Mystery Illness — and Why Western Medicine is Struggling to Find Answers.

It was a Thursday morning. I woke up in a muggy room in a makeshift schoolhouse in rural Dominican Republic. I had planned to spend a week supporting a local community through a service project with Food for the Hungry. There was this unsettling pain in my right shoulder. Kind of an achiness that came out of nowhere. No matter how much I stretched, I couldn’t get rid of it. I decided to push through, until I couldn’t….

Little did I know at that time, that my body was sending me signals that it was time for significant life changes.

I got home a few days later and the symptoms got worse. I’ve decided to see my trusted orthopedic surgeon in Arizona. After several tests, X-Rays and MRI’s it was decided that I had something called an impingement of the shoulder. The doc said “It’s just age-related and since you have done some physical labor, stuff like that happens”, and “Let’s get you through some physical therapy and you’ll be back to normal in no time”.

Sounds like a great plan, right? Well, my symptoms got worse. The stretching during physical therapy was incredibly painful. The electrotherapy stimulation made things worse. Eventually the pain extended to my left shoulder….sigh! Then a stiffness set in. I could hardly walk. Then my shoulders started to lock, washing or dressing myself became really difficult. I couldn’t open my hands with my own free will in the morning. It took me an hour to get moving, trying to do water aerobics and exercise. Lab tests suggested that my inflammatory markers were elevated, and my physician suggested to take prednisone, which of course made me feel better within days. The only problem, I started to gain weight and started to develop an allergic reaction to it. I was on a business trip to Florida and felt like I was about to have a heart attack. Apparently, irregular and pounding heartbeat is a common side effect of this medication.

So, what do you do when you are at your wits’ end? You ask to go see a specialist, right? I went to what I thought to be the best clinic in town, and was referred to a rheumatologist. After countless more blood tests, MRI’s, X-Rays and weeks of waiting, he ruled out Spondylitis, even though he was sure that my symptoms were a classic case. Eventually the long awaited diagnosis came in: Seronegative Inflammatory Arthritis. It’s basically a catch-all diagnosis saying, “we know you have inflammation, but we don’t know why!” I do have to thank the doctor however, because the key phrase was this: “I am going to put you on Plaquenil, but please see a ophthalmologist, as some of the side effects could result in blindness.” I was like, my eyes are the only thing that are working properly, why would I jeopardize that.

I wasn’t going to settle for some doc giving me more drugs, for something they had no real idea about. I wanted to get to the root of the issue. Why was I sick in the first place? What was my body trying to tell me?

I found the answer at Paracelsus Clinic in Teufen AR in Switzerland. They finally performed the right lab tests, and it turned out I had a severe heavy metal toxicity, combined with an environmental toxic overload and several food allergies. Wow, what a relief. I finally knew how to get healthy without popping pharmaceutical products with side-effects that require more drugs!!!

So, after going through heavy metal detox (chelation therapy) in Germany and changing my diet to a mostly plant-based one, I was well on my way to complete health. The road was long, but I am happy to say that I am not taking any pharmaceutical drugs and I am back to a complete healthy state.

Here are some practical tips for you to get healthy:

1. Find a holistic practitioner that has the knowledge and network to perform the right tests, such as heavy metals, environmental toxins, and food allergies.

2. Clean up your diet and detox your body. There are many great books and resources out there. Some of my favorites are: Medical Medium’s Cleanse to Heal, Alberto Villoldo’s “Grow a New Body”, and Mark Hyman’s Food — “What the Heck Should I Eat?”. And my recent favorite: “Outlive” by Peter Attia, MD.

3. Start a meditation practice. There are some great apps out there, such as CALM, Headspace or LevelHead. Getting your mental mind to a healthy state is as important for physical wellbeing as food itself.

4. Go and walk outside. Leave your cellphone at home. Spending time in nature and taking time to breathe is such a wonderful way to connect with yourself and helps to clear your mind!

5. Laugh — Find joy again in your life. Go see a comedy or get a group of friends together for a fun boardgame. Laugher is medicine and we sometimes tend to forget the simplicity of this.

6. Join one of my Wellness Retreats. Click on the Rocket Shaman logo to learn more.

I was starting to talk to friends and colleagues with similar “mystery illnesses.” And it’s crazy to see how many people were relying on traditional allopathic treatments, despite severe side-effects and mildly improved symptons. I’ve talked with people with Lupus, MS, other rheumatic problems and realized how many people had no idea that diet played such an important role in their wellbeing. And then the most astounding third categorie of people that are running from doctor to doctor, trying every method and still no real break-throughs or answers.

As I’ve started to open up about my own journey at work, it was incredible to see people getting inspired with my story and some even started to get on my “green smoothie” train. I have witnessed people quitting their meds and getting better, just as I did.

So what’s wrong with healthcare in America, you might ask? I will elaborate on this more on a future post. For now, if you find yourself in a similar situation, let me encourage you to start with the suggestions above or contact me for a healing session.