I remember three decades ago embarking upon this journey of health. The very first holistic Dr that I saw was an MD/homeopath-a very old and beautiful man who said to me, “Matia, you cannot change everything over night…little by little you can make small changes that will slowly change your life.”

How right he was. Being quite young, I of course could not grasp the magnitude of what he was saying at the time. But, every year I walk along this path, every month even, I learn something new, or am influenced by someone else.

Yesterday I had an incredible conversation with a farmer who completely blew me away with his knowledge about farming. Of late, I have learned a lot from many people in my periphery, new people, about this subject. But, this particular man, well, he brought me to tears literally and then drew me in further with his knowledge of the microbiome and contrasted his farming with that knowledge. He was explaining how the terrain of the earth and the farming concepts were fairly identical to the terrain theory of the GUT and health. Of course I knew that, but not in the way he was explaining-not in the sense that the same microbes in the GUT are fundamental to the health of the farmland. I am going to plan a day to go and visit this man and learn more-I am completely in.

I go to another farmer each week to pick up my raw milk that literally has just come out of the cow. He is also a farmer of the earth-no chemical no antibiotics. People ask me am I not afraid to drink that milk. No I am not afraid, I am so happy and grateful to have it, and from such happy cows that I get to pet each week!

This farmer yesterday and I spoke about the concept of eating animals. I shared with him my deep struggle with it on a personal level and the conflict this causes me, as I advocate the eating of animals to my patients because I believe deeply that we need the red meat for health. He is much older than I am and has traveled along these same concepts and struggles. This was the part of the conversation that made me cry. He went on to discuss that his belief is that we are all one in this universe and are exchanging energy constantly, and that plants have feelings in the same way that animals do and went on to site the research behind it which, also blew me away. He said much of this info may be found in a book called, The Secret Life Of Plants. I am buying that this weekend.

In any case—on a day where I needed to have such a conversation, it was much enjoyed, so I thought I would share.

Dr.M

Please dont forget to check posts on Facebook ICAMA and Bomamed for posts there. I sometimes post there instead of here and sometimes vice versa depending on the content. I have been spending a lot of extra time outside of my work hours supporting some patients who needed extra help and a couple of people close to me who have been quite unwell with cancer. Interestingly one–who smokes and eat tons of if nothing else but junk-is going to make it quite fine after having a surgery extract the encapsulated cancer from their body and the other, a health-based person-seems to also be doing better following her health based program.

Cancer is such an ugly topic of conversation as often the outcome is not good at all. Ive learned more about it than I ever cared to know in the last decade having lost many people close to me to it. Lately I have been a bit hyper focused on this subject and how it inter-relates to chronic inflammatory conditions such as IC. And while I am certainly no expert or even close on the topic of cancer, I feel that this knowledge is really important and does inter-relate to other inflammatory conditions including IC-especially when one thinks of diet. Some schools of thought for cancer say no meat-eat only fruits and veg, while others say eat animal protein and veg no fruit. For me I have found that IC treatment only works well with the inclusion of animal protein-which-for me is extremely difficult to advocate, despite my strong beleifs in its veracity as I am a HUUUGE animal lover and feel a great amount of distress eating animals myself. This is something that I will likely die not reconciling within my own soul.

The ketogenic approach to cancer and the ICAMA diet protocols have a similar base–this is a lot of what I have been thinking about. So, I have spent alot of time pondering this issue and each time I think perhaps I might be wrong, I get yet another person coming along who does not seem to do as well without the inclusion of animal protein in their diet-especially and most importantly red meat.

On another note, I have also been for the first time drinking filtered water from a quite a complex filtration system–so far its been 4 months. When I get to the year mark, perhpas sooner, I will post more. I am looking forward to helping to provide more options for people on their water and letting go of the bottle-but don’t do it yet.

This two decade journey has been filled with a lot that has helped us deepen our own knowledge in order to help others with the use of Chinese medicine. Time and again we have found its conceptual model of physiology irreplaceable in helping people get better. Fine tuning that knowledge constantly is a process that we remain dedicated to.

