Everyone has their own health journey, even practitioners. We are in no way immune from the struggles and challenges involved in finding ways to live healthier lives and overcome illness. Very often, it is the personal experience that motivates us to help others. My diagnosis came on the brink of beginning my naturopathic career almost 10 years ago. I had learned a lot in school and I felt equipped with the knowledge and tools to help others. I was confident I could treat, help, maybe even cure, but my greatest education would come from personal experience. I was met with a diagnosis that had an obscure name, that medicine had little knowledge of, had no treatment for, and quite honestly no idea really what to do with. CG – Collagenous Gastritis. It sounds a little like run-of-the-mill heartburn, but looks different. It might look like cancer, but it’s not, at least not yet. I’m told it might interfere with my digestion, but no one knows to what extent. It might progress, but we don’t know how. And we certainly don’t know why it’s there or what to do with it. Or so I’m told.
That’s the medical synopsis. “We don’t know” Is the hallmark feature. This is true for many patients’ experiences with chronic disease, but it’s tough to reconcile that with a desire to try and heal. I wanted to do something, to help myself, but what or how? Science may not have studies to guide any allopathic or naturopathic treatment for my condition, but there are still breadcrumbs I can follow (gluten-free breadcrumbs that is). Because actually, we do know a lot. If we trust ourselves and our bodies, we can navigate through chronic disease. There is no set course with chronic disease, but so far I’ve had success with these principles:
- Listen to your body, it will be your guide through the unknown
- Sleep is always necessary, it will keep you moving through the unknown
- Stress management, mental outlook, and self-care improve everything, they will change the unknown
- Inflammation underlies most chronic disease, start here as you journey the unknown
I can now say I embrace the unknown. I’m comfortable working in the unknown. I’m less interested in finding fanciful new treatments; I’m more interested in starting with what we do know and going from there.
– Dr. Michelle Richea, ND