Go Ahead and Make Fun of Me!

I’m proud to report that yesterday I was brave enough to undergo a colonoscopy and everything turned out fine. I am polyp-free for the 3rd time in a row, so I don’t have to have another one for 7 years! Yay! So it was well worth the effort and discomfort of not eating the day before, etc. to know that I am colon cancer free. I spent the remainder of yesterday resting and working quietly at home, since after this procedure, you aren’t allowed to drive or operate heavy machinery (what kind of heavy machinery do they think we do?? The heaviest machine I ever operate is a coffee bean grinder!!) By last evening, I was really in the mood to watch (don’t laugh!!) the Justin Bieber “Never Say Never” dvd. (blame it on the sedation of the procedure if you want to, but I REALLY enjoy that movie!!)  It never ceases to amaze me the POWER of the people! I mean, here is a cute kid WITH talent from a small town in Canada, who posts videos on YouTube, and in the course of a year, sky rockets from obscurity and anonymity to selling out Madison Square Garden in 22 minutes! THIS is AFTER radio stations refused to play his music at first because “no one” knew
who he was. Wrong! His fans knew who he was! The millions of hits his YouTube videos garnered knew who he was, but the people in charge of playing music weren’t “with it.” They didn’t understand the POWER OF THE PEOPLE TO CHOOSE. Do you see where I’m going with this analogy?? Just like when we go to our doctors who are close minded, so refuse to listen to us or validate how we are feeling. They just slap a patch on us or tell us this is just part of life, so we will just have to live with it. Really?? That’s the best they’ve got?? And these are the doctors of the lucky women, who DON”T prescribe an anti-depressent or a sleeping aid instead.  I guess the bottom line is why ARE so many doctors so close-minded? Is it arrogance? Is it ego? Is it the attitude, “well, I’ve been to medical school, so I know all the answers??” I mean, what IS it? My husband, Jeff RPh, said it best. He said, “You know, WE (at the Happy Hormone Cottage and Piqua Medicine Shoppe) never stop learning. We never assume we know it all. We are OPEN to the possibilities that new information is coming in all the time that allows us to continue to grow and change to “up” our game. We don’t profess to knowing it all. When we find a better way of doing something, we do it. We really try to be open-minded and think OUTSIDE the box! So why aren’t our doctors doing this?” And then he goes on to say something really simple and to the point. He says, “Why are the only tools in an ob gyn’s toolbox hysterectomies or birth control pills, with the occasional estrogen patch thrown in for good measure??!!” I thought that was profound! Why ARE these the only tools? Especially in the light of the WEALTH of information out there from credible sources in the form of books, articles, and double blind studies that validate the value
of natural hormone therapy with bioidentical hormone replacement? It really is inexcusable to be THAT close-minded. So what to do? The answer is obvious! Take CHARGE of YOU! Take charge of YOUR journey. STOP going to a doctor who is NOT LISTENING to you. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE A CHANGE! There ARE health care practitioners who are willing to think outside the box and embrace something other than drug therapy for a hormone imbalance issue. There AREdoctors out there (see the list of practitioners on my website) who will actually check your hormone levels (gasp!) and then make an informed decision based
on a strategy that is customized for YOU. (someone pinch me!) Just like the people, the fans behind Justin Bieber who demanded that the radio stations and the record makers LISTEN and play his music to stay in the game, WE as a culture of women HAVE THE POWER TO FORCE A CHANGE ON THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSION. How? Simply by become educated in this area (do the reading; talk to people in the know) and empowered to know what you want. And then REFUSE to settle for ANYTHING less. Just like Justin Bieber, who never gave up. He went to radio station after radio station, pulled out his acoutic guitar, and just started singing. 4 people gathered to listen; then 40; then 400; then a thousand; then 2 thousand….until he set a record by selling out MSG in 22 minutes! You may have to visit more than one doctor. You may have to tell your story again and again and then demand that someone listen to you. You may have to “never say never” to NOT getting better; to NOT giving up; to NOT accepting that you have to feel miserable for the rest of your life; to NOT accept a hysterectomy or a birth control pill or an estrogen patch as THE answer for you because that is the only tool in the toolbox. Really-it is ALL up to you. YOU HAVE THE POWER
TO MAKE THAT CHANGE AND NEVER SAY NEVER.