Dr.M & B

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_re…/2016-02/waeh-sdi021216.php

This was a post I did last year from a patient. I am re-posting as this is coming up for a few people and I think it may be helpful to bring back into the forefront.

It has been four years, two months and twenty- two days since I began treatment at ICAMA. In that time, I have made empowering relationships, become pain–free, transformed my lifestyle and expanded my family. In a recent appointment with Matia, she asked me to share a few thoughts regarding the research and consequent decisions my husband and I made about the recent birth of our son, Andrew. I strongly believe each woman has to make decisions that feel right to her; however, I would have benefitted from fellow patients sharing their experiences. There are four waiver forms I was legally obligated to sign to have my wishes carried out during delivery at a hospital in Ohio: Hepatitis B Vaccine, administration of antibiotic eye-drops ( the waiver is not available in NY), administration of pitocin in the third stage of labor ( which is now part of Labor and Delivery Protocol), and administration of IV antibiotics for Group Strep B. My OB has known me since I was four years old. He delivered my first two children and is a good man and an excellent surgeon. However, as my pregnancy progressed with Andrew, it was clear that the more active role I took in creating my birth choices was uncomfortable to him. As I began to feel empowered in the choices I made based on research I had done on various child-birth models, the stronger his paternalistic energy became during our appointments. Ultimately, he asked my husband and I to sign an “Informed Consent” form in an office visit as a direct response to my conversation about what I planned to refuse during delivery and why. At the end of that appointment, at 37 weeks pregnant, I left my OB and chose to be delivered by a midwife. It was a very difficult decision to leave the safety of this talented surgeon with whom I had a personal relationship. As we have learned in treatment, energy is a powerful force, and I simply was no longer comfortable with him performing my delivery. He has good reasons to have wanted to protect himself legally from a patient who seemed to want to take more risks than he was comfortable taking. Our Doctor/ patient relationship was no longer the right fit for who I had become and for the healthcare PARTNERSHIP I craved in my delivery. The mission statement of the midwifery group I delivered with was a much better energetic fit for Andrew’s entrance into the world. The sensitivity about discussing vaccinations openly in our society upsets me. If a parent doesn’t conform to CDC recommendations, there is this sort of public witch hunt that ensues. It seems the “conversations” I have witnessed seem to be divided into two camp, Pro and Anti. It is not that simple. Is it? My two older children did receive the Hepatitis B vaccine, but neither of them received it at birth. Hepatitis B is a disease transmitted sexually or through blood. I do not have it, and therefore I found it very unlikely my newborn would be sexually active anytime soon;-) When I asked my pediatrician why the CDC recommends this vaccine at such a young age, he shared with me that it is because the population most at risk for Hepatitis B may not receive regular medical care from pediatricians; therefore, we can “catch” these kids before they are released from the hospital at birth. For this reason and for many others (for which I would like to write a book;-)), my husband and I chose not to vaccinate Andrew against Hep B at birth. This history of the antibiotic eye drops in infants is an interesting one. During the 1800’s, about 10% of newborns developed ophthalmia neonatorum (ON). ON is a type of pink eye that caused blindness in 3% of those affected or roughly 3/1000. Dr Crede in 1881 found that the ON was caused by the mother carrying gonorrhea and administering silver nitrate into the infant’s eyes would prevent blindness. Silver nitrate is very irritating to the eyes, so when antibiotics were developed in the 1900s, their administration became routine use in hospitals for newborn care. The hospital REQUIRES a sexually transmitted disease panel for anyone who becomes pregnant. When my results came back with no indication of ANY STD, I saw no reason to expose my newborn to antibiotic use for a disease for which he is not at risk. My husband and I chose to waive the antibiotic eye-drops for our son. It is important to note that in New York, your choice has already been taken away, and waiving eye-drops in hospitals is no longer an option. I was induced for the birth of my oldest daughter in 2003. There was not any medical reason to have done so except that she was suspected to be “large.” At 22 years old, after a very tough pitocin induced labor and a huge episiotomy, I delivered a normal 8 lb 13oz baby. Her delivery was medically invasive, and I did not feel this was the optimal birth experience. Happy and thankful for a healthy baby girl, I decided that I would not dwell, but would rather learn from this experience and not allow Pitocin to enter my body again. As a side note, if you have not watched “The Business of Being Born,” log onto Netflix now and do so. It contains a wealth of information. I declined pitocin for the birth of my daughter, Cecilia, in 2010 for the reasons I just discussed. When I became pregnant with Andrew in 2014, I had developed an autonomic heart condition, which is dramatically affected by synthetic hormone use. In addition to the stakes