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Dear Dr. Robin
What a privilege it is to introuduce our very first E-newsletter to you, our valued patient. Published bimonthly, you will find current news from Triune Integrated Medicine as well as symposia, seminars, and product features- and discounts! Yes, discounts on featured products for that month! Enjoy and be well!
Robin
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| Putting Yourself First |
November-December 2007 |
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Quick Links
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Triunemed.com
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What is Integrative Medicine? Robin Miller,MD
My father is very proud of me. He tells everyone what I am doing. He told his very conventional kidney specialist that I was practicing Integrative medicine. His doctor responded by telling my dad that he hadn't realized that medicine had become segregated! At first, I just let the comment go, but then I realized that he pointed out a very important aspect of modern medicine. Medicine has become segregated! In the new age of specialization, our bodies have become segregated from our mind and spirit. This brings me to the answer of the question, what is Integrative medicine?
Integrative medicine addresses the entire patient mind, body and spirit. We honor the concept that to be healthy, all of these aspects need to be nurtured. We also realize that when given the opportunity, the body will heal itself. When you break your arm, is it the orthopedic surgeon that heals your bone? No, your bone heals itself. The doctor sets the bone so that it heals without becoming deformed. When you cut yourself, is it the ointment you put on the cut that heals it? No, your body heals the cut and the ointment may keep it from becoming infected. If you get an infection, is it the antibiotic that cures the infection? No, the antibiotic knocks the level of bacteria down to a low level so that your body can cure the infection.
As Integrative medicine specialists, we help to nurture the mind, body and spirit by forming a partnership with our patients. In this partnership we honor the uniqueness of each individual. Some patients are interested in using complementary medical therapies others are not. What we do is find what works for each patient.
In this, our first newsletter, we would like to highlight the theme of putting yourself first on the list. How do we do this? I will give you an example of an "integrative" approach.
Putting Yourself First on the List
How many of us (women) really take care of ourselves? If you ask most women, they will tell you their priorities are the following: number one is our children, then our spouse, family members such as parents and siblings, our house, our pets and the-ourselves! Self-sacrifice is part of our genetic make-up as nurturers. However, if we do not take care of ourselves, we will not be able to care for everyone else! Let me suggest the following for both women and men:
· Find a physician or nurse practitioner who can be your partner in health. Sit down with this person and find ways that you can optimize your health and healing.
· If you are taking supplements, talk to your provider about them. It is possible that you may be taking some that interfere with your regular medicines or that you are taking way too much of a certain herb or vitamin.
· If you are opposed to taking a lot of medications, find ways to improve your health without them. A healthy diet and exercise can go a very long way.
· Sometimes, complementary therapy such as acupuncture and massage can help with painful conditions as well if not better than medication.
· Attitude is everything. Our mind is very powerful. Harnessing your power through therapies such as guided imagery can help with general health, pain, sleep, and can act as a powerful adjunct to cancer treatment.
· Laughter and fun is very therapeutic. It is important to honor that part of yourself. When I ask patients to name three things that they do for fun or that they enjoy and they cannot name them, it is very telling. Finding things to do for fun doesn't have to cost money. It could be just sitting outside and enjoying a beautiful day or watching a funny movie.
· Nurture your spirit. It could be through prayer or meditation, or something as simple as taking a nature walk.
The beauty of taking an integrative approach rests with its simplicity and the fact that it is tailored and focused on the individual. Our newsletter will provide you with helpful tips and information that can help you to become as healthy as you can be: mind, body and spirit!
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Integrative Medicine - A Patient Perspective
Lori Taft Sours, Ph.D.
I first learned of integrative medicine in 1994, when my friend David was diagnosed with Stage III lung cancer. Knowing the seriousness of the diagnosis, David and his wife began investigating all available avenues for healing. They accepted the offer of the traditional - and recommended - treatments of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, but also knew that his chances for recovery and survival could be increased by integrating complementary approaches as well. They began reading the work of Dr. Andrew Weil and found local practitioners to guide them through the integration of a variety of healing approaches. When he was declared cancer-free, his doctor was baffled, unwilling to recognize the contribution that the complementary approaches may have made to his healing. I, on the other hand, was paying attention.
Two years later, I contracted pneumonia and called my friend David, the "lung guru," for advice. He recommended reading Dr. Weil's work, which I did with enthusiasm. I was excited by the idea that a patient could take some control over the healing process and that there were tools outside of the normal "arsenal" used by conventional medical practitioners. I spent a month in bed, taking antibiotics but also learning relaxation and meditation techniques. I learned about foods that would help and those that might exacerbate my fluid-filled lungs. I learned about herbs and supplements that might aid me in my healing and bolster my immune system. Once healed, I continued to follow the work of Andrew Weil, feeling that integrative medicine was a powerful approach to patient empowerment.
In 2000, I faced a bigger challenge - breast cancer. While the diagnosis was devastating and disorienting, my awareness of integrative medicine and complementary approaches quickly engaged me. Even before my surgery, I began to incorporate meditation, acupuncture, herbs and supplements, and massage into my healing plan. I had to piece all of those approaches together, as there was no one place (that I could find) that provided the knowledge, experience, and practitioners I was looking for. Nor were any of those practitioners experienced medical doctors who could - or had time to - integrate the complementary approaches with the medical care that was at the center of my treatment and healing.
During the 9 months of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, I managed to keep working, follow my pre-teenage daughters through their busy lives, and maintain some (albeit low) level of energy. I believe that the integrative approach to my treatment helped me through that period and kept me feeling positive and strong.
