Biography for Dr. David Bird
Disclaimer. This web site is for research and educational purposes only. The information given in this site is not intended to replace a therapeutic practitioner relationship.
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Hiking is one of my hobbies. This picture is near the summit of Mt. Cathedral, East of Melbourne.
I'm going to give my health journey first in this Bio so readers know better where I am coming from. Then comes the academic stuff. |
My Health Journey
Everyone's life, whether they are conscious of it or not, is a health journey. No one has perfect health as I would define it, but we are all in need of growing, healing and adjustment in certain areas whether they be physical, spiritual, mental or social. Our situation changes as we travel through life. Some travel a more rocky road then others. Our decisions have a lot to do with our journey, but also often things happen that we have little or no control over. Some health issues are full of meaning and others appear meaningless and empty of all but pain. I am not able to explain everything, either in my own life or others but I do believe in and enjoy seeking for solutions and answers. They often can be found. On this page I share my personal journey in an open and honest way -- the challenges, the answers and the things still not answered.
In childhood I suffered from the classic infections of my time like mumps, measles and chicken pox. I probably had an issue with eating too much dairy products and sugar because I developed glue ear and ended up having my swollen adenoids removed when about 7 years old. As a child, I was a chocaholic and ate a fairly standard omnivorous diet. I consumed a lot of sugar. When I was 13 my older brother became a vegetarian and I decided to give it a go too. I enjoyed it and have continued to be on a plant-based diet. Our mother was very accommodating and allowed us to come into the kitchen to make our meat alternatives. Not long after this I stopped drinking caffeine beverages and cut down on chocolate, eventually giving it up completely and changing to carob-based products.
At the age of 13-14 I went through a period of major stress involving bullying on a school bus. I believe that this resulted in some hormonal imbalances that led to severe acne on my back. Eventually this ended up with me taking tetracycline antibiotics daily for about three years. I did not know anything about the problems associated with long term antibiotics or alternative treatments as a teenager. I believe that the combination of stress and antibiotics may have resulted in the development of what I call 'Staph Toxin Illness' with symptoms of fatigue and mild fibromyalgia. I did not find the cause or answers to this until decades later. Another thing that occurred when I was 13-14 was a strong tendency to develop chilblains, especially on my hands. This appeared to be associated with a lower body temperature than normal. I still suffer from a tendency to chilblains in winter. My body temperature is still below normal, but it does not seem to affect my health much, which is strange. I have done all sorts of things to try and correct this low temperature.
I was brought up in a secular home. My interest in spiritual health began when I was nearly 16. I was having problems with my eyes and, not finding help from mainstream medicine, I went to the local library to see if I could find a book on faith healing. I did not find exactly what I was looking for, but I did find a book called “Faith is the Answer”. This book introduced me to the idea of praying to a loving Father in heaven and of trusting in God, even when you don't understand what is going on. It was a radical thought to me. But I tried it and found it helped. I started reading the Bible and began to realise that the evolutionary theories that I had previously accepted were based on unproven assumptions. Finally, I met Jesus Christ and found my spiritual health needs were fully met. I have not had any reason to look further ever since. Two of the most helpful books to me in my journey, other than the Bible, were "Steps to Christ" and "The Great Controversy". My eye problem cleared up. Between the ages of 16 and 19 I looked around at different Christian churches. When I was 20 I joined the Seventh-day Adventist church. The health-conscious approach of this church community helped solidify some of my previous experiences with vegetarianism and being careful with addictive substances.
At about the same time that I read the book “Faith is the Answer” I also tried transcendental meditation which had been recommended to me by an optometrist. I got my own personal mantra and instructions sent to me in the mail from an organisation that promoted meditation. I sat with my back to the wall for about half an hour in the morning and used to go over this mantra. But I did not continue with TM due to the fact that meditating on life principles from my Bible study was proving more helpful to me than emptying my mind in trance meditation.
Life was not all easy after I found my spiritual rest. Unfortunately, I became a fanatic and entertained a kind of 'salvation by diet' for two or three of years. I became very thin and focused way too much on my stomach and what I was eating. I tended to isolate myself and eat on my own. In the end I got sore knees from malnutrition and went to my local GP when I was in my 6th Year of med school and said, “I think I'm underweight and have got sore knees as a result”. He advised blood testing. I got a call from him saying he needed to send me to a haematologist because of changes in my blood. I went and sat in front of this haematologist who was wearing a white coat. I will never forget his words. “David, the changes we see in your blood are what we find in folk with bad anorexia or who are starving in Africa”. My immediate thought was, “David, you have been a fool”. This experience cured me of the worst of my fanaticism. The rest cleared up gradually, especially after I got married and stopped eating most of my meals on my own.
