Our Introduction to Chiropractic Care
Where to begin? Dr. Patrick Baker, chiropractic care and the Maximized lifestyle have impacted our family in so many ways.
It all began about a year and a half ago in February of 2013. My husband’s boss was being treated by Baker Chiropractic and Wellness and seeing improvements in many areas of his life. He was so convinced of the benefits of chiropractic care that he suggested we give it a try as well.
He told us of many patients he heard talking about how much it had helped their children with ADD/ADHD as well as kids who were patients that were so excited about their own improvements. Our teenage son, Jake, has ADHD and had been on medication since he was in 2nd grade for this as well as seasonal allergies. So we decided that we would at least check into it for ourselves as well as for our son.
Skeptical of Chiropractic Care At First, But Then It Was Explained
As you will hear many people say…we were very skeptical. My husband, Gary, was having some back, neck and shoulder pain and bouts with acid reflux that he was treating more and more frequently with medication. He also developed a pretty annoying case of vertigo. I have had several knee surgeries and as a result have felt “out of balance” which caused some lower back, hip and even neck pain.
I also have tennis elbow that bothers me from time to time and had been struggling with it for over a year and just couldn’t get relief. So again, with much skepticism, we decided to give Baker Chiropractic and Wellness a try.
Right off the bat we were impressed with how well they explained everything to you. They talked about how chiropractic care works, what causes problems, why doing what they do helps and what your treatment plan would be. They do x-rays and other tests that show you concrete proof of what is wrong with your spine and how they plan to correct it.
We could see how chiropractic care could help with aches and pains but through educating their patients we began to understand how it could also help so many other things such as ADHD, acid reflux, headaches, allergies, vertigo, etc.
Elimination of ADHD and Allergy Medications
By April of 2013 we stopped giving Jake his ADHD medication as well as his seasonal allergy medication. A few times over the previous 9 years we had tried to stop the ADHD medication with no success. I am happy to say that he has now been off ALL medications for 15 months! He is a much happier kid and we are much happier parents. Having to give your child medication everyday was never what we wanted. I wish we would have known what a difference seeing a chiropractor would have made for him so much sooner.
He is now 17 and is so convinced of the benefits of chiropractic care and loves it so much that he told Dr. Patrick he wanted to work for him someday. To his surprise, Doc asked him to join the team this spring and Jake has found a new path for his life. We are now looking into undergraduate school and then Palmer College of Chiropractic in four years. I think he has found his passion and what he wants to do with the rest of his life. I can’t even explain the positive impact Dr. Patrick has had on Jake! He is a great doctor but also a very kind and caring person. All of the staff is. Jake primarily works with Dr. Brock and he has taken him under his wing and has been instrumental in not only Jake’s health but also his passion for his work.
The love for what they do is clear every time you are there. I have never seen either of the docs in a bad mood. The atmosphere is always cheerful and happy. I think surrounding yourself with this kind of energy adds another level to healing and health.
Pain Relief and No More Acid Reflux or Vertigo
Gary and I have also seen much success with Dr. Patrick. Gary has almost no lower back, shoulder or neck pain. He has not taken any acid reflux medication since we have been receiving treatment. And the vertigo is almost completely gone. My tennis elbow was gone after just a few visits and my aches and pains have almost all disappeared. I say almost because we all sleep funny or twist something occasionally and have some pains but a few adjustments later and you are feeling like a million bucks. Another pleasant surprise was relief from migraines. I was not one to have migraines all the time but I did get them once a month to a few times a month. I have had a total of 2 in the last year and a half!
After seeing the improvements the three of us were realizing, we talked our oldest daughter, Becca, into giving it a try as well. She had been suffering from severe headaches for quite some time. She had trips to the emergency room, visits to the family doctor, neurologists, and a multitude of tests and medications that gave her no relief or good explanation as to the cause of her headaches.
She was away at college at the time so coming in for frequent visits was kind of difficult but she visited the Doc when she was home on break or home for a short visits and of course while she was home for the summer. She saw improvements in her headaches right away. She is still away at school and was not home over the summer so hasn’t been able to squeeze in as many visits as she would like but she still sees much improvement in the frequency and severity of her headaches. I am convinced if she were able to receive adjustments on a more regular basis she would be completely headache free. She is still quite happy with the improvement thus far.
This brings us to the final member of our family, Libbi. Libbi has been a competitive volleyball player since she was 9 years old. She is now entering her sophomore year playing for Thomas More College. She is very active and has stayed pretty fit but the wear and tear of her workouts for so many years had lead to some back pain. She was the last one to jump on the chiropractic care band wagon as quite honestly she thought it looked a little scary. She was nervous but finally decide to give it a try when her back was really bothering her and limiting some of her work outs. With her schedule, being away at college and volleyball she was also limited in the number of visits she could squeeze in. She saw immediate improvements and now squeezes adjustments in when ever she is home for visits as well as regular appointments over the summer. Her last X-rays show an almost picture perfect spine and she is very proud of that and feeling great!!
A New Way of Life
And now for the last way Baker Chiropractic and Wellness has impacted our lives. Gary and I have talked about trying to change the way we eat for years. We both felt like eating healthier would make us feel better as well as help us lose weight. Our attempts at weight loss or eating healthy through the years were not very successful. Trying to navigate the grocery store and food packaging to try to figure what was healthy or good to eat was overwhelming. When Jake started working for Baker Chiropractic in the spring he also decided he wanted to try to eat healthier. Doc sent him home with the book he and his brother wrote: What Did I Just Eat. I started to read the book and couldn’t put it down. I finished it the next morning and that afternoon cleaned out our pantry and refrigerator.
We have been eating a much healthier whole food diet. We have cut out sugar, refined salt and processed food, among other things. At first you think that sounds impossible to do but it really isn’t that hard. You see improvements in how you feel very quickly and weight loss happens as a pleasant side effect so continuing to eat healthy is pretty easy. We still have days that are not so healthy….vacation, family get togethers, etc. While these breaks are kind of fun occasionally, you see that you don’t feel as well afterwards so getting back on track to healthy eating is not a problem. We feel better over all and Gary has lost 20 lbs. I have lost 30 lbs so far.
As you can see….Dr. Patrick, Dr. Brock and the Baker Chiropractic and Wellness staff have had a very large impact on the quality of life in the Giuliano family. We are all very thankful for the wonderful care we have received and the improvements we feel daily. We are very happy to be part of the Baker Chiropractic family!*
– Patti Giuliano
*Please note, there is no guarantee of specific results with our care and results may vary. Please contact us to discuss your specific condition.