Cider, and cleared it up in a couple weeks.
Chiros are otal quacks. They pop you (sometimes crippling you in the process), making it fel better for a moment. Every major study fone on chiros show them to be quacks. There is some minor indication they may help with lower back issues – ie sciatica type stuff. If you let them pop your neck, and end up paralyzed – I told you so. There whole game is to make you feel better for a minute, then hey, come back next week and we will do it again! I know a chiro who refuse to work in sick people – his shyster game is to claim he maintains you. But the minute you actually get hurt, he refuses to see you.
What a con. And people believe it.
Go see a pilates instructor, a physio, an oc therapist if you want to actually get better. Go see a chiro if you want to pay every week forevah.
I’ve never heard of anyone having that problem with a chiropractor. Mine saved me.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Walked like cripple. hands crippled. Typed with one finger. Meds from doc helped. Went to library to study the disease. Only two books. One was just informational no help. The other recommended barbells. Started lifting using starting strength. No more meds doctor baffled.
Chances are, even though you feel no neck pain, the numbness etc. are caused by a pinched nerve somewhere around the neck area. Likely it is because both you and your wife spend too much time in front of the computer sitting with poor posture. I say that because I have had the exact same symptoms before because of just that. Chiropractor to the rescue. Find another chiropractor for you and your wife. Keeping the spine properly adjusted is the best thing you can do for your overall health. A new company started in the US called “The Joint” Chiropractic. No frills (to say the least), but way affordable adjustments if that is all you are looking for. You can even buy a package deal that makes them even cheaper. I prefer my regular guy because he works on addressing structural issues with long-term adjustment therapy, also uses tens(sp?) electrostimulation devices for muscle issues, and other things, but The Joint is about 1/3 the cost for just a nice crack and go visit.