{"id":118,"date":"2015-10-12T11:51:24","date_gmt":"2015-10-12T18:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theherbalista.com\/?p=118"},"modified":"2015-10-28T23:20:35","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T06:20:35","slug":"outober","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theherbalista.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/12\/outober\/","title":{"rendered":"OUTober"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was a rough Summer.<\/h3>\n

I have been ill since June 3rd. After many visits to the\u00a0VA Hospital, emergency rooms,\u00a0and Doctor’s offices\u00a0which still\u00a0continue to\u00a0dominate a majority of my schedule, I was left still with more questions than answers and no relief from my suffering. I had abdominal pain that was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I was violently sick with extreme digestive upset, bloating, difficulty breathing, and unable to take in food and only extremely small amounts of water.<\/p>\n

The days melted into a blur of weeks, like a puddle of ice cream on the side walk in Summertime, wasted. If being this sick wasn’t bad enough, being a disabled Veteran, I also had to\u00a0deal with the bureaucracies of a terminally broken system. After exhausting almost all options with a Gastrointestinal Specialist, I was referred for two radiation tests with Nuclear Medicine: the first was for an Emptying Study that includes eating a Radioactive Breakfast and the second was a HIDA scan of my gallbladder. Though it was just in the past few weeks that some answers have begin to present themselves, this Summer in the 602 has been brutal on many levels.<\/p>\n

The main diagnoses is Gastroparesis —\"\"<\/a>basically the nerves in my stomach stopped working, a paralysis of sorts, which makes absorbing nutrients from my food difficult. I am literally wasting away.\u00a0The other issues that are coinciding is that my gallbladder is apparently only functioning\u00a0at 20%, I have Gastritis which means the lining of my stomach gets severely inflamed\u00a0and also\u00a0ulcers in various stages of development in my esophagus and gut from all the digestive issues. These are just the\u00a0problems that\u00a0began June 3rd and don’t include my daily battles with chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, and PTSD.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gastroparesis (GP) has no cure, doesn’t go away, and has limited treatment options, most of which are not suitable options for me specifically.<\/h4>\n

Once I was able to get the diagnoses of GP\u00a0and better understand what was happening inside my body, it became quite clear that\u00a0I was going to need some serious and dedicated\u00a0support of my body \/ mind \/ soul. It also was becoming clearer that I would need that support independent\u00a0of the VA.<\/p>\n

I am fortunate enough to be working with two Naturopathic teams to help manage this experience. I was incredibly grateful to receive a gift certificate for Phoenix Natural Medicine & Detox Center<\/a> so I could have a Heavy Metals panel completed. I tested positive for 11 metals and the three highest levels of metals were of Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury.\u00a0Heavy Metals detoxing is most effective as an IV treatment and with Dr. Carmen Mora’s\u00a0recommend protocol, I am looking at almost $2k of my own fixed income for 12 chelation sessions over 24 weeks. It will be extremely\u00a0beneficial to complete these treatments as soon as possible, but my body isn’t strong enough just yet. Thanks to the incredible team of professionals at Revolution Health<\/a> though, I know that despite what my body is going through, it is getting stronger. Being a patient at Revolution Health and of\u00a0Dr. Julie and Dr. Beth is a priceless opportunity that has made an enormous impact on my well-being. Through each naturopathy, acupuncture, hydrotherapy, IV nutrient therapy, and massage therapy session their compassionate and informative practice has strengthened my confidence in managing this experience. (I can’t forget to mention that support mentally +\u00a0emotionally has been a lifesaver in more ways than one. I have been seeing Dr. Leeann Rosckowff<\/a> for over a year now and have nothing but the highest respect and gratitude for her existence both professionally and universally.)<\/p>\n