being higher for my personal health, the hospital had added ROUTINE pitocin use in the third stage of labor via IV to prevent postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum Hemorrhage does occur and is very serious. If that does occur, please intervene, that is why I chose to be in a hospital. However, when a normal birth is going smoothly, the use of synthetic hormones before or after birth can cause significant issues. Be informed and know what your hospital protocol is regarding administration of pitocin. It should be your decision. My husband and I chose to waive the administration of synthetic hormones as a preventative measure during Andrew’s birth. The fourth and final waiver of IV antibiotic use for a positive Group Strep B test necessitated the most research by my husband and I. It also, turned out to be the most controversial waiver from the hospital’s perspective. I encourage you to look to the UK model of childbirth for unbiased, medical-based information in addition to the Cochrane Collaboration. The high profits of the American pharmaceutical industry have defiled what was once an innovative and well-intentioned medical industry in the United States. Group Strep B is a bacteria present at all times in a woman’s vaginal/intestinal tract. When it reaches a certain level, a woman tests positive for Group Strep B. Interestingly, there is no level given in the results so one cannot know the extent of the imbalance. Also, Group Strep B can be present one week in larger numbers and much lower the next. Due to its transient nature, 10-20% of women who test positive are actually negative at the time of delivery. Conversely, there are the same number of women who test negative and are positive at the time of delivery. And yet, there is not a spike in the number of newborns developing Group Strep B anywhere in the Western World. The test simply reads positive or negative and which antibiotic is recommended to eradicate the Group Strep B and consequently, your newborn’s delicate gut flora during delivery. There are two types of models used to determine the protocol for Group Strep B. The U.S uses the Universal Model, which administers every woman in the United States who tests positive for Group Strep B intravenously for 4-8 hours before delivery. Keep in mind between 30%-36% of women test positive. That is a whole lot of antibiotic use! Testing positive also results in an additional required day being added to the hospital stay, so clearly, both the hospital and pharmaceutical companies profit from this policy. The U.K. utilizes the Risk- Based Protocol, which states any woman who tests positive for Group Strep B AND falls into a risk category of: being African American, had a previous child with GBS, is under the age of 17, is delivering before 36 weeks, has been laboring for over 18 hours after her water breaks, or currently has an infection or fever can choose to have IV antibiotics administered during delivery. Please note that none of these risk factors applied to me. Based on the statistics my husband and I read, the rate of transmission is roughly 1/500. Some statistics would indicate 1/4000 after eliminating all the risk factors, but I will take the conservative estimate. With a high estimate of 8% of babies actually being saved by intravenous antibiotics, roughly 1/5000 babies will be saved, while 1/3 are given unnecessary antibiotics. The use of these antibiotics can increase the onset of antibiotic resistance infections such as MRSA, sepsis and e-coli. Further GBP positive status alone is a poor indicator of which babies will become ill. Keep in mind, this protocol does nothing to prevent late onset. This is a very difficult decision because although the statistics are numbers my husband and I are comfortable with, if Group Strep B did develop, it could be fatal. To throw another factor into an already difficult decision, there are two types of Group Strep B…early onset and late onset. Early onset occurs in the first six days of your newborn’s life and is mostly preventable through the antibiotic use. Late is most likely to occur around 3 months, has no prevention and no known catalyst. My husband and I chose to waive IV antibiotics for a positive Group Strep B test. Choosing to become a parent is wrought with all sorts of risks. Of the risks that are partially within our control, only you can make the decision as to which risk assessment you are the most comfortable with. Because of my heart condition, I chose to have a hospital birth with Andrew. I surrounded myself with the best team of advocates I could…..my husband, my mother, my doula and a midwife. The labor and delivery nurse, however, was not of my choosing. I joke that a week after a natural childbirth the only part of me that hurt were my hands—where the nurse had blown three veins;-). IV insertion was the only aspect of delivery I could not waive. My heart did beautifully in delivery, and if I am blessed to have more children in the future, I am undecided as to whether the stress of a hospital birth will be my choice. Andrew’s entrance into the world was one of the most empowering, terrifying and important moments of my life. After he was born without a tear, the midwife cleaned him on me where we were able to rest and bond for two hours. During that time, we stared at one another, nursed and cried. I am forever grateful that being a mother is part of my journey and that Matia has been my partner and guide in finding my way to optimal health. My sincere hope is that the information I have acquired throughout my childbirth process is helpful to another.

