CHAPTER 4

An Alternate Route

From the list given to me by Sandra Cabot, I could possibly consult with a doctor in Yepoon or doctors in Brisbane. It meant leaving the practise of my Townsville doctor as he was not willing to continue my care if I decided to go ahead and trial unsupported TGA authorised medications. This would be a huge loss to me as I had built up a good relationship of trust with him over the years but one I could understandbly accept if I had been in his position. But my mind was made up, my beliefs in a more natural alternative a better option for me.

I lived at the time in Townsville, and Brisbane was way more doable than Yepoon. So appointments were made, and air flights booked to and from Brisbane. This was going to be an expensive exercise but I believed it was a small price to pay in taking control of what was hopefully right for me.

One month later with leave taken from work, I found myself boarding a plane for Brisbane. It was a huge day especially for someone not too familiar with Brisbane. I had lived in Brisbane previously but getting around the city on public transport was not a familiar practise for me. The skytrain had not long commenced services transporting travellers between the Brisbane airport and Roma Street from where I then had to catch another train to Coorparoo and walk several blocks to my appointment. I could have taken a taxi but I was conscious of trying to keep costs to a minimum as I didn't know what financial outlays were still ahead of me.

The doctor was very enlightening and although not willing to prescribe exactly what Dr Lee had suggested, he did recommend a more natural alternative of estrogens and progesterone to be made by a compounding chemist. The medication still involved initial product material manipulation but it was supposedly derived from plant sources and so hopefully better for me than purely synthatised products. Before I could commence on my new medication regime, it required me to cease all hormone treatment for 1 month and then have blood tests to ascertain my current hormone blood levels. These results were sent to my doctor in Brisbane who then faxed a 'designer-made' script to a compounding chemist somewhere in New South Wales. From here the compounded medications were forwarded to me via air express on receipt of my payment of the medications and transport costs. It was a huge exercise .... really huge. I marvelled at how it all came together without a hitch time and time again as long as I was organised enough and diligently followed all the steps in the Brisbane exercise with pre-trip blood tests every six months. In between this I did regular blood tests through a pathologist in Townsville and which the Brisbane doctor monitored with adjustments to the script as required.

Financially it was a huge outlay for me as apart from the doctors' visit being covered partially by Medicare, everything else was a personal outlay and not covered in any shape or form. It was alternative medication - natural and untested - no fund wanted to touch it with a ten foot pole. Sometimes I began to think about how much it was going to cost me long term  and quickly changed my line of thought assuring myself that surely something would 'come up' soon to make it all the more affordable. But it was sometimes hard to ignore the huge financial outlay and forsaking holidays because of my wanting a more natural user friendly alternative.

Health wise I couldn't complain. It was a vast improvement on what I had previously experienced. Many of the symptoms  I had endured for so long had now basically totally disappeared. I no longer suffered from severe headaches, mood swings, and cyclical bloating. My weight was still way beyond what was considered healthy but I hadn't really tried to address this issue and knew it would now take more than natural medications to remove.

It was by no small coincidence that around this time there appeared reports on the long term effects of taking 'the pill' and the increased chances of ovarian and breast cancer to name but a few of the evils. It didn't mean that what I was taking was any better - actually, being natural medication there was just no evidence or testing as to the long term effect of this medication - but I convinced myself it had to be an improvement on the synthetic version of what I had taken for years and my justification for it's taking and the costs.

And then a welcoming event - a compounding chemist opened her doors in Townsville.