“Okay,” I asked my customer, “just what is bothering you?”

She told me she first noticed her problem when, with her forefinger, she touched her elbow causing pain. She called the doctor who suggested it might be tennis elbow and to take a couple of aspirins and call him in the morning. Even though she didn’t play tennis she did as told. The next day she called the doctor again and told him that now, when she touched her wrist and shoulder with the slightest touch of her finger, she was suffering severe pain. He suggested she visit his office that same day and she did.

“Doctor, even when I just barely touch my neck and head with my finger, it too pains me.”

He suggested a CAT Scan. They did, but no conclusions were drawn.

The following day she called the doctor telling him that even touching her leg or the soft tissue of her buttocks, she had relentless pain. He suggested she come back to his office for a PET Scan. She did, but again, no conclusions were drawn.

On her way home from visiting the doctor, she stopped in at my retail vitamin store to share her experience with me.

“Do you have any suggestions?” she asked.

“I am not a doctor, and as such, I do not diagnose or prescribe, however, based on the swelling of your forefinger, I suggest you have it checked by the doctor. It appears to be broken.”

Yes, this whole story is a joke, but how many times have you been treated for symptoms rather than the cause of the problem? Such as an aspirin, or other painkiller, for a headache?

This next story did happen many times throughout the years. Not to the same person, but to many others. Only the names and circumstances varied.

A long-haul truck driver came into my store to purchase some chondroitan and MSM for relief of pain from arthritis of the lower back. The pain seemed to intensify the longer the haul and for over a year, his doctors had increased the strength of the many prescribed painkillers, but to no avail. Surgery was imminent but he couldn’t afford being out of work for the 2-3 months required for healing. He was desperate. As he was about to pay for his purchase from us, I intervened.

“Sir, as effective as this product has been for many, I have an alternate choice for you, in fact, three.”

I got his attention.

“From the size of your wallet, I suggest you either carry it in your front pocket, divide the contents into two wallets, or leave it out of your back pocket when driving.”

We had determined the cause and corrected the problem rather than masking the symptoms. His body had been trying to tell him through pain, that it was at disease. His back was becoming disjointed because of the immense thickness of his wallet. His so-called arthritis of the lower back never bothered him again.

We have corrected the pain of sciatica by convincing these suffering women to lessen the weight of their purse from 10-12 pounds to a reasonable 2-3. It always worked.

The patient and doctor alike tend to forget the simple fact that the living body, unlike a machine, has the ability to heal itself.