From my patient:

Our youngest son was born June 1, 2015 via induction with Pitocin.  After birth, he failed the hearing test on labor and delivery (OAE) five times and we were referred for additional testing. He later failed a more definitive hearing test (ABR – Auditory Brainstem Response) at 11 days and at 4 weeks old. The results of both tests showed no brain response to auditory stimulation.  He was seen by an ENT at 5 weeks with no observable structural abnormalities, leading to his diagnosis of ‘profound sensorineural hearing loss’. Ironically, I started having problems with my own ears around the same time and following a consult with Dr. Brizman my protocol was temporarily simplified and my ears cleared almost immediately.  During my consult, I shared my son’s diagnosis with Dr. Brizman and will never forget her reassurance that she was confident his hearing would improve with time. After talking to our pediatrician we learned that both supplements Dr. Brizman recommended for my ears were safe for our son so we added them to his bottle once a day.

At 8 weeks, he was fitted with hearing aids  and he immediately responded to clapping.  Prior to this, we had seen responses only  to sirens, a lawn mower, the house alarm and a door slamming; but he definitly wasn’t responding to many of your ‘typical sounds’ (we have a not so quiet toddler). After fitting him with aids we were told he likely heard ‘loud sounds’ but no voices. He continued to have monthly sound booth testing, all of which continued to show ‘severe to profound’ hearing loss. 

Around Christmas time, I was riding in the back seat of our car feeding him (he was looking out the window) and I sneezed. He turned towards me and smiled.  I thought, “maybe he just saw the movement” but when I sneezed again a minute later he turned and giggled.  During this same time frame we continued to see more and more “potential’ responses to sound, including the ability to locate sounds when we called his name while out of sight etc…

In January we had our first meeting with his Cochlear implant team.  When they put him in the sound booth his results were near normal, and he passed a repeat OAE with flying colors. We were shocked, but were quickly informed he may have Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) which would explain both the previous failed hearing tests, and the current ‘near normal’ booth testing. With ANSD there is often a break down in communication between the auditory nerve and the brain, and like IC there is no known ‘medical’ cure because the underlying disease mechanism is not well understood. The more we researched, the more we worried.  We learned our son did not have the typical ‘risk factors’ for this diagnosis but in some cases it can be caused by Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease.  We were told by our Cochlear Implant team that we needed to do another ABR in order to obtain a definitive diagnosis.

Yesterday, we were finally able to complete a repeat ABR and were notified shortly thereafter that he test showed completely normal hearing, with no sign of auditory neuropathy. We were completely stunned, and are over the moon with joy.  The Audiologist and ENT were unable to give us an explanation for how this happened, and they will continue to monitor him every 4-6 months. But as of yesterday, he is a typical, happy, healthy, HEARING 9 month old with full access to sound and the ability to acquire language normally!

From me: This story warmed my heart and is one of many stories that makes what we do so worth all of the difficult moments. This is the kind of story that really points to the power of the “energetics” of the human body and the ability of an Alternative approach to impact that system. I was going to go into a long discussion on the subject, but for tonight, I just wanted to post this and enjoy being overwhlemed with joy over this little baby’s victory over what could have been a very different road of life.

