By “invisible” I don’t mean that your illness has been diagnosed, acknowledged and treated but that others don’t know, by looking at you, that you have it. Diabetes might be just such thing… unless you tell your friends you are diabetic, they don’t know… but your medical care team knows, they call it something, they honor your process with acknowledgement and they help you. While it is no picnic… you are on a supported meaningful path, to better.
What I’m talking about is the truly invisible. You may have lost everything, but you have no diagnosis. All of your lab tests are “fine” and you are told you are “fine” but you are NOT fine!
When you can’t ignore your symptoms any longer
Maybe you are bone-tired… which is much deeper and more debilitating than simply “tired”. Maybe you have odd rashes or unpredictable headaches that seem to related to something, but you are not sure what. Or maybe you do know… there are 10 different foods, chemicals, etc., that can wreck you day… maybe your entire week.
Maybe you hurt in ways that don’t have names, in places that don’t seem to matter to the orthopedic or rheumatology doctors. But that pain stops you from doing everything you love, just the same.
Maybe you are losing or gaining weight in a way that makes no sense when you consider your diet and exercise. You eat like a bird but the endocrinology doctor simply says “you need to eat less”.
Maybe you exercise and it makes you feel worse… not just the first day or week… but always. You are tired, bone-tired, but your family doctor says “you have to exercise if you want to feel more energetic. You know that’s not true. Your body has proven it over and over again. Some of the more stubborn, among you, keep exercising. Some of you listen to your body but feel guilty because you are not exercising. Where is the win, in this picture? Hint: There isn’t one.
It’s not all in your head
I could go on with the “maybe” scenarios. I will spare you. At the end of the day, you have politely (or not-so-politely) been offered some version of the “diagnosis” that it is “all in your head”. Maybe the treatment you have been offered, if any, is an anti-depressant. You know, in your heart-of-hearts, that if the care provider you reach out to, doesn’t even believe you… believe that there is something really wrong… that your chances of getting their help to make it right, again, are slim-to-none. You’ve got no name for it, no acknowledgement of your struggle and you certainly don’t have a treatment. It feels like a lot of things, but none of those things are good things.
These are “my people”. They come to from all over the world, at this point. They come to me after they have been to every class-A facility, and have worked with all the specialists and famous doctors from New York to California that have published a book on topics related to their challenges. They keep searching, because they still aren’t well, in-spite of their intrepid determination and committed follow-through. They know that they can be well, because they have been well before. But they just can’t seem to get that wellness back.
Along the way, by the way… they are not regarded as heroes or supported like other people with more tangible diagnoses. There is no ribbon that represents their plight, and no one “walks” for their cause. Nor are they simply ignored. No… they are dismissed, mocked, disbelieved and more. It is insult-to-injury and it is a lot to carry, on top of the seemingly insurmountable challenge that getting through each day, represents. This goes on for years and sometimes decades, for some people.
These are my people because this was my story, too.
Find someone who believes you
I love these people. I believe them. I know what to do, when we work together. I’ve was challenged for over a decade, but have been bouncing-off-the-walls-well for twice that long… and counting!
I didn’t get well by accident. My recovery wasn’t a random fluke. I developed treat-the-case strategies designed to make corrections underlying some of the most challenged processes in the body and helped he body put them all back to normal. I used best-of-the-best raw materials, as nutritional supplements, targeting very specifically, each aspect of the underlying challenges… and I got well, accordingly.
As you might imagine, I attract these patients from all over, and always have. While other doctors might cringe, when they walk in the door (I have been on the receiving end of that “cringe” – you begin to sense it from a mile away, after a while), I look forward to working with these people. They are some of the most dedicated, honest, strong and educated patients you will ever meet. They have been through more than most anyone will ever know, personally, and they are beautiful, accordingly.
This has given me the privilege of working with some of the toughest cases out there. When every next patient gets better… I get better, at this most sacred work. Every patient is unique, but if you really know how your “tools” (raw materials in your nutritional supplements) work and you adhere to the deeper treat-the-cause strategies… you are working with a system that works, that can be personalized to each individual case.
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My name is Dr. Carrie Louise Daenell, and I am a results-obsessed Naturopathic Doctor. I love what I do. Throughout my career I have also worked on the “raw-materials” side of the nutritional supplement industry. This gives me and my patients the advantage of knowing what works and more importantly, what doesn’t. Our work is targeted, specific and dramatically effective for Metabolism, Hormones, Bones, Digestion and Heart. How fun is that? I have a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University, am licensed as a primary care physician in the state of WA, am an author (Better Breast Health for Life!), speaker, frequent guest on PBS health programming and am always in volunteer service to the state, national and educational institutions of Naturopathic Medicine.
I have no idea how I came upon this article but it’s mmaybe a possibility that its a God send…This is one of my daughters to the T…she has been ill for quit sometime and can’t seem to get the right physician to actually listen to her. ..one Dr tells her she has fibromyalgia, one Dr tells her she Endometriosis, one Dr tells her she has heart papitatiin, one Dr told her last or year she had one year to he able to conceive a child, Dr’s tell her there is nothing wrong with her and its in her head….I will give her this information to her and we can research this..Thank you so much Dr. Daniel!! There is HOPE FOR HER AFTER ALL..