The Philippine Online Chronicles

My love affair with Integrative Medicine started without knowing its entirety. All I knew was that, last year, I desired nothing else but to quit smoking, live a healthier and better quality of life, and take a more active role in my personal wellbeing. Intrinsically, I knew then that I needed the help of a medical specialist who recognized my need for preventive and holistic healthcare.

One afternoon last year, I attended a special viewing of Food Matters where I got my first exposure to organic living, detoxification and Integrative Medicine. That was the point where I started to carefully transition to a more organic lifestyle.

In doing so, it became more and more apparent that it is not enough that I resolve to quit smoking, practice clean living and aim to improve my fitness level. The more I practiced living organically where everything is fabulously hinged on a consciousness that values sustainability, the more it became unequivocally true that real maintenance of health is not just going to a doctor whenever I feel I need “fixing”. I do not have to be “broken” first to actively engage in the care of my own wellbeing.

Conventional versus Integrative Medicine

Conventional medicine is also referred to as orthodox, traditional, mainstream, Western or allopathic medicine. It is defined by the National Cancer Institute as “a system in which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery”.

Conventional medicine revolves around the description and isolation of the disease and its causes. It includes intensive research on effective therapies—including prophylactic—centered on these diseases. On a larger note, there is more attention given to the disease and its symptoms rather than the patient.

Integrative Medicine (IM), on the other hand, is the combination of both mainstream therapies with appropriate and evidence-based non-conventional healing modalities such as acupuncture,  homeopathy,  meditation,  yoga,  creative therapy, among others. It is also referred to as complementary, holistic, biological, or vibrational medicine.

This practice is founded on a precept that the human being is a collective bundle of different aspects: the physical, mental, intellectual, and spiritual. Integrative Medicine believes that there is an infinite integration of the mind, body and soul. Therefore, all therapies received by the patient need to address all three, treating the patient as a whole.

There are two main differences between the two types of medicine. First is the approach to healing. Conventional medicine is based on deduction and there is a finite list of therapies for each disease for everyone, whereas integrative medicine understands that each person is different therefore there is no one therapy or modality that will work for every patient that has the same concern.

Second is the role a patient plays. In conventional medicine, the patient plays a passive role. The patient goes to the doctor for help, doctor gives a prescription, patient will have the prescription filled—it is a process of “do unto me what needs to be done”. In a conventional patient’s treatment, there is no active participation by the patient.

According to Carolyn Myss, Ph.D., when a patient is “passive”, there is a huge risk that one may not fully heal. The patient may recover but will never get to deal with the actual source of illness.  As a result, there is a considerable risk that the patient will have a recurrence and head back out to see the doctor again for treatment. It becomes a vicious cycle.

In integrative medicine the patient plays a more active role. The doctor-patient relationship works as a team.  The patient takes charge of his/her healing and does the necessary work;  the doctor is the counselor who tailor-fits the therapies needed in order to discover the source of illness and heal completely or at least better manage and live with chronic diseases.

Benefits of Integrative Medicine

Integrative medicine empower patients to “take charge” of their health and gain a well-rounded health perspective. The practice offers the best of what medicine has to offer in combination with alternative and complementary modalities as guided by an integrative doctor or practitioner.

It also emphasizes the human body’s miraculous capacity to heal itself as long as it is provided with what it needs. The body does not always require external help to be able to heal. IM practitioners take into account the patient’s overall satisfaction with life. They believe that stress management and an optimistic view in life positively affect health, and facilitate healing.

Finally, integrative medicine never fails to highlight disease prevention or better management of chronic diseases by living well.

Are you ready for Integrative Medicine?

The readiness for this practice is first marked by the willingness to “tell all” to your doctor and this includes your medical history, lapses in judgment in terms decisions adversely affecting health, commitment to let go of vices and unhealthy habits, to name a few. In integrative medicine, your doctor becomes your coach and the two of you make a team with a common goal.

Another indication is the openness to non-conventional modalities. There is no one miracle treatment that will cure medical concerns in an instant. Some modalities take time and strict adherence. Above all, you must have the steadfast belief that your body is capable of healing itself.

Take caution

Integrative medicine operates on utilization of both mainstream and alternative therapies. One strict and absolute requirement is that alternative therapies must be appropriate and have solid scientific basis and tests for safety and efficacy. Unfortunately, there are shady practitioners who integrate complementary “therapies” which are not backed by sufficient study and this may interfere with prescribed conventional medication or therapy. Obviously, this will not work for the best interest of the patient.

As with everything else, it is of utmost importance that we take responsibility for each decision we make, especially the ones that affect our health. We have to do our homework. It does not mean that when experts say “this is the best therapy” or “the only way”, it is to be taken as it is. After all, we are the primary stewards of our own wellbeing.

I made a well-thought decision to play an active role in my health and prioritize prevention with the help of an integrative doctor. As I continue my journey in the path to wellness, I gain more understanding and conviction that my subscription to this practice is for the long haul.

Regardless of which practice you prefer, keep in mind that good medicine is always holistic. Humans are complex individuals, a complicated sum of many aspects which demand more than just a single approach to healing.

Photos: "2008.11.18 - D O C T O R” by Adrian Clark, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved; “Welch-Allyn Harvey Elite Stethoscope.” by Zac Peckler, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved; “Acupuncture Students at NYCTCM” by , c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved; “Comfrey Poultice” by Susy Morris, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved.

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Fristine de Guia is an operations and human resource development manager by trade, and an evolving advocate of sustainable, holistic and organic lifestyle, detoxification and fair trade. She describes herself as a slave to gustatory delights, a scientist in the kitchen whose main goal is to protect pig rights by substituting everything else for pork and a writer whom the universe recently kicked out of the closet. She beats stress by Plurking, running 5Ks, spoiling her two felines and traveling.