Dr. Mom Online

A few days ago, I accompanied my dad to an appointment with a cardiologist. It was the first time he had ever been referred to a specialist for the heart.

 

The extremely short version of the story is that my dad’s health is not as great as it should be. He had managed prostate cancer with holistic means for approximately 6 years. Then, 2 years ago, the proverbial poop hit the fan. His prostate had enlarged to a size that caused a major blockage to his urethra and ultimately sent him into kidney failure.

 

He was immediately put on hormones to help shrink his prostate, and had surgery a few months later.

 

Then, mom got sick. As dad was starting to feel better, it became apparent that mom was dying. His stress levels for the past couple of years have been astronomical, to say the least.

 

He started having some “dizzy spells” during these 2 years, but more frequently since mom passed at the end of 2007. He’s had all sorts of tests, but nothing ever shows up as being causal in nature. This time around, his doc sent him to see the aforementioned cardiologist.

 

As a side note, I’d like to comment that parents are very difficult to raise these days. Both my mom and my dad like to “hide” things from me when it comes to their health… because they “don’t want to worry me.” Mom kept a lot from me in her last year… God love her! Dad is just as big a brat! I had no idea he was having these “episodes” for over a year!!

 

So, the cardiologist…

 

My internal red flag went up when this gentleman walked into the examination room to greet my father and I. I’d say he was in his late 30’s to early 40’s. Overweight and out of shape. Right off the bat, I’ve got another voice in my head… the sassy, skeptical one that is now questioning every single thing this “expert” is going to say!

 

Yes, in the case of health, I do have a tendency to judge the book by its cover. I simply have issues with someone doling out any health advice, when it looks like they’re in need of a transformation themselves. I don’t mean to sound judgemental, but c’mon! Walk the talk. (Unless… you’re talking a talk that is completely ineffective, inaccurate and outdated!!!)

 

OK, back to the story. Cardio man asked dad several questions, examined him, asked him some more questions. He told dad that his blood pressure was up “a bit”. Dad was alarmed, and a tad offended! He has always had low blood pressure. The doc said, “Well, it’s not REALLY high (Yes, it was!)… nothing to be too alarmed about yet. Plus, I don’t prescribe any medication for high blood pressure until your blood pressure is consistently high or on the rise for several readings. We’ll just monitor this and see how it goes. Then we can do something if need be.”

 

Huh? Did he really just say that?

 

I turned to my dad and quietly said, “You know dad, you haven’t been exercising consistently for months, you’ve gained weight, you’re drinking more coffee than ever before and you’re stressed. Don’t you think that has a lot to do with it too? You could completely turn this around in a few weeks!”

 

I was hoping the good doc would chime in and agree that proper, consistent exercise, excellent nutrition and stress management are the most powerful ways to correct blood pressure imbalances.

 

Nope. He quickly said, “We’ll just see how it goes the next time I see you.”

 

You have simply got to be kidding me!!!! Is THAT how we handle high blood pressure… we just wait until it’s high enough to warrant taking drugs? What about lifestyle changes? What about making proactive healthy choices BEFORE it’s too high?

 

I left the door WIDE open for this guy! Rolled out the red carpet for him to lay it on my dad! There was not a single mention of exercise, nutrition, stress, sleep, etc. to my dad. Nada. I just kept thinking, after the appointment, Thank God dad has a “team” to support him: my hubby and I, his other Doctor of Chiropractic, his naturopath, his massage therapist, etc…. people with the knowledge and experience to help him BEFORE drugs become his ”only option”.

 

But I felt so sad for the countless others who have visits in doctors offices like that every single day… being led to believe that the only possible choice is medication.

 

It’s truly criminal.  The skewed information. The “God complex” of conventional allopathy. The ineffective paradigm of “sickness care”. I know that one day, we’ll look back on this type of treatment approach and shake our heads (OK, many of us are already shaking our heads!!), but how many have to suffer in the meantime?

 

I know there ARE great allpathic docs out there, who ARE practicing from a different paradigm… or doing their very best within the confines of their traditional paradigm. We are blessed to have them. Unfortunately, when I experience yet another visit with a doctor like I did the other day, that “some day when we shake our heads” can’t come soon enough.

 

Until then, I’ll just plug away at moving well, eating well and thinking well… and teaching others to do the same. There are no guarantees in health, or in life. But when we do RIGHT enough, LONG enough, the end results become more predictable.

Tags: cardiologist, Exercise, high blood pressure, hypertension, medication, Nutrition, stress management