Dr.M

The gut is a fundamental point through which health and disease are influenced. This is an incredible article you will want to read: http://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2015/11/06/gut-bacteria-can-dramatically-amplify-cancer-immunotherapy/ 

Dr.M

While I dont recommend this for patients that are in the throws of IC, I do for those further along in the process of regaining their health. A wonderful article:

https://nourishingourchildren.wordpress.com/2016/02/14/substitutes-for-raw-milk/ 

Dr.M

I have posted a considerable amount on this topic, but, this article today is quite interesting in that is has been published in one of the world’s most prestigious medical publications. Fouride is being put in the water supply of many areas throughout the states, and the world and may be gravely effecting the health of those it reaches.

I can’t tell you the number of people I have spoken to over the years who insist that flouride is healthy for you-great for your teeth. Here is the article: http://wakingscience.com/2016/02/fluoride-officially-classified-as-a-neurotoxin-in-worlds-most-prestigious-medical-journal/

A patient of mine sent me this link for those in UK interested in buying raw milk http://www.hookandson.co.uk/ 

Dr.M

As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of raw milk. I met this wonderful old farmer this week who has a raw milk dairy. He made me smile and laugh when he was joking about farms that take perfectly wonderful milk and sell it to be pasteurized. He said, “they take it and then they kill it”. So well put! For snacks and often breakfast, I typically do a smoothies. I mix them up and get creative. The options are pretty unlimited and the contents depend on my mood and what I feel that my body is asking for. So obviosuly, I start with raw milk-about 8 oz-I then will often put in raw nut butter-for me maybe walnut because it is one of my favorites, or cashew, or almond and then I will add in a bit of brocolli (yes brocolli!) or spinach, or kale. Sounds awful, I know, but it is delicious! You could add in some fruit or other veggies like carrot. Try it and have fun mixing it up with so many different combinations! Doing raw milk smoothies offers so many vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and probiotics into your body that may be difficult to take in and process otherwise. And the milk protein base will allow it to be metabolized more efficiently into your body ( it wont mess with your sugar and insulin levels) than if you made a juice smoothy from either veg or fuit alone. If you have not ever had raw milk-you don’t wnat to just start drinking it freely-start slow and work it up. but this is a great way to add nutrients and lots of flavor to your body. It is definitely a feel good drink. My kids love it too.

Dr.M

A very large part of what we do here is to try and teach people not only how to regain their helathy homeodynamic balance, but to prevent future episodes of falling into the dark hole of conditions such as IC and other related chronic inflammatory disorders. In my dissertation, I speak of the many contributing factors involved in the breakdown of the GUT, but a common one that I think is really often overlooked and quite common, is the use of NSAIDs. My daughter broker her arm the other night, and we were of course in the hospital. The attending physician went to give her Ibuprofen. I asked that he refrain from doing so. He looked at me like I was the most horrible woman in the world. But, that’s OK. I know my child’s pain tolerance and she wasn’t at the point that it was absolutely necessary and what he didnt know is that at home, I have a Chinese medicine spray that is very effective at taking away the pain and is used specifically for expediting the healing of broken bones. My kid smiled when the doctor wasn’t looking and mouthed the words, “thank you mommy”. For any of us who have gone through alternative treatments, hopefully we have learned all of the things to pass on to our children so that they will not fall into the same traps that we may have. We have many patients in our clinic with little else that contributed to their condition except for chronic NSAID use. I think this subject has not been spoken about quite enough. This is a really nice article:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/21/research-shows-link-between-nsaid-use-and-gut-disease.html

Dr.M

I want to take a moment to say Happy New Year to everyone today and reflect a moment on 2015. I would say every year brings with it, it’s challlenges yet, is also likely filled with many moments of the positive. 2015 was no exception. Someone said to me this week that if a person has something that they specialize in, their “greatness” is typically not marked by their acheivements, but rather thier trials and errors. I thought long and hard about that because I am very oriented on the successes. But, it is true, that a person cannot be able to acheive successes without falling more than just a few times. If I look back over the nearly 20 years I have been doing this work, I can see that the many times that unwanted outcomes were rendered were what led me the most to more deeply understand issues that I may not have otherwise come to realize.

