My Scary Experience in the Healthcare System

I am not sure if I am ready to share this story, but with the increasing talk of healthcare and Obamacare, I feel compelled to tell the horror that I went through in hopes that it can help others to see the light.

I have had back pain since high school. I ran track, participated in cheerleading and basketball. My father owned a custom home construction business in which I helped almost every day of my life doing some sort of labor. But guess what? I also had scoliosis. Not bad enough to be debilitating, but it did cause pain.

I got pregnant with my daughter at the age of 23. I gained 75 pounds during my pregnancy and I felt it in my body, especially my already weak back. I gave birth to a healthy baby and started running 5 miles a day to lose the weight (which I did). I have always been somewhat of an over-achiever. I have worked in restaurants since the age of 15. When I went to college, I worked two jobs. And into my twenties, I continued to burn the candle at both ends.

At the age of 27, my back became increasingly painful. I went to my GP who prescribed me muscle relaxers and pain killers. I still tried to maintain my crazy lifestyle, simply numbing my pain with prescriptions. I began to feel the effects mentally. My doctor put me on anti-depressants. I continued to work crazy hours, workout too hard, and not eat nutritious foods. I have been a serial dieter for as long as I can remember. Then I started to gain weight even though I was severely restricting my diet and of course my back pain was just getting worse and radiating into my glutes and legs. My GP put me on a few different diet pills to help me lose the weight (they never helped long term btw). I also started getting crazy migraines that wiped me out for days at a time, so of course I have been given just about every migraine medication available. I was also diagnosed with ADHD and put on Adderall, of course. As my fatigue increased, I came to rely on the Adderall and diet pills for enough energy to simply get me through the day. I was literally becoming a shell of my former self.

I ignored the pain as much as I could and kept on living. My GP felt there was nothing he could do so he sent me to a neurologist for my migraines and an orthopedic surgeon for my pain. The neurologist ordered an MRI on my brain. I had significant scar tissue from my constant migraines. My neurologist of course, just prescribed more and more medication. The orthopedic surgeon began doing cortisone injections in the lumbar spine. Again, just masking everything with western medicine.

After two years of cortisone shots, I was told they couldn't give me anymore shots because I had received too many. I began shaking constantly. I was in the worst chronic pain. I started passing out and/or just collapsing while remaining conscious. My body was so weak even though I looked mostly normal to an outsider. I had to quit my job because I was sick more than I felt well. I would still bring my laptop home and work in my bed, attempting to meet my deadlines (which I did). I was so ashamed of who I had become that I would hide my pain and my symptoms as best as I could.

After still no results and increasing pain, and increasing mental/physical fatique, my GP sent me to a rheumatologist. He met with me for 5 minutes and diagnosed me with lupus. Stupid me and my lifetime of conditioning by the system, trusted this guy. He put me on some of the nastiest medication you can imagine. One of them is prescribed to people that have received organ transplants; the drug's purpose was to suppress the immune system so the body does not reject the organ. At this point I was on 15 different prescriptions. I was dying a slow painful death.

I stayed on the toxic drugs for a year after being "diagnosed" with lupus. Finally, I made an appointment with National Jewish Hospital because I knew something was very wrong. I had lost my memory for months at a time during this period. I was miserable. My poor friends and family had to deal with me as a zombie for years. I am angry at the time I lost with my growing daughter. I even contemplated suicide, as I could not imagine living the rest of my life in such a condition.

National Jewish did the most extensive health analysis and found nothing wrong except that my liver function was low. Huh. Wonder if that is because my liver was damaged from processing the high levels of poison for years. Not only that, I had developed arthritis in many parts of my body (in my 20s).

I sick and tired of being sick and tired. I made a decision to get healthy on my own. I started to read books on health and wellness. I read books on anti-inflammatory diets. I read books on lupus, detoxing, autoimmune diseases, and memoirs. I spent any free time I had when I wasn't in bed miserable, seeking knowledge to heal myself. I didn't know how I would heal myself, but I felt it was possible.

I found an amazing circle of medical professionals that do not believe in drugs. They believe in holistic healing power of the mind and body. I found an amazing chiropractor that deals with accupressure and trigger points. My body was plagued with trigger points. If you don't know what those are, they are intense, painful knots in the muscle tissue. I began massage therapy. As I got better, I was able to do more in terms of working out and strengthening my body. I could no longer run, so I had to resort to boring yoga (or so I thought). My body was so out of balance that was all I could do.

I changed my eating habits and learned the effects of nutrition on the body. I found an amazing MD that believes in the healing power of the gut when given the right nutrition. I stopped eating processed food filled with chemicals. I started eating fruits and vegetables as the main source of my diet, mixed in with lean, organic protein.

Here I am today at almost 32 years old, and I almost feel normal again. I don't sleep during the day and have become a productive human being. I am able to go on walks with my friends and my dog. I am living my life again, and due to my experiences, I fully appreciate life in ways my old self could never imagine.

So this is my cautionary tale. If you think that the powers that be have your best interest, I would encourage you to seek this out for yourself. About 80% of the FDAs resources are used toward the approval of new drugs. Please know that only about 5% is used for drug safety research. Nearly half of the $400 million dollar budget for the FDA is supplied by the pharmaceutical industry. We are merely dollar signs to the industry, which wants you in the system for revenue and aims to keep you in the system for increasingly more revenue. Ninety percent of health care professionals are rewarded by pharmaceutical companies for pushing drugs. But there are about 10% who believe in true wellness. If this is happening with the FDA, you can bet it's not the only corrupt section of the government.

It's time to stand up and unite against such mass destruction of the people. We do not have to live like this; be subjected to such deceit. If we could use the resources on productive methods instead of destructive methods, our world would be much happier and healthier. I am very close to the medicaid system and welfare system. It is designed to oppress people, not lift them up. There is a better way. The way this country is moving is absolutely disgusting. I am sharing this story not for attention but to open peoples eyes. I am deeply ashamed of what I have been through, but if it helps one person, it is all worth it.

K