Chronic sinusitis is one of the 'failed' areas of traditional medicine, just like chronic back pain. Here are their takes on the treatment of one of my kids, who has been suffering with a sinus infection since early November.
"Papa Bear": This is the owner of the place. A very traditional allopathic physician. He took an x-ray of the sinuses, prescribed steroids, antibiotics, expectorant, and said to come back in ten days. The only 'catch' is that all of the medications were on formulary for the facilities' 'pharmacy', a closet in the back. At the end, he asks, 'what is your co-pay?' and offers to charge me that only on each of the meds. I have gone along with this in the past, out of convenience's sake. But I know that all the meds are generic and much cheaper than my co-pay. Last time, I asked, after he said, 'for a savings of sixty dollars!', and since I had to go to our pharmacy anyway for one of the meds I was given, 'would you mind if we just went to the pharmacy for all of them?'. He wrote the scripts. I took them to my pharmacy. And two of the three meds were less than half the price of a single copay.
"Mama Bear": A caring physician with a therapeutic sense of humor, he wrote for Ciprodex ear drops instead of antibiotics the visit before last. That is non-formulary, non-generic, and set me back one hundred and sixty dollars due to my generic-only insurance policy (cipro is bad for growth plates when taken as a pill in children). It cured the ear infection, but not the underlying sinusitis behind it. This one is who wrote a different antibiotic for free over the phone when there was a reaction (rash) to one written by his partner, 'Baby Bear'.
"Baby Bear": the most human of them all. Very into New Age medicine. Has given a number of excellent resources for this blog. He had given a referral to a homeopath, but due to scheduling I never contacted them. Did not want to expose this patient to 'more x-rays', and had been treating sinus infections since November. The critical part missing in the therapy plan was the steroid
There is no 'Goldilocks' in this story. The answer is in the middle of all of these. They clearly represent the types of people that are out there:
Papa Bear: taking care of number one while taking care of your loved one. Likely to go away after Ascension due to self-serving behavior. Does have skills that work, though.
Mama Bear: a good overall blend of Papa Bear and Baby Bear, has a somewhat less guarded heart in taking care of you, more compassionate.
Baby Bear: Puts the most of himself into his work--heart and soul. Is excited about the prospect of new medicine. Is the only one I trust enough to let know I am Reiki Doc. Perhaps if I had been more open about the two week's of work missed in taking care of my sick kid, about how stressed I am that every day post-call has been spent taking care of same kid, and how I referred myself out to my old allergist because I felt it wasn't getting resolution on the sinuses, we could have come up with a better plan together. I think objective endpoints to reassess would be a good way to go when working with a doc like Baby Bear.
Again, sinusitis is a tough one to treat. The problem is that the mucus membranes lining the sinuses don't absorb very much antibiotic, and antimicrobial therapy should last a minimum of three weeks' to allow for adequate penetration. Saline nasal rinses with a Neti pot are helpful, but only Dr. Neil has the right tonicity in the packet and the water fill line. Even with that, there is risk of terrible cross contamination from one use to the next, and for sure each family member should have their own Neti Pot. (I find soaking in one part vinegar to three parts water for an hour, or hydrogen peroxide rinse and dry, to adequately address this concern).
I thought we might discuss these three different 'approaches' to medicine today, so that you can see 'where your physician' is coming from. There is room for improvement in each type, that is why it is called the Practice of Medicine! Who is going to be the first to incorporate Light Therapy and Sound Healing into their practices? The Baby Bears of the world, no doubt! And who can benefit from Reiki Training and opening up their intuitive ability in medicine? ALL THREE!
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
