UltraMetabolism

The first time I walked into Dr. Hyman's office I was at my wit's end. I was on 14 different medications and so fatigued that I couldn't stay awake for more than 3 to four hours before I had to "nap" for another three hours (at least). I was experiencing daily migraines and was desperate to understand why I couldn't break out of a constant cycle of illness that had been getting worse and worse.

In the year leading up to that day, I had been on 18 different courses of antibiotics and steroids for sinus and respiratory infections that just wouldn't stop. I was missing a lot of work and any time I wasn't at work, I was sleeping. I wasn't physically present for my life, including my marriage or my children. It was horrible.

For years I had struggled with health issues that included everything from hair loss (alopecia ariata) to blood clots in my lungs and even brain surgery! I realized that all of these things must have a cause and intuitively I felt they must be related somehow. I literally pleaded with my doctors to help me figure out what was happening to me. I was clearly desperate and depressed. Having long ago been placed on anti-depressants to help me deal with severe PMS (part of having PCOS), my doctor upped the dose and layered in another anti-depressant in an effort to help me feel better.
I was starting to feel crazy, and with good reason. I have learned that when you are sick, it's VERY hard to advocate for yourself and it's very easy for physicians to marginalize your complaints, particularly when they don't have any answers for you.

So, by the time I showed up in Dr. Hyman's office I was desperate to say the least. As I sat with him and started to recall a long a long and difficult medical history which really began in my twenties (I'm now 43), he patiently listened and encouraged me to tell him everything. This was a far cry from the "I can only deal with one thing at a time!" response I had received from other doctors.

Dr. Hyman thankfully did not respond by getting a look on his face that said, "This woman is crazy". He had a look of recognition. After an hour and a half, he told me he was completely confident that he could help me. He ordered several lab tests and started me on a detox diet, along with some nutritional support in the form of a rice protein shake and some supplements.

Three weeks later I went back for the test results but I was already feeling so much better that I couldn't believe it. My weight had dropped more than 10 pounds and I had stopped wheezing, the swelling in my wrists, ankles and feet had disappeared and the joint pain that came along with it was almost completely gone.

As Dr. Hyman reviewed my test results and explained what everything meant, I was dumbfounded that no other physician had been able to identify what was causing me to be so desperately ill. I had never been to a doctor who embraced the concept of Functional Medicine, which looks to the underlying cause of wellness or disease, and that is what Dr. Hyman was doing. He was picking up the pieces of the puzzle and one by one explaining to me how we were going to put things back where they belonged. Every single piece. Not just one or two of them.

When I returned to Dr. Hyman's office three months later, I felt like a completely different person. I was off all of my prior medications, including the anti-depressants that I was told I would need the rest of my life. I was able to go back to work, after having been out on disability (which I hated). I was able to make it though the entire day without falling asleep and the brain fog I had been living with had cleared away.

At this point, it's been about a year since I first went to see Dr. Hyman. I went skiing last week for the first time in about ten years and honestly, there was a time when I didn't think I would ever be able to ski or be physically active in anything strenuous ever again. There is a shift in my thinking that has taken place which lets me view my life in terms of potential instead of thinking about restrictions. I really mean it when I say Dr. Hyman gave me my life back.

He also gave me a copy of his new book, "Ultrametabolism" and it's absolutely fantastic. It's like a personal handbook to the human body. He has organized a lot of complex medical information into a framework that non-medical people (like me) can easily grasp and understand. While I was reading it, I felt like my brain was mentally connecting the dots of many pieces of information I have gotten over the years. The book is helping me understand how and why the choices I am making are contributing to better health, and why I pay the price so quickly when I chose poorly.

The thing is, when you really understand where good health comes from, it becomes easy to make decisions that are consistent both with becoming and staying healthy. Thanks to this book, those decisions just got a lot easier for me and once again I find myself grateful for Dr. Hyman.