I’m Happy You’re Here

It all started in 2009 with a bald spot the size of a quarter.  My doctor at the time basically told me that she didn't know why it happened.  I was advised to "keep an eye on it" and to go back if it got worse.  Little did I know, that was my body's first visible cry for help.  I guess it finally got tired of being ignored.  The weight gain, generalized joint pains, and chronic fatigue were all signs of a body struggling to maintain optimal balance and function.  Despite its attempt at a blatant sign of telling me that something was wrong, its message went unheard as the alopecia resolved on its own.

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My follow up visits with my doctor tended to end with good intentioned advice of weight loss, exercise, and eating better.  I would give it my best effort.  Things would go well for a bit and I'd be back where I started.  It was combination of not having the proper tools to build sustainable healthy habits and a vicious cycle of getting upper respiratory tract infections that became more frequent over time and harder to recover from.  But still, I trucked along and accepted that this was life.  A life dictated by a busy work schedule and fitting other things around it (meeting up with friends and family, hobbies, exercise, etc.) while being sleep deprived.   

 

I just accepted this.  I was frustrated that I went through most days with joint pains and fatigue.  I was frustrated that my dieting attempts were not working.  Any attempts at establishing an exercise regimen were thwarted by increased joint pain.  All this time we were all busy looking at and managing symptoms and not asking why this was happening.  It was difficult to see the big picture because I had a rheumatologist for my joint pains, a dermatologist for my alopecia (only a one time visit), and an internist for everything else.  "Everything else" included intermittent courses of antibiotics for upper respiratory infections.  The most severe infection came in 2015 and it landed me in the ER because of a partially collapsed lung.  I was discharged with antibiotics, inhalers, and oral steroids.  I struggled to recover from this episode.  And just when I thought I was in the clear...I got a serious case of the flu.

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I never truly recovered from that episode of the flu.  My joint and muscle pain, as well as fatigue just worsened.  Just accepting things as they are was no longer an option.  I decided to enlist the help of an integrative provider.  Being a conventionally trained clinical pharmacist, I had my doubts whether working with him would yield any results.  I had the vague understanding that integrative healthcare meant supplements.  I was even cautioned by my conventional provider to be careful as some of the treatments border on quackery.  But, what do I have to lose?  I wasn't finding any answers in my conventional world.  I couldn't give up.  I had to try.  And so, my journey into functional medicine began in 2017. 

 

My integrative provider already knew my story before I even started to tell it.  Without knowing the details, he already understood that I've been struggling for a long time with nonspecific symptoms and presentations.  He understood my frustration in not being able to understand why I kept feeling unwell.  In working with him, we discovered that I had severe vitamin D deficiency, which would account for the frequent respiratory infections and fatigue.  The generalized pain was due to increased systemic inflammation, which can also be associated with vitamin D deficiency.  We started a supplementation regimen to correct this.  Also, he helped me discover that there were foods that, despite being healthy for most people, were unfavorable for me.  Unfortunately these realizations came too late. 

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I developed severe vertigo and tinnitus.  My body was waving a white flag.  I continued working with my integrative provider and found an internist with an open mind who was willing to consider other management options and using diagnostics with a functional perspective.   The next several months were a blur of lab tests and diagnostic scans.  It would take up to a year before I was given the diagnosis of a clinically isolated syndrome.  This is the earliest manifestation of multiple sclerosis.  While figuring out my diagnosis, I decided to further my knowledge of functional medicine and enrolled in the the masters program for human nutrition and functional medicine at the University of Western States.  By the time I received my diagnosis, I had started school.  I didn't know what the future held, but I knew the answers weren't just going to magically appear.  It was time I took my journey into my own hands and become an active participant.   As I learned more about functional medicine, I became aware of questions I wanted to ask so my providers and I can work together to restore balance to my body and return to health. 

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I still believe in conventional medicine.  It helped treat the multiple respiratory infections I experienced over the years and it saved my life when I had to go to the ER.  But it couldn't provide me any satisfactory guidance in managing my chronic condition.  So I turn to functional medicine to get to the root of the problem while still using conventional means when needed. 

 

Dear Reader, if you are struggling with your own health journey, I understand your frustration.  Don't give up.

The answer is out there and we can keep searching together. 

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