HOW I LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT HEALING

When I suffered a severe, disabling pharmaceutic-injury in 2008, I lost everything. I lost my job, my volunteer position at my daughter's school, my ability to dance or even stand for more than a few minutes without fainting, and more. I believed that if doctors could simply diagnose me, they would be able to prescribe a medication that would heal me. I saw specialist after specialist, putting my trust and my health in the hands of strangers because I'd grown up believing that doctors are in the business of healing.

However, what I quickly realized was that most doctors, even if they are amazing in their specialty areas, don't know anything about healing. They know how to perform their specialty practice, such as surgery, and they know how to prescribe medications for symptoms, but they have no idea how to find and treat the causes of diseases. When their various tests came back "normal," they told me that my illness must be in my head. They were so condescending that they had me doubting my own sanity. They also made my husband doubt me. He and his family grew to believe that I was faking my illness.

I was put on countless medications, including antidepressants, beta blockers, and more. Doctors and my husband started to take me seriously after I was rushed into a life-saving surgery due to an unexplained bowel perforation. They removed 75% of my large intestine after nurses and doctors almost killed me by prescribing laxatives and ignoring my pleas for help when I knew I was dying. I was so traumatized that for years I would cry uncontrollably every time I had to go to the hospital, which was very often.

The hospital became my second home as I went through one surgery complication after another. I experienced loss of intimacy and suffered from touch starvation. I became suicidal at times. I was lonely and I felt completely unlovable. It wasn't just my body that I thought was hideous with deep keloid scars traversing my entire abdomen and a missing belly button, but I had nothing to offer as someone who was chronically ill.

Everything finally changed when I learned to stop putting the responsibility for my physical and mental health in the hands of doctors. I took responsibility for my own health. I knew that there were people who had healed naturally from every kind of disease. I reasoned that if they could do it, then I could too. I began to look in earnest for natural healing alternatives for my diverse health challenges.

I also researched every medication that doctors tried to prescribe for me or my children, saying no to many of them. I found out that doctors really don't like it when you say no to them. I had one gastroenterologist who would corner me in my hospital bed every time I was admitted to try and convince me to go on biologics. The people I knew who took biologics were always in the hospital, suffered horrible side effects from their medications, and one of them even developed cancer as a side effect.

I learned to behave submissively and use ass-kissing language so that doctors would not think I was disobeying them but only "… trying one more natural treatment before I try meds." I was at the mercy of these doctors because I was applying for disability and had already been turned down once even though I was completely disabled. I needed them to fill out forms supporting my appeal so that I could keep a roof over my children's heads. I felt vulnerable and begged for their understanding. Meanwhile, they constantly warned me not to rely on Dr. Google. But, I no longer trusted doctors. They had only made me sicker while treating me like I was a hysterical women who didn't deserve to make my own health decisions.

My favourite search words were: "How I Healed From ________." I poured over testimonials and anecdotal stories of how other people had healed their conditions naturally. Dr. Google was amazing in 2010 but sadly today it is captured by the pharmaceutical industry. Finding natural treatments online is next to impossible these days if you don't know where to look. It's like we are living in the pages of George Orwell's novel, 1984, with our own "Truth Commission" which censors and discredits anything that might give us hope or salvation. I've tried different browsers and AI platforms – none seem to have escaped the corruption. Now, I usually depend on Earth Clinic when I don't know where else to turn.

One thing I learned about health that shockingly isn't taught to doctors or nurses, is that the true causes of 99% of diseases stem from just two culprits: Toxicity and Deficiency. Pharmaceuticals are toxic and so is most of the food sold in grocery stores. We are exposed to toxins in the air, our drinking water, cleaning products, and our personal care products. There is a thing called chemical body burden that accumulates over time because our bodies can't detox as fast as we intoxicate them. Toxic energy from the people in our lives is also devastating to our health.

