My personal experience started with me as the patient.  Although I am by profession a board certified Cytologist, Histologist and Medical Technologist in conventional medicine I always had questions that were not getting answered about my own health problems.  Since I was exposed daily to a large assortment of chemicals at work I was experiencing kidney and liver ailments.  Nothing considered serious by conventional medicine but I preferred not to wait until a crisis happened as was suggested by the various conventional medicine doctors.  Fortunately I was able to find alternative health care that included treatment for myself as well as classes to learn more about options available.  I learned about healthy diets and healthy living and how to take care of myself while being exposed to all the chemicals.  The liver and kidneys was being overworked but could be healed and restored as well as maintained with the use of Angelica, Astragalas and Milk Thistle.  I used this combination six days a week as recommended by the herbalist and alternative physicians with time off for the body to recuperate at intervals of six weeks, six months, etc.  I had periodic liver and kidney profiles done as required by the work place and the blood work showed improvement slowly but surely.

 

It was suggested that I continue with some sort of liver and kidney support until I retired and was out of that environment for two years which I elected to do.   Needless to say I was on well on my way to investigating alternative ways of healing for myself and others that might be interested.  I started classes in homeopathy home study given by Luyte's Homeopathy Pharmacy.  Located in St. Louis, Mo. where I was working.   It had been started by Dr. Luyte, a homeopathic physician, 150 years ago as a way of helping the settlers care for themselves as they migrated west, most often without any medical care available.   Herb and natural substances are used but in different ways than the traditional herbalist.  During this time I was also attending herbal seminars and whatever conferences I could find that were within a days drive.

 

My next health care situation was my own pap smear.  As a cytologist that was what I did for a living---reading and diagnosing pap smears.  By the way a pap smear is not just a vaginal pap smear; anything that can be coughed up, scraped off, or aspirated from a body can be made into a pap smear---man, woman or child.  Anyway some years after I went into menopause I started to experience vaginal irritation and dryness.  In conventional medical terminology 'vaginal atrophy' with parabasal epithelial cells instead of the intermediate epithelial cells that should be there during menopausal years.  I certainly did not want estrogen/progesterone treatment with all the side effects that can cause; the least of which is delaying menopause into the mid- to late fifties.  The worst that can happen with continuing use of hormones in later life is endometrial cancer---cancer inside the uterus---which used to be relative rare until use of the estrogen/progesterone came into use.  Well, here I go again; gotta find the herbs that will do the healing naturally.  By now I am pretty well aware in where to go for help.  Sure enough good old angelica (this time Dong quai) was recommended in a formula with damiana.  At six weeks into herbal theraphy I checked my own pap smear (vaginal) to see if the cells were maturing to the intermediate stage and sure enough they were.  No more vaginal atrophy!  It takes six weeks minimum for the cells to regrow from a previous pap smear.  Since a pathologist also signs off on medical lab reports she wanted to know what I had done.  Years later this same pathologist would ask me for some information as she was having the same problems that were complicated by taking estrogen/progesterone treatment that caused uterine bleeding.  She decided to try the formula that I made for the course and is doing well.  It was angelica, damiana and shepherd's purse tincture.  Another pathologist had asked me while I was still employed for a suggestion of herbals as she was having atrophy problems.  Good old angelica and damiana were suggested once again.  I also gave them the names of the alternative physicians that I went to.

 

An associate that had long standing psoriasis problems wanted to know what could be done with his situation.  Since his psoriasis responded well to sunshine unlike some patients, I told him about angelica and suggested that he check out a traditional Chinese doctor in his neighborhood.  She has done great things for friends and family.   I also suggested he improve his diet and stop smoking.    At this point he is some better but the smoking is still a problem.

 

My work involved 85 percent men and 15 percent women, all of them veterans or relatives of veterans which means they were exposed to some of the nasty chemicals of war.  Most of the specimen came from upper respiratory--lungs and bronchus--and the kidneys and bladder--the genito-urinary system.  Friends with chronic respiratory or bladder/kidney problems are asking questions about alternative treatment and I give them what information that I can and/or refer them to someone more knowledgeable.

   

Whether it was from surgery or biopsies, the continuous flow of specimen made me wonder why the healing was not happening in spite of all the 'wonder drugs' offered to the patients.  Yes, I realize that the patients accept the administration of this treatment because they believe this is the only thing available but so much more is out there in this wide wonderful world.  Don't get me wrong, I believe conventional medicine has a place in treatment with surgery for trauma, birth defects and diagnostic testing if that is needed but as healers natural herbs do so much better.