By Simon Yu, MD
When an advanced cancer patient or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) patient comes to see me for an evaluation, the patient and I understand that we are racing against time to beat the odds of the inevitable, dying and death. We often ask the question, “Is there time to heal?” I previously wrote an article on that subject, “Time to Heal: New Medicine Based on New Biology.” Here is the story of Ron, a nice person.
Ron, a 68 year old man, came to see me with a new diagnosis of ALS. His initial symptoms were legs feeling weak, dragging his left foot, and he noticed twitching and spasms in his leg for the previous six months. A second opinion by another neurologist gave the same diagnosis. He came to see me for nutritional therapy and a detoxification program. He was not interested in a new drug therapy for ALS because of side effects and minimum potential benefits.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”, is one of the most dreaded, progressive neurodegenerative diseases that affects motor neurons, and losing control of muscles. In the later stages of the disease, the individual becomes paralyzed. The disease eventually leads to their death from respiratory failure.
The cause of ALS is unknown. As motor neurons degenerate, they can no longer send impulses to the muscle fibers that normally result in muscle movement. Common symptoms include muscle weakness of arms, legs, speech, swallowing, and breathing.
The incidence of ALS is two per 100,000 people. The average life expectancy is two to five years from the time of diagnosis. About twenty percent of people live over five years and ten percent live over ten years.
Ron’s physical examination was unremarkable. He was able to ambulate and walk without too much difficulty, although he felt his legs were weak. Acupuncture meridian assessment indicated seven out of forty meridians were out of balance including the lymphatic dental point, central nervous system, allergy, heart, liver, and gallbladder meridians.
After the evaluations, I told Ron and his family that I do not treat the diagnosis of ALS, or symptoms. I said I would try to remove as many interferences (hidden underlying problems) as fast as possible, to let the body have time to heal itself. The best I can do is slow down and modify the disease process into a more benign form.
He said he previously had 20 plus dental silver-mercury amalgams. Most of them had been replaced although he had two amalgams left. He also had two root canals at tooth numbers 3 and 18. I told him his amalgams should be removed and the root canals should be extracted as soon as possible by a biological dentist who understands potential toxic effects of amalgams and root canals. Heavy metal provocation showed moderate amounts of antimony, lead, mercury, and tin.
He also had a dental infection at his old wisdom tooth number 17. This required an oral surgeon to clean out the infected jaw bone at the site of this tooth. One of the hardest parts of his treatment plan was convincing Ron to have more dental work done, including oral surgery, without any guarantee that the dental work will help him. It took him one year to complete the dental work.
During the course of his treatment, he was on anti-parasitic medications, antibiotics for dental infections, anti-fungal medications, and chelation therapy for fungal and heavy metal exposures. He is on nutritional supplements and additional detoxification and exercise programs, including crawling daily to re-program his neural connections and neuromuscular conditioning.
He was interested in writing a book to inspire other patients with ALS. I told him I would write a story about him to inspire him and other ALS patients. Ron is fighting against time. He will continue his journey of battling ALS and writing his book. I want his story to be told. A wheelchair is not an option! I told him he should still be monitored by a neurologist for ALS, perhaps learn to tap dance, to show his neurologist that he can have ALS and still tap dance on his yearly visit.
Can he beat ALS? I have no idea. However, I know that all his acupuncture meridians have finally been balanced after the dental/jaw operation. Now, he has a chance to repair and heal. He can still walk on his own, although he is complaining of some leg weakness and spasms. At this stage, my duty as a physician is to monitor and maintain all his meridians in balance, like a well-tuned violin. Hopefully, he has time to heal at last.
Dr. Simon Yu, M.D. is a Board Certified Internist. He practices Internal Medicine with an emphasis on Alternative Medicine to use the best each has to offer. For more articles on alternative medicine as well as patient success stories, and Dr. Yu’s revolutionary health book, Accidental Cure: Extraordinary Medicine for Extraordinary Patients, visit his website at www.PreventionAndHealing.com or call Prevention and Healing, Inc., 314-432-7802. You can also attend a free monthly presentation and discussion by Dr. Yu on Alternative Medicine at his office on the second Tuesday each month at 6:30 pm. Call to verify the date. Seating is limited, arrive early. Also, on the third Tuesday, we welcome you to attend our Free Monthly Prevention and Healing Support Group to support your healing process. See details on our website.