Skeptic Didn’t Think It Would Work. He Tried It Anyway.
Dr. John Erickson, DC | Laser & Chiropractic Center of the Rockies | Loveland, CO
Case 011 | Series Post #11
He Was Very Skeptical
He told me so directly. That’s the kind of patient I respect.
He had been getting allergy shots. They worked – for a while, after each round. Then the symptoms came back and he’d need another round. He was tired of the cycle.
He didn’t believe NAET would be any different. He came anyway.
A Man Attached to His Tissue Box
He was 45. Constant sinus pressure and drainage. Not seasonal – constant. He had come to think of his tissue box as a permanent accessory.
Dust was his worst trigger. He was so sensitive to it that he could not be in the same room as his wife while she vacuumed. It would trigger a sinus reaction so severe it left him miserable. Outside, any blowing wind or dust made things worse.
He had been managing with allergy shots. They covered the symptoms temporarily but never resolved anything permanently. Each round bought him time, then the ceiling came back.
He came in skeptical and said so. I appreciated the honesty. We ran testing, confirmed multiple sensitivities with dust as the most significant, and began the foundational NAET protocol.
After the First Treatment, Something Shifted
He came back after his first treatment and reported that the intensity of his allergies appeared to be lessening.
He was careful about it. Tentative. He didn’t want to get ahead of himself.
By the time we had completed the foundational Basics, he could enjoy being outside. And he could push the vacuum around – much to the pleasure of his wife.
He went from unable to be in the same room during vacuuming to being the one doing it. That is a measurable change in daily life.
The Shots Were Managing the Reaction – Not Addressing It
Initial assessment confirmed significant reactivity to dust and multiple other environmental sensitivities. The pattern was consistent with what his allergy shots had been targeting – but the shots had been interrupting the reaction without changing the underlying signal.
In NAET, we work with the neurological signal associated with the body’s response to a substance – not just the downstream chemical cascade. Allergy shots introduce small amounts of allergen to desensitize the immune system through repeated exposure. NAET addresses the nervous system’s encoding of the substance as a threat.
These are different mechanisms working on different parts of the same problem.
For a related case – a patient whose medication was making her condition worse – see Case 008.
Patient-Reported: Outdoors Again, Vacuuming Again
After the first treatment, he reported a noticeable reduction in the intensity of his allergy symptoms. He was careful and measured about it – consistent with how he had entered the process.
By the completion of the foundational Basics, he reported being able to spend time outdoors without the constant sinus reaction that had previously made outside miserable.
He reported being able to vacuum – something he had been unable to do in the same room as his wife. She confirmed this development.
Skepticism Is Reasonable. So Is Asking What Conventional Care Isn’t Doing.
His skepticism was fair. He had been through a cycle of allergy shots that never fully resolved anything. His question – what makes this different – is exactly the right question.
Research in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has documented that neurons and immune cells are physically colocalized throughout the body’s tissues, communicating in real time.[1] The bidirectional nervous-immune communication system is what NAET engages. Allergy shots work on the immune side of that equation. NAET works on the nervous system’s encoding of the allergen as a threat.
Research published in the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology has also confirmed that the nervous and immune systems regulate each other reciprocally.[2] Addressing only one side of a bidirectional system leaves the other side untouched.
He Came in Skeptical. He Left Able to Vacuum.
He didn’t walk in believing this would work. He walked in willing to try.
That willingness – even in the presence of doubt – is enough to get started. I don’t need patients to believe in NAET. I need them to show up.
If you’ve been managing allergies for years with approaches that work temporarily and then stop – skepticism is a reasonable response. So is asking whether a different mechanism might get a different result. If you want to understand how the mechanism actually works, start with this.
— Dr. John Erickson, DC | Laser & Chiropractic Center of the Rockies | Loveland, Colorado
To learn more about NAET at Laser & Chiropractic Center of the Rockies, visit laserchirorockies.com or call 970-412-3212.
Individual results vary. This story is de-identified and shared with permission. It represents a reported patient experience and is not a guarantee of outcome. NAET is a complementary wellness approach and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.
[1] Veiga-Fernandes, H. & Artis, D. “Neuro-Immune Crosstalk and Allergic Inflammation.” J Clin Invest. 2019;129(4):1475-1482. PMC: PMC6436850. DOI: 10.1172/JCI124609
[2] Montoro, J. et al. “Stress and Allergy.” J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2009;19 Suppl 1:40-47. PMID: 19476053.