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A Holistic Approach
Lupus is an inflammatory disease; the food we eat, our lived experiences, our environment, and our loved ones all impact our state of health. We can let these relationships feed our bodies in a positive or negative way. By conducting a comprehensive assessment of your health and consulting necessary experts in alternative medicine as needed, my role is to help you manage your illness to a point where it no longer controls you. When you are confronted with your own mortality, you have the power to choose how you want to live your life.
The Vision
My vision for manage your lupus is that individuals may uncover their strengths in their weaknesses. Your body has not failed you; you may feel like it is attacking itself, but it is sending you a message, one that not too many individuals living with chronic diseases receive. Your immune system is working- that is a wonderful thing. Let me help you channel your immune system, so it is working for you and not against you.
Myriam's Story, in her Words
In January 2011, what I felt started off as an adverse reaction to a hair treatment turned into a nightmare. I reacted to a chemical placed on my scalp and the following day I woke up to swollen, painful lymph nodes in my neck and a low grade fever. They misdiagnosed me as having a scalp infection. My condition further deteriorated to night sweats, fatigue (I dragged myself up the stairs), a 15 pound weight loss in 2 weeks, joint pain, and I was losing hair by the handful. They sent me to Princess Margaret hospital for a lymph node biopsy after my aspiration lymph node was inconclusive for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma vs necrotizing lymphadenitis. I thought for sure I had cancer. When the biopsy results were positive for systemic lupus erythematous, I sighed a breath of relief, but my story was far from over. I was started on high-dose prednisone and Plaquenil.
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I had just gotten married the year prior. Six months prior to my diagnosis I had seen a naturopathic doctor because of some new food sensitivities and difficulties sleeping. I was working full time and going to school full time, commuting 2 hours to get to class. He had told me that if I didn’t make any lifestyle changes, I would end up with an auto-immune disease…. He was right. But at the time I was too busy to make the necessary changes. My diagnosis caused me to prioritize my health. Since combining my medical knowledge and use of alternative therapies, I have been told by my expert rheumatologist that I have no clinical evidence of lupus. I have had two low risk successful pregnancies. My eldest is 6 and my youngest is almost 3 and I have been off medication for nine years. The holistic approach is the only approach that looks at inflammation differently, I have first hand experience both as a patient and a clinician and above every thing else I know how you feel.
