After 35 years with atrial fib and 11 years with no atrial fib, I consider myself managed and maintained without the heart arrhythmia. During that time I have reversed heart damage from 2 heart attacks. Read my memoir about it, IN A HEARTBEAT: The Ups & Downs of Life with Atrial Fib.
Recently I wrote a blog about negative new beginnings since turning 80. Always looking ahead, I have since taken the advice of Sasha, Certified Nurse Practitioner to the Gastroenterologist that I have been seeing for colon and intestinal problems during the last few years. Tests were taken. Nothing of consequence was found.
The tendonitis in my left hip was not getting better after 5 months. The orthopedic doctor told me it would go away in several weeks and gave me a prescription for an anti-inflammatory. The tendonitis didn’t go away, but the anti-inflammatory meds did…with my help. Then 4 of the fingers on my left hand became numb.
Sasha commented that all of my problems have settled in the left side of my body and maybe, just maybe, could be related to a complication having to do with the spine and back. Could those bones have moved causing organs and/or bones to be crowded and out- of-whack. After all, those bones are 80 years old and I haven’t been easy on them.
“Why don’t you see a chiropractor?” Sasha asked. Chiropractor? Is that a real doctor, I thought, but didn’t say. Well, why not, I asked myself.
Asking friends and relatives about who and where to go for this new adventure, I discovered that chiropractors are more popular than I knew. Friends told me to see Doctor Marc Varckett. I Googled him and found his education and background quite impressive so I made an appointment and took my skeptical husband, Ed, with me for the “meet and greet” interview.
Doctor Marc and his partner Dr. Karen have almost half of the first floor in an office building. The bright and airy entry, and offices lead to 5 treatment rooms, a physical therapy studio and x-ray rooms. The walls in each room are decorated with paintings by local artists, two of whom I know personally.
The x-ray of my back and spine showed one side of my body to be lopsided. The left side is lower than the right or maybe it’s the other way around depending on which side the x-ray film is showing. Definitely one side is crooked, causing me to wear an extra shoulder pad to even the shoulders up under my clothes.
Dr. Marc said that a treatment program of 12 weeks should make adjustments that would help to correct the spine. His clinic does not use hand manipulation. They use an activator device that looks like a TV remote control, then there’s stretching and about 15 minutes in a therapy room on a table with a heating pad the length of my torso. There is adjustment therapy equipment for patients with other spine problems. The whole treatment takes about 45 minutes or less.
I go 3 times per week for 5 weeks, then 2 times weekly then once a week. After that it’s suggested that if I want, I can come back once a month for adjustment maintenance…sort of like maintaining our eyes and teeth with periodic checkups and adjustments. Why not the spine?
I have now completed the first 5 weeks of treatment. Next week I start with 2 times per week then once per week. I feel so much better. It’s not perfect yet but the tendonitis pain in my hip is gone most of the time. The colon and intestinal problems are not as bad as before and I’ve added small amounts of foods I like but haven’t eaten in a long time. If I overeat, I do have a problem, so I concentrate on the process of eating and stop before getting full.
Three points are important:
- A positive attitude.
- My treatment is covered mostly by Medicare.
- Amazingly, 2 of the 4 numb fingers are no longer numb. One is less numb and the middle finger is still numb. Skeptical Ed is no longer skeptical. He sees the changes.
