HEALTH: Take Two Dreams and Call Me

[Guest guest]

Take Two Dreams and Call Me

by Gladys Taylor McGarey, MD

 

A year or so ago, I treated a young woman patient suffering from

terrible, recurring migraine headaches. What made this case different

from the norm for most physicians was the patient’s partnership in the

healing process.

 

During the first few visits, we worked with the young woman’s diet and

different forms of manipulation. No success. Then we decided to try

biofeedback. Still, the migraines persisted. One day she arrived in my

office very intrigued about a dream she had had the night before. It

involved her migraines and both of us were prominent characters. I asked

her to share it with me.

 

In the dream, she was sitting in my office and having one of her

headaches. While waiting for me she decided to take a couple of pills.

So, she reached into her purse and began to pull them out. Just then, I

walked into the room and said, “Don’t take those.” Very slowly we looked

down into her hand and saw she was holding two M & Ms. Then the dream ended.

 

Obviously my patient’s body knew what was causing the migraines. Each

symbol in the dream represented part of the problem or the solution. We

just had to understand what that message was. After some discussion we

concluded that in the dream I represented the “physician within” telling

her to stop eating chocolate, especially her favorite M & Ms. She

decided to try it. When she stopped eating chocolate, her headaches

disappeared. Fortunately for her, she was eventually able to return to

eating chocolate in moderate amounts. If a headache were to come on, she

knew both what was happening and what treatment to take.

 

The 12-month cure

 

Of course, not all cures are immediate. But I have found that even a

prolonged cure can be just as satisfying. I recall one case where 12

months of treatment were required before any “cure” was experienced.

 

A physician colleague of mine had suffered from a fungus infection of

his large toenails for 35 years. As a doctor, he had access to all the

latest in treatments and therapies. But, through the years, nothing

proved successful. One afternoon we started talking about the use of

castor oil. Both of us are firm believers in the power of natural

medicines. Nature has always had the ability to nurture its own. So my

colleague decided to try it. Each evening he applied castor oil to his

toenails and wrapped them with bandaids. He continued this ritual night

after night for eight months before he saw any change at all. But within

a year his toenails were completely healed. This was not an isolated

case. I have successfully treated toenail fungus with castor oil

repeatedly for many years.

 

An expanded definition of health

 

In the past, interpreting dreams and prescribing castor oil would have

been beyond the pale of proper medical practice. But that was under a

narrow definition of health. Today, we operate under an expanded

definition of health. It is not doctors who are ultimately responsible

for patients’ health, but the individuals themselves. Other people can’t

make them well. A partnership is necessary. The physician exists to

present all the available options to the patient, and then help

implement their choices. That is why I strive to remain current on both

conventional and natural therapies. The best medical solutions are

always the ones that work.

 

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Gladys Taylor McGarey, MD, MD(H), is internationally known for her

pioneering work in holistic medicine and the physician/patient

relationship. She is a member of the Committee of 100 of the National

Institutes of Health’s Office of Alternative Medicine. She is currently

president of the Arizona Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiners and a

member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Holistic Medicine.

 

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