I’ve had some health issues for years. Nothing debilitating but I didn’t feeling as well as I should. Energy drain, problems sleeping, and other little things I hadn’t had before. And my cholesterol was 269 (normal is now considered below 200). Every doc I went to for years pushed me to go on meds but I refused. I got arguments but held my ground. I’d been reading up and came to the conclusion it was from an Endocrine imbalance, my thyroid in particular.

My doctors all pooh-poohed my theory. So my thyroid numbers weren’t the greatest. None believed I needed help for it. I kept asking them about getting a compounded formula to get back in balance. The looks I got told me how crazy they though I was. I went to new doctors for my check-ups each year, hoping to find someone who’d understand my point. As my gut screamed that I needed something natural for balance, the docs continued to try to convince me to take medication with unappealing side effects, especially that it could hurt my liver.

When you love yourself, you listen to your gut and fight to get the health care you need!

When I was a DoorMat, I’d have stayed with the first doctor and done what I was told. No arguments. No research about alternatives. I did what I was told. Period. If I got side effects, I suffered in silence rather than complain. After all, doctors know best! I couldn’t even challenge what a friend said so how could I question a doctor’s wisdom?? I’d blindly do what any doc told me. I thought health went only one way–that of a doctor. But I was wrong.

You have the power to research and learn your options, not just the one your doctor chooses.

I’m not anti-doctor. Not even close! But I recognize that doctors are human, with all the opinions and limitations of all people. Like in any profession, some are better than others. And, with all the new and alternative treatments being made available, they need to make time to learn about them before recommending anything to a patient. With lawsuits gone rampant, I don’t’ blame docs for being hesitant or scared to recommend something that hasn’t been around long or that they know little about.

But just as you should choose your battles or romantic partner wisely, you should also choose your doctor wisely too.

And it’s important to make the time to read up on what you’re advised to do for a health problem to see if there’s something that could be more effective or more natural or safer or with less side effects that you can try instead of what your doctor recommends. No one knows everything. It’s up to you to find out your options. I’d read that if your HDL and triglycerides were good, and only the HDL for cholesterol was high, it could be from an underactive thyroid. My HDL was very high–183. My other numbers were excellent!

I began looking on the Internet for a doc with an integrative approach to medicine instead of just treating each symptom as separate. An integrative approach takes the whole body into account and understands that when you treat a problem with medication or alternative methods, other areas of your body also need attention so as to reach good balance. It treats the body as a whole, therefore working to have everything jive together to help the body reach optimum good health and energy.

During the summer I found Dr. David Borenstein, an MD with an integrative practice, who takes my health insurance! I’d been searching online to find someone and his name kept coming up as if God was sending a message, so I went to him, even though he’s in Brooklyn and it takes some time to get there. He’s worth it! Dr. Borenstein agreed I needed to balance my whole endocrine system and put me on several supplements and compounded formulas. They work slower than traditional meds but….as the months passed I felt so much better than I have in many years.

Being my own health care advocate instead of just following what I was told has enabled me to sleep better, feel more energy and alleviate other uncomfortable symptoms I was having.

I take natural supplements and compounded formulas instead of synthetic meds. They help my thyroid, adrenals, estrogen and other endocrine functions work together in harmony. I had blood tests a few weeks ago and got the results this week. One number in particular BLEW ME AWAY! After years of arguing with other docs about not taking meds for my cholesterol, the numbers proved me right!

In just 3 months, without taking anything for it, my overall cholesterol went down to 202 and my LDL went from 183 to 122!! I was right!

It is so important to get second or even fourth opinions if you don’t feel good about what a doctor advises. There are so many alternatives out there. That doesn’t mean to try them all. Dr. Borenstein is an MD with a good reputation so I trust his judgment. I’d only go to someone who was highly recommended. But when you seek, you find. That’s what I did.

Self-empowerment includes taking care of self the best you can. Every day I feel more energized and I can feel my body settling into good balance. Being my own health advocate kept me off cholesterol meds that have some scary side effects and helped me recover naturally. Take charge of your health as an act of self-love!

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