Traditional or Alternative?

Over the last week I have been on a roller coaster of wondering "what is wrong with me." Last Monday we (all nine children and me) took a short trip to the boardwalk. On our way back to the van I started to feel light-headed. Unfortunately, while driving home I felt somewhat numb in my head...Thankfully, we made it home safely, abbreviating our trip. I had attributed the morning's symptoms to dehydration or a mineral imbalance. So, I probably drank alot and took minerals. I don't remember how I felt for the rest of the day but at bedtime I took my pulse. It was in the low 40s. That is generally low enough to make someone pass out and have their friends and loved-ones call paramedics. I wondered what was happening, said a prayer, and went to sleep.

The next morning, I checked my pulse again. Same thing. Low 40s. I was feeling a little panicked since I am a RN (in early retirement) and therefore do know some things after working in ICU, etc. The only person I know who has had this pulse, passed out and immmediately received a pacemaker. He was a young man...

I continued to focus on praying for wisdom, hydrating, eating well, and taking minerals along with my normal supplements. I called my chiropractor/nutritional specialist for advice or an appointment. She was booked. Her short term suggestion helped me to feel better but did not improve my heartrate.

By Thursday,both my chiropractor and I suspected a postpartum hypothyroid. She wanted my TSH checked. This would require a trip to the family doctor. I dreaded that because I knew he would be very concerned about the bradycardia (low pulse) and possibly insist upon intrusive and dangerous studies that I don't want to have performed on me. On Friday morning he saw me and ordered many labs to be ordered, including the thyroid panel, female hormones, and the typical other stuff. He also ordered various studies of my heart and insisted that I go to an ER if I have dizziness.

Today I saw my chiropractor. She had already acquired my lab results and assured me that I wasn't going to die when she first entered the room. I thought it strange that she would mention that possibility, although I had secretly wondered. Thankfully my appointment with her had been made months earlier and for a long visit too. Thanks to her, tomorrow I'm seeing another medical doctor who uses natural techniques for treating many medical problems. At his office I will be given IV fluid. Apparently, I am deeply dehydrated as indicated by high kidney/liver/blood study results. It isn't something that can be resolved by drinking more or even taking more supplements. But the expectation is that one course of IV fluids with minerals will set everything in order! Praise the Lord! It's my chiropractor who is setting this up after reading my (medically ordered) lab test results! I am so grateful for her and wonder if my medical doctor will come to the same conclusion. I haven't heard from him yet.

Also tomorrow I will have a Holter cardiac monitor placed at my family doctor's office for a 24 hour study of my heart's rhythm. Hopefully, I'll be in normal sinus rhythm after the IV.

On Thursday I'm scheduled for both an echocardiogram and a treadmill stress test. Thankfully all these diagnostics are painless, near our home and somewhat breastfeeding friendly.

One perk of having all this done is that we discovered that my progesterone is so low that I should not be able to even make breastmilk. Now, I'm taking an herbal supplement, from my chiropractor, that is supposed to have an immediate effect on this hormone. I will have many happy results from increasing progesterone. I look forward to that! Best of all, I should have a wonderful supply of milk for our precious little one.

Another secondary blessing is that now we know why the baby and I have been in gastric distress nearly everyday since his birth. My liver enzymes being slightly elevated indicate that I haven't been able to eliminate toxins from my body which causes alot of gas. We've managed ok with herbal tea and simethicone drops. Now we are on a natural supplement with herbs and some l-glutamine for soothing digestion. And when I am effectively rehydrated, I can clean up my liver enough to stop this process. Both the baby and I should be feeling much better soon!

So, can bradycardia be caused by dehydration? I hope so. If not, I pray we discover whatever God wants us to find out very soon.

However, all the while, I've been asking God if He doesn't have another reason for allowing all of this inconvenience (and some justified fear) into my life. Only a month ago we started a personal relationship with our family doctor and his family of 12. It was so unexpected that during the baby's first checkup they invited us over to their home, and later insisted that we stay for dinner. They are a wonderful family and we all enjoyed them immensely. We were even planning a second get together and began to discuss it more seriously with the wife on the morning I made my appointment with her husband. I don't believe in coincidence. It seems our families are meant to share time together and have already been very blessed by the new relationship. Their youngest is 16, while that is the age of our eldest. So we bring sweet memories to their minds of years gone by when they were younger and all sharing life together. They remind us that our children will grow up to be loving and family oriented adults one day. It's a nice trade.

This medical doctor and my chiropractor share many patients. Most medical doctors do not favor the care or input of a chiroprator. I have seen that look in my doctor's eye when I've mentioned something about my health history that relates to my chiropractor. I learned today that the relationship has become recently strained between them but not for any particular reason...now I'm wondering if our family might be used as a tool to bring that multi-disciplinary relationship into order.

We have seen our chiropractor almost monthly for seven years. We barely ever see a medical doctor. We love using vitamins, herbs and minerals rather than drugs to help bring our bodies back into alignment with God's plan. In an emergency, or just to maintain a history of medical care, that the world would view as responsible, we take our children for check ups to a medical doctor. Now because of my dilemma, I'm in the middle, between traditional and alternative medicine. I am at peace and quite thankful for them both. But I'm wondering if the Lord will use this situation to help bring peace between those two practices?

Whatever the outcome of the tests, I desire to be obedient and always glorifying to God in the process. I am praying that my words will be soothing and helpful as we enjoy the fellowship of our doctor and his family during our personal time together. I'm even writing all of this in hopes that one day in the future I'll be able to look back and see the hand of God in our lives and remember that this is how it all started. For now it seems like a strange assortment of coincidences. I don't believe in coincidence.