The 10th Doctor: How a Holistic Doctor is Different
How many doctors would you say you have seen for your medical symptoms?
One? Two – for a second opinion? More than that? At Mitchell Medical Group in NYC, Dr. Ricki and I half-jokingly refer to ourselves as The 10th doctors as it is not uncommon for our patients to have seen at least nine doctors before coming to see us.
Why is this?
Healthcare System Issues
The current healthcare system shortchanges patients in two key areas: quality time with your physician and not searching for the root cause of a disease but instead focusing on the “Quick Fix” treatment which usually means a pharmaceutical drug. And, a lot of times, your physician is also limited on how they can treat you due to insurance limitations. For example, one of my patients had to have adverse reactions to 3 different cholesterol medications before her doctor was able to give her the one he originally wanted because the patients’ insurance had restrictions on which types of medications could be prescribed and when. This means that your doctors who are treating you via your health insurance may not be able to treat you the optimal way due to insurance restrictions and guidelines.
In our practice, we see patients with complicated medical histories and have the time to devote sixty minutes for the evaluation (something many physicians can’t do with their schedules). The other main reason has to do with conventional medicine as it currently exists: medicine has become too specialized with doctors only focusing on the narrow area of their specialties and is not seeing the overall picture. Additionally, we are able to put you on the best course of treatment to get you the fastest and best results the first time around.
As holistic doctors, we take an approach that your illness was most likely triggered by your environment; meaning the stress in your life, your diet and the medications you were treated with over the years. These can all have profound effects on your health!
“A real doctor can write a prescription but a really good holistic doctor doesn’t need to.” – Dr. Dean Mitchell.
We Treat You – Not Your Disease.
Unlike most doctors, we don’t believe in providing treatment that simply masks the health condition. We believe in finding and treating the actual cause of your health issues.
What Doctors Come Before Us
The list of doctors that have seen our patients before they come to see us is quite long. Our practice sees all types of patients with gastrointestinal issues, joint and muscle pains, skin rashes and respiratory problems. We also successfully treat Candida patients who have many of the above symptoms. Many conventional doctors don’t even acknowledge candida as a health issue. Candida overgrowth is a rampant medical problem today because over the past several decades the overuse of antibiotics, acid blockers for gastric reflux and birth control pills containing high dose hormones.
So, who are the doctors that come before us – the holistic doctors?
Typically the patient’s journey begins like this:
- gastroenterologist
- rheumatologist
- neurologist
- orthopedist
- chiropractor
- dermatologist
- allergist
- gynecologist – our female patients obviously
- usually some alternative type of practitioner such as an acupuncturist
And that leaves us at number 10.
The problem with the first 9 doctors is that they are very focused on their area of expertise.
- Gastroenterologists are looking for ulcers, reflux, cancers- when the patient mentions constipation, bloating or excess gas they seem to be less interested because this is not life-threatening. They just recommend they go to the pharmacy and get Miralax.
- Rheumatologists are looking for those autoimmune diseases that can present with severe joint pain and damage, and they have powerful new medicines to stop inflammation, but also can lower a person’s immunity. And when they diagnose a patient with Fibromyalgia they typically recommend the medication Lyrica which we rarely see make a significant difference.
- Neurologists are looking for a range of diseases where the nerves are injured or inflamed: i.e. multiple sclerosis, neuropathies due to injuries or diseases like diabetes.
- Orthopedists and chiropractors are looking at your bones and joints to see if something is anatomically out of place. However, the chronic pain there patients have may be due to an immune imbalance which is not on their radar.
- Dermatologists and allergists are looking at your rashes hoping it has something to do with what you eat, touch or breathe – but again focusing on the creams, lotions or inhalers.
- Gynecologists are typically the only doctor women ever see, so a lot falls on their plate. The chronic vaginitis patients we see typically don’t respond to a few pills of antifungals. They need to have their gut rebalanced with vitamins and dietary changes.
- Acupuncturists, many of which are very talented, unfortunately, can’t do the vital laboratory assessments needed to evaluate a complicated medical case.
A holistic practice like ours uses the best of Western and Eastern medicine to make a medical diagnosis and to provide safe and effective treatments as well. The conditions range from Chronic fatigue to Fibromyalgia to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and other immune diseases.
What We Do Differently
Our training as holistic doctors focuses on a detailed history of what circumstances in life may have brought about your illness. Yes, it’s true that a stressful job, a bad marriage or divorce or the loss of a loved one can trigger the downward spiral of medical problems. Understandably, patients will run to the doctor that they believe will give the fastest relief. However, without getting at the root of what brought about this change leads to the “Band-Aid” effect; meaning, a short fix but not a lasting one which can be frustrating.
As holistic doctors, we have learned that so many illnesses derive from the gut (the stomach and the intestines) and their interaction with the nervous system (your brain and spine). By providing our patients with a program of dietary changes, breathing exercises, lifestyle changes along with key supplements, we have seen people’s lives change (please check out some of our patient testimonials showcasing our results). We don’t claim to cure 100% of our patients but we sure to seem to help a lot of patients get their normal lives back!
So, next time you are searching for help for a medical problem that has eluded your regular physicians, consider a holistic doctor and hopefully, you can skip the other nine doctors.
– Dr. Dean Mitchell, M.D.
Mitchell Medical Group, NYC
About the Author – Dr. Dean Mitchell, M.D.
Dr. Dean Mitchell, M.D. is a Board Certified Allergist and Immunologist based out of NYC. He graduated from the Sackler School of Medicine and completed training at the Robert Cooke Allergy Institute in New York City. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and the author of Dr. Dean Mitchell’s Allergy and Asthma Solution: The Ultimate Program for Reversing Your Symptoms One Drop at a Time. Dr. Dean Mitchell, M.D. has also been featured in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Fitness Magazine, Dr. Oz and News NY 1. Dr. Mitchell also hosts the podcast The Smartest Doctor in the Room – a combination of a lively, personal and in-depth interview with top healthcare specialists.