Doctors Are Just Body Plumbers

I went to the Cool Acupuncture Guy today, as I mentioned yesterday.

This is how I feel:

And also a little of this:

Let me begin by telling you that CAG recommended I drink pure alcohol as an experiment.

"Get a good potato vodka," he said. "Try some pure tequila," he said. This recommendation came about because I have had three run-ins with foods that did not sit well with me during these past three weeks: wine, potato chips fried in CORN oil, and strawberries.

About the wine, he said that lots of wines are preserved with something called sulfites. (Yet another new bad thing I have to be on the lookout for...) Possibly my tummy reacted to the alcohol or possibly it reacted to the sulfites. The pure alcohol would help decide which one it really was! A great excuse to drink.

CAG decided it would be best for me to keep taking some ClearVite powder once a day and stay with a restricted diet to let my insides heal up even more. Because I've seen such positive results, I am a fan of this plan. He has added something called Thyroxal to my regimen. It has a bunch of vitamins, some pig thyroid hormone, bromelain, ashwaganda, and some enzymes. It's supposed to stimulate my thyroid.

The idea is still to stimulate my thyroid and stay away from D-inducing, inflammation inducing foods so that the arthritis and autoimmune problems GO AWAY. CAG has had success with other Hashimoto's thryoiditis patients, which gives me even more hope. The MDs I have seen were into treating the symptoms of these autoimmune problems, while CAG and the folks he works with are more interested in treating the root of the problem. This, Dear Friends, seems like a much better idea.

I am suposed to get my TSH levels checked in about 4 weeks; CAG recommended I go to the endocrinologist for the blood testing since my insurance will cover it. I mentioned I'd rather have my blood tested in-house, by CAG, to avoid talking to the endocrinologist. The endocrinologist would clearly disagree with the course of action I have chosen; he's already told me that there's nothing to be done about Hashimoto's thyroiditis and that I have to let my immune system kill off my thyroid. In his view, there's really no stopping the damage my body can do to itself.

Anyway, this led into a fantastic discussion in which CAG compared Doctors to plumbers:

CAG: "Why don't you want to go? You're giving him too much power over you."

Me: "I suppose that's true."

CAG: "He's at your service! I am at your service."

Me" "No, you're right, you're right. Other doctors generally act like they're in charge of my choices though..."

CAG: "No, okay, listen. Here's an example. It's like if you went to a restaurant and the waiter told you what you wanted to eat! He's there to serve you! You walk right into your doctor's office and get the bloodwork you need so you can start to be weaned off of Levothyroxine."

Me: "Mm hmmm..."

CAG: "We're like plumbers! He's your plumber."

Me: "Well, right now, I think you're a much better plumber than they are..."

CAG: "Right, because what I'm doing is working! If it stops working then you're going to kick my ass to the curb!"

Me: Laughter

The other extraordinary part of the appointment is how we were able to talk to one of the herbalist/acupuncturists before my actual consultation. DH had some health concerns that he would never ask someone informally about, but me, I will ask anyone, anything. :)

So, we were able to get an herbal consultation for DH and they didn't even charge us for it. He is trying some pepperminty oil, some herbal concoction, and some tincture to help his sinuses and allergies clear up. As I write this, he has already tried the peppermint oil (you boil water and add a drop and then breathe it up!) and feels a big difference. I guess we're both guinea pigs. As a side note, I will confide that this same peppermint oil is a neurotoxin for children, so we have to keep it out of reach!

In closing, I am in love with not going to doctors and doing things that actually build my body up instead of erode it's natural chemistry. So far, it's working for us. In a few days I will bust open a new jar of ClearVite--this time chocolate flavored! Hopefully this is a good thing and a terrible mistake....