Soyagera journey into healthier living

Yeah, just try getting the song out of your head now.

Ah, Western medicine–it’s a topic I haven’t yet discussed on this blog. It’s bound to be a common one, though.

First, some backstory:
If you read the About section of this blog, you will read about how Hubs and I started a veg lifestyle due to some hereditary health issues Hubs has. To summarize,  his body doesn’t produce HDL (good) cholesterol, so in order to keep his cholesterol at a manageable and safe level, he has to severely limit his intake of ANY cholesterol, HDL or LDL. Years ago, his cardiologist told him to stop eating anything that contains cholesterol (read: animal products) which is why we went veg. In addition to a healthy diet Hubs was taking blood pressure meds, cholesterol-reducing meds (statins), niacin, and aspirin. Along the way, some anti-anxiety meds were prescribed. In an effort at brevity, I’m not going to go into a description of each med and its purpose.

At this point, I should also mention that I was chock-full-o’-drugs, too, taking birth control pills (since college) and anti-depressants.

 In recent months, Hubs and I decided that it was probably in our best interest to get off some meds. We visited a naturopath who helped get Hubs on the right path, and I just weaned myself off of my anti-depressants. (I had stopped taking my bcp earlier in the year.) Our experiences could be a book in themselves, so I think a listing technique might be best here. What we have experienced, thus far:

ME–after coming off of BCP
-Depression: My hormones were trying to get back to normal, and instead of letting it run its course, I went on anti-depressants. The meds weren’t hard to get; I asked my doc for some and he sent me away that day with samples. I no longer visit this doctor.

ME–after coming off anti-depressants
-Depression & Irritability: I was not horrible, but I wasn’t a great person to be around. Hubs commented, “I liked you better when you were on medication.” It took a number of weeks, vitamin supplements, and exercise, but I believe I am back to “normal.”  I feel as though I’m in the moment, I’m “me” again, and life is just jolly.

-Weight loss: Even at my “heaviest,” I was around 130 pounds. Now that I’m off all of the hormone-controlling meds, I’ve dropped back down to my natural weight of 120 pounds. This weight-loss prompted many comments about how “skinny” I looked, but really, I was just losing the bloating and fat that hung on due to meds.

Hubs has not had it so easy. A few examples:

Hubs on Niacin: extreme flushing of the face and upper chest. Hot flashes. Lower cholesterol, but not without physical discomfort.
Hubs on anti-anxiety meds: sent his heart racing so fast that he had a full-blown anxiety attack.
Hubs on Zoloft: chilled him out
Hubs coming off Zoloft: what he described as “zaps” in his brain; bouts of disconnectedness; fatigue; weight gain (all eventually faded after about 3 weeks)

He’s had a lifetime of trying new meds, trying to get the right combo, trying to do what’s best. Again, for sake of brevity, I’ll fast forward to today. Hubs went off of his cholesterol meds a few months ago. He’s been eating right, avoiding (for the most part) foods which raise bad cholesterol and intaking those that raise the good. He recently got bloodwork done and his cholesterol levels are high again!    Hubs was so frustrated, especially since most of his health decisions are based upon his own research. He felt like he had been doing a strict health regime for nothing and had spent time and effort on  research for no reason. We both immediately started researching his condition again but without a geneticist to explain some of the stuff, we’re burnt out.

So, this leaves us at an impasse. Does Hubs go back on cholesterol meds which lower his risk of heart attack but raise his risk of needing a liver transplant (plus all of the unknown variables)? Or does he continue as he has  been doing and hope for the best? His “regular” doctor said he should be taking meds since “all the research shows that’s what you should do.”  When Hubs replied, “but your research is done by the pharmaceutical companies. What about the research I’ve done that negates all that?,” the doc couldn’t respond.

For now, the decision is not to take meds and see another naturopath. We truly believe that healing can occur through food and natural remedies. Hubs has a hereditary (genetic) condition that can’t necessarily be fixed, but his chances of living a full life are much higher, we believe, through healthy diet, exercise, stress-relieving techniques, and love–lots of love