UNHAPPY about having to take maintenance drugs for life, more and more patients who have been diagnosed with heart conditions, diabetes, menopause symptoms and other illnesses are seeking alternative remedies and treatments.
But those seeking remedies outside Western or traditional medicine include doctors and nurses too. A Harvard Medical School study reveals that as many as six million Americans used an alternative therapy after a doctor recommended it. Another report in the journal Health Service Research adds that doctors and nurses themselves are likely to try out alternative medicine themselves.
In the Philippines, one of the most popular proponents of intravenous therapy and the use of vitamin supplements and plant-based bioidentical hormones to replace the usual regime of maintenance drugs that come with Western medicine is Dr. Cris Enriquez of Rapha Health based in Greenbelt 5 in Makati. He also has clinics in Antipolo, Lipa City and Quezon City.
One particular morning in his clinic, he sees a female patient with an alarming blood pressure of 180/120 but appears unfazed. He confidently tells the patient to finish her chores and to come back two hours later for an intravenous treatment of vitamin B complex, vitamin C and minerals he calls the Rapha Cocktail.
The “cocktail”represents a new wave of alternative treatments sought by patients tired of being subjected to drugs and more drugs. Here’s a description of the therapy and other alternative protocols used by Enriquez who is a Yale University-trained member of the American College of Cardiology.
Enriquez relates that since he discovered the effectivity of this mix of vitamins and minerals, he is no longer wary of the aforementioned emergency situations. Just one dose taken intravenously of this mix of vitamins, B, C and E and minerals based on a formulation called Myers Cocktail from Johns Hopkins Hospital quickly de-stresses the patient. “It quickly normalizes in 30 minutes hormones from the adrenal glands. It lowers cortisol levels and relaxes blood vessels,” says Enriquez who has administered this with good result on thousands of patients both in Florida and in the Philippines where he moved five years ago. By his estimate, he has personally had over 500 infusions of this cocktail through the years.
He relates that his highly stressful career as a cardiologist in Florida predisposed him to cardiovascular disease and a bypass surgery in the ‘90s. A painful recovery and the realization that all his drug-based therapies would not ensure a cure lead him to explore alternative treatments. Chelation or intravenous therapy using a variety of infusions has helped the 73-year-old physician remain asymptomatic and medicine-free since then.
Enriquez added the common denominator of most diseases from hypertension to diabetes to stroke is the inflammation of the arteries. Taken intravenously, EDTA cleans the blood vessels of plaque and other gunk making it more elastic. Thus, it is a widely used protocol in Rapha Health in Makati and its branches in Quezon City and Antipolo for many illnesses. Nevertheless, Enriquez reports that 15 percent of all patients will not respond positively to chelation.
A new generation of plant-based hormones that mimic those of the human body and has no discernible side effects are changing the lives of many female patients at Rapha Health. Women who complain about uncharacteristic moodiness, sleeplessness, vaginal dryness leading to painful sex and other common symptoms are subjected to a blood test to determine their hormonal deficiencies. They are then prescribed specific hormones to treat imbalances i.e. very high estrogen and low progesterone may lead to breast and cervical cancer. Low thyroid levels, on the other hand, could lead to obesity, heart disease and loss of energy. Many of them usually feel and sleep better in a few weeks time.