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Lyn Hinkson was living
an ordinary, happy life. Then, on vacation in Hawaii, she felt unusually
tired and achy. Almost a year later, the mysterious pain returned,
along with severe swelling. Lyn reflects on this time, "I’d
get up in the morning [and] I would be my normal size and within
a couple of hours I’d go up a size and then another size. So
I’d progress into about three size levels during the day."
Although it never prevented her from socializing, Lyn’s swelling
was painful. She suspected allergies, and medical tests revealed
candida or yeast in her intestine, and toxicity throughout her body.
But Lyn’s general practitioner was not able to determine the
cause of her illness. Neither were many of the other doctors she
consulted. She says, "one doctor said it was the most complicated
case he’d ever experienced in his entire career."
Lyn’s symptoms were worsening when she and her husband Frank
decided to take another Hawaiian holiday. While on vacation one
of Lyn’s friends recommended Shiatsu massage and a visit to
a naturopathic doctor. The results changed Lyn’s life. "With
the homeopathic medicine that he gave me, within the first twenty-four
hours three-quarters of the swelling just went like that."
Lyn was so pleased with the results of naturopathic care that she
found a naturopath who had just moved to her rural area.
Dr. Wendy Presant-Jahn responded to Lyn’s allergies by altering
her diet to eliminate allergenic foods such as dairy, wheat, and
corn. She then tested the foods to see which ones Lyn could tolerate.
Lyn began to improve, but not entirely. She says, "Dr. Wendy
would get me to a point of looking and feeling better, but I wouldn’t
hold too long. And all of a sudden I would go back down and start
coming out with everything." Dr. Presant-Jahn was stumped by
the swelling in Lyn’s face – until she looked in her mouth.
"The gums were in very poor shape. And there looked to be some
infection going on and even a fistula going on around one of the
gums. At that point I referred her to a naturopathic dentist."
Dr. Ed Mahan discovered that Lyn still had many mercury fillings.
These fillings do not cause problems for most people, but some people
are intolerant to the mercury amalgam or experience electrical resistance
between fillings of different metals. Dr. Mahan speculated that
Lyn’s tooth pain was not confined to her mouth: "In her
case, she had infection around the teeth. This can affect different
areas of the body for pain. Areas in the mouth refer to other specific
areas of the body for pain. They’re like trigger points."
Dr. Mahan referred Lyn to a periodontist to treat her infections
while he began replacing Lyn’s fillings. Slowly, Lyn and her
team of practitioners began to see a difference. Dr. Presant-Jahn
explains, "I don’t believe that I could have cured her
problems if she hadn’t been to see a dentist." Lyn also
views health care as a shared responsibility. She concentrates on
maintaining her present good health in conjunction with conventional
and alternative health care practitioners. She says, "I would
strongly suggest to [anyone with a chronic condition] that they
go to a good naturopathic doctor and that they also have a good
medical doctor who is open to naturopathic help. You
know that they
both work together. That’s why it’s called
alternative medicine." Today, Lyn Hinkson is feeling better
than ever, as she strives to take control of her own health.
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"In
her case, she had infection around the teeth . . . this can affect
different areas of the body for pain."
– Dr. Ed Mahan
"Go
to a good naturopathic doctor and also have a good medical doctor
who is open to naturopathic help. You know that they both work together.
That’s why it’s called alternative medicine."
– Lyn Hinkson
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