My opinion of family practitioners...

First of all, thanks to all of you who have posted comments on the blog page itself. I'm guessing this happened a while ago, but seeing as how I am a newby to the blog world, I just discovered them today. :) Some of you I know, some I don't, but I appreciate each and every one! Thanks to whoever it was who commented on the pee strips only testing urine pH, instead of body pH. I've never heard this before, so you have now given me some more good research material. Thank you! I am going to try to add a link to the post today, which I had a failed attempt to do in an earlier post. Again, still learning. :) I want to say a word about doctors. Let me first remind you that these are only my opinions. If you are thoroughly offended, feel free to stop reading. Also, if you are married to, a son/daughter of, or are in fact a family doctor yourself, I will apologize ahead of time for offending you. :) And let me also add the disclaimer that I am only referring to the family doctors I have experienced in my own life. I am in no way judging or criticizing your doctor. With that said, I will proceed. :) I really really really wish that more doctors had an overwhelming concern with "strengthening the host"* rather than treating the symptoms. A few examples: I broke my tailbone in high school. Have I mentioned this before? It was excruciating, and I still suffer pain from time to time. My regular family doctor had 2 suggestions (after trying to manually put my tailbone back into the correct position - not fun). #1 - surgery to have it completely removed. #2 - take a non-prescriptive pain med for the rest of my life. Needless to say, these were not appealing to me. I am thankful for parents who had the wisdom to take me to a chiropractor, knowing that if the rest of my spine was in alignment, it would alleviate more or all of the pain. Yes, this actually happened, by the way. After my very first adjustment I sat completely straight for the first time in years. :) I believe I've already shared the story of taking my middle child into the pediatricians office to get the thick, yellow scab on the top of his head checked out. The doctor prescribed a steroid cream. I tossed the prescription in the trash can and chose to find out on my own that he was allergic to the wool hat he had been wearing all winter. And here's one more: a loved one had a complaint about a numb arm. Her doctor prescribed anti-depressants. Sheesh! What are these people thinking!? Doesn't it make sense that you can fight aches, pains, and disease if you strengthen the body instead of throwing it the on-slaught of antibiotics and other medications? Well I am pleased to announce that we have been seeing a holistic practitioner for the past year. We go to Steiner Medical Center in Phoenixville, PA. Now don't be taken back by this practice's routine. They go by a modified vaccination schedule, not starting vaccines until the age of 2 in order to protect their baby immune systems. I once went in after suffering from a miserable cold and left the office 2 hours later with a bag of herbs. Their whole idea is to strengthen the immune system so much that it can combat infection on it's own. Baby #2 was in with an ear infection. I thought "surely they will prescribe an antibiotic! I mean, it's an infection for crying out loud". Our doctor said that she had all the power in the world to prescribe an antibiotic, but she really wanted to try homeopathic options first. I even remember hearing the words "worst case scenario" and "antibiotics" in the same sentence. :) So we left with ENT (ears, nose, throat) drops and oil to rub in his ears. We were told to keep an ear-covering hat on his head at all times, because that would cut down on the pain, therefore reducing the need for Tylenol (yes, they are against that too). I was a nervous wreck and cried to my hubby that night. "I don't want him to be a guinea pig to see if this stuff will really work. I wish I could just jolt his body with strong medicine to make the infection go away." But because of the peace my husband had with the whole thing, we kept plugging away. And guess what!? The infection was GONE. No lie. :) Hm, I thought. Maybe this stuff is really worth believing. We could have given him an antibiotic, and I'm not totally against them. But to know that I had the freedom to try something homeopathic first meant the world to me. His immune system didn't have to suffer because of strong medicine. He was healed! There is definitely a time and a place for conventional medicine. But we, as a family, have decided to try other things first. Meanwhile, we are still in love with the Steiner Center. I wasn't pressured into starting my babies on rice cereal at 4 months of age like my conventional pediatrician had done. Our homeopathic doctor understood that there was no nutritional value in white rice. So go ahead, think we are weird, new age, or irresponsible parents. :) Homeopathic medicine has proven itself to us!

*I cannot take responsibility for this quote. My mom had heard it at a health conference a few years back. I love it though, don't you???