Doctor, Why Can't I Get Well?
This is a question I get asked almost daily.
Folks who come to see us at Texas Integrative Medicine have almost always been too many other health care providers by the time they enter our door. Many have been on multiple treatment regimens and protocols and yet still fail to experience the relief from chronic symptoms that they seek. Some have been seen by a number of traditional doctors practicing traditional Western medicine with prescription medicines as well as a number of holistic practitioners of various backgrounds. Many are suffering from hormone imbalance affecting the thyroid and adrenal function. Others are suffering from digestive disorders. Some have problems with their brain function including brain fog, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, memory loss, loss of equilibrium, and headache.
The answer to the question above lies to a great extent in the fact that patients with chronic illnesses caused by inflammation that doesn’t seem to recover are often like “the canary in the coalmine”.
For years coalminers have carried caged canaries down to the depths of the coal mine as they have learned that the extreme susceptibility of canaries to the effects of toxins in the air causes them to “keel over” first. Since the canary is the first to get sick, they keep an eye on the poor little bird as a sign of when they should all “bail out” of the toxic coalmine.
Like the canary in the coalmine, individuals who have inherited a high susceptibility to chronic inflammation-induced illness will react to a variety of environmental triggers like pesticides, pollution, infection from viruses, emotional stress, loss of sleep. They will become very sick and cannot get well while others seem to be immune to the same stresses.
Each one of us has a different susceptibility to chronic disease that is largely determined by our genetic makeup.
Today, thanks to the science of the HUMAN GENOME PROJECT, we are able to determine many of the genetic markers that we receive from our parents at the moment of conception and stay with us all of our life. Some of us receive mostly “good” genes to remove toxins, maintain strong immune system, and maintain a healthy hormone balance while others do not.
When we know the genes that lead to an imbalance in these important body functions, there are often steps that can be taken to reverse the imbalance.
Our inherited gene variants (or mutations) are like potholes in our metabolic pathways. Once we identify the potholes we can often find “detours” around the potholes.
At Forum Health Austin we perform painless and affordable genome analysis using a sample of the guest’s saliva to determine gene variants that predispose to chronic illness. We can then help the guest develop a strategy to reduce and reverse the ill effects of many of these variants. Are you a canary in the coal mine? Make your appointment today.
Wally Taylor MD
Dr. Taylor practices integrative medicine at Forum Health Austin in Austin, Texas. After obtaining a general medical doctorate degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas he completed a general medical internship and residency training in head and neck surgery ENT and allergy. After 20 years of service in the US Army Medical Corps and practice in Colorado and Texas, he founded Texas Integrative now Forum Health Austin where he now offers a functional and holistic approach to disease which treats the entire individual instead of each separate symptom. He has found more satisfying results using this Systems BioIndividualized approach.
His motto is “Health and Wellness from Head to Toe”.
