A Prescription for You

I am a medical doctor. I am also called an allopath, someone who practices “Western medicine.” We allopaths like data, proof, science, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. We want to know the “mechanism of action.” We want someone to prove that yoga or medication or some procedure actually helps your depression or blood pressure or headache and that these treatments are safe before we prescribe them. We feel more confident about our treatment plan that way, and let’s be honest, we’re less likely to lose a lawsuit if something goes awry.

Here’s something you might not know. Most of us don’t like prescribing pills. If there is a safe, natural, noninvasive solution to your problem, we’d prefer to use that. Shocked? Consider this: the more pills you take, the more potential adverse reactions are possible, the more responsible we become for a bad outcome.

It surprised me recently when a well educated accountant accused me of being a pill pusher. He said, “We all know you doctors get a kick back from the drug companies for every prescription you write.” Say, what?!! Not only is that extremely immoral, it’s illegal.

Actually, the more medications we prescribe, the more money we lose. Think about the time involved in deliberating the risks vs benefits of prescribing a medication for someone. Then consider the time involved to evaluate possible drug interactions with your other medications. Then consider the liability we assume for the possibility that you might have an unforeseen reaction to the medication which results in injury or death. And don’t forget the time and hassle of writing and faxing and calling in and haggling with your insurance company over your prescriptions. Prescribing medication is not a money maker.

Occasionally prescribing medication is gratifying, when you see a severe infection resolve or watch someone’s pain improve. I am sure an oncologist feels great when a patient’s chemotherapy cures his cancer, or it is gratifying to the rheumatologist when his patient’s rheumatoid arthritis improves. Medications are absolutely crucial to treating and occasionally curing disease.

In my opinion, most medications prescribed in the primary care setting just allow people to avoid taking responsibility for their own well-being. Those cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar pills can prolong your life, but they won’t make you happy or well.

I don't have any randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials to back me up, but I am going out on a limb here. I believe that most people don’t need more pills.

What they really need is permission to live long, healthy, happy lives. Sounds silly, right? Yet I’ve seen it over and over. My clients and patients repeatedly sabotage their best efforts to adopt healthy lifestyles because they just don’t believe they can or deserve to be happy and well. They’re waiting for someone to give them permission, for someone to say, “Yes! You absolutely deserve it!” So until you can give that permission to yourself, I am writing you a prescription: a healthy dose of joy, wellness, inner peace, and satisfaction to be taken as many times a day as needed. Number of refills: infinite.

Melanie Lane, MD

The American Dream - Hijacked!

Your American Dream has been hijacked! Remember “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?” Gone! It’s been warped into “Work, Stress, and the Pursuit of the Almighty Dollar.” I don’t know; maybe it’s always been that way, but it seems worse to me - a lot worse.

People are sick and overweight because their priorities are askew. All I ever heard when I practiced clinical medicine was people making excuses, excuses which they wholeheartedly believed. They couldn’t exercise or eat healthy food because they didn’t have time, they didn’t have the money, they didn’t like it, or they were just too tired. It sounds true, but it’s not.

The American Dream has been distorted by a hallucinogenic cocktail of TV, fast food, and a hugely overstuffed schedule of things that have nothing to do with life, liberty, or happiness. I believe most Americans are so far out there, they don’t even live within their own bodies. Occasionally they notice when they feel pain or when their pants get too tight. Sometimes it takes a full blown heart attack to grab their attention. But then they go back to doing the same old destructive things. They won’t let go of their complicated nightmares to trust the simplicity of the Dream.

Here are some suggestions:

Life - Step back into your body. Eat right. Sleep plenty. Drink water. Move your body around. Don’t smoke. Don’t drink much. Thank God/Spirit/Universe for your amazing human form.

Liberty - Step out of your comfort zone. Laugh. Question your routine. Dare to do something you love. Turn off the TV. Leave work early. Eliminate the word “should” from your vocabulary. Ask God/Spirit/Universe to help.

Happiness - Step into the present moment. Meditate. Pray. Do something to celebrate your calling. Envision what your life could be. Reconnect with yourself, your community, and your planet. Reconnect with God/Spirit/Universe.

The Wisdom of a Hummingbird

Not too long ago, I noticed a collection of hummingbirds hovering around a feeder outside my office. They buzzed and charged at each other, each vying for a spot at the fount. I directed my attention back to my work. A short time later, a spot suspended in the middle of the open doorway caught my eye. I turned to see a tiny hummingbird hanging limply from it’s beak which it had trapped within the screen door upon flying into it.

Very slowly I walked toward it, inwardly praying that it wouldn’t jerk it’s head or flap it’s wings. It looked so frail that any sudden movement might break it’s neck. I could see it breathing rapidly as I approached, but it made no movement. Gently, gently I applied pressure to the tip of it’s long, sharp beak until at last it was free. It zoomed away.

What a smart little bird! I felt so inspired by his courage. The next time I find myself in trouble, seemingly trapped by whatever accident or creation of mine, I will remember the wisdom of that hummingbird. Rather than thrashing about creating more misery, I’ll sit still, breathe and be willing to let the bigger forces at work in the universe to come to my aid.

Wake Up!

There you sit in the dark, tub of Ben and Jerry’s almost devoured, mouth hanging open, nothing but the blue glow of the television lighting up your face. You are completely entranced. From the well worn canyon in the sofa which cradles your butt, you heave yourself forward so you can read the number flashing on the midnight infomercial. “A MIRACLE CURE TO END YOUR WEIGHT TROUBLES!!!!” Maybe it’s a pricey powder with exotic South American berries that will magically melt the fat away if you sprinkle it on your tater tots. Or perhaps it’s a spring board, “used by the astronauts on the space shuttle to zap your flab in just 8 seconds or less a day!”

“I have to have that! That’s what will fix me,” you think. You scramble for your credit card, fumble with the phone, but suddenly you pause as you look at the dial... “What am I doing here?” asks another voice in your head - a moment of clarity alights.

FREEZE! You just woke up, my friend! This instant, this moment of clarity is precious, for it is only now, in this very moment, that you can set yourself free. There are many, many other things you can do to take care of your painful feelings than numbing yourself with food or torturing yourself with another diet. In the present moment, you can breathe in and breathe out. In the present moment, you can have a conversation with your body about what it needs and listen quietly for the answers. In the present moment, you can step back, survey the big picture of your life, and ask what’s the most important thing you want to be doing. In the present moment, you can marvel at the magic of your own authentic self awareness. In the present moment, you can feel your feelings, tend to them, then let them go.

When you wake up you claim your power to live your life the way you can only dream about when you lull yourself to sleep with distractions. Life unfolds all around us all the time. It takes courage to stay present with feelings, to be with the ups and downs of the flow of life, but an authentic life is way more satisfying than any tub of ice cream. Wake up!