I know about dental disasters. I needlessly spent $4000 on dental work in 1998 that I later found out was totally unnecessary. My problem was not a 'micro-crack' that required root canal therapy and then (after this failed) a dental implant (which also failed due to a dentist 'unscrewing' it). I ended up with a hole in my mouth and in my wallet. Actually the problem was simply tooth grinding - which the dentist missed.
In 1998 I also discovered that I had bad osteoporosis of the spine and elsewhere. I had climbed up a mountain and got a sore back. I went to a colleague and he suggested a plain X-ray. The X-ray showed up the osteoporosis. I believe this was related to my dietary fanaticism and the long term tetracycline. I have largely managed to treat this over the years with natural things like exercise and mineral supplements.
Very happily married since 1992 with two grown children. I like hiking, biking, gardening and doing odd jobs around the house. I am interested in Bible prophecy, world events and, I guess not surprisingly, lifestyle and preventative medicine.
In childhood I suffered from the classic infections of my time like mumps, measles and chicken pox. I probably had an issue with eating too much dairy products and sugar because I developed glue ear and ended up having my swollen adenoids removed when about 7 years old. As a child, I was a chocaholic and ate a fairly standard omnivorous diet. I consumed a lot of sugar. When I was 13 my older brother became a vegetarian and I decided to give it a go too. I enjoyed it and have continued to be on a plant-based diet. Our mother was very accommodating and allowed us to come into the kitchen to make our meat alternatives. Not long after this I stopped drinking caffeine beverages and cut down on chocolate, eventually giving it up completely and changing to carob-based products.
At the age of 13-14 I went through a period of major stress involving bullying on a school bus. I believe that this resulted in some hormonal imbalances that led to severe acne on my back. Eventually this ended up with me taking tetracycline antibiotics daily for about three years. I did not know anything about the problems associated with long term antibiotics or alternative treatments as a teenager. I believe that the combination of stress and antibiotics may have resulted in the development of what I call 'Staph Toxin Illness' with symptoms of fatigue and mild fibromyalgia. I did not find the cause or answers to this until decades later. Another thing that occurred when I was 13-14 was a strong tendency to develop chilblains, especially on my hands. This appeared to be associated with a lower body temperature than normal. I still suffer from a tendency to chilblains in winter. My body temperature is still below normal, but it does not seem to affect my health much, which is strange. I have done all sorts of things to try and correct this low temperature.
I was brought up in a secular home. My interest in spiritual health began when I was nearly 16. I was having problems with my eyes and, not finding help from mainstream medicine, I went to the local library to see if I could find a book on faith healing. I did not find exactly what I was looking for, but I did find a book called “Faith is the Answer”. This book introduced me to the idea of praying to a loving Father in heaven and of trusting in God, even when you don't understand what is going on. It was a radical thought to me. But I tried it and found it helped. I started reading the Bible and began to realise that the evolutionary theories that I had previously accepted were based on unproven assumptions. Finally, I met Jesus Christ and found my spiritual health needs were fully met. I have not had any reason to look further ever since. Two of the most helpful books to me in my journey, other than the Bible, were "Steps to Christ" and "The Great Controversy". My eye problem cleared up. Between the ages of 16 and 19 I looked around at different Christian churches. When I was 20 I joined the Seventh-day Adventist church. The health-conscious approach of this church community helped solidify some of my previous experiences with vegetarianism and being careful with addictive substances.
At about the same time that I read the book “Faith is the Answer” I also tried transcendental meditation which had been recommended to me by an optometrist. I got my own personal mantra and instructions sent to me in the mail from an organisation that promoted meditation. I sat with my back to the wall for about half an hour in the morning and used to go over this mantra. But I did not continue with TM due to the fact that meditating on life principles from my Bible study was proving more helpful to me than emptying my mind in trance meditation.
Life was not all easy after I found my spiritual rest. Unfortunately, I became a fanatic and entertained a kind of 'salvation by diet' for two or three of years. I became very thin and focused way too much on my stomach and what I was eating. I tended to isolate myself and eat on my own. In the end I got sore knees from malnutrition and went to my local GP when I was in my 6th Year of med school and said, “I think I'm underweight and have got sore knees as a result”. He advised blood testing. I got a call from him saying he needed to send me to a haematologist because of changes in my blood. I went and sat in front of this haematologist who was wearing a white coat. I will never forget his words. “David, the changes we see in your blood are what we find in folk with bad anorexia or who are starving in Africa”. My immediate thought was, “David, you have been a fool”. This experience cured me of the worst of my fanaticism. The rest cleared up gradually, especially after I got married and stopped eating most of my meals on my own.
