Doing Your Very Own Health Experiment
Each and every one of us are like snowflakes……individual and unique. Unfortunately, modern medicine tries to fit us into cookie cutter shapes. If you or someone you love has an autoimmune disease, I’m sure it’s obvious to you that it doesn’t work. We also can’t expect our doctors to take an unlimited amount of time to figure everything about us out and fix it. We have the option to let our doctors do the best they can with the limited amount of time (and often knowledge) they have, or we can take at least some of our health and well being into our own hands.
I’ve been sick a long time. It took the doctors nearly 30 years to figure out I have multiple sclerosis (I’ve also developed type 2 diabetes and hypothyroidism over time). I’ve had symptoms since I was a child, but really, it’s a hard disease to diagnose without a MAJOR relapse to make it evident. I got a whole lot of “Here, take these pills.” and, “Well, I can’t find anything really WRONG with you, so we’ll keep an eye on it.” Thanks doc. I received a lot of advice like; exercise more, lose weight, get more sleep, exercise less (yes, a contradiction), try being a vegetarian (I gained 20 pounds in the first month of that experiment by the way), eat less fat (which made me a great deal sicker), you just need a vacation. Huh. A vacation would be nice. Anyway, I received a whole lot of contradictory advice and a whole lot of pats on the hand that told me they thought I was nuts. Really, I was so exasperated I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice except to start researching myself.
If you Google N-of-1 Experiments, it will probably lead you to www.nibi.nim.nih.gov (a place where a whole lot of medical research papers are confusingly laid out). An N-of-1 or 1 of 1 experiment is basically a single subject clinical trial. A single patient is the sole unit of observation and study. The goal is finding out exactly which treatments work on each, individual patient. It can be a bit confusing to do it yourself. It took me quite some time to become good at it, but I highly encourage you to give it a go! A good part of why I’m doing this blog is to let you know what mistakes I’ve made along the way. What I’ve found that works (at least for me). What is complete bunk. And help point people with autoimmune diseases in the right direction of figuring out what works for YOU. I’ve been able to overcome my diabetes and most of my MS symptoms. There’s no absolute cure for my autoimmune diseases, but I’m managing quite well!
One of the first things to remember in doing a 1 of 1 experiment is (and I still mess up on this occasionally) only add or subtract one new factor at a time. In other words, don’t start a new way of eating and a handful of new supplement at the very same time. One new thing at a time. You also have to give it a fair amount of time to observe the results. Taking a new supplement for a week isn’t a fair trial. Starting a new way of eating and cheating after a few days won’t tell you anything. It’s the same with new medication your doctor wants you to try. A few days, unless you’re having a severe reaction, won’t be enough to give the medicine a fair shake. You’re sick. This is serious. Take it seriously if you want to have any kind of wellness and not just survive. There are no magic pills that will fix what’s wrong with you. It will take a combination of things to help your body do some healing and make you feel the best you possibly can.
Now that you know you can only start with a single new factor, it’s time to do a bit of research. I’m sure, since you’ve been diagnosed, that you’ve been given advice by nearly everyone you meet. Your family member read an article “somewhere”. Your best friend has a friend who has what you do. Your co-workers know someone who’s a friend of a friend who is SO much sicker than you are and NOTHING works. I’m not saying don’t listen………ok, I’m saying don’t listen……do your own research. If you are reading this, you have access to the internet. Learn to ask your web browser specific questions. You can type in “autoimmune disease” and see where it takes you, if you have lots of time on your hands. If you want to know what supplements might work for you try, “What supplements work for Multiple Sclerosis” (or whatever your disease is). SOMEONE has written SOMETHING about it. Chances are that some scientist in some country has done a study of it. Don’t limit yourself to just this country when you search. Some of the best studies I’ve read have been done in Europe or Asia. The Asian ones aren’t always the easiest to read….just sayin’. YouTube has a surprising amount of videos that were taken in medical research schools. These are scientists who do nothing but research your disease. Just learn how to ask specific questions. At this point, Google knows me so well that I rarely have to type the entire questions before I get the answer. It’s scary.
Next, let’s say you’ve decided to try out curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) because the research says it helps with pain and inflammation (two huge issues with autoimmune diseases). Here I warn you against spending too much time reading the possible side effects of the supplement. The brain is an astounding thing. It’s also kinda stupid. You can convince your brain of just about anything. Ok, so maybe it’s only half of your brain that’s stupid and the smart half is trying to play pranks with it. Regardless, avoid reading what the possible side effects are or something in you might try to convince the stupid part that you’re having those side effects (even if you’re not). You want to take the supplement at the same time every day (probably with food), and you want to start a journal of how you feel. Chances are, with a supplement, you won’t notice any difference right away. Curcumin, for example, has to build up in your system before a noticeable difference. Set your time parameters before you even begin. I’ll suggest at least 30 days for a supplement. Each day, record how you feel and what you’re expecting. With curcumin, you’re going to expect your pain level to decrease, so you’ll want to do a 1 to 10 pain scale at the same time every day. You might want to describe how your joints feel. You’ll want to describe any negative effects you might be having, like upset stomach or smelly urine (I’m not saying you’re going to have either of those).
Last, when the time you’ve set up is complete, you’ll want to give yourself a full report of your findings. From my own report on curcumin after 30 days, “I reported no difference for the first two weeks on the pain scale. Suddenly, during week three, my joint pain in my toes decreased from an 8 down to a 5. Late in week three my hand pain almost disappeared. By week four my overall joint pain went from an 8 down to about a 3 or 4.” I also reported an increase in indigestion for the first two weeks which tapered off toward the end of the four weeks. That particular side effect has never gone away for me, but considering the benefit, it’s worth it.
That’s your basic set up for all of your 1 of 1 experiments. Add or subtract one thing at a time. Research the new factor. Give it a fair amount of time. Don’t spend too much time reading the side effects. Journal everything. Summarize your findings. Good luck!
