There are a lot of very good doctors out there.  However, one thing I’ve noticed there is a short supply of is doctors who are interested in, or at least accepting of, alternative medicine.

For instance, as a type 1 diabetic, my doctors have had me on Lipitor for several years.  My cholesterol was only slightly high, not really high enough for most people to consider risking the side effects of taking Lipitor from a fairly young age — but since I’m diabetic, apparently high cholesterol is worse than liver or kidney problems.

Last year, I finally got off Lipitor thinking that my husband and I were going to try to get pregnant.  I looked up some natural ways to bring down my cholesterol, and started drinking 8 ounces of not-from-concentrate grapefruit juice every day.  When my doctor tested my cholesterol in the spring, my LDL was down considerably (and only very slightly higher than the goal for a diabetic), and my HDL (good cholesterol) was quite high.

Pain management is another thing that some doctors have trouble accepting.  Doctors are led to believe that drugs are the best treatment for everything, and tend to be rather skeptical about natural pain relief – even when it’s been proven effective via years of research.  For instance, medical magnets are known to block pain, yet doctors aren’t exactly prescribing magnetic therapy — despite the ill effects of being on too many drugs for extended periods of time — now are they?

The moral of this story is to make sure you always choose a doctor who is open to alternative treatment methods.  Although you don’t need your doctor’s blessing to pursue alternative medicine, it’s certainly helpful if they support you in your quest to find a better way!

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