Why Intentional Living?

How many people do you know who are taking 4 or more prescription medications and as a result are thriving, living generally well? Now some medications are absolutely necessary, but for a lifetime? 

What is the need for these prescriptions? I have been a Physical Medicine & Rehab physician for over 22 years, working in an outpatient clinic setting, inpatient rehab, subacute rehab, and as a consultant.  I have been blessed to work with some amazing people and have seen some great advances in medicine. I have been a patient myself in the hospital and can speak firsthand of that experience (good and bad), as well as trying to act as an advocate for family members who became ill. 

What I really enjoyed about my particular field of medicine is that we were taught not just to name the injury or disease process, but to work with patients or clients on how to get back into the community, family life, work life,  adapting and moving beyond disease. This could mean adjustments in mobility for someone who has had an amputation or spinal cord injury and now needs help to get the correct equipment needed to move about in the world, with as much freedom as possible. It could also mean helping someone work through the potential re-wiring of the brain/body connection after a stroke or head injury. Even addressing life-style changes needed after a heart attack, diabetes associated illness, pain, or joint replacement, all of these were opportunities to help someone help themselves to return to the highest level of activity and function possible. 

Of late, however, there is little time to address the WHY or HOW someone became ill or injured. Often times, a regular visit to the doctor may result in a new diagnosis as we age, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or thyroid abnormality. The prescription train starts to leave the station, and we go along with this, as if it has always been this way, and this is just how it is. 

WHY? Why do we go along with this line of thinking as patients and as physicians? 

For one, there is no time in a 15- or 20- minute appointment allotted to get into the details of that person’s history to find clues, no time to explain possible causes, limited suggestions on prevention. “Eat right and exercise, don’t smoke, limit your alcohol intake.” That is pretty common, safe, should cover it, right? 

No, it doesn’t, and honestly, most don’t bother because they do not believe the average person will follow a good, recommended diet, nor is willing to make changes even if time was spent explaining why this is important. Matching the right pill with the right diagnosis is how medical care has evolved, and we have gone along with it, as patients and physicians. After all, it seems like a reasonable option on the surface, and who has time for anything else? 

My continued asking WHY was what led me out of that traditional model. A diagnosis of pain, of a fall, fatigue, inflammation- these are all symptoms, not diagnoses. Just because someone assigned an ICD-10 code that insurance could use for billing does not mean they are actual conditions. 

These are but a few examples of symptoms pointing to something deeper.  WHY does someone have pain, especially if the actual injury is long resolved? WHY did someone fall? Dizzy, tripped, vertigo, couldn’t feel their feet, legs buckled from weakness, heart skipped too many beats, or just new to the laws of gravity?  WHY so tired all the time? Poor sleep, hormone imbalance, pain, spasm, anxiety, gut not working in an optimal way, kidneys, liver blocked? All of the above? 

Not understanding the WHY means we just treat the symptoms, and once they are gone, we move on.  But that underlying cause is often still lingering, waiting to show up again usually in a most inconvenient time or place, and causing more severe symptoms. 

WHY is why I chose to move out of the traditional model of care, and start Intentional Living Health & Wellness. 

Because: People need to understand why and how their bodies work, especially as we age -stay on top of it -not just so we stay out of nursing homes but also to thrive as we age, move and connect as we are meant to do.

Because: It’s not that complicated; you can learn, understand your why, and act on it. With that understanding comes the empowerment to do something about it, not wait until someone else tells you it’s too late, or until your labs start showing a system failing. 

Because: We have become numb to the prevalence of disease, occurring and starting at younger ages. Don’t believe me? When else in history have you known of so many tv commercials to offer a disease solution with the latest pill or injection? How many people do you know personally who have gut issues, some auto-immune problem, even cancer? I know several, and some my age or younger have died.   That is not normal, and we should not assume it is. 

Because: I have been saddened to see the increasing trend of people in their 20s and 30s undergoing liver transplants (happy to help in their recovery, of course, but this is a shocking trend and should alarm everyone….WHY is this happening?) 

Because: I felt there was little I could do to help my own family once they were ill enough to require hospitalization; they felt as helpless as I did. There were several well-meaning medical providers, but they were in and out, little time for discussion with us or each other, lots of trust lost. 

It may seem a little late in the game for me to change career paths, but I really had no choice: my nature is to serve others, find out the “whys” and help to educate, empower, and excel.  Not just why, but now HOW: how to treat and resolve fatigue, prevent falls, heal inflammation and let our awakened and re-charged cells work together in the amazing symphony they were meant to perform. The best way to do that is in what I am doing now. 

There is typically not one cause of disease, did not happen overnight, and so getting back on track and staying there- with more functional independence and options in life- takes time, nurturing, lifestyle changes (for the better) and tools you can choose for your own path, your own goals. 

My hope is that you feel seen and heard, that I can help you find the answers, provide the tools for your why, and not just settle for symptoms.  We must focus on moving away from disease and toward DIS-ease – awareness of a problem and the “ganas” to solve it, not just live with it. 

We are meant to be more in these bodies of ours, the only ones we get! But the physical body is only one piece of the puzzle:  we are physical yes, but what makes us amazing humans is also the psychological, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual aspects that are woven in these bodies. It’s quite the kick!  If it’s worth it to me to help you heal and thrive as naturally as possible, I pray that it is worth it to you as well.  Just know there are options. We don’t live forever, aging comes, but how we age, how we choose to live actively and pro-actively will make this life’s journey spectacular!  

In the words of author TD Dierker: GET BUSY LIVING.

With hope and charity, 

Jill Castro, MD

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