Diagnosis "BROKEN"

There is a saying that goes like this…specializing is the process of knowing more and more about less and less, until…finally…you know everything about nothing.

As you know, the process of specialization is considered a virtue in medicine.  If you have complicated and resistant symptoms…you are sent from the general physician to the specialist, and if they can name your condition, you might have to go to the person who specializes in that particular condition.  The more specialized it seems…the longer the wait.  And, clearly…the higher the value.
 

In my book I talk about my theories of specialization as more of a population census.  Meaning, as doctors named more and more conditions, they needed to separate by system, then organ, then even by the specific cell involved…and who on earth could keep track of all those names.

The reason that this thought process popped into my little brain recently was a Facebook post by a high school buddy.  He said he finally found out what he has.  “Complex migraine with aura.”  He was relieved to have a name, as well as rule out stroke and seizure, and I would want that ruled out if I were having his symptoms also.  The question I ask then is, “what does that tell me about me?”  Since there is no known cause to migraine in medicine, what does this diagnosis tell this patient?

I ask this question to people attending my seminars, what does the diagnosis of diabetes, hypothyroidism, neuropathy, etc., etc., tell you about you?  I discuss how that name is given…either by a lab value of a cluster of symptoms…but what does it tell you about you?

I drag my feet awhile and let people think about it…and always, perhaps in different language or words, they come to the conclusion that they are broken.

Next question… “If you are broken, what do you do about that?”  You can’t fix broken.  Of course the answer is to take the symptom suppressing medication for the rest of your life.  Broken only ends with death.

In my buddy’s case, they treated him with anti-seizure medication…even though they ruled out seizure!  Does that sound like a good plan for life to inhibit the activity of your brain?  Now, given the options, suffer with incapacitating symptoms or take this drug…I too would take the drug.

But that isn’t the only option(s)!  Well, it is the only option in the name game.  Names which indicate broken-ness only can be managed.  But in the game of identifying imbalances and things we can change…well, the options are endless.

What about testosterone and estrogen ratios.  Anyone who reads or watches the news knows the effects of hormones on the brain.  What about blood sugar regulation…stress physiology and cortisol levels??  These are all measurable things that have significant impact on brain and vascular function…and all can be changed.

Brain function itself can be changed.  I have used simple therapies such as fast eye movements and performed neurological tests immediately afterward…and the test was performed better. 

We have so much capability to change your internal environment and functions…it is sad to me to see people accept this diagnosis of “broken.”  Not to mention the great relief for finally being identified as broken.

If anything is broken, it’s not you, it’s the medical system of naming and suppressing, and the specialization versus looking at the whole picture (hormones, stress, inflammation, brain function…)!