I know about dental disasters. I needlessly spent $4000 on dental work in 1998 that I later found out was totally unnecessary. My problem was not a 'micro-crack' that required root canal therapy and then (after this failed) a dental implant (which also failed due to a dentist 'unscrewing' it). I ended up with a hole in my mouth and in my wallet. Actually the problem was simply tooth grinding - which the dentist missed.
In 1998 I also discovered that I had bad osteoporosis of the spine and elsewhere. I had climbed up a mountain and got a sore back. I went to a colleague and he suggested a plain X-ray. The X-ray showed up the osteoporosis. I believe this was related to my dietary fanaticism and the long term tetracycline. I have largely managed to treat this over the years with natural things like exercise and mineral supplements.
Very happily married since 1992 with two grown children. I like hiking, biking, gardening and doing odd jobs around the house. I am interested in Bible prophecy, world events and, I guess not surprisingly, lifestyle and preventative medicine.
Education and Work Experience
Education: Graduated as a medical doctor from Auckland University in 1990. Diploma in Clinical Nutrition, 1996. Fellow of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine in 1997. Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2005. My special areas of interest, with post graduate studies, are nutritional and environmental medicine. As part of environmental medicine I have been seeing patients with ME/CFS, fibromyalgia and sickness as a result of mould exposure. Now also 'long Covid' patients.
Work experience:
Part of 1989: Rural hospital work in remote Papua New Guinea. This is when I found out that I was not a 'blood and guts' doctor.
1990-1991: Hospital based work in New Zealand.
1992-1999: Very busy rural general practice in New Zealand.
1999-2005: Part time general practice and part time nutritional and lifestyle medicine in NSW, Australia. My special interest in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and related disorders began in about 1999. My interest in CFS did, however, predate 1999 because in the year 1994 the GP I was working with in New Zealand took a whole year off from work because of a CFS-like illness.
2005-2012: Residential lifestyle doctor at Highwood Lifestyle Retreat. Supervised inpatient programs. Also ran a CFS outpatient service.
2011-2014: Part time work at a GP after hours clinic in Melbourne.
2012-present: Integrative General Practice at the National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM) with a special interest in CFS, fibromyalgia and related disorders.
Objectives:
My aim is to listen carefully to my patients, many of whom have complex health journeys, and to formulate a management plan in collaboration with them. I like to give written notes at the end of consultations so that my patients can better remember the plan we have decided on. The goal is to minimise the risk of side-effects while maximising the chances of positive results. I like to think of my patients from a whole person point of view - cultural, psychological, physical, social, vocational, spiritual. If I make a mistake I want to do my best to rectify things and always communicate in an open and honest way. I strive to conduct my practice in harmony with the Medical Board of Australia's "Good medical practice: A code of conduct for doctors in Australia".
Work experience:
Part of 1989: Rural hospital work in remote Papua New Guinea. This is when I found out that I was not a 'blood and guts' doctor.
1990-1991: Hospital based work in New Zealand.
1992-1999: Very busy rural general practice in New Zealand.
1999-2005: Part time general practice and part time nutritional and lifestyle medicine in NSW, Australia. My special interest in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and related disorders began in about 1999. My interest in CFS did, however, predate 1999 because in the year 1994 the GP I was working with in New Zealand took a whole year off from work because of a CFS-like illness.
2005-2012: Residential lifestyle doctor at Highwood Lifestyle Retreat. Supervised inpatient programs. Also ran a CFS outpatient service.
2011-2014: Part time work at a GP after hours clinic in Melbourne.
2012-present: Integrative General Practice at the National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM) with a special interest in CFS, fibromyalgia and related disorders.
Objectives:
My aim is to listen carefully to my patients, many of whom have complex health journeys, and to formulate a management plan in collaboration with them. I like to give written notes at the end of consultations so that my patients can better remember the plan we have decided on. The goal is to minimise the risk of side-effects while maximising the chances of positive results. I like to think of my patients from a whole person point of view - cultural, psychological, physical, social, vocational, spiritual. If I make a mistake I want to do my best to rectify things and always communicate in an open and honest way. I strive to conduct my practice in harmony with the Medical Board of Australia's "Good medical practice: A code of conduct for doctors in Australia".
Images and content © D. Bird 2017