High Healthcare Costs May Have Saved Me

Like many Americans, I also feel we need some medical reform. It does not seem fair that healthcare, our basic life foundation, comprises astronomical prices, subpar care, and unreliable coverage. However, as someone who tries to find the silver lining in every situation, I feel that high healthcare costs may have been advantageous. Perhaps the dysfunction of the healthcare system saved me rather than hindered my ability to heal.

Before I discovered I had Lyme disease, I spent nearly an entire year playing medicine roulette, jumping around from doctor to doctor, trying to figure out what was wrong.  Meanwhile, my health was rapidly declining, and as more time passed, the sicker I became. What started as general flu-like symptoms quickly evolved into neurological issues like brain fog and memory loss coupled with severe body aches and pains. Receiving the results that I tested positive for Lyme disease felt more like a relief than a diagnosis, as it finally gave me a direction of where to begin the healing process. Little did I know that the healing process was barely covered by insurance, which meant many out-of-pocket expenses for doctor’s visits and prescriptions.

After several thousand dollars in medical expenses later, I realized my health had not improved and that it seemed like I was taking medications for my medications. Not only did my health continue to decline, but I knew I could not monetarily sustain the rate of egregious expenses. I decided to stop all of my medications and start implementing a food-as-medicine approach emphasizing gut health.

After about a year of a more holistic approach toward recovery, I had nearly entirely recovered and was beginning to feel like myself again. I was incredibly inspired by the progress in my health just based on adopting a strict practice of self-care, which included cooking nourishing and nutrient-dense foods, getting ample amounts of sleep, and managing stress levels, to name a few.

The unthinkable happened as I finally began to feel improvement in my health. My mom was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and passed after only a few weeks from diagnosis. Losing such an important person in my family’s life was unfathomable. My mom was my best friend; I saw her at least four times a week for coffee, grocery shopping trips, or to do girly things like get our nails done and plant shopping (my mom had quite the green thumb). The other days, we would chat by phone or email. To say we were close is an understatement; my mom was the glue that held our entire family together.

Roughly six months after my mom passed away, I noticed symptoms of Lyme disease slowly starting to resurface but worse than before. The body aches, fatigue, and memory loss returned with a vengeance, and I felt like I had lost every bit of healing gained throughout my journey. I panicked and contacted my Lyme doctor to start treatment again.

Only this time was different.

Our first appointment was over the phone since her office was a few hours from where I lived. We spent roughly thirty minutes discussing my health over the past few months and my current condition. Towards the end of the call, the doctor said she needed extensive bloodwork and that I needed to make an in-person visit for our next apportionment to begin another course of action.

For a moment, I hesitated; I was quickly reminded of my previous nightmare experiences with medical treatment for Lyme, but the fear of regressing even further with my health encapsulated me, and I hastily agreed. From there, I was transferred to her secretary to collect payment for our brief appointment and schedule my follow-up exam. I felt an unnerving and sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when the secretary asked for a payment of nearly $400 for our short conversation.

A few days passed, and I could not stop thinking about the exorbitant amount of money associated with doctor’s visits and medications I incurred during my previous Lyme treatment; I could only imagine what was ahead. I suppose all of that money would be worth it if my symptoms improved, but the truth is, most of the antibiotics made me feel worse and eventually did more harm to my body than good.

I called my doctor and explained to her that I could not afford treatment at this time and needed to cancel my upcoming appointment; she kindly understood.   

As I gathered my thoughts, I realized I had healed myself before and could do this again. I am sure the stress and trauma of my mom, combined with the drastic lifestyle changes my entire family endured in the aftermath of my mom’s passing, played a massive role in the decline of my health.

I started incorporating gut-healing foods back into my routine, which meant more GAPS Diet-like foods such as bone broth, soups, cooked veggies, and homemade yogurt to help restore the beneficial bacteria in my gut. I returned to my routine yoga practice and incorporated new practices like acupuncture and energy work. I took time to rest and grieve and eliminated anything toxic from my life. Within a few months, my health began showing signs of improvement, my energy levels and cognitive function improved, and I was back on the mend.

I think back to this time, one of the lowest points in my life, both mentally and physically, and had it not been for the high cost of healthcare, I likely would have reverted to the same path of antibiotics and medications. While Western Medicine is helpful, I often think we do not give ourselves enough credit as so much can be healed with diet and lifestyle changes. This article doesn’t say that medications don’t have a time and place, but I believe that we often rely too heavily on them and that the most profound healing always comes from within. I hope we can one day see a more reformative and balanced approach to healthcare, but until then, perhaps it is urging us to make better changes within our own lives, starting with making healthier food and lifestyle choices.

Originally published in Paleo Magazine