The “Which” Doctor, Part 2.

Ahhhh, the coveted Brazilian Blowout.  In my decade of hair styling, I’ve never seen a more transformative hair process!  This baby took fuzzy, frizzy hair and turned it into the sleekest, most unrecognizable hair anyone has ever seen.

There was a season when it was so popular that I was staying after work about once a week to accommodate my clients.  If you haven’t heard on the news, the Brazilian Blowout was mixed up in some controversy over whether or not it was safe to use.  Apparently over in Oregon, OSHA had done some tests and deemed it unsafe.  B.B. then smacked ’em with a lawsuit because the tests weren’t done properly, the results were skewed, ya da ya da…  OSHA backed off some, but not before the news got ahold of it and began all sorts of misguided reporting.  Carcinoginic hair treatments are much more sensational than goofed-up tests.

The concern was that the Brazilian Blowout contained formaldehyde and that all of us were breathing that in.  According to my understanding, Brazilian Blowout can technically call their product formaldehyde-free because, until heat causes a release of gas, it is.  They’ve been tested and retested and insist that their product is safe.  Well, perhaps it’s safe enough for the client who occassionally has one treatment done here and there.  But for me, the stylist, to breathe that gas in once a week?  Well, let’s just say that I noticed some changes.

First of all, my back began to break out.  That’s never fun.  You do realize that your skin is your body’s largest organ, right?  What do you suppose it was trying to tell me, hmmm?

But worse (and I only saw the connection in hindsight) my menstrual cycles became utterly unbearable.  The timing seemed perfectly coincidental and unrelated.  I mean, periods are girl problems, right?  So clearly this must’ve had something to do with my female organs, right?

Perhaps I have ovarian cysts.  Perhaps I should’ve eaten more salads this week.  Perhaps this is just a bad cycle.  Etc.

I could’ve rationalized it any which way, but I didn’t honestly think that my body was suffering any greater issue than a painful cycle once a month.  (So painful, in fact, that twice Brian wanted to take me to the Emergency Room.  I literally could not get up from the floor where I was curled into a fetal position.)

When I first met Dr. Betsy, in telling her about my cycles, I honestly didn’t think that she’d hone in on that and believe there was an issue because I myself didn’t realize that it was a greater problem than just being a cursed female.

I’m just a girl.  That’s the way these things go sometimes.

Once she checked me out, she determined that my body was overloaded, trying to detox, but quite bogged down.  As it turns out, instead of having female-related problems, the greater issue was that my liver was aggravated.  Even though it was always in an angry state, it didn’t manifest noticeable symptoms except for once a month when my period hit.  The bloating from my cycle compounded the aggravation that the liver was constantly experiencing and winded up created a lot of pressure, bothering my sciatic nerve.  If you’ve never had sciatic nerve issues, count yourself blessed; because this regularly resulted in shooting, debilitating leg and back pain.

I got with the program and began a regimen of supplements (and, honestly, that first week they made me nauseous).  Each month, Dr. Betsy rechecked my body and adjusted the supplement routine.  In about six months time, I was experiencing pain-free cycles.

I truly can’t remember the last time I popped a tylenol.

It’s. Been. Years.

• Never once did I have to zone out during humiliating internal exams.
• Never once did I have to hear, “Why don’t you try _X_,” and wonder if a drug would make it all better.
• Never once did Dr. Betsy try to put a bandaid on the symptoms while ignoring the greater disaster that was being created beyond the realm of my female organs.  She wasn’t interested in just curbing the pain; she wanted to know the root of the problem.  She wanted to know what was the first domino that fell and ultimately resulted in this last domino, the excruciating menstrual cramps.
• Never once was my future ability to conceive children put into question.
• In spite of the fact that there’s family history of ovarian cysts, Dr. Betsy never took the easy route by jumping to that conclusion, ignoring the greater issue at hand.
• There was no guess work, no surgeries, not even x-rays.

She simply “listened to” my body.

Well that, and she listened to me rambling on and on about everything else.  So thorough is she, that even in our initial consultation, Dr. Betsy inquired as to whether or not there was any bellybutton trauma or injury when I was an infant.  Because EVERYTHING matters to her.  And that’s a good feeling.

Read Part 1 here.

Dr. Betsy has opened Blissful Life Center for Weight Loss and Natural Health at 661 Millwood Ave. (NOT PIKE), Suite 207 in Winchester, Virginia.  Her phone number is 540-722-2078.

Satisfy your curiosity and go.