Wednesday 3 October 2007

Oh, Nurse...

I went with my 15 year old son to the doctor because his ear infection hadn't clear up over the weekend. He hates dealing with that kind of stuff on his own, gets really shy describing symptoms, etc. Won't be long before he doesn't ask for my help, so I don't mind.

I asked the nurse if there was anything he could be doing nutritionally to help himself.



She looked confused, and said, "No...."



I said, "Well, besides laying off milk..."



She looked even more confused and said, "Milk is fine!"



Gone are the days that I sit with a mouthful and say nothing. "Milk is so phlegm producing! It's not fine at all!"



As you can imagine, this was followed by an uncomfortable silence on my son's part, and probably a firm holding of her own tongue because she didn't say anything, just turned away and started clicking at her computer keyboard. Probably typed 'insolent mother'...


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

:/ well wasn't that nice

WHY does everything have to be so compartmentalized?
Seems that seeing a GP is more like going to the mechanic. Shut up little lady, I know what I'm talkin' about.

If you want the holistic approach, you still need a nutritionist, osteopath, acupuncturist, etc.
These things add up.

Maybe one day you'll find a one-stop body shop. ;D

Love you and manchild

Dani xo

Anonymous said...

Good for you for speaking up! I am not sure how anyone in the medical profession can NOT know about milk and it's mucous-producing properties, but I guess the nurse knows now!

The world needs more insolent mothers. : )

Rawkin' said...

Hi Dani,

I just shake my head that nutrition gets overlooked when in fact, it's the first line of defense to healing most of what ails us. The milk = phlegm thing, I honestly thought that was common knowledge :?

While my son has recently turned to vegetarianism (they seem to do that at around 15, heh?) he still thinks I'm off my nut about milk.

Both my sons say, "Mom eats hippy food now!"

The more I heal my body nutritionally, the less I want to step foot into a medical clinic, at least for myself, but with the boy's ear, and since he doesn't exactly eat hippy food, I didn't know where else to go. He hasn't needed a doctor since 2004, which I view as a wonderful thing but the receptionist tsked tsked that they hadn't seen him since then. I said, "That's a good thing, no?"

Sigh. Just doesn't align with my thinking anymore.

That said, I wouldn't eat a salad or take a tincture if I broke a leg, but I'm sure not into going in willy nilly. RAR!

Rawkin' said...

Wildhearted, hi :)

I keep reading different sources that cite that they do not teach nutrition in medical school. Is this true of nurses as well? I ask sincerely, because I don't know, though it is obvious that it's not the focus.

It's getting easier to speak up because I feel like a walking-miracle, honestly, having transformed myself nutritionally.

xo
Rawkin'

Anonymous said...

You're right Rawkin, I've read that nutrition gets very little study in medical school, and I would assume it is the same for nurses but even so, it would seem to me that this should be common knowledge!

My doctor (who is amazing!) told me to skip the milk as it aggravated my eczema (not to mention being lactose intolerant). I wish more doctors and nurses were like him.

I'm slowly seeing how nutrition contributes to my various aches and pains and maladies and although it gets discouraging sometimes to see how much there is I need to avoid if I want to feel good, it's also encouraging because I'm starting to feel better than I have in years!

I've said it before, but I have to say it again, thank you for sharing your journey, it really helps those of us starting out!

Rawkin' said...

Hi Wildhearted,

It’s beyond my comprehension that nutrition wouldn’t get highlighted, but as Dani pointed out, it’s time to look to practices that bring it to the forefront.

I’m really glad you have an amazing doctor who recognizes the connection!

I have a wonderful doctor as well, who has been on mat leave and is back in November. I’m actually looking forward to bringing myself in, 50 lbs lighter and glowingly healthy, since the last time I was in her office last February, we were looking at putting me on high blood pressure medication (NOT!) and looking for a counselor for my depression, and some kind of treatment plan for getting off beer. HELLO she’s going to flip out.

I’m so glad that you are beginning to see the nutrition connection to aches and pains etc. Awareness is the start of everything!

I also understand fully what you mean about feeling discouraged about what you would need to avoid. Believe me, I would have told you that you would have to pry my beer and my cake from my cold, dead, hands, lol.

When I started adding more raw foods, then went ‘raw-til-dinner’, I felt so crazy-better, healed, in fact, with the added bonus that the weight fell off me without blinking, that I started to wonder what on earth I was hanging on so tightly to. Not to mention my inner world brightened so dramatically. My depression and anger melted and I became more of myself.

There is a shift that happens when you add raw, as you are noticing. It’s not one big straight line, but it’s a general trend in the direction of glowing health, and I’m SO happy to hear that you are experiencing this! Just keep at it! Do whatever it is you’re doing to keep feeling better. I find that the more raw foods I add, the better I feel.

Anything you can cook, you can un-cook. There are recipes for live-foods versions of all the traditional favorites… a world of gourmet raw that will knock your socks off, and you won’t miss a thing!

Thanks so much for your contribution to this blog, Wildhearted, I really appreciate you, too.
xo
Rawkin’

Anonymous said...

hey rawkin

my kids all their lives have had to deal with the fact that i have not given them milk ... the weirdness of that makes me smile. only time it usually comes up is if they stay at a friend's house - the idea to them of having milk on their cereal is just wrong! lol .... they have juice on the cereal, and they are all good with that. the whole thing with drs and nurses not being taught about nutrition has always amazed me, but yeah, i think they get like one day in 8 years of medical training.

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