John 16:13 says: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
I’ve been sitting with this verse this week and have been so thankful for the guidance of the Spirit. I’m thankful for the reminder that He knows the future and we have an advocate to guide us on the right path.
He Guides You into ALL Truth
Going to the doctor and being prescribed a medication has become the norm for our healthcare system. Anytime something is “off”, or a person just doesn’t feel quite right, the typical next step is to make an appointment with a doctor. At the doctor’s office, a description of symptoms is given to the doctor and the doctor matches a medication to the symptoms.
This way of practicing medicine is so commonplace, we don’t even question it. We trust our doctors because they are the expert. And they are smarter than us when it comes to what our own bodies need, right?
Why Did My Medication Sop Working?
Having a prescription and being on a medication long term is a part of many people’s physical and mental health treatment plan. If this is you, you know the frustration when taking a medication to control a symptom/symptoms works for a while, but then suddenly stops working. You have found temporary relief for months or even years and now you are struggling with the pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, autoimmune symptoms or another symptom you thought you had overcome by taking that pill every day.
There are many reasons your medications stop working. This is referred to as reduced efficacy with time and duration. Efficacy refers to how effective the medication is. To lose or reduce efficacy means the medication isn’t working or isn’t working as well as time goes. I’ve listed a few of the most common reasons:
- Building up tolerance: The body builds up a tolerance to medications and becomes used to them. Two reasons are thought the body can do this. One is the body can become less responsive over time. This is similar to tastebuds changing from not tolerating spicy foods to tolerating them. The second reason is the body has gotten very good at metabolizing, or breaking down, the medication and excreting it. When this happens, there isn’t as much in the bloodstream to be as effective.
- Constantly changing stressors: Life doesn’t stay the same once you get on a medication. You know the saying: the only thing that remains the same is change. So if the root cause of your symptoms is one stressor, you may develop another root cause from another stressor months or years later. This can worsen symptoms or even create new symptoms.
- Metabolic changes: Metabolic changes are changes your body makes as you age. This can include hormonal shifts, sleep habit changes, and digestive changes. All metabolic changes can create new stressors that worsen symptoms or create new symptoms.
What Now?
You now feel frustrated and a little hopeless because your medications stopped working so what other choice do you have than to go back to the doctor. The typical recommendations from your doctor will be one of three things: increase the dosage, change/add another medication, or take a short break and come back to the medication after a short time off.
These recommendations can be helpful and work, but again only temporarily. It’s a constant cycle that you don’t get off unless you make lifestyle changes.
What’s the Truth?
The reasons I listed for reduced efficacy in medications are valid. Yes those all can happen. But to me, what’s the truth? The truth is there is an underlying problem. A root cause. And until the root cause is solved, your symptoms won’t go away.
Symptoms are your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. Medication can be very helpful to relieve symptoms in the short term WHILE you fix the root cause. But they aren’t designed to BE the fix…just a band aid.
Your body is designed to thrive and will continue to scream at you, with symptoms, until you listen.
Looking Within
Many of us don’t think to bring in the Spirit to guide us on our health journey. I know I blindly followed my medical professionals for years before I became so frustrated and knew there was a better way. But remember, the Spirit knows the future and is our guide for everything.
I’d love to know…do you allow the Spirit of truth to guide your health decisions? Or do you trust your medical professional with all health decisions? Respond to this post to tell me where you find your health guidance. Any answer is ok, we all have to start somewhere.
