My return to the Great Smokies

It's been just over two months since I started posting to this blog. In that time, what started as an opportunity to turn people on to the power of homeopathy, something I learned through my time spent with Dr. King at King Bio in Asheville, NC, has grown into something much more than that. I thought, since I just received my 200th visitor, that I'd spend this blog recapping my personal journey into health and wellness.

My life, as many of you know if you've been a regular reader, took several drastic turns this last summer. Without going into too much detail, my life entered a state of turmoil and transition. My habits of consumption coupled with my less-than-optimal brain chemistry and an innate stubbornness that prevented me from seeing reality put such stress on the important relationships in my life that I was forced to grow out of these destructive habits or risk losing those closest to me.

With the help of a loving wife and a supportive friend, I was introduced to the Great Smokies Medical Center. This clinic utilizes alternative and traditional health methods in order to find the root of the disease. So much of "modern medicine" simply masks the symptoms of disease. The GSMC, along with many other forms of alternative medicines, works to find the root causes behind those symptoms to recreate real health. My relationship with the GSMC began with a variety of tests prescribed by Pam, a nurse practitioner and a wonderful woman who exuded a confident sense of healing and growth. Several hundred dollars later and a couple containers of bodily fluids less, my journey down the road to alternative healing was begun.

Three weeks after sending off my specimens, the results came back. My wife and I had intense bouts of insecurity and fear that perhaps the tests would show that nothing was wrong with my brain, that the root of my problem was psychological and not physical. Even before the results came back, we both knew that something would have to change. And if the alternative realm of health couldn't provide that change, we would go with the traditional pharmaceutical approach of anti-depressants or whatever pill would...is "help" the right word?

Luckily, the results showed that the levels of neurotransmitters in my brain were way off. Pam started me on a regimen of amino acids and vitamins, over fifteen pills daily. I immediately began sleeping better, getting into that deep, restorative sleep required for better health. Within a month, my family was amazed at how much more even my moods had become. I no longer found myself slipping into a moody funk in the early evenings, fouling the air with my grumblings. I became a better, more patient father and a more responsive and enjoyable husband.

Now, several months later, I still experience the benefits of improved brain chemistry. Three weeks ago I sent off my latest specimen to the lab to see if my brain had started recreating that crucial balance of neurotransmitters by itself. Tomorrow is my appointment. I'm a little worried. A part of me really hopes that my brain has grown along with my rejeuvenated relationships. I don't want to "have to" keep taking these supplements for the rest of my life. Not only are they expensive, but there's a part of me that feels like my body should be able to work appropriately on its own. I know this isn't true, that it's hardly true for most of us, and that luckily there's all sorts of help like homeopathy, supplements, chirporactic, western medicine, and other kinds of complimentary alternative medicines that help the body when it can't help itself.

I guess if the results tomorrow state that my brain hasn't yet recreated that necessary balance on its own, I'll pony up the additional cost of another round of supplements. What's a couple hundred bucks a month when it means my wife and I continue to develop our relationship and I get to help raise my children in a loving household.

Like that mastercard commercial, cost of a month's supply of amino acids and vitamin supplements- $200. Value of a healthy, conscious relationship with my wife and children- priceless.

Be well.

I'll let you all know how things turn out.