You can take control of your own health. Actually I think that's the only way to be truly healthy, but it isn't easy.
Part of the problem is wading through all the hype in the natural products advertisements. So many products are proclaimed to be the answer to this and that when in fact--for me--they make a barely noticeable difference if any at all. I'd like to see an evaluation agency measure the effectiveness of natural products, but after studying the question for a number of years, I've decided that, in many cases, we don't have the technology or the methodology to evaluate them. We also can't trust the powers that be to create a fair system that will not be controlled by people with a vested interest in the outcome. Somehow the foxes always end up guarding the chickens.
Just like you, sometimes I get tired of the symptoms and I'm tempted to go to an MD and get a prescription drug, but as a natural health advocate, I know that my liver or my immune system will pay the price. Nevertheless, sometimes I just have to get rid of the symptom and I'm willing to suffer the long-term consequences.
Regaining your health naturally takes time, patience and educating yourself. You have to become the expert on your body, on your mind, and on your spirit.
As a doctor, and as much as I would like to be so good at what I do that I could feel 100% confident that the ideas I offer people will help them heal, I know I'm not that smart. We scientists (including me) don't know enough about the body; we know a lot but possibly only 5% of what we need to know. Even if I did know the other 95%, I know that each human body is different and each mind is different. Each person, regardless of what they admit to, is doing things that work against their health and may interfere with whatever product or process I recommend. The interactions can drive you nuts.
So we wander through this process of healing where nothing is black and white, where there isn't a one-to-one relationship between disease and treatment, where every sentence has to begin with something like, "You might try . . ."
Well, maybe enough ranting.
I hope this hasn't been too discouraging. I just felt like I needed to talk.
DrRon
