Western Medicine mentality is "Pills are the answer! Please give me more!"

In this society the solution to every mental and health problem is medication. No one ever gets to the root of the problem to really help people heal. With medication you're just switching one problem for another. Don't get me wrong. There are definitely benefits to modern medicine. I myself have reaped those benefits. But when is time to question our doctors when they tell us we need to be on medication for years? For me it was after my brain surgery.

I was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 9. The doctors told me that I would have this condition for the rest of my life. Over the years I was switched from one pill to the next like Tegretol (I gained 20 pounds), Lamictal (I broke out in hives), and Keppra (Which may have induced my depression). After 12 years of being on medication my seizures were not abled to be controlled. After college I finally decided to look into brain surgery. According to the doctors at UCLA I was a perfect candidate.

When they rolled me into the operating room I was cheering with a smile on my face. I'm sure the doctors had never seen anyone so happy to get their head sliced open before. I knew this was going to work. I was going to be free of seizures and finally off medication!

After surgery my doctors told me that I still had to remain on medication for 2 years. Why? In case the seizure come back. My doctor had me on 1,500mg of Keppra twice a day! This was the dosage I was taking before surgery. I began to question my doctor. After all I didn't spend all those months of prepping then undergoing a 6 hour surgery just to be back where I started. I decided to take 500mg once a day. How did I decide this? The pills were 500mg pills. I figured one pill a day was all I needed. Not 6 like the doctor ordered. 

When I hit the 2 year mark my doctor asked how I was doing. I said I was fine and I told her the dosage I had been taking. She said, "Wow! That is hardly anything....but if it works for you, continue doing it." When asked when I could stop taking the pills she said that because I still had auras (The warning someone gets before they have an episode) I had to keep taking medication possibly for the rest of my life. I said okay and that was the last time I saw her. Eventually I took one pill every other day then once a week then once every other week until I stopped completely. 6 years later I am still completely seizure and medication free!