First, and perhaps most importantly, you are your own healer. At Whole Health & Healing, we are simply facilitators to help you back to your path of health and wellness. We insist on teaching patients to empower themselves with their own healing, through a variety of different methods that we will choose together. Think of us as your health care partner.
At Whole Health & Healing, we take a distinctively individualized approach to each and every patient. It's not just our philosophy; it's the reality in which we live. Have you ever asked yourself, "Why are only some people allergic to penicillin? Why are some people sensitive to certain foods when others tolerate them fine? Why do some folks' hair gray so early? The obvious answer is because we are all different, and that's how we strive to treat each of our patients.
Although we would like to help people stay on the road to good health, most of us tend to ignore their health until it begins to fail. In all likelihood, that's why you are reading this. You, or someone you love has fallen ill and has failed to respond to the traditional therapeutic interventions. Perhaps a doctor has told you that you had no control over your illness?
When you trust Whole Health & Healing, we'll never tell you that.
And just as there are many types of illnesses, there are many reasons why each person succumbs to a particular illness pattern. Such varied factors as genetics, stress, environmental toxins, sub-optimal nutrition, lack of exercise, and aging all contribute to why we become ill. For some reason, your body has become unbalanced and your immune system has been compromised.
In the traditional allopathic Western-style medical model, doctors place everyone in a dozen or so diagnostic pigeonholes. That's how many of us (like me) have been trained - and it works - for some patients, initially. Please don't misunderstand, there are a lot of illnesses that our current medical system can treat effectively, but if you're reading this, you're probably one of the 40% of Americans that the system hasn't cured or helped. For some, current allopathic regimes can make things worse. Remember Zyprexa and Vioxx?
From our clinical experience, if you're a square peg in a round hole, doctors are trained to pound on you until you fit into one of the accepted diagnostic paradigms. And if you still don't fit, after all the tests and medications and procedures, then there must be something non-medically wrong with you. Maybe you're making it up. Sound familiar? We've seen this model replicated over and over again.
At Whole Health & Healing, we try not to think that way. We try to take a structured, systematic approach to your healing. First, we carefully listen to you. We pride ourselves in taking an extremely thorough medical history. Often times the key question is, "When was the last time you felt well?" We ask about seemingly insignificant details about childhood illnesses, surgeries, trauma (both physical and emotional), lifestyle (both current and past), family history, diet and exercise patterns, allergies and sensitivities, social history, current medical conditions, and finally, medications you are taking, both pharmaceutical and supplements.
Secondly, we offer state of the art metabolic testing, to ensure that your body is working as efficiently as possible. Think of it as you would with your car, which has now become hard to start, sputters when you hit the accelerator, and is getting lousy gas mileage. The mechanic hooks your engine up to a bunch of wires and instruments and then the computer spits out what it finds. This allows the mechanic to make the necessary adjustments and tune your engine so that it can work at its optimal efficiency.
In a sense, that's what we do. Metabolic testing gives us an intimate insight into the various biochemical pathways essential for optimal health and wellness. The laboratory data gives us important information on your body's status of essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, as well as an indication of how well your body is able to utilize these nutrients. There are also toxin and allergy profiles that can be helpful for more difficult illnesses.
If testing suggests nutritional deficiencies, we first recommend whole food replacements. Whole Health & Healing uses only pharmaceutical grade supplements and herbs that can be prescribed if appropriate. For patients with toxic burdens, like mercury (from eating too much tuna or too many amalgam filings), there are specific, carefully monitored detoxification protocols that can, over time, cleanse your system and help put you back into balance.
Thirdly, once you are feeling better, we look at other CAM modalities and lifestyle changes that can help you stay on the road of wellness. These modalities might include herbal medicine, yoga, acupuncture, massage, acupressure, tai chi, I.V. vitamins and minerals, far infrared sauna, meditation, and prayer.
At Whole Health & Healing, our goal is simple. We want to help you heal. It is our privilege to guide you on your journey toward total health and wellness.
Michael Geci-Black, MD
michael@wholehealthandhealing.com
607-434-4866