Integrative Medicine | Eastern and Western Medicine

The current meds I take, shown in a weekly pill organizer

One of the things that I had the hardest time wrapping my head around after my diagnosis was the fact that I would be taking medications for the rest of my life. I know that it is different for others who are born with their disease, but as someone who was not it was definitely a drastic change in my life. In the beginning, my mom gave me my medications that were prescribed by my cardiologists, but about 5 months after my diagnosis, my mom decided it was time to try her hand in Traditional Chinese Medicine. All my life I have grown up drinking Chinese herbs for when I had a cold or upset stomach, so this was nothing new to me. However, in combination with making me drink traditional Chinese herbs (which, to be entirely truthful, tasted utterly disgusting) my mom sent me to an acupuncturist three times a week after school during the end of my 8th grade. I would get dozens of needles pricked into my back for 30 minutes, and as long as I didn't move, it actually wasn't as painful as it looked. I think I tried acupuncture for a total of 2-3 months, but unfortunately it just did not work on me. My heart condition stayed the same (as in, my ejection fraction did not change), and even the herbs did not help me.

All of this was before I started high school, and as you know at the beginning of my freshman year I had my first sudden cardiac arrest, so after that I just stuck to taking my many, many prescribed pills morning and night from my cardiologist. I have heard many success stories from people who tried acupuncture to help their health conditions, but it just happened that my condition could not be helped. I am still glad (somewhat) that I at least tried acupuncture, and of course it made my mom happy. I got into the routine of refilling my own pill organizer once a week rather than my mom doing it for me, and after being grilled every time I visited the doctor's, I had to memorize all my medications and their dosages and even their functions (all thanks to my Stanford nurse practitioner, although in hindsight now I'm very glad she made me learn them)! My parents and sister constantly nag at me with the question, "Did you take your meds?" and although I must admit there are some points that I get extremely annoyed, I know they are only looking out for me and showing their concern. Sometimes I actually do forget until they ask, so I'm glad that they constantly ask me that question.

Now that I'm in college, I have to personally refill my prescriptions at the pharmacy instead of having my parents do it for me like they used to, and I also have a reminder on my iPhone every day morning and night to take my meds, just in case I forget. You would think that something so routine in my life would just come naturally, but there are some days where the only time I remembered was because of the alert on my phone! Although during the first years after my diagnosis I viewed taking my medications as a nuisance, I now see them as a safety blanket, since I know taking them definitely helps maintain my heart disease and prevents me from getting worse. It still is a chore sometimes but I've become so accustomed to it that it's just a part of me. Of course, one day I hope to take less and less pills, but for now I trust my cardiologist and electrophysiologist in how they are handling my health plan and doing what is best for me.

As for my advice to parents: if your child is old enough, start them into the habit of making their own meds and refilling their own prescriptions! And no matter how much they get annoyed at you for constantly asking them, "Did you take your meds?" still do it as much as you can, although it is quite tricky since sometimes I also felt that my parents didn't think I was responsible enough to remember to take my medication everyday. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry, so maybe just secretly check the pill organizer before you ask the question? :)