Connect
← Return to Integrative medicine, keto diets, etc
Discussion
Integrative medicine, keto diets, etc
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Oct 15 3:26pm | Replies (37)Comment receiving replies
@judyhodgern Well, I read Daniel Pecaut's book Beating Bronchiectasis probably three times and I asked my pulmonologist if he had ever had anyone ask for glutathione to nebulize (one of the things that Pecaut used). He sort of rolled his eyes at me and said "oh that's the stuff that you get at the health food store". So I knew at that point to not press on. That's when I went to a functional medicine doctor and asked him if he could get glutathione for a nebulizer and he did. He also said that glutathione is the single most important antioxidant in the human body. (so much for that "stuff" you get at the health food store). So I've been nebulizing that for a year and a half along with the the 7% saline. Is it helping? Who knows. But at the last CT scan I've had no progression. He also gave me liposomal glutathione to take orally. So that's one of the major things. And I also follow Dr. Mark Hyman, the head of Functional Medicine at Cleveland Clinic and who has written many books...and I'll never forget him one day saying that they did a study of sick people in the hospital and their levels of glutathione were very low or none (don't quote me on this...it was awhile back and I can't remember the exact words) and that they tested a group of people not in the hospital and their levels of glutathione were normal. I always remembered that, I don't know why. The only down side is that glutathione is not cheap and functional medicine is not covered by insurance. He also gives me other supplements and is willing to try things that a traditional doctor might not try. And I am in no way against traditional medicine because it is needed for certain things and important in many ways but medical schools teach a certain curriculum and that's it. They hardly talk about nutrition and anything alternative or integrative. Personally, I believe functional medicine will become more prevalent in the future because it makes so much sense but it will be awhile for it does. And I'm also one of those people who will test just about anything if I think it might help me. I'm careful but I'm not afraid to try things. I mean, look at the Dr. Terry Wahl's story if you want to be inspired. She was in a wheelchair, feeling like she was dying with MS, and started doing research and long story short, reversed her MS with DIET. I'm not sure if she uses the word reversed but she's jogging now, bicycling and has a huge following and has written two books on the ketogenic diet that she used to heal herself and is helping others with autoimmune conditions.
My closest friend is a medical doctor who had excema for years and went to a functional medicine doctor who put her on the Terry Wahl's protocol diet and her excema went away 90% and she had been given steroids for 20 years.(It's a tough diet...something like 6-9 cups of vegetables a day). And that same friend is the one who told me I HAD to exercise when she heard of my diagnosis 5 years ago. And I have been. I think it's key. I said, well, this lung disease is incurable and she said that's only because they haven't found a cure. I loved that answer. Who knows, one day maybe they will. But she said with exercise you will at least be fighting it back. Sorry to have gone on. Hope that answered a little bit of your question. Nan
Replies to "@judyhodgern Well, I read Daniel Pecaut's book Beating Bronchiectasis probably three times and I asked my..."
@nannette I have seen a functional medicine specialist for years who has helped me more than conventional medicine. I have also researched things myself and I stopped seeing an arthritis doctor who was telling me this was incurable while she was offering arthritis drugs. I had developed issues with gluten and food allergies which I figured out myself with diet changes. I was getting pain in my hands caused by eating dairy because when I took dairy out of my diet, the hand pain stopped. That was back in 2000, and at that time most doctors didn't accept that gluten issues were real and celiac disease was considered very rare. I had just gone through my first surgery and incredible stress which seemed to bring on these issues. The gluten caused enough inflammation to develop a leaky gut, so I developed the other food allergies and I had to test through my diet what was safe to eat and what was not. I made changes and changed my health. I still can't eat certain foods even though it's been twenty one years. My functional medicine doctor told me that the old silver amalgam fillings in my teeth were toxic and could be causing my autoimmune thyroid condition Hashimoto's, and he was right. I had all the fillings replaced and my thyroid function improved a lot, but the damage had been done. I also had several root canals under crowns that were the result of trauma and breaking teeth as a kid, and over the years, those failed and leaked infection and cadmium into my jaw bone. I made the decision to remove the teeth and replace them with dental implants that have no metal, and my lung function improved a lot after those bad teeth were extracted. I have allergic asthma which had gotten worse over the years, and these issues were causing inflammation affecting everything.
Functional medicine doctors tried to prevent health problems by fine tuning body chemistry and they agreed with my own assessment of what the issues were. I had been given advice from a lab test that suggested NAC or N-acetyl cysteine as a supplement because it is a precursor to glutathione (the master antioxidant). I found that my lung function improved from that too because it thins the phlegm and makes it easier to expel. My functional doctor also treats my allergies with custom extracts for allergy shots. This reduces inflammation. Allergies are variable. You might be really reactive to ragweed, but also allergic to tree pollen to a lesser degree, and even more or less allergic to specif tree pollen. There is a treating dose that is correct for each thing and my extracts are mixed to be specific for me. Functional medicine is about prevention, and not treating symptoms with prescription drugs. Drug companies do have an influence for conventional medicine and they wine and dine doctors at meetings to introduce their latest drugs to the market. My choice would always be to try to prevent a medical issue through simple choices before drugs are called in to put a bandaid on the problem. Drugs also come with side effects and sometimes side effects cause another health problem that would not have happened if the patient wasn't using the medication.
You can consult AAEM, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine. On their website at the top right side is a button to click for a provider search. https://www.aaemonline.org/ My doctor belonged to AAEM. The website also has educational information.
Connect
Thank you for the information. I had heard the terms functional medicine and integrative medicine but never looked into them. I am currently satisfied with conventional medicine in treating my lung issues but conventional medicine has nothing to help my digestive problems. I know the cause of my problems is the surgery I had 5 years ago for colon cancer and the removal of the valve between the small and large bowels. Basically it is a bacterial overgrowth problem. I have met with a dietician and have tried the one antibiotic (3x) that sometimes helps but I am stuck on a white rice and toast diet and even then have debilitating cramps.
Perhaps a functional doctor could help?