To provide the best medical services I believe that Eastern and Western medicine must be integrated instead of separated.
For those of you who know I’ve been struggling with gallstones for about 6 years. When I was first told I might have gallstones I was seeing a homeopathic doctor who performed an electrodermal test and alluded to the fact that my gallbladder and liver meridian were very weak. The doctor then suggested I get an ultrasound to prove whether or not I have gallstones.
After the ultrasound showed I did have gallstones it was up to me how I wanted to treat it. I spent numerous hours researching and discussing my options with different doctors and medical approaches.
There is a time and place for both Eastern and Western medicine and it is extremely important for the patient to play an active role in their health and do everything they can to understand their disease because everyone is unique and therefore every disease will affect people differently.
I tried everything, diet and life style change, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, homeopathic medicine, and supplements. Finally, after my pain continued to evolve and the stones remained I agreed to the Western medical approach of surgery.
It was interesting to find out that a gallbladder removal (laparoscopic cholecystectomy) is one of the most common surgery’s, especially for women. As I did more research I found pros and cons to both surgery and maintaining a gallbladder friendly diet with stones.⠀
What I think is most important from this experience...
is taking the time to listen to your body and ask what it needs. After several meditations, my body said that it did not need my gallbladder and that surgery would help relieve me of my pain. So I finally muddled up the courage and did it this week!
From this experience, I have learned that there is a time and place for both Eastern and Western medicine and it is extremely important for the patient to play an active role in their health and do everything they can to understand their disease because everyone is unique and therefore every disease will affect people differently. ⠀
At the end of the day, I am thankful for this experience because it has taught me the ins and outs of the medical fields and how to integrate different paradigms of medicine and create your own personalized treatment. Now it’s time to heal and start a new chapter without my gallbladder, and continue to listen to my body and what it needs! 🙌❤️⠀ ⠀