Rock and a Hard Place

*Originally posted on Wordpress 07.23.2019

When it comes to health concerns, I often feel as if I am caught between a rock and a hard place. For the most part, I consider myself in strong health.  I participate in my own health care by not smoking, by consuming limited alcoholic beverages, and by eating a well balanced diet rich in fruits and veggies and lean in processed foods and sugar.  Additionally, I exercise daily with a combination of aerobic, strength training, and stretching routines. I also practice a 20 minute meditation period daily.  I  tend to prefer more solitary pursuits and avoid large social gatherings but I do have tight family and friend connections.  Despite all these efforts, I still have aches and pains that I sometimes take to an expert for diagnosis and treatment.  Many of my concerns are muscular-skeletal.  I have areas of arthritis and soft tissue damage as well as foot issues that appear to be common in older people.  I also have frequent headaches and live with what can kindly be called a sensitive stomach . I believe these last two concerns are mostly about tension and  lack of sleep, and that they are a direct result of being a human being alive in turbulent and changing times.

So where's the rock and hard place?  You'll find that in the diagnosis and treatment phase of my health care.  I was brought up on Western medicine and  it is my go to for help.  Unfortunately, I have grown wary and cynical about American health care.  That is largely because I believe health care delivery is managed not by physicians but by insurance companies and by the government.  Physicians are not necessarily able to treat patients in a thorough and compassionate way because the bottom dollar tells them how much time they can spend with each patient and what tests or treatments are available.  They have to decide quickly what my presenting problem is and they usually have to treat with a prescription. No time for more extended therapies like physical or mental health care therapies.  They can order a test but they can't necessarily take the time to explain to the patient exactly why they ordered that test.  And, honestly?  Honestly there is also the part that says not everything can be fixed. Sometimes Western medicine chases a solution that is either not going to be found or will eventually find itself, with or without help from insurance companies.

So the other side of that treatment modality includes all forms of health care that are not Western in origin. Acupuncture, herbal therapies, massage therapies, somatic therapies - all of these alternatives - all of these are available to me.  But I am, for the most part,  unwilling to put my hard earned money toward them.  Acupuncture?  Over the years, I have tried three different times with three different providers and I can't say that any of them really produced much of a change in the presenting health situation. The diet and herbal path?  I’ve purchased herbal remedies (via the acupuncturists ) over the years and have not found much success (if any) with that. I suppose there could be foods that might still cause some sort of reaction in me but I don’t like investing time in any kind of food prep. The best meal is one that I don’t have to cook. When I look at some of the suggestions on line for dealing with possible food sensitivities they are all about things that are unfamiliar (both in taste and preparation).   Massage is one alternative therapy that I am willing to put some money toward.  I think that's because I can feel the difference in my body after a massage.  Massage makes sense to me.

When it comes to life in general and health care in particular, I WANT to be this open, curious being. Cynicism and logic, however,  get in my way.  It goes back to the notion that if I can’t understand it, how can I buy it?  I do get that my comments above only show my limitations and narrow mindedness . I am truly a Doubting Thomas.  Except for massage,  I have no personal experiences with alternative therapies that make me believe in them.  Yes, I see a psychiatrist and that is sort of an alternative therapy but I am not even sure I believe in him.

So there's the rock and the hard place.  Do I just take the government/insurance company run Western Medicine, act like a widget in the system,  and hope to find some relief?  Or do I spend my limited money on unproven and random alternative therapies and hope to find some relief?  Or do I just trudge along and know that everything changes and whatever is bothering me today will likely be replaced with a different ache or ailment next week or next month or next year?  What do you do?