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Wikipedia’s Disservice to Alternative Medicine

We’ll return to the Root Causes of Chronic Fatigue series next week, but today a change of pace. I feel I must write about this Wiki business because yet again a patient printed out some misinformation about alternative medicine and brought it in to me for review. “Oy vey!,” I thought. “If she only knew […]

Remote House Calls: Healing Touch and Shamanic Healing

In these days of distancing, more clients are connecting with me via phone or Skype for remote sessions. Even before the pandemic, some clients who had the option of seeing me in person opted for remote sessions. They’ve reported that it’s beneficial to be able to connect with me from the comfort of their own […]

Issues with Endocrinologists: Thyroid Approaches and Big Pharma

My beefs with endocrinologists pretty much center on how they manage thyroid gland concerns, though they rarely win prizes for managing adrenal issues either. I don’t know any endocrinologists personally and rarely refer my patients to them. Occasionally, a patient with newly diagnosed hypothyroidism (low thyroid) will want to confirm the diagnosis with an endocrinologist. […]

The Cleveland Clinic and WholeHealth Chicago

I know, I know. It’s presumptuous of me to mention Cleveland Clinic in  the same line, much less on the same page, as WholeHealth Chicago, though we do have significant attributes in common, as you’ll see today. This research article, which appeared last week on the JAMA website, links the two of us in ways […]

Your Body Keeps Score

This may be an emotionally difficult Health Tip for some of you. Imagine you’re a small child and for as long as you can remember, no one’s face has ever lit up with a smile when you walked into a room. In fact, to avoid being struck by a family member, you’ve learned a variety […]

A Nasal Spray For Depression? Yes!

It began with a phone call from a patient. “Are you prescribing the new nasal spray for depression?” “Ah!” I thought. “The FDA finally released esketamine.” And then I saw two emails from patients asking the same question. I checked online and, yes indeed, Janssen Pharmaceuticals had completed all the clinical trials and received FDA […]

Meet Our New Integrative Nurse Practitioner Wendy Ploegstra

WholeHealth Chicago is extremely fortunate to welcome Advanced Nurse Practitioner Wendy Ploegstra into our group. Let’s take a look at her credentials. First, she starts in nursing, receiving her bachelor’s at Calvin College in Grand Rapids before moving to Chicago and enrolling at Rush University, where she receives her master’s as a nurse practitioner (with […]

Spring Equinox: Shamanic Healing Clinic

Wednesday, March 20, 2019, 5:45 – 7:30 PM With Healing Touch practitioner, Katie Oberlin, HTCP/1 $55 course fee  As winter gives way to spring, it’s time to clear stagnant energy and expand into the new possibilities that this time of year represents. This workshop will include: -How to incorporate shamanism into contemporary life -Teachings about […]

Understanding Functional Medicine

A couple of weeks ago, I touched briefly on the new field of Functional Medicine and remarked that while it’s far from accepted by the vast majority of conventional physicians, the prestigious Cleveland Clinic had opened their own Institute of Functional Medicine, headed by the popular physician-author Mark Hyman, MD. I added that we at […]

Getting Tough With Your Immune System

No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to prescribe antibiotics for respiratory tract infections, […]

Health Care For The Romantic

Because the word “romantic” can be fraught with misinterpretations, it’s very important that we get our terms right. It may seem strange, but I’m not referring to the relationship type of romantic you’re most familiar with, the story that starts as eyes meet (across a cocktail bar, a garden party, an operating room table) and […]

Is Your Life Just One Big Boring Routine?

Do you have the sense that the months (and years!) are slipping by too fast? No doubt you’ve once groaned, “I can’t believe it’s April already. I still have Christmas lights on the house. How did 25% of the year go by so quickly?” Or, possibly worse, you’ve heard about a colleague receiving a gift […]

How Did I Get Here?

This week’s Health Tip is from our newest WholeHealth Chicago practitioner, Christine Savas, who is a clinical mental health counselor. We asked her to write about her approach to a new client. Because one day that client might be you, I thought this would be a helpful piece for the new year. David Edelberg, MD […]

The Dangerous Myth of Opioid Addiction

Trying to reduce the pain of my patients plays a major role in my day-to-day life as a doctor. When I was in training, there was a big debate going on: Should a doctor prescribe an opioid for non-cancer pain? The answer was Never! In other words, no matter where a patient’s pain was coming […]

Healing Touch Addresses Chronic Pain Without Medication

Imagine picking up a one-pound rock and holding it in your hand with your arm extended. Easy, right? Keep holding it…keep holding it…and it won’t take long before your arm begins to hurt. The longer you hold the rock, the more it hurts. Of course, you could put the rock down but let’s say you […]

Pain And How We Perceive It

Many people suffering chronic pain and fatigue hear far too often the dismissive “it’s all in your head.” Dr. Edelberg has written frequently on the destructive nature of this statement, which places all the blame on the patient and none on the physician to dig deeper into the causes. As Dr. E wrote in a […]

Infertility and Traditional Chinese Medicine

I don’t care much for the infertility industry, though I know some of you are deeply grateful to it for helping you create your precious child. I love kids too. I simply don’t care for the business that infertility has become. In this two-part Health Tip, we’ll explore Western medicine’s approach to infertility treatment and, […]

A Gynecologist Joins The Team At WHC: Welcome Andrea Lee, MD

It may surprise you to learn that WholeHealth Chicago has been trying to find the right gynecologist to join our group for more than 16 years. “What?” you ask. “Why so long?” We did know we needed one. Just sit in our waiting room or shop the apothecary and it occurs to you that a […]

Getting Tough With Your Immune System

Originally published Dec 2015 No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a new clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to […]

Getting Tough With Your Immune System

No reasonable physician (I modestly include myself here) can refrain from crowing delightedly when a new clinical study confirms the value of a treatment he or she had been using for years, even if that treatment had contradicted prevailing standards. Ever since I learned something about natural medicine, I’ve been reluctant to prescribe antibiotics for […]