My Journey to Integrative Medicine

Journey Into Integrative Medicine

For those of you who are not aware of my background, I would like to briefly share my journey into Integrative Medicine to deal with health and disease issues. You may  primarily have experienced conventional medicine as I did in the first part of my life. Then something happened that steered my in a different direction.

Childhood – Conventional Medicine To ER Doc

In childhood our family only used main stream medical treatments and that continued for me all through medical school at the University of California, San Francisco Medical School, where I graduated in 1970 followed by a rotating internship at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, CA. Then we moved to Redding, California where I became one of the first 2 physicians staffing the emergency room full time at Mercy Medical Center. I could tell you some wild stories about those days.

Pregnancies During ER Staffing

Our two daughters were born while I was an ER doctor for 7.5 years, followed by working in a walk-in clinic for about another 3 years. By 1983 my health had deteriorated, I was functioning, but very fatigued, spacey at times and struggling to keep up with all the demands after taking recurrent rounds of antibiotics for recurrent bladder infections which led to yeast overgrowth and a very messed up gastrointestinal tract. My colleagues were not able to help me break out of this vicious cycle.

The Turn Around

At that point we decided I should take some time off from medicine to recover. Looking for help for my issues, I heard about an MD in Sacramento who was doing some nonstandard medical care. I went to observe in his office and to be treated by him. He introduced me to nutrition (at first the biochemistry of nutrition seemed overwhelming to me, but the basics are quite simple to understand). He also started telling me about the Yeast Syndrome and the light turned on, that’s what I had.

With cleaning up my diet and some other modalities I started feeling better, but not completely back to vigorous health.

Integrative Medicine Doc

For quite some time I had mused that if we spent more time with each patient, we could get to the underlying causes of their problems and be more effective in guiding them back to optimal health. But I had no idea how to go about that.

Gradually God inspired me to go to seminars and connect with other doctors who did know how  to search for underlying causes. So in 1983 I opened my private practice in Wellness Medicine in Redding, CA. And that started my journey into alternative care. That sort of approach evolved through the years and had various names such as; alternative medicine, holistic medicine, complimentary medicine. etc. Finally it settled into integrative medicine, a more appropriate name since we used the best of conventional medicine and “alternative” approaches.

My practice emphasized optimal nutrition in the diet and supplementation, detoxification/cleansing, allergy care and dealing with opportunistic unfriendly organisms that hang around in the body when there’s poor nutrition and toxicity in the tissues.

From Victims to Personal Responsibility for Health

Even though I called my practice “Wellness Center”, people don’t come to you to stay well. In fact many of my patients were very sick and had exhausted any help from mainstream medicine. So we started our detective work and coaching. When patients embraced and implemented what we taught and advised,  they gradually rebuilt their tissue nutrient needs and detoxified so their cells could heal. They took control of their own health. They were no longer victims.

Miracles – But They Took Commitment and Time

We saw many victories in recovery from difficult diseases. They were miracles of healing, but not instantaneous miracles. They came about slowly as folks learned how to follow God’s natural laws of health and healing.

So did I ever completely recover? I have made great progress over the last 35 years but I’m still a work in progress. What I learned from looking for answers for myself, I have been able to share with others and help them upgrade their health.

The Surprise

Despite following healthy lifestyle habits myself, we were very surprised when cancer cells were found in my uterus in October 2017. After recovering from the hysterectomy and embarking on a strong holistic program of top notch supplements I am doing quite well, but not completely detoxified still!

That encounter with cancer renewed and strengthened my conviction that we have to fight for our health. We’re dealing with strong spiritual networks working against our health as well as entrenched and deceptive tactics by big business that have deceived us.

How Bold Are You?

Are you bold enough now to step into some unknown topics and think about them? Learning about all the deceptions in regard to health is a big undertaking. I have been studying it for years. It’s hard to help you understand what we’re up against. But I would like to try by sharing a few tidbits of information each week. Please keep an open mind and evaluate the information honestly instead of reacting emotionally. Hopefully over time you will start seeing the big picture so you can join the battle through prayer, sharing and upgrading your health.

Blessings and Abundance to you and yours,

Dr. Jo