Treating the Cause, Not the Symptoms: A Listener's Life-Changing Lifestyle Story

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So whether you need to beat the heat, beat the crowds, or just take a beat, refreshing favorites are a tap away with the Starbucks app. For the ones who get it done. primarily pain. Here is Tim Hennessey on the story of his own health journey. The late 90s, I was in my late 30s, and I had all kind of health problems. On the outside, physically, I looked pretty darn good.

You know, I worked out a couple hours a day, I played racquetball for two or three hours, I lifted weights. So on the outside, I looked pretty good, but on the inside, I felt like I was dying because I had chronic pains all day long. My elbow, my knees, my back, I had a hard time sleeping. I had migraines literally a couple times a month, the kind of migraines where you got to shut the light out from your eyes. I used to put ice on my neck, lay down, I had this pulsing, almost like you hear a drum, boom, boom, boom. I had higher blood pressure, I had skin issues, I would play racquetball, and the next day, I could barely walk down the stairs. And I'm in my late 30s thinking, what's it going to be like if I make it to 50? So it was recommended to visit a doctor in Calabasas, California, where I lived, and he was a pretty famous doctor.

A lot of Hollywood people would go see him. And he took a look at me, and he basically diagnosed me with a form of autoimmune disease. When I looked at him, I said to him, doctor, could it be what I'm eating and drinking, could it be my diet? Because I knew a secret that he didn't know.

I knew my diet was horrible. He kind of gave me an out. He says, no, Tim, it's nothing you're doing that caused this. It's more likely hereditary.

So I'm like, oh, good, I'm relieved. And he says, these things kind of happen to people, but the good news is we can control it. And some people get heart disease. Some people get cancer.

You're lucky it isn't cancer as he pats me on the shoulder with his gentle bedside manner that he had. And I wanted to believe him because I wanted to continue drinking my Diet Dr. Pepper for breakfast with four milk chocolate macadamia nut pepper charm cookies. That was my typical breakfast. And I will alternate the next day, I'd have donuts instead of the cookies with my Diet Dr. Pepper.

I wanted to be able to go to McDonald's or other fast food places at lunchtime. And I didn't want to think about what I was eating. So I didn't tell him that was my diet, but I thought, well, good, you can control this. I can continue eating crappy food.

Great, this is awesome. Then he handed me a prescription. He said, Tim, why don't you take a look, it's a new drug, and I asked him, well, how long do I have to take this drug? And he said, most likely for the rest of your life.

There is no cure for what you have. And he said, the best we can do is help control what you have. And he said, I'm pretty confident we could help you. So I drove home from the doctor's office with his prescription, and I didn't know quite what to do at first.

So I talked to my wife, and she said, how'd it go? I said, well, the doctor gave me a prescription for this drug, and he told me to look it up. And I decided to look it up.

The Internet in the late 90s isn't what it is today, but each company had a website. I went to this company's website, and I looked up this particular drug. The funny thing is, the first thing I noticed when I looked the drug up, it said, for the symptom of this, for the symptom of that. And what I was looking for, and maybe naively, I was looking for the word cure.

But I didn't see the word cure. I then saw the side effects. And the first thing I noticed was it said, lower your immune system. The second one was potentially increased risk of heart disease. And the third one was potentially increased risk of cancer.

So I turned to my wife, Deb, and I go, wow, what could possibly go wrong? I take this drug to the rest of my life, and I have a lower immune system, a greater risk of heart disease, and greater risk of cancer. But I got rid of my migraines and my pain. Needless to say, I didn't want to take this drug.

I wanted to see if I could find another way. Then there's a woman who came into my life through another friend of my wife's, and she handed me this book. It's called, You're Not Sick, You Are Thirsty, by Dr. Bat Melnjel and something. It's a long Indian name. I call him Dr. Batman.

I think that's his nickname. So I decided I'm going to increase my water and get rid of my soda habit. And I haven't had one since.

And that was August 2004. And I have to tell you, I haven't had a migraine, I haven't had a headache, maybe a mild headache once in a while if I don't sleep enough. My blood pressure was back to normal, and it continues to be back to normal. All my pains went away. So I thought, well, what could I do if I changed my diet?

Here I am. I'm in my 60s now. I still have normal blood pressure. I have no more pains in my knees, back, and elbow like I did originally.

I haven't had a migraine in 20 years. My diet's not perfect by any means. But I know if I get a little bit off track, I've got to get back to the green juices and making sure I exercise, making sure I get vitamin D and sunshine.

So the proof is in the pudding. I could have been 25 years ago on medication the rest of my life, as I mentioned. And who knows what my immune system would have been?

Who knows if I'd still be alive today being on medication for 25 years with an increased risk of cancer, increased risk of heart disease, and a lower immune system? You know, for me personally, I have an open mind. I'll hear both sides. But let me decide. As an American, I should have the personal freedom to choose my doctor, to ignore my doctor if I don't agree with him, to choose an alternative health practitioner, to ignore the alternative health care practitioner's advice if I choose to. Let me decide what my health is.

And I believe that's what all Americans really want. Let us choose. And a special thanks to Greg Hengler on the production of the story.

A special thanks to Tim Hennessey for sharing his story. And so many Americans grapple with these choices. Do I just work on my diet and health, or do I go see a doctor? And it's not an either or.

You need doctors, and you need to eat better. The story of Tim Hennessey's health journey, the story of so many Americans here on Our American Stories. Lee Habib here, the host of Our American Stories. Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories from our big cities and small towns.

But we truly can't do the show without you. Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not free to make. If you love what you hear, go to our American stories dot com and click the donate button. Give a little, give a lot.

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