Approach to Treatment

Reason For Treatment

At the AG Patel MD “ARM” Center, we believe that God designed our body to heal itself. In reality, that’s exactly what it does hundreds of times a day. If we receive an injury – our body fixes it. If we get a cold or the flu – our immune system cures it. If we’re exposed to a toxin – our liver eliminates it. However, sometimes our body doesn’t do what it is designed to do. When that happens, there are usually two main reasons.

First, we are not giving our body enough of the things it needs to heal itself. This would include anything from water to sleep to sunlight to vitamins to hormones to exercise. Second, we are exposing our body to some toxin that is blocking its healing ability. This would include anything from smoking to infections to allergens to chemicals to drugs – even the drugs that doctors prescribe. When these reasons occur, our body needs help. We offer individualized treatment programs for patients of all ages and with all disorders that are designed to optimize the body’s innate ability to heal itself.

Treatment

Everybody knows what it’s like to see a doctor who only uses allopathic medicine because that’s the system of medicine that has been exclusively used in the United States for the last one hundred years. The allopathic system is the only system taught in medical schools and used in hospitals and it is the only system recognized by the American Medical Association, most insurance companies and Medicare. At the AG Patel MD “ARM” Center, we only use the allopathic approach on a minimal basis. Our treatment programs are based primarily on the practice of orthomolecular medicine. The things that an orthomolecular doctor does often look like those that an allopathic doctor does; there is an examination, tests are ordered and treatments are prescribed, but that is where the similarities end.

If you are like most people, you probably have no idea what orthomolecular means. It is really very simple in that “Ortho” comes from the Greek word that means “to correct” and “Molecular” refers to molecules. Thus, orthomolecular medicine “corrects molecules”. We are in good company by practicing orthomolecular medicine because the concept was developed by Dr. Linus Pauling. Dr. Pauling is a two time Nobel Prize winning physician and is considered one of the greatest scientific minds of the twentieth century.

The term orthomolecular medicine was coined in 1968 by Dr. Pauling. He defined orthomolecular medicine as “the preservation of good health and the treatment of disease by varying the concentrations in the human body of substances that are normally present in the body and required for health”. The allopathic system treats with drugs. Since drugs are not "substances that are normally present in the body", they are not used in the orthomolecular system. We only use drugs in our treatment programs when absolutely necessary. In the majority of our treatment programs, we use substances that are naturally found in the human body, such as foods, herbs, vitamins and minerals. We evaluate lifestyle guidelines, such as how you eat, sleep and exercise. Allopathic treatments are prescribed simply to alleviate symptom(s). Orthomolecular treatments focus on removing the cause(s) of the disease or condition that is causing the symptom(s). We will tell you that it is very possible to both prevent and eliminate disease because we are treating on a causal level.

In orthomolecular medicine, the doctor's job is not to diagnose your condition and put you on the latest miracle protocol, but it is twofold. First, it is to find out what things your body needs that it isn't getting and making sure that it gets them, and second, it is to find out what specific factors are blocking the healing process and to get rid of them. The first process is called rejuvenation and the second is called detoxification. So the doctor doesn't actually do the healing - your body does.

Not Quick, Not Simple, But Safe

The allopathic system is quick, simple and easy because symptom treatment can be handled in a cook book fashion. Everybody receives the same treatment regardless of what is causing the symptom. If you have a headache – here’s a pain drug. If you have an infection – here’s an antibiotic. If you have high blood pressure – here’s a drug that lowers your blood pressure.

Orthomolecular medicine is not quick, simple or easy. Investigating causes and finding the right treatment can take days and/or weeks instead of mere minutes because the imbalances in the body that are the causes of the symptom(s) are often completely different in each individual patient, even though the symptom(s) themselves can be the same. Treatment programs used in orthomolecular medicine are natural and inherently safe. Very often, once the condition has been eliminated, the treatment can be stopped.

The Challenges

There are three challenges that both the doctor and patient face in the treatment process.

First, no two human beings are the same. Even though we can determine a lot about a person from history, physical examination and testing, in many cases there is a fair amount of trial and error before the “code is cracked”.

Second, although the body can heal itself of almost anything, it usually doesn't do it very quickly especially for long term conditions. The longer a condition or disease has been present, the longer it is going to take for a cure. In today's environment of instant gratification, the process can require considerable patience.

Third, most people have been programmed to think that medicine is by its very nature like the allopathic system - a cook book approach. They often think that they are going to simply get a diagnosis and a pill – something quick and easy. When they are told that they need to exercise, change the way they eat, get more sleep, receive detoxification procedures like Chelation Therapy and take a handful of vitamins, hormones and herbs, they may feel surprised, intimidated and frustrated.

Although we know that orthomolecular medicine takes some getting used to, the AG Patel MD “ARM” Center knows how to guide, encourage, motivate and help you to do whatever you need to do in order to get well again and to prevent future conditions from recurring.

Prevention

Many diseases can be prevented. No one has to have a stroke, get a heart attack, have diabetes, get Alzheimer’s, be diagnosed with cancer, or get arthritis. Medical literature is irrefutable on this subject – just as Dr. Pauling said more than fifty years ago; all these diseases and many others are preventable. The best way to not get a disease is to prevent it.

Doctors who practice orthomolecular medicine have a vision for the future of medicine. That vision was stated by one of the other great geniuses of the twentieth century - Thomas Edison. Mr. Edison saw the future and said, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease”. At the AG Patel MD “ARM” Center, the future is here right now for those that want it. This is my passion and why I practice orthomolecular medicine.