With every year that I practice, I understand more and more that the variable of “human” can not be underestimated. We are all human and therefore unique. In as much as we each have a heart, a liver, blood running through our veins, lymph running through that immune system highway….. the way in which we operate is not like a machine that can be treated by examining it’s broken parts. We are comprised of many variable components that serve to identify who we are and the inter-workings of our physiology, psychology, spirituality and that “magical” force that connects all of those parts.

Every year that I practice, I feel humbled by so many things in life and in the world of healing. I am humbled by the vastness of it all and am in awe of the capacity for change that we all possess as human beings. I have learned to honor what I know as well as what I do not know and to remain standing with my heart open to the fact that each of our physical and spiritual journeys contain different messages and themes. I have learned to not judge. The thing that I cherish the very most are the relationships that I share with so many people (primarily women) around the world through this work that I do.

Looking forward and wondering what is to come, and reflecting back on what has past, may often be painful when neither seems to coincide with our imagined vision. I think a part of that road to finding that balanced, healthy place in our own life is seeing the positive in the struggles that have met us in life. This is not an easy task. I know, as I have been there more than once. But, I don’t ask, “why me?”, I always ask myself, “OK, what am I supposed to learn from this now?”, and, it brings comfort becuase in my heart of hearts, I do believe there is purpose to everything, and at the very least that is my hope. As I have done for all of these past 20 years, and what I will continue to do as long as I am breathing, is to try to make the lives of others as better as I possibly can, using my hands, heart, and mind for the mending of those in physical and psychological pain. And, if each one of us does this on a personal level every day-the world will be that much better for it.

Boaz and I share many visions of what we hope for in the future for ICAMA to help others more and more. With every year we practice, more of the goals are being met. Touching the lives of the many people we treat, and even some we don’t creates the small steps necessary to build the larger ones to come. So, when I reflect on 2015, it was another year, another step that, without, with all of it’s victories and challenges, would not be the the whole, the sum of what we have built so far. We are grateful for all of it.

We wish you all Happiness, Love, Peace and HEALTH!

Boaz and Matia

I found a couple really great pasta alternatives that do not contain rice. These are a great addition to help limit rice and wheat. Ultimately it is not about completely eliminating certain things but trying to create a balance of foods, not overemphasizing one or the other. In any case, I have tried the first two, both are incredibly delicious. I made a very tasty lasagna the other night with the second one, never having made lasagna before in my life believe it or not. It was outstanding. And, I ate the first one for lunch with some shrimp and avocado salad-also delicious. Neither of these noodles are like cement like so many other rice based noodles. I added in the last one even though it contains rice because when list 5 and up, this is a great pasta alternative too if one is mixing and combining starches and wanting to include some amount of rice/grain-it is super yummy.

http://kingsoba.com/organic-sweet-potato-buckwheat-noodles (more for list 4 and up)

http://thedomesticman.com/2012/05/02/product-review-cappellos-gluten-free-grain-free-pasta/  (list 3 and up)

http://www.anti-grain.com/products.html (list 2-3 and no pumpkin till list 5)

http://www.naturalworldgourmet.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=1468

If you have found any new products or new recipes-please post them here-or send to me to post on our pages. I will place this also in products page.

Dr.M

Many people ask me-“when do you make the decision, if at all, to take Western medicine?”. This is an interesting question and a very important one. And, there is not a “one size fits all” answer. I think the answer to this question exists in the space that a person finds their threshold for fear and discomfort live. For some, it is early on in thinking about this kind of treatment which turns them to a solution which does not involve such a focus on diet and lifestyle changes, whereas for others, it may be further into treatment where they find this process does not perhaps make sense for them or it is not moving fast enough. Others may have difficulty reconciling the “funny” terms we use in Chinese medicine and a Western paradigm and find themselves gravitating to more Western based thought processes. For some, that line comes with terms like, “Strep Throat, or Sinus Infection, or Pneumonia”, and others feel comfortable with a mixing of Western and Alternative medicines for many situations that come up in their healthcare. Finally, many may consider their threshold as being life and death. That’s more my boundary that I have drawn for myself. I don’t, however, consider my line more appropraite than the line of another. I think this is almost a sacred area of a persons life that is not to be tresspassed upon by others, but must be honored and respected as each of our bodies are our own to do with what we believe is best.

