I like my doctor as a person. She’s always warm when greeting me and is polite leaving the room less than 10 minutes later.

She seems more thorough than other conventional doctors I’ve had and has a better bedside manner. But as I realized at my appointment yesterday:

She’s still a conventional doctor.

If you’ve been following this blog you know that I have been taking you along my journey to heal my gut and solve my health issues. One of which is chronic constipation.

I came to that appointment with a list of all the symptoms I was experiencing, the supplements I’m taking, the diet I’ve been following, the possibilities for what I think is wrong, and the things I’d like to be tested for.

I had been researching for months now and wanted to talk about a few things.

I was prepared!

So when she asked if anything has been bothering me lately I started talking about the first symptom on my list that bothers me the most: constipation.

The Shut Down

I told her I’m a Type 1 on the Bristol Scale and that I never feel like I’m done after a bowel movement. I told her that I had been on an elimination diet where I don’t eat processed foods, sugar, grains, or dairy. My diet at the time was plant-based Paleo so was high in fiber. I drank 65 oz of water a day. I exercise 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week.

So, why did I still have an issue?

We both didn’t know why when I had been doing everything right – healthy diet, exercise, hydrating – that I was still having constipation.

So, of course, she said it’s probably IBS.

Oh, and here’s a prescription for it.

I asked her about getting a food sensitivity test done but she wasn’t open to that and didn’t really explain why.

And that was that. I pushed back a few times to ask questions but I wasn’t satisfied with her answers.

Because I was shut down so quickly about getting one test (I was going to ask about others), her insistence on IBS as a diagnosis, and her solution of medication, I didn’t feel that she’d be open to hearing about how I think all my symptoms are connected or that I’ve been healing leaky gut.

So I have this unopened medication called Linzess sitting on my desk.

My doctor said that a lot of people who take it for 30 days totally resolve their issues and there aren’t any side effects. (There are always side effects).

I have the easy way out right here in front of me.

But I want to know what’s actually wrong with me. I don’t want to take drugs to slap a bandaid on the symptom and never get to the root of the problem.

I want to HEAL not mask.

So what do I do?

On My Own

Conventional medicine, of course, has its place. It has saved millions of lives and has elongated the lifespan of modern humans. It’s great at responding to emergency situations and averting death from acute conditions.

Very grateful for this!

But for this specific problem I have, I’m not sure I need to go to these measures that ignore the whole human picture.

So in order to get to the root of this, I’ll just have to do it on my own and do it my own way.

No more conventional medicine. No more antibiotics unless it’s a last resort.

I’m going to do everything in my power to feel my emotions, take in the information they give me, and heal my body. I will continue with the gut-healing diet I’ve been doing because I’m seeing the results. I just have to stick to it in order to completely resolve the issue.

In the meantime, I’m taking a non-stimulant laxative Oxy-Powder which is an oxygen-based intestinal cleanser for those relapse days. I’ve written about it before but I’ve taken the full dose and now I really know what it can do.

If you did read my previous article about it you know that it was a somewhat intense experience. I did a test dose again a couple of nights ago to see if it would disturb my sleep but it seems I’m a lot less sensitive to it now that I’ve begun healing my gut. I attribute that healing to the 30-Day Candida Breakthrough Program I just did (and I am continuing).

Healing your gut is not an overnight process and it’s not always easy. But I feel the changes and I know I can do this the holistic way by dealing with my mental, emotional, and physical health from the roots up.

*UPDATE: My health and symptoms have improved dramatically within the last few weeks after adopting more of an animal-based diet. Read my latest articles for more.

I Promise

I’m making a promise to myself that I’m not going to take that prescription. I’m just going to leave it on my desk as a reminder that I could take it any time but I don’t need to. It will be motivation to take the long road and learn more about my body.

I’m on my own path.

This isn’t to say that if you need to take a medication (or even if I do somewhere along the line) you’ve failed.

No way!

We are all different and taking medication is a valid and often necessary treatment. It works for many people! I’m going a different way only because my case is getting better with the holistic treatment I’ve been following, and it’s not severe enough to warrant medication, in my opinion.

Yes, it’s disrupted my life and caused me pain and anxiety. But I want to learn. If I take the medication I’ll never know from then on if any of this would have worked without the medication.

And I know I’m getting there.

I’m setting a goal for myself to save up enough money to go to school and become a certified Holistic Nutritionist.

I will always listen to what people have to say about not only their symptoms but their lifestyle, their mental and emotional issues, their jobs, their family and social life, their diet, and any other factor that contributes to the state of their health.

I will never shut people down without a thorough explanation as to what may be happening or why I think a certain route may be more productive than the one they are suggesting.

At the moment, this goal seems like a long way off because I have no income. But I know that this is what I want and this is what I need to do to help other people who have similar issues.

I’ve made up my heart and mind, so it’s already done.

I will look at that unopened prescription bottle one day down the road as a symbol of my decision of committing to holistic solutions (as much as I’m able). Of the promise I made to myself that I will take the holistic approach. I will develop a strong relationship with my body and emotions so that we can work together with my mind to come up with a holistic solution and plan that is focused on full health rather than masking one symptom.

Have you had a frustrating experience with a doctor where you didn’t feel heard? Maybe where your concerns were dismissed or not addressed? Have you tried going it alone and searching for your own answers? Let me know what happened in the comments.

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