The Devil You Know

Last night my husband came home complaining of chest pains in his cardiovascular region. Because it was so late and because heart attack's run in his family, I urged him to go to the ER. While I waited up for him to arrive home, I kept in contact with him to give him my support though I could not be there.

When he checked in they provided him with an EKG and took his blood pressure, temperature and asked him all of the routine questions. Then they sent him out to the waiting room until they could make room for him. About eight hours later, having had blood taken and more questions asked, they diagnosed a strained muscle and prescribed Naproxen, Flexerol and another muscle relaxer. Three pharmeceutical medications for the diagnoses of a pulled muscle in the chest cavity!

At 3am my husband came home, weary from the strain of florescent lights and waiting in a crowded hospital ward. I came downstairs to inquire about the results. As he told me, I must have reacted with horror and in my own tired haze began to tell him all that I knew about the muscular system, the different ways to self-heal without prescription drugs and lectured him on taking better care of himself. This must have overwhelmed him because he snapped "You're not the expert!" and we ended up sleeping in separate rooms that night.

Why does my husband not want my advice, when I have done so much to discover different ways of self healing and bring to light the possibilities of creating and sustaining personal health?!

This question raged through my sleep-deprived mind all day. For many hours I resented my husbands words of, "You're not the expert." And no, I am certainly not an expert, but then again, how many doctors are experts? How does one become an expert in their field? It takes years and years of practice with experience of both specifics and variables being studied and learned. By no means am I an expert, but at the same time, I might never be, nor ever want to be. If the only means by which I could be considered an expert is to get my doctorate after 8 plus years of school and brain washing, no thank you.

Dejected feelings aside, I have to ask, why, when I have brought such knowledge of natural healing, herbs, aromatherapy, yoga, pilates, energy work and nutrition into our home would my husband rather take drugs to ease his pain before even trying any of the alternatives?

I decided to discuss this with him in a more gentle way this evening. Inquiring, I asked him if the doctors had told him of any stretching exercises that he could do to relieve his discomfort. No.

Did the doctors recommend any topical solution to the problem? No.

Did the doctors discuss any minerals or vitamins that could help with the muscle spasms? No.

Did the doctors advise any alternative ways to cure the pain besides the medicine? No.

Then my husband said something astounding: "I received the prescriptions and I did not feel that I had a choice but to get them filled".

I realized then that my husband had fallen into the medical trap just as many American's have. Precisely because we are not given a choice, therefore we feel as if we do not have a choice. Choice is one of the major cornerstones of modern society, and yet our medical system appears to give little choice to individuals looking to partake in their own self care. Three prescriptions offered because of what? A relationship between drug companies, the hospital tax shelters or simply because no one knows of anything better to offer?

This is the very reason herbalists like myself are pushing for Integrative Medicine in our country. This is why we must fight for our health freedom and the right to choose the treatment we would like to have offered to us and to our bodies. If our bodies are supposed to be our temples, only we can determine the right course of action for them. No one should be made to feel like a poor patient because they refuse to take their medicine or decide to get an alternative diagnosis.

While the miracle of modern medicine, surgery and transplantations is very valid, one should be cautious to begin with the least intervention in the first stages of illness. Very often the body is reacting to stress, toxins, hormonal imbalance or poor nutritional distribution in the body. This is the time to do nothing and to take stock of what might be affecting us, not cover up the problem with drugs.

My husbands entire family seems to be deeply rooted in the medical system, it doesn't come as a surprise because his father has Polio. In the era when Polio was first being treated, he was one of the very first kids in Pennsylvania to receive treatment, one which allowed him to be mobile and heal from the Polio. My husbands father also receives dialysis on a regular basis for kidney failure and has survived four heart attacks, while his mother received a gastric bypass surgery and a knee replacement. All of these interventions have kept them going into their mid seventies. But you see, they were born into an era when how to eat healthy and how to treat the body was not widely explored. And they were born when the medical system was just beginning to take shape. Now there are so many marvels of modern medicine to take advantage of and when you are already locked in to needing this or that surgery, one must feel quite priveledged to be able to partake in these sciences. Therefore, my husband also feels that he is receiving the best care, because afterall UPS has the best healthcare coverage in the United States today.

So we finally determined that the reason my husband was more inclined to take the advice of the medical "expert" over the simple herbalist is because it is easier to hear what the Devil you know has to say than the Devil you don't know.

So the next time you feel you have no choice, think again, it may not be easy at first to think about what your body might be trying to tell you, or what your body might need, rather than accepting the quick fix. But in the long run, you will have taken an approach which allows freedom of choice over feelings of fear to take you where you need to be. You will be empowered to act confidently and take responsibility for yourself and your self care and that is a beautiful thing.