Journal Notes: To Supplement or Not to Supplement. That is the Question.

Becoming a supplement junkie is really easy when you are desperate to feel better.  It is made worse when you seek professional help and the care providers are stumped as to why you are experiencing troublesome symptoms. You begin to grasp at anything that may provide the solution to your ails.  Magnesium for headaches and energy. Black Cohash and Chaste Berry for menopausal challenges.  Digestive Enzymes of all sorts. Beano for gas. Lines of herbal remedies for a variety of other issues.  The list goes on. 

I fell hard into that trap. The medical field today is not what it used to be.  I've always been sensitive to many traditional medicines. Doctors never knew what to do with me.  I began to distrust them and take the cavalier approach of I know my body better than you do and will take care of it my way. I learned some really good and useful things while in that mode. I also experienced alot of ultimately harmful things as a result.  Being tossed back and forth between successes and damage I incurred to my body while trying to heal it, while seeing changes in the medical field over the past 30 years caused me to have to reevaluate and take myself out of the hamster wheel. 

For those of us who have been around for the last 40 plus years, it is incredible to see the advancements in knowledge and in the approach toward healing and understanding what a patient needs.  I have hope for more improvements in this area in years to come. Currently, while there are still those of the old school mindset, there are many with the new one.  It makes partnering with them helpful and exciting.  I first noticed this almost 9 years ago. I hesitantly went to my then PCP when I suddenly gained 60 pounds in a month, lost my vision, migraines increased, had chronic fatigue, stomach issues, and struggled to walk.  In one month, my health crashed and I was scared.  I was terrified to talk to my doctor about this because of my past experiences with doctors.  

She took me by suprise. Instead of wanting to prescribe medicine to solve my problems, she was committed to getting to the bottom of things.  She had ideas and mentioned a few herbs that might help. I was taken back by this.  I remember saying, in that state of shock, "You mean, I can tell you things I am trying out and you won't tell me I am crazy?"

That's when this partnership journey began.  That particular pcp was only able to take me so far and we hit roadblocks that were perplexing to us.  Then I moved and found a new pcp.  She listens and problem solves together with me, just like the last one. 

So when the month of May rolled around this year and I suddenly gained 20 pounds in two weeks, I called her and said, "Hell no! This isn't happening.  I am getting off this ride today.  Right now. I need your help." Knowing me, she laughed and joked with me saying that she could give me a pill or find a solution together with me.  Thus began this next round on my journey to healing.

At this point, I had 2 large daily pill containers chocked full of supplements of all sorts from digestive enzymes, to vitamins and minerals, to herbs for menopausal women, to herbal blends for specific ailments.  It was costing me about $300/mo to sustain the small difference I was seeing and the hope for renewed health.  There wasn't the improvement I hoped for.

My doctor did several blood draws to check everything from cholesterol and vitamin balance, to endocrine issues, immune issues, cortisol levels, diabetes etc.  I felt like I was at the blood bank making a donation with so much blood being drawn. I felt encouraged that this doctor was also committed to helping me find my path to health. 

The results came back and the next leg of journey began.  I was sent to many specialists.  One was an endocrinologist. This is where the change in supplements began.  You see all my blood tests came back completely normal but one: cortisol.  It was too high, which meant I should be thin as a rail, not fat.  What was going on?

The doctor spent over an hour going over my medical, dietary, personal, and supplement history and another hour discussing with me what she knew and answering my questions. There were more tests to be done.  The biggest thing she told me was, "Please, stop taking all those supplements.  You do not know the harm you are doing to yourself.  They are triggering your body to shut down and not work.  The supplements are doing the work your body was created to do.  They have made it lazy and now she is suffering for it." She went on to explain the science behind it and patiently answered every question I had. She asked me to stay off the supplements for a year so my body could reset and then retest everything again to see what my baseline is.  She knew what each of the supplements did and suspected the black cohosh for being the culprit for both the strong and long lasting monthly cycles and for the rise in cortisol.  Since being off it, my moods stabilized, cycles normalized, and my cortisol levels normalized.

The gastrointerologist, the allergist, and dietitian were also extremely helpful. With their knowledge and my desperate commitment to becoming well, my life has turned around completely since July.  I am completely supplement free.  The pancreatic insufficiency syndrome is gone.  I dropped 35 pounds and kept it off.  I have energy like I never had before.  My thinking is clear.  No troublesome stomache issues, unless I sneak in a food I shouldn't eat.  I have more control over my health than I have ever had before. We redid several blood tests and without the supplements, they are looking great, despite not supplementing with vitamins and minerals, which I did "because modern food is deficient in them and our bodies are unable to efficiently use what little is available in them." 

Funny thing is, I feel better and am doing better in many ways without the use of supplements.  After years of hearing the opposite, that we need to supplement, and hearing testimonials of improvements others experienced, I assumed that had to be true in my case as well...when in reality, taking a shot in the dark reduced me to becoming a guinea pig and made me into a supplement junkie which did not help and even harmed my body. To become well without them but by simple adjustments upon discovering underlying challenges my body has, has given me life and energy that I was desperately seeking for.

It's been incredible to work with the team I have.  Discovering how my body works and where it is strong and weak in performing its functions is empowering. My pocketbook is grateful as well.  It's nice to not be spending $300/mo on something that was actually not beneficial and even harmful for me.  This is contrary to the popular belief that supplementing would improve health, reduce the need for medical intervention, and reduce the strain on the pocketbook from the medical intervention. 

Is there a place for supplements?  Sure. But knowledge of your body and what it is needing should direct it. Will there be a day where a supplement might be part of my routine again?  Possibly.  But at this time, with a team like I have, it won't be me guessing and hoping I am making a right choice.  It will be with knowledge backed up with evidence.  With knowledge comes power to make good, healthy choices and begin to live the life we want to live.