Dr. Robert Romanelli’s Story
MY STORY
Thanks for visiting my website. It may appear that two separate practices chiropractic and lifestyle medicine. Actually the goals of both chiropractic and lifestyle medicine are the same- finding the root cause of pain or health issue.
I practice lifestyle medicine because of an intense personal situation. I was in my first few years practice with two small children and a wife that was a true soulmate. In a short period of time this perfect life had completely changed. My wife became critically ill with an unknown illness, no diagnosis. For a lack of any other treatment she was prescribed antibiotics and prednisone for over a year. She became so lethargic and unable to take care of our children. Her lab tests revealed that her liver was shutting down due to the drugs. We visited 2 liver doctors, hepatologists. Both doctors recommended a liver transplant. I spent hours every day trying to find the cause for disease and now a liver transplant.
While we were deciding on whether to go ahead with a liver transplant I came across a liver detoxification program developed by Dr. Jeffrey Bland who is now known as the father of functional medicine. I went to the seminar and administered the treatment my wife. Within 4 weeks while still taking the medication for her liver was normal. Her energy returned and was able to take care of our children.
After over 2 years the diagnosis was a rare form of cancer. I often think back that if she had a liver transplant and was prescribed antirejection drugs which weakens the immune system, the cancer would’ve spread like wildfire. Unfortunately she did finally pass away. Here’s the real kicker. If I knew how to find the root cause of her illness, as I do now, she might be still alive.
I don’t want anybody to go through that situation if I could help it. I’m sure there are hundreds of people with similar stories. If it’s back pain or a chronic health issue the root cause must be found in order to develop an effective treatment. Over 75% of our healthcare dollars are spent on chronic illnesses which there is no cure. Back pain is the number 1 cause of disability. Endless drugs, tests and procedures none of them directed at fixing the cause of the problem. I think about the people with chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases of all types, high blood pressure, dementia, depression, digestive diseases, gastric reflux and the list goes on. And what is the treatment for any of these diseases, suppression of symptoms and watching numbers on a lab report. What about the patient? What about quality of life?
Here is the connection of chiropractic and lifestyle medicine. The root cause must be found 1st. If you have lower back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain any type of musculoskeletal pain and also have diabetes your recovery will be slow and may not be complete. Addressing diet and lifestyle improving diabetes and your overall health will short your treatment for your musculoskeletal pain. We all have to stop thinking of illnesses by their diagnosis. Oh I have diabetes, I have high blood pressure, I have brain fog. All of these issues are interconnected. My brain only thinks of patient in front of me and all the issues that are affecting his or her health.
Can you imagine if my wife had a liver transplant? They would be endless medications to prevent rejection, constant testing. The antirejection medications leave you susceptible to all types of viruses and bacteria, autoimmune diseases and cancer. It was definitely worth the 4 weeks of changing diet and using a medical food product.