Over the next 5 years, I worked on my healing on a variety of levels. I took Tamoxifen for the recommended 5-years, monitored (with my doctors) my entry into menopause (thanks to the chemotherapy), watched my white blood counts slowly return to near-normal, and tried to exercise regularly, take vitamins, eat healthy foods, and keep learning how to relax. I felt a little unfocused in those efforts, unable to pull it all together and look at the "big picture" of my health care.
Then I heard that Dr. Robin Miller had recently completed a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine with Dr. Andrew Weil and was opening an integrative medicine center in Medford. I could hardly believe our good fortune! Right here in the Rogue Valley, we had someone who had worked with Dr. Weil and who had, in fact, believed in this approach for many years. As soon as I knew the center was open, I called for an appointment with Dr. Miller.
From that very first meeting, I knew that I had found a place that was right for me - a place where I can get all the help I need to continue on the path to wellness. Robin Miller and Deidre Goldberg helped me establish and nutrition and exercise plan that was tailored to my needs. I have tried acupuncture, hypnotherapy, yoga, meditation, and guided imagery - so far. I know that I can trust Dr. Miller to steer me in the right direction for me, providing suggestions for practitioners who share Triune's vision. There is much more for me to explore, and I know that Triune Integrative Medicine is the first place to go when I want to monitor my progress or add something to my wellness plan.
That's my story. It's just one of many stories of people who have experienced the power of integrative medicine. (By the way, my friend David continues to thrive.) We are very fortunate to have Triune Integrative Medicine here in the Rogue Valley.
Lori Taft Sours holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and is on the faculty of Rogue Community College, where she teaches writing and serves as head of the Department of Academic Skills. She is married to David Sours and they have two teen-aged daughters. She can be reached at taftsours@gmail.com.
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When Health is Your Goal All things are possible, Julie Anderson, RD
How many times have we all sworn to lose weight? How many times have we all gone "on" a diet just to go "off" the diet within dayweekmonth.maybe reaching our goamaybe not. If this sounds familiar, join the club. Despite years of data demonstrating that "diets" and other medical methods for weight loss do not work and actually cause increased body fat, weight gain and eating disorders, our culture has not diminished enthusiasm for weight loss programs and products (Healthy Weight Journal 1997). There is overwhelming agreement in the health and wellness communities that "diets" do not promote lasting change. The diet industry is just th, an industry, in which consumers spend billions of dollars every year on the "latest" fad which promises to make them thin. Oddly, as a whole we're fatter than ever.
I cannot tell you how many people I've counseled and medical practitioners I've talked with who still ask "so what about that high protein diet?" "It works! People really lose weight and they lower cholesterol and they eat all the cheese they want!"
Uhhhh, yeah.
High protein diets force the body into an unfavorable metabolic state called ketosis. Ketosis does in fact promote weight loss (and muscle loss and a decrease in bone density) at a huge cost long term. There are no antioxidants, low fiber, low phytochemical levels (the stuff only plants have that help promote health in the body-it's low in all the items in foods that have been proven in countless studies to prevent disease and promote health. It's a diet. Not a health plan.
Oddly enough, almost anyone will concur that it (and most other diets that restrict whole grains, fruits and vegetables) aren't healthy. So why is there still all the fuss? Why are studies still being done to prove how effective diets really are? Diets by the very definition promote restrictions that promote weight loss, not necessarily health. If we need to lose weight, why? For health? To prevent disease? Yep. That's the goal of any weight loss from a medical standpoint. To achieve a healthy weight in order to achieve better health. But why promote an unhealthy (and many times short-term) solution - dieting, to fix an already so-called unhealthy state?
Instead, why not choose health? Most of us, deep down, know what foods are healthy, what foods are unhealthy (or know where to find the information if we don't). We know that moving our bodies either through a daily walk, a good dance class or sweating at the gym makes us feel and look better. So why do we have difficulty achieving health and a healthy weight through doing the things that we know are actually healthy? For some, it's time, others it's stress, others it's fear. No matter how you stack it, we all have our own perceived barriers and obstacles that get in the way. But, is it really easier to follow a diet and completely change our daily routine and patterns (that may have lead to our current weight or level of "unhealthiness") than it is to take a different approach?
The non-diet approach, also called "Health at Every Size" focuses on taking steps to a healthier you and in return arriving at a healthy body weight. The "Health at Every Size" concepts teach steps to achieve a healthy weight. They may surprise you because they're different for each person, because our barriers and patterns are different. But overall, the focus is you and you only. The solutions to your own health and your healthiest weight are within. The amount of time it takes to achieve and maintain health is determined by each of us individually, but when health is your goal, your best body weight and fitness levels follow.
For "Health at Every Size" there's no long term commitment to any programs or products, just a commitment to helping you be the healthiest you can be. To learn about more about "Health at Every Size" call TRIUNE.
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Highlighted Supplement:
Vitamin D
Vitamin D has been in the news almost as much as David Beckham! Adequate levels of vitamin D have been correlated with lower mortality and a lower risk of cancer. Vitamin D facilitates the body's ability to absorb calcium. It also plays a role in our immune system. Studies have also noted that it may help to lower blood pressure and help us to lose weight. Many of us do not get enough vitamin D from our diet or from the sun as sun screen will keep us from absorbing it. For adequate levels of vitamin D we often recommend vitamin D3. We check levels to make sure you have enough but not too much as that can pose other problems!
25% off for the month of November and December when mentioning this newsletter!!!
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UPCOMING EVENTS 
Don't miss out this month- Check out Docs on call on KOBI-NBC at 6PM on Monday nights. Focus on Health on Tuesday nights at 6:40PM. Don't miss Dr. Miller's column in the Grant's Pass Daily Courrier on the second Wednesay of each month!!!
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