About six months after TD's diagnosis, my husband and I made an appointment with a doc who had first trained in Western medicine, studied further in Chinese medicine, and now chooses to practice the latter. We wanted to find support for TD, and I, in particular, wanted to explore any helpful avenues. He spoke to us for over an hour, explaining the Eastern model of health to us; how the body reacts to its environment, how we can influence which parts of genes we can activate, the role of both conscious and unconscious stress on the adrenal and hormonal systems.
He doesn't use the word "disease" for diabetes - rather he sees it as an imbalance. He taught us about the Autonomic Nervous System that controls the flight/fight responses, and how relaxation is needed for even every day functions such as digestion, and the Peripheral Nervous System which deals with such things as heartbeat, pancreas functioning, learnt behaviours...
(I really hope I got this right. PLEASE please comment, suggest or correct me if I have misremembered or misunderstood.)
TD has - unfortunately for a diabetic - a strong dislike of needles. So, although Dr P thought acupuncture would be a supportive form of treatment for her, he suggested acutonics.
Acutonics uses tuning forks with different frequencies to create harmony (or disharmony.) These forks are banged on a piece of metal and then placed on the acupuncture points on the body. Dr P also put TD on some herbal supplements, as Chinese medicine believes that taste addresses different needs in the body (think of wanting curries and soup in winter, salads in summer etc...)
We told TD's endocrinologist all about this. She is the person we trust with TD's diabetes management. She is supportive of complementary medicine as long as it does not interfere with treatment of diabetes. Both doctors agreed that it could do no harm.
So we made frequent, then less frequent trips to town.TD would chat to Dr P for a while, and then go into the cool, quiet, tranquil treatment room for acutonics. The combination of the soothing environment, Dr P's gentle manner and listening ear, made the whole process one of deep relaxation and a feeling of wholesomeness.
We tried this, and the herbs, for a few months. As TD got more used to the treatment, its calming effects seemed to lessen. Dr P wanted to move on to needles and full acupuncture, and tried a few. But TD was having none of that, so we stopped going.
This was a costly business, but I do not regret it at all. At the time, we needed to be able to relax a bit, and this was part of the journey. Finding a relaxing space to chill out for an hour twice a week, weekly or fortnightly, was good for TD at that time.
Have you tried anything similar? Please comment if you would like to - I would love to hear a ping from the universe!
Hi Wendy, I read your post on the TuDiabetes Forum just today and wanted to write to you. My son developed T1DM at age 3. He is now 28. From the time of diagnosis, even through today, I have done what I can to help him. It's my philosophy that he deserves to have as good a life as I can give him.
ReplyDeleteIt is a delicate balance, especially in the teen years and, in the case of my son, for his few years at university. His BGs have always always always been unstable, whether I was testing him when he was young, or since he took over at age 12-13. Whether he was tested/testing 5 times per day or 14 times per day...not much of a pattern.
Indeed, you are completely right when you say that very few people understand T1DM. It is outrageously frustrating.
We / my son had to learn what would happen to his BG for every activity that he took part in -- gym class, walking, running, biking, sleeping (!), swimming, skiing, everything. Eventually he became worn out by the interruptions due to low BGs when he was simply trying to play a game of tennis with high school friends. He would have to stop the game, etc., and his friends could not understand.
His MDs are specialists in Boston, although I have found most of them to be unsympathetic, sometimes clueless, sometimes callous.
You've probably already figured out that it's up to you, your husband, and your daughter to carry the weight. The MDs can help, but not as much as one would hope.
I know quite a lot about physiology and pathophysiology so I would not, personally, recommend alternative therapies for T1DM. As you said, it can be helpful to find a relaxing treatment, but one must have insulin. One must test.
We got my son a pump as soon as they were approved for pediatric patients. One of the best things about pump use is the freedom from tying insulin and food intake to a strictly defined schedule (the insulin action curve). This was a very big relief for my son.
We have another son who is healthy and we've tried very hard to be fair to both and to keep it all even. We never asked our other son to take care of his brother -- unless it was in the midst of an emergency. I also tried not to define my son with T1DM as a bunch of numbers. This can sometimes be hard but he sure let us know once he became a teenager that he did not want to be asked all the time what his BG was, or hear us being judgmental about an A1c result.
My overall goal has been safety -- normal for any parent but a rather significant challenge with T1DM.
Wendy, I hope I can be of some help to you and your daughter if you so wish.
Hi Barbara
DeleteThank you so much for connecting with me. I am finding more and more that community is such an important part of diabetes support. I value hearing other people's experiences and thoughts.
I am sorry to hear that you have not felt supported by the medical profession. That must make things difficult for you and your son. We are very fortunate in that TD's Endocrinologist is kind, compassionate, easy to talk to,available and of course, an excellent doctor. She has children around the same age as TD, and speaks teenager fluently!
The acutonics in no way disrupted any of TD's diabetic treatment - she tested and injected as usual. It was rather meant as a support for her, as much as yoga, or chatting to people is supportive, and to that end, it was a good process.
Please keep in touch.