Today is a beautiful fall day and we are going to have what is called Indian summer. The next few days and next week are suppose to be warm and sunny. I am excited that my husband is coming home early to enjoy part of the day. The daylight hours are getting shorter now and it is difficult to get outside once he gets home from work during the week. All the trees are a multitude of orange, red and purple. A beautiful time of the year to enjoy before winter.
Yesterday I said I would continue to tell my story of how I got to this point in life where I am feeling good and healthy again. It is not just one single thing that brought me to this place in life. If I had to choose one single event in life that brought me to realize my health was important, it would be cancer. I didn't have cancer, but it seemed as if every one I love so much did. So what happens when a family member gets cancer, fear sets in. Your life is no longer the same and the whole family dynamic changes. All of the sudden the body goes into one of the greatest shocks. The person with cancer is in shock, his spouse and children are in shock and everyone who is close to them is in shock.
After living through what I have over the past 4 years I can tell you I know a lot about what STRESS does to the body. It is especially bad when you get stuck in a viscous cycle of stress and fear. If there is not a good support team in place it is awful. Until you actually live it or they say walk in the shoes of a cancer patient, do not judge them. I don't care how far advanced we come with cancer treatment, we all know that sometimes the cancer wins. It has been wonderful that my husband is still here 17 years later, but that fear of the cancer returning always lurks in our mind. So seriously stress has caused other health problems.
I have since 2010 realized that not only was my husband stressed out, but I was I trembling with fear. The love of my life was sick again and I was not feeling too well myself. I tried to hide how bad I felt as not to worry anyone else. I was so wrapped up in trying to help my husband that I forgot about helping myself.
As time went on and my husband started treatment for cancer I continued to feel sub par. It was not until we came home from Texas in the fall of 2011 that I realized that I was not myself and feeling like I could just take my last breath. I was tired beyond belief, my heart was pounding and my cognitive functioning was shot. November of that year was probably the lowest point of my life. And as if a land slide had happened I would say it only got worst. That is when I turned to the therapist back here in the north. Winter was coming and my husband was having great difficulty with cognitive problems and I was diagnosed with situational anxiety. It took awhile for therapy to calm me down, but the stress of cancer continued to haunt us. And without any support it turned into a cycle of ups and down. And, it finally climaxed in November of 2013 when I had one of the worst panic attacks ever and became ill. I had that attack right in front of my husband's doctor who exited the room and offered no help from the social work department or other staff. He even grinned, as he said you are having a panic attack. It left me with a very disgusted opinion of what the medical profession has become. And as time went on, it took my therapist awhile to convince me that there are still good physicians in the world. You have to advocate for yourself and loved ones to find those who will help.
With the encouragement of the social worker here at home and the concern that she had for my well being, she helped me and my husband realize that if we are not happy with a doctor then we need to move on. It is very important that you have good communication with your health care team. You need their support and direction to heal the body and the mind.
I followed the therapist's advice and started to advocate for myself to get well. The sad part is that even though I felt bad, the standard medical test done at my physical exams came back normal and I was dismissed with an antidepressant. A pill which caused many other problems until I finally said enough is enough and weaned myself off them. Then I decided with the help of a friend to see someone who practiced functional medicine. She herself had had some similar problems and they had been willing to do some test that a lot of doctors won't do because of insurance.
I seemed to get sicker by the days, as time went on and I felt exhausted. The love that I had for bicycling and walking, etc., had become a chore. Then as if by a miracle I heard an advertisement about a group of women health care professionals who had dedicated themselves to women's health and I called immediately. The very next day my life started to change. It has also changed my husband's life as we have both learned what continuous stress does to the body. I will stop now, as it is time to enjoy this beautiful day with my husband.
My message today is be your own advocate and if you know something is not right with your body keep searching for someone to help you. You deserve good health care.
Elizabeth:)
Friday, October 24, 2014
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Standing Up For Our Health
I was smiling in the mirror today as I dried my hair, and all of the sudden I realized it was because I felt so good. The best I have felt in years. I have finally reached a turning point in my life where some things I have been doing for myself have started to pay off. It reminded me that we are responsible for our own health. I finally realized a year ago that I am worthy of taking care of myself. I had become lost in the stress of taking care of everyone else and landed myself in a dark hole. I was feeling so badly that I had prayed to God to let me go. I know it sounds awful, but I was in a lot of pain and exhausted. I had one of my doctors tell me it was just suppose to be that way, because I am a woman. I said good-bye to that doctor and thank you God for the strength to say that.
Yesterday I was expressing my opinion about the the rising cost of health insurance and how the average American is finding it hard to keep up with. I have never agreed with health insurance dictating our health care. I am a little rebel as my mother always said. I am glad that I did learn to think outside the box. It has led me to a healthier and better life.
