Lockport Chiropractor : Dr. Jill House
My Introduction To Chiropractic
When I was a kid, my mom worked at a hospital typing out doctors' notes. When my mom would bring me to work, or I ended up there waiting to see a doctor (I was a klutzy child) I would listen to the MD's tapes sometimes. Good thing there were no HIPPA laws back then. I thought it would be cool to work at a big hospital someday as I looked up to those important people who were always needed somewhere. I was totally clueless about chiropractic until my first year in college when I got a pain in my neck. The first place I went was the local MD who, without touching my neck, prescribed a pain med and muscle relaxer and sent me out the door. Luckily, a girl in my class had a chiropractor for a dad and told me how Chiropractic could help. Therefore, I remember what it is like getting adjusted for the first time as I didn't grow up with Chiropractic. I decided at that moment to become a Chiropractic doctor that could help you heal faster without synthetic drugs.
Using Chiropractic To Help Diagnosis Autoimmune Diseases
I also became a chiropractor for a more selfish reason. I am at risk for getting Autoimmune diseases that run in my family. My only memories of my grandmother were of her sick in bed, due to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and most likely undiagnosed thyroiditis. The favorite 'new' drug of the day was Prenisone. While it did help her feel better, the side effects as we now know years later, are deadly. My mom was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroid disease at 37 y.o. and then RA at 55 y.o. Luckily I had finished chiropractic school when I noticed I wasn't getting back to my old self four months after having our first child. My MD probably wrote off my symptoms as being a new mom, just like they did with my mom. Since my mom had a mild heart attack before they figured out it was her thyroid, I decided to do a finger prick test at home just to be sure. Unfortunately, I was right. I was 37 years old!
My Personal Quest
So my quest is how to find a way to turn off this process before I get RA. I think I may be on to something. Gluten/wheat intolerance. They have found at least two genes that make this condition hereditary. I did a food allergy test back in 1998 and worked at avoiding the things inc. wheat, gluten and dairy that it said I reacted to for a while, then because of lack of major symptoms and wishful thinking that maybe the allergy just went away, I began eating everything again. An even better test was revealed in April 2011 that was supposed to be much more accurate regarding wheat/gluten reactions than previous tests, so I retested and yes I am still reacting to it. Ugh! On a wheat gluten free diet as of August 3rd, 2011. As I often have seen in practice now, if adjustments don't help enough by themselves, something is going on with digestion. It may be lack of eating right or not being able to absorb what you do eat, or food 'allergies'.
Chiropractic Education
My education began with me attending a very unique and small private Christian school in Chicago from 1st to 8th grades. It was called Prince of Peace, and sadly has closed down due to lack of funds. Thank you Dr. Cindy Kuck for all you did running that school including having us get such excellent science classes. I loved my science classes in H.S. and even though I was accepted at Loyola medical school, I wanted Chiropractic for my profession because I found this field to be much more aligned with my philosophy and the Oath we would later take, "First, do no harm". The safety record for this branch of healing is much higher than those giving synthetics drugs or surgery. I chose National College of Chiropractic for my degree because of its strong scientific background. It had its own MRI machine, a big thing way back then for you young readers.
Family Is Important to Me
I married a wonderful man named Shane in 2003 and we had a girl, named Claire in 2007. Claire is a joy and we both love taking her on adventures. In her four years so far she has been to Mississippi, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Florida, and a cross country road trip from Seattle to Yellowstone and back home again. We like to have game night (non-electronic) with friends and family. I enjoy reading, gardening, photography, and visiting friends.
Living The Chiropractic Lifestyle
In my personal experience with chiropractic adjustments, I find once a month visits helps me stay at my best. After having been adjusted a lot in college, I usually only need 2 x week for 2 weeks then 1 x week for a couple weeks to fix any flare up I may have. I have to admit I have less backaches when I keep up with my core exercises, which helps me deal with leaning over patients all day. Chiropractic has helped me learn of a whole new world of optional treatments for problems, ones with less side effects and greater benefit than what is being told to people through T.V. and old school MDs. As part of my family's quest to stop this autoimmune problem from showing up in my daughter too, we have elected to not vaccinate her at all. She has never had antibiotics and only once did I have to give her Tylenol during a fever. She didn't get the skin problems I had as a child and so far has only mild environmental allergies, which rarely need medication. Of course I adjust her too, from the time she was 4 months old. She didn't have any problems before that and we were able to deliver her naturally, with just a supportive midwife. I was really glad for those pelvic adjustments to help me be flexible when I needed it most!
Enough about me! How can we help you with today’s safe and natural treatment options? Give us a call so we can help you take your first step towards better health.
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