The past month I have seen  many examples of all of these things with those I am treating, and none of them have been extraordinary-they each have fit into these different categories that I have just described above. One patient was urinating blood, one has been fighting a tooth infection, one needed to resort to an anti-depressant, and one went to the hospital by ambulance because she thought she was going to have her airway constricted and suffocate. I have treated all of these issues with great success except for the last. The last example is one that, is clearly life and death, and, yes, I am speaking of myself. This was my line-life and death. It came over me suddenly, of course close to the middle of the night. I have never experienced such a thing. I called 911 and thought they wouldn’t get here fast enough to sabe my life. I don’t think I have ever been quite so afraid, but I was very clear to have met my line.

Very long story short, they sent me home misdiagnosed. The next day they ended up calling me and telling me I have pneumonia, which I have had before and treated in myself and others successfully over the years repeatedly. When they sent me home, I knew I would have to treat myself because they kept saying nothing was wrong and clearly I knew something was very wrong which was what brought me to the hospital in the first place. I have been treating myself this entire time and have been getting better each day. it was kind of comical because I, the Alternative practitioner went to the ER seeking Western medical care, and the Western MD turned me away saying my symptoms didn’t warrant any potential side effects of the Western meds he would use. Hmmmm- what an interesting turn of events. Anyway, it was good he turned me away. The time it took for him to misdiagnose me allowed the last set of herbs I had taken to kick in just enough to make me feel comfortable enough to fall asleep and day by day I fought the fight. It was quite severe and coninued to be very scary, but, not to the point I had reached when I dialed those three scary numbers.

Anyway, my point is, in my case, and in the case of the others I mentioned above, I don’t think any of those choices were wrong. They were simply a person reaching their point of fear, which for each of us is unique to who we are as a human being. And, that can’t be wrong.

Something to think about!

Dr.M

It reminded me today after speaking with a patient who had been doing fantastic and then took a dive, that this work is very much a partnership. And, no matter what good work we do, or any doctor/practitioner for that matter-the person who is receiving that assistance really needs to be paying very close attention to everything he or she is doing in order to help the process go as smoothly as possible.

Today, in speaking with this person, she had correlated after several months of not doing well, something that I would have skipped over and not been able to connect without her help. As many questions as Boaz and I ask, it is impossible to ask every single one. And, we depend on our patients to be certain they have reported all of the necessary facts. This isn’t easy on either end-so no judgement!

What was interesting that came up for this particular person, is she had started waxing. I actually had forgotton that I had said it was OK to try, and she thought I remembered. What is also interesting is that she got a wax that is organic thinking it was better-however, it has lots of essential oils in it and, I think this could potentially actually be much worse, as essential oils have very strong medicinal effects.

The long story short of all of this, is when she stopped waxing, she went back to feeling great again. Over the years, I have seen many examples of small things that have gotten in the way of progress and when discovered, cleared the path for smoother sailing. Of course, this is not always true, but, when it is, it is pretty incredible. So, I thought I would use this post to underscore the importance of both communication and waxing ingredients!

Dr.M

The topic of how genes and gene mutations are effecting us is pretty huge these days. My personal point of view has typically been that we can influence what we have been given with the food we eat, the supplements we take, and the lifestyle we lead-including very importantly, our mindset. I recently contacted on of my Western professors from my doctoral program to begin thinking about a retrospecitve study on the influence of Chinese medicine on IC with some amount of gene study content. It is in it’s thinking stages at the moment. My thought is, is to understand better why Chinese medicine may be so effective in balancing the body and bringing in back to a healthy state despite any genetic mutations.

My doctorate is obviously in Classical Chinese medicine, and I am not a scientist, so I am not supposing to be an expert on the topic of gene mutation. But, reading this interview by Chris Kresser of Dr. Ben Lynch it is comforting to read that my feelings on this subject are very much backed up by an expert on this topic. This is very very interesting-please read!: http://chriskresser.com/what-influences-methylation-an-interview-with-dr-ben-lynch/?mc_cid=434e803cc7&mc_eid=00994b0724 

Dr.M