babyblog

ChiroQuacktor

My Chiropractor is turning out to be a bit of a quack. I went to see her because of lower back pain and it is marginally better since I've been going, despite her insistence that I neeeded to see her daily for several weeks and 3x per week now in order to make it wholly better. It isn't wholly better and it varies between reasonably liveable with and very sore on a daily basis. I don't know if I'm convinced she will be able to fix it but 'reasonably liveable with' is an improvement so I'll probably continue to go although attempt to reduce the number of visits if possible.

What I don't like about her is her religious belief in 'Applied Kinesiology'. What this means is nearly every visit she will ask me to sit and raise my arm and hold it straight without letting her push it down. As she does this she touches other parts of my body and if at any point she decides my arm is 'weaker', she diagnoses me with some other illness or problem.

Example: The other day she told me I "definitely, without question" have Gestational Diabetes. I told her my test was negative and she said the test was wrong, there is no question that I have it. I went home and for 48 hours tested my blood sugar religiously on the hour and sure enough, it's not been high or low at any point no matter what I've eaten.

Example 2: She told me she was going to do some Allergy Tests to see if the itch on my arm was an allergic reaction to something (I was already fairly sure that it wasn't because no allergy creams or anti histamine medications make the slightest bit of difference but I was willing to give it a try). Expecting some blood to be taken or prick testing I rolled up my sleeve and was told 'Oh, I'm not going to take blood!'. OKay........ So anyway she gets out a bunch of glass bottles labelled with things like 'Oats' 'Wheat' 'Milk' etc. She gives them to me to hold one by one and while I'm holding them.....yes..... she pushes down my arm. When she gets to Wheat she decides my arm has got weaker and announces that I have a Wheat Allergy. But I don't have any symptoms of a Wheat Allergy, I tell her. 'You DEFINITELY have one, you must immediately give up all Wheat foods, and also Dairy'. I am so dumbfounded that the only response I can think of is to tell her that I don't like Gluten Free foods at which she gets shirty and tells me I obviously don't want to help myself, and that my Wheat Allergy is causing the itch on my arm and a breakout of spots on my face.

I go away somewhat bemused and think this through and really, I do not have a Wheat Allergy. I think I read somewhere that everyone has a slight intolerance to wheat in that it is a bloating food which if you give up will ensure a 5lb weight loss in everyone, but I have no other typical symptoms of a Wheat allergy. The spots on my face easily attribute to early pregnancy hormones - I had them with both boys. The arm itch is not food related, we know that already, it's the nerves in my arm. I also feel very disinclined to start giving up major food groups during pregnancy, if it is even remotely advisable which I somehow doubt. Finally I don't believe that she can diagnose me with a Wheat Allergy by pressing my arm! If I have a wheat allergy I will believe it by having a proper blood test.

I went back yesterday and she announces she has this wonderful gluten free pancake mix for me to try. I tell her no thanks and that I have thought things through and I do not believe that I have a Wheat Allergy. She says YOU HAVE, THERE IS NO QUESTION. I say OK, I appreciate that she believes it but that I have no symptoms, that my spots are almost certainly pregnancy related, that my arm is nerve related, and that I am not very inclined to give up foods during pregnancy. She tries to argue and I tell her look, I really have enough to deal with without introducing this too, and eventually she gives up trying.

The more I go there the less I want to. My friend stopped going because of all this crackpot stuff and I'm feeling that way too..... I need to find one that will concentrate on my back problem and leave it at that.