Deficiencies are caused by the poor, demineralized soil that our vegetables are now grown in and the pasteurization and processing of previously nutrient-dense foods that our current food system is subject to. Soils used to be full of minerals and vegetables used to be full of vitamins. Milk was full of enzymes and probiotics. Now, even if our food has beneficial nutrients, it also often has harmful toxins, like pesticides. The vast majority of our grains come from genetically modified seeds that have been shown to cause illness and death in laboratory mice.

Realizing the truth about healing, I finally understood why treatments offered to me by doctors were doing more harm than good. Experimenting with my diet, supplements, detox protocols, and nurturing an eternal hope led me to miraculous and sometimes immediate results. I changed my food, gave up medications, and started buying everything natural. Walking away from my marriage also improved my health dramatically. I realized that being in a toxic relationship had been sabotaging my ability to heal.

I was desperate. So, I was willing to try anything to get better. Certain protocols gave me the most miraculous results. Removing gluten from my diet improved my symptoms by 80%. Taking Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth daily healed my rheumatoid arthritis. Activated charcoal improved my gastrointestinal issues dramatically and also surprisingly decreased my anxiety. Taking Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), which is activated water purification drops taken in water, was a huge game changer for me. I didn't have to depend on antibiotics anymore which were destroying the good bacteria in my gut. Methylene Blue, a synthetic treatment that was used long before pharmaceutical companies took over our health system, healed my chronic hives and improved my ability to think more clearly.

As I healed from many symptoms that doctors told me I would live with for the rest of my life, I wanted to share my success stories with everyone. Sadly, I found that most people aren't willing to eat healthier, take detox supplements, or remove toxic people and products from their lives. But that didn't stop me. I thought if I could help one person, it would be worth it. I wished that someone had taught me these things when I was deep in illness hell. I was motivated to help others heal, but it wasn't until I had my ostomy surgery that it became a true calling for me.

Despite the incredible improvements to my health and mobility from the various natural treatments I tried, I continued to have a diseased large intestine. The tiny bit that was left inside my body after they removed the majority seemed impervious to my attempts to heal it. The pharmaceutical injury had destroyed my intestine beyond repair. I'm sure the accumulative effects of taking antibiotics and eating a poor diet didn't help either. There came a point where I had little choice anymore except to undergo a permanent ostomy surgery and free myself of the diseased colon once and for all.

I had all of the fears that people have in this situation. I feared that my sex life would never be the same again; that no one could accept me or find me to be enough with an ostomy; that people would find me repulsive or worse, feel sorry for me; that I would have to give up my work as an intimacy provider. Then there was the issue of sex. How long would I have to go without it? Would the change inside my body affect my experience of sex? Would I even be able to enjoy sex again? But I was determined to survive this new challenge physically and mentally. After everything I'd been through, I knew I could handle anything. I just needed to learn how.

I survived the ostomy surgery and my health is stabilizing finally, for the first time since that fateful pharmaceutical injury in 2008. Just over a week ago, September 15, 2024, I celebrated my one year stomaversary since my life-changing surgery. I have been able maintain a healthy weight for several months and I can eat so much more now without causing myself terrible suffering. I am not fully recovered from my surgery but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Through everything, I've learned that natural healing will always be my first go-to but also that there is a place for doctors. Doctors saved my life after a pharmaceutical almost took it. And doctors saved my quality of life when I could no longer live peacefully with a diseased colon. But still, I can't help but feel I have a duty to share what I've learned with others who may be suffering under the care of pharma-focused doctors.

What especially motivates me today is the epidemic of people who are suffering from health issues that prevent them from having intimacy in their lives. Countless people with different health conditions have come to believe that they are no long desirable or worthy of love and intimacy. As an intimacy specialist, I know that a fulfilling, sensual, incredible sex life is possible – even without penetrative sex. I also know that we are all capable of being desirable and sexy, no matter what perceived flaws cause us anguish.

I'm passionate about these issues because I want every person to come back stronger from the illness that changed them forever. If I can do it, you can too. It starts with taking back control of our health and questioning everything we've learned from the corrupt medical machine that profits from our suffering. Take the first step by looking at your diet and taking the advice that Hippocrates gave us over two millennia ago: "Let food be thy medicine."

Love Annie xoxo