It annoys me no end that the main argument posed by doctors when discussing the merits of complementary or natural approaches to allergies will always center on the lack of scientific evidence. When the big bucks are in drugs (that can be patented) and when medical research is largely funded by pharmaceutical companies (who make big bucks off drugs), how are we ever going to get evidence that natural cures work?

It’s quite possible that the internet will be alternative medicine’s saving grace.

Millions of people search every year for information on their medical conditions or symptoms. While most conventional medical practitioners are against this growing trend (or want patients to stay strictly to websites that promote western medicine), this is not stopping the tsunami of search engine activity that has to do with our health.

I personally have benefited greatly from a willingness to root through online information – looking off the beaten track – to solve a health problem. In fact, over 25 years ago, had I not been willing to use myself as a guinea pig and trust that alternative medicine would work, I might be confined to a wheelchair today.

The short version of my story is this: I began to have extreme pain and swelling in my joints. It was so bad, I couldn’t walk a block without having to find a place to sit down. My anxious family doc quickly referred me to an arthritis specialist.

I was 24 years old.

My rheumatologist put me through a battery of tests, but could not give me a definitive diagnosis – which is typical with arthritis. You often stumble along, as the condition worsens, before your specialist can put a final name on it.

This well-respected rheumatologist then tried a series of drugs on me. (Talk about trial and error.) One gave me migraines. Another didn’t control the joint swelling. Finally, we found a combination that gave me some relief. She was very worried though: every appointment, I had a new joint or two that was now compromised.

The drugs that controlled my condition were very toxic, and could have resulted in serious side effects – including permanent loss of vision and impairment of my fertility. I felt I had no option – it was either the drugs or the pain. The pain was terrible. It felt like butcher knives in my joints. The drugs gave me relief – but I was very scared about what they were doing to me.

After a particularly nasty medical test, when my specialist attempted to remove fluid from my knees (and could not get clear sinovial fluid because the inside of my joints were bleeding), she told me that I’d likely be in a wheelchair in 5 years, if we couldn’t find an answer to my condition.

I was only 25 years old.

I fled to the hospital chapel in tears. After a few minutes of weeping and prayers, I decided that I had to have a better answer. It was pretty much that simple.

I’ll share more of my personal journey tomorrow.