Dr. Dick, last summer I came to see you again to see what could possibly be done about my back pain that I’ve had for a number of years. I was tired of physical therapy and all the other things I’ve tried without a lot of success and asked if you could possibly come up with any other ideas short of surgery. I was practically desperate and so tired of the nagging pain. Long story short, you talked me into drinking milk, explaining that taking calcium supplements is not always the most effective way to get calcium. I don’t like milk, so you strongly encouraged me to try almond milk. So starting last summer, I started drinking 1 or 2 large glasses of almond milk a day. After several weeks or months, I started to notice the pain decreasing. Although it is not completely gone, it has decreased a lot, and I think it still is decreasing. And to top it off, I just had my bone density done again, and since a year ago, that is better as well. I did not know bone density could get better. According to the report from my doctor, it increased in my lumbar spine by 2.3% and in my left hip by 1.1%. To me, this is a small miracle! I plan to continue drinking almond milk. I hope that in time, the problem might be completely gone! (The original diagnosis was bulging disk between L4 and L5.) Thank you for such excellent advice!