Of course, this blog is my opinions and my story. I believe that people can believe what they want, but if something is not working for you, then it is time to move on and not give up. The people who are successful are the ones who did not except no, when their theories or ideas where shot down. They stood up and kept pushing forward and fighting against the Naye Sayers.
I am not against medical doctors or modern medicine, but I do not believe in an insurance company dictating what my treatment is going to be based upon, because of protocols or norms. I am an individual and my medical needs are not just based on giving me a pill to stop a symptom. There is a reason you don't feel good and I don't want an insurance company to tell me they won't let a doctor run a test, because it does not fall under a certain criteria.
Yesterday I talked about the insurance company not paying for ninety percent of my health care last year. I will tell you the truth is that I decided my life was worth more than the insurance plan. I stepped out of the network and found some health care professionals that have decided not to take insurance. They are board certified doctors who are willing to use integrated or some call it functional medicine to help people. They took the time to run some test and listen to me talk about my symptoms. There were some test that I was told by my other doctors that they could not run because of insurance company regulations. I had to pay for the test out of my own pocket, but it was the best money I ever spent.
Bingo, they found out what was wrong with me. Some things that could be corrected with supplements and some prescriptions that were tailored made for me. We are all unique and one standard pill from a drug company does not cure everybody.
I ended up in the long run not paying as much out of pocket as I would have with the insurance company and I feel good. Yes there are people that will disagree with me, and doctors will continue to be pressured by insurance companies that push them to see too many patients a day and prescribe pills because of the pressure from drug companies. I just choose not to participate in the insurance companies protocol. I will continue to see doctors under my insurance plan for yearly physicals and catastrophic things that have the potential to happen in life. There are of course good doctors who are trying to stay afloat in our greedy health care system. I can assure you that a lot of them are not getting rich either from our broken down health care system. It will take a stance from the doctors and from the patients to stop insurance companies from dictating our fate.
Tomorrow I'll let you know what actually was the turning point for me to finally realize that I needed to stand up for myself. I need to go for now, as the sun is shining and I am feeling too good to waste a beautiful fall day. Blessings and hugs to all.
Life is beautiful !!
Elizabeth:)
Yesterday I was expressing my opinion about the the rising cost of health insurance and how the average American is finding it hard to keep up with. I have never agreed with health insurance dictating our health care. I am a little rebel as my mother always said. I am glad that I did learn to think outside the box. It has led me to a healthier and better life.
Of course, this blog is my opinions and my story. I believe that people can believe what they want, but if something is not working for you, then it is time to move on and not give up. The people who are successful are the ones who did not except no, when their theories or ideas where shot down. They stood up and kept pushing forward and fighting against the Naye Sayers.
I am not against medical doctors or modern medicine, but I do not believe in an insurance company dictating what my treatment is going to be based upon, because of protocols or norms. I am an individual and my medical needs are not just based on giving me a pill to stop a symptom. There is a reason you don't feel good and I don't want an insurance company to tell me they won't let a doctor run a test, because it does not fall under a certain criteria.
Yesterday I talked about the insurance company not paying for ninety percent of my health care last year. I will tell you the truth is that I decided my life was worth more than the insurance plan. I stepped out of the network and found some health care professionals that have decided not to take insurance. They are board certified doctors who are willing to use integrated or some call it functional medicine to help people. They took the time to run some test and listen to me talk about my symptoms. There were some test that I was told by my other doctors that they could not run because of insurance company regulations. I had to pay for the test out of my own pocket, but it was the best money I ever spent.
Bingo, they found out what was wrong with me. Some things that could be corrected with supplements and some prescriptions that were tailored made for me. We are all unique and one standard pill from a drug company does not cure everybody.
I ended up in the long run not paying as much out of pocket as I would have with the insurance company and I feel good. Yes there are people that will disagree with me, and doctors will continue to be pressured by insurance companies that push them to see too many patients a day and prescribe pills because of the pressure from drug companies. I just choose not to participate in the insurance companies protocol. I will continue to see doctors under my insurance plan for yearly physicals and catastrophic things that have the potential to happen in life. There are of course good doctors who are trying to stay afloat in our greedy health care system. I can assure you that a lot of them are not getting rich either from our broken down health care system. It will take a stance from the doctors and from the patients to stop insurance companies from dictating our fate.
Tomorrow I'll let you know what actually was the turning point for me to finally realize that I needed to stand up for myself. I need to go for now, as the sun is shining and I am feeling too good to waste a beautiful fall day. Blessings and hugs to all.
Life is beautiful !!
Elizabeth:)
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