In the past I've always thought doctors pretty much knew what was going on with us. I believed that our technology allowed us to treat and cure most problems and that if I ever got sick, I would be taken care of. Of course this is what I thought before I actually got sick and had to learn the hard way.

It was another night of binge drinking and this time I had some good hard gin, something I had never tried before. 3 hours and half a bottle of gin later, the shortness of breath begins to kick in. I was breathless all throughout the next day, accompanied by a constant throat tickling sensation. I knew that something was amiss and needed to be fixed.

I paid a visit to a clinic near my house who I informed that I had a previous history of perfect health and had never felt this before. I was given the usual run-around that most of you have been given. I was given expensive and dangerous tests (endoscopies, laryngoscopes, barium swallows, radiation scans) and was put on potent medicine trials (anti-biotics, antacids, PPI's, h2 blockers, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety pills, etc.) all to no avail without a single ounce of relief.

I had a myriad of symptoms: tickling throat, cough, constant burping, constant bloating, sore throats, dizziness, fatigue, brain fog, Depression (new after it happened), anxiety (new after it happened), minor impotency, bowel imbalance (constipation/diarrhea/strange colors/strange consistencies and textures), tons of gas (so bad I could hear it trickling up even when not burping), random pains from my chest to my lower waist, heart palpitations, lump in throat/globus sensation, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, excessive phlegm/post-nasal drip, and last but not least, a coated white/yellow tongue along with throat redness and inflammation.

All of this for a 21 year old over the period of 4 months? Yep! It continues to this day.

So I was given the usual run-around about "acid reflux"/"GERD"/"LPR"/(fill in pharmaceutical condition branding here). All my tests were basically negative and they couldn't really tell me I had it empirically, but it didn't stop them from preaching. The surgeons told me that I would need surgery to fix the situation and that medicine wouldn't help. The doctors told me surgery wouldn't help and that I would have to be on meds my whole life (even though I was unresponsive to them). The naturopaths in my area turned out to be scammers who just sent me on a wild goose chase every visit by forgetting my symptoms, selling me supplement after supplement, giving me a new diagnosis every time I walked in, and requesting that I return at least twice a week (each appointment costed a lot).

One "naturopath" actually turned out to be a chiropracter in disguise who changed the name of his business and would charge my insurance $200 (plus a $20 co-pay from me) for a 15-20 min visit where he could crack my back, pretend to apply kinisieology, and give me a new diagnosis (he told me I had a B12 deficiency, then I was sold betaine HCL as I was told I had a stomach acid deficiency, then I was told I had metal poisoning from my rings that supposedly had 'nickel'...two supposedly 'nickel rings' I knew for a fact were silver). Needless to say, I stopped going there.

I don't know who to trust anymore except this website and my acupuncturist (who has been the nicest and most knowledgeable person involved with my case this entire time). I trust this website but I've even had a single bad experience here where I was directed towards a certain website and told I would be on a custom-tailored pill for 5 years. Coincidentally, the pills costed upwards $70 a bottle and the poster was the only one who could make them.

I ended up looking for the best of the best and found a naturopath who supposedly flew into America from Poland and possesses "skills most American naturopaths don't". He claimed to be a "real naturopath" and didn't take insurance. The catch? He wanted $250 upfront and claimed he could have me completely cured within 24 hours without even seeing me and only talking to me for 5 minutes. Yeah......just...yeah.

I don't trust doctors, and even some natural health practitioners can be a bit dodgy. I don't believe that one can be 100% healthy and then all of a sudden develop some random condition that lasts for life and requires constant medical therapy to deal with. It almost sounds like those scammers you get calling you that try to sell satellite service or car warranties.

I wish doctors would tell us the truth: no illness is permanent, every acute and chronic problem can be reversed.

Just remember, when they tell you that you're going to have it for life and that there is no cure, it just means they haven't found a "miracle pill" to make you instantly better, you have to do it yourself.