My own personal medical history is riddled with health challenges. Both parents smoked in the home the entire time I was growing up. Both were practicing alcoholics. Both were emotionally abusive. As a result, I developed severe asthma, wheezing and allergies. This was during the 1960's and all parents knew to do was to use western pharmaceuticals to treat their children. Back then there were no health food stores or herb shops that one could frequent in order to find healthy natural remedy sources. All that was available was the doctor's office or emergency room. For many years I was prescribed a variety of medications: steroids, allergy injections, anti-histamines and decongestants. You name it and I probably took it at some point in my childhood. My condition was so severe I constantly had to get a doctors note to be excused from PE (physical education) or other strenuous school physical activities. By the time I moved out of my parent's house, the damage to my body had pretty much set in. Looking back now, it's a wonder I survived. I ended up developing adrenal and thyroid fatigue. My lung capacity was close to nothing. My liver and kidneys were toxic from all the medications and a horribly poor Texan diet. My heart was weak from the inability to exercise. Not a pretty picture.
In my teenage years I began reading as much as I could find on alternative styles of medicine: western herbal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, and anything I could find that could help me recover from a sick childhood.
It was during these years I became very interested in learning about natural medicine. I began gathering every little piece of natural health information I could get my hands on. This was my new strategy for regaining the natural health I had lost when I was a child.
By the time I was married and had two small children, I realized that if I did not do something different, there was a very strong possibility that I would never see my own children grow up. This was a frightening time for me. The year was 1983. I was twenty-six and I knew, in my heart, there had to be something that would work for me, especially since western medicine had created nearly irreversible damages to my body. It was now time to begin putting some of the information I had been gathering to good use.
So, I began searching out places where I could purchase any kind of herbal medicine. In essence, I began experimenting on myself with herbs. By the way, I don't recommend this. I know, in today's society, it is very easy to find all kinds of remedies to treat every condition known to mankind. The problem with this strategy is that most people are not trained in herbal or homeopathic medicine and can, actually, do more harm than good. Trust me on this. I've been there.
I also joined a health club, and began jogging.
This became a very painful period of my life as I was embarking on a journey of trying to undo years of incorrect diet, excessive drug therapies, chemical toxicity and emotional abuse. I began to examine everything I put in my mouth. I taught myself the basics of western nutrition and the side affects of specific, so-called, “healthy” food choices.
This was a far cry from my school days when I would come home and eat half a package of Oreo cookies before dinner...,
drink Dr Pepper's like water, eat double meat and cheese Whataburger's weekly, and have some kind of meat, potatoes and bread at every meal.
A personal trainer did not design my exercise program. I just decided to begin. I don't recommend this, either. Sometimes, when people start exercising they, often, try to do too much, too soon and end up injuring themselves. I, actually, did this exact thing.
I did not purchase the right shoes when I began jogging, resulting in developing shin splints. However, I corrected this and kept at it. In the beginning, it was difficult for me to jog 200 yards down to the end of my street. I would have to stop and walk back to the house coughing up both lungs as I went.
I did weight training at the health club two or three days each week and jogged everyday. Really, it was probably too aggressive, but I wanted to lose the 30 extra pounds I'd been carrying for most of my adult life. The following twelve months were amazing. In that amount of time I went from hardly being able to jog 10 minutes to running 4 miles a day. At the 12-month mark, almost to the day, I lost the 30 extra pounds. I don't know why it took so long for the weight to go off. It probably had something to do with my underlying weak constitution. What I realized during this period and the following years is that I had been incorporating many of the philosophies of Chinese medicine into my daily routines regarding, exercise, diet, lifestyle, sleep, etc. So, it was only natural for me to migrate into this field of medicine.
Fourteen years after I began my journey towards a healthier life, at the age of forty, I began my formal study of Chinese medicine. After being immersed in an education and career rooted in the scientific method and unwavering logic, I was faced with the challenge of making sense of one of the oldest systems of medicine our world has ever seen. I began my practice of Chinese medicine in 2001. It was exciting to be able to share the knowledge and wisdom of 8000 years of medicine and philosophy with my patients. While still a student, I had the opportunity to study with one of my most profound mentors, Dr. Richard Tan, from Taiwan. He revolutionized my awareness of Chinese medicine and gave me a new kindled confidence in patient care. From the first day I opened my clinic I began to consider a more global view of Chinese medicine by combining the information from several great teachers with the knowledge I had learned from traditional engineering and science. Most of the information and education I provide to my patients is new and represents a collaboration of modern science with the ancient art of Chinese medicine.
Traditional schools of allopathic medicine do an excellent job of preparing doctors. Medical students are extensively taught the hard science of their medicine: organic chemistry, biochemistry, endocrinology, anatomy and physiology. Acupuncture schools do a fairly good job of preparing students to become competent practitioners. Unfortunately, schools of Oriental medicine do a poor job of teaching the hard science of our medicine. This is evident whenever a practitioner of Oriental medicine is asked a technical question and is unable to satisfactorily answer the question. Most likely, this is due to the fact that most Oriental medical school faculties are not trained or have backgrounds rooted in these sciences. When I was in school my classmates and I were taught that Chinese medicine was much different from allopathic medicine and operated under different rules or laws. This is not entirely true. There are universal laws that govern everything in the universe. All matter in the universe must comply with these laws. There are no exceptions. Western medicine and Chinese medicine have unique paradigms, though, the laws that govern both must comply with universal laws. The way for western and eastern medicine to be integrated is through these universal laws.
The theories of Chinese medicine do not compare to rocket science. However, to be highly beneficial, ideas do not have to be complex. As you will find, this is the beauty of Chinese medicine.
I find most of my patients are very inquisitive and curious about Chinese medicine. It has a rich and deep history rooted in creative methods of medical diagnosis and the treatment of diseases that appear to be far fetched.
Unfortunately, most people fail to realize the methods of Chinese medicine are rooted in natural laws that they are unfamiliar with. I discovered most patients want to learn more about these natural laws and how to use them in conjunction with their treatments to maximize their health and wellness.
I find it challenging to adequately answer patient's questions regarding an 8000-year-old medicine in a brief few minutes during their appointment. Health is journey, not a destination. All of us have our own particular path that we're on. For some of us our path is easy but for others the path is a struggle. As much as some forms of medicine want to make us believe we're all the same, we're simply not. Not everyone will respond to particular treatment options, whether it is western pharmaceuticals and surgery or more alternative natural forms, such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. The other important thing for patients to understand is that some treatment options can, actually, exacerbate the condition being treated or have adverse reactions affecting other major organs and tissues in the body. This is, especially, true for those patients who choose to self-medicate instead of seeking a professional with specialized knowledge. The key to maximum health is to become knowledgeable of the natural laws that govern the body and all matter so that one can stay fit, healthy and well. This has always been my goal: to provide the best health care at affordable fees and education to empower my patients.
