ABOUT US
Letter from the Medical Director
Like many young physicians, when I decided to go into medicine, I thought I was going to change the world. I believed I was going to be able to accomplish this by making an impact on each patient I treated, and one by one, save countless lives.
In hindsight, it was at least a noble thought. But I failed to recognize one key problem with that and about our whole medical system in general: we were not providing health care.
I'll say that again: we were NOT providing health care.... We were performing disease care.
We were treating problems long after they had done serious damage, and doing quite a poor job of that, really. Throwing pharmaceutical drugs at patients long after their heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, stroke, chronic pain, depression, or anxiety (or, all too commonly, all of the above) had already completely devastated their lives. Drugs, "Diets," Injections, Surgery, and more Drugs. Lather, rinse, repeat. And few patients were truly improving. It was like putting band-aids over an overflowing dam.
What about disease prevention? What about health promotion? What about optimal wellness? Why couldn't we try to maximize the the quality and duration of healthy years we have to live? It sounds so simple, yet it wasn't happening. But the worst part was....
I was part of the problem.
Not only was I contributing to it, with narcotic prescriptions for chronic pain, multiple steroid injections for only short-term relief, and completely ignoring nutrition as part of any treatment plan (that's what you get when only 4 hours of your 4 years of medical school education was devoted to nutrition).
But more than that, I was the problem.
Let me explain...
You see, I was possibly the worst example of healthy living to offer to any patient. To begin with, I was morbidly obese. Like, well over 300 lbs morbidly obese. I had sleep apnea, pre-diabetes, and chronic pain -- a combination of auto and sports-related injuries as well as chronic repetitive strain and inflammation. I had the endurance of a man 3 times my age (How bad was it? At my worst, I was getting winded and in pain after walking half a block). And worse yet, I was a fast-food and soda junkie. As in, 3 square fast food meals a day -- all of them supersized, of course. My idea of exercise was parking the car and physically walking into the fast food joint to place my to-go order, rather than just speed through the drive-thru.
(Yes, doctors sometimes do make the worst patients)
I know you may be thinking: "Well of course you were in bad shape. That's a terribly unhealthy lifestyle doomed to an early death"
Sure it was. But it wasn't until a patient called me out on it that I really saw it for the first time. I was advising a diabetic patient on the importance of getting his blood sugar under control in order to help better manage his pain -- the pain meds could work better, he'd have a better and safer response to a steroid injection, and overall might just need less of those things anyway if the inflammation could be controlled with better food choices. Not to mention a little daily exercise.
His response....
"But you don't do any of those things."
His words stuck with me. He was right. I wasn't doing any of those things. I was essentially telling my patients to do what I say and not what I do.
I had to make a change. But where to start? Not only was I not doing many of the things I was advising, I was finding that I often wasn't even trained to do them... at least, to do them well.
That's where integrative medicine came in. I was fortunate enough to go through the formal fellowship training in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona's Center for Integrative Medicine, a program founded by Dr. Andrew Weil. It changed my life, both personally and professionally, and as I slowly started to incorporate some of the changes I was learning about into my own life, I found myself getting healthier and -- ultimate shock -- feeling better. As in, much, MUCH better!
Nutrition, mind-body therapies, herbs, a yoga mat, and a blender, among other things, were my primary interventions.
100 lbs off later....
(read that again)
....I stopped using a CPAP machine.
....I got rid of almost all my "superfat" clothes (Thank you, "Casual Male XXL," we had a great run.... Now please stop sending me your catalog!)
....I started running (OK, fast walking) and going to the gym regularly.
....I was able to play golf again without pain (although, curiously, losing weight did nothing to cure my wicked slice).
....I no longer felt ashamed going out in public or having photos taken of me.
....Oh, and I was able to get off of any and all medication that had ever been prescribed to me. Other than high-quality vitamins and supplements (including herbs and natural hormones when appropriate), I no longer needed to take any drugs prescribed by a doctor.
I changed my life. Yes, I’m still battling every day, but I have my life back! And I needed to share this with the world.
So I have started here in Orange County, CA. I hope to bring a new mindset in medicine that takes us back to basics in health care -- where "health" and "care" still really matter. That's why I founded CHARM Center for Healthy Aging & Regenerative Medicine. We want to help you reclaim your youth, restore your health, and regenerate your life! Please come join us and start your journey to total wellness transformation today.
If I can do it, so can you! And remember, I'm not just the doctor... I'm also a patient.
-Parish
Parish Vaidya, MD
Founder and Medical Director
CHARM Center for Healthy Aging & Regenerative Medicine
