Archive for the ‘Chronic Pain’ Category

Solutions for 10 Common Health Concerns

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

Since I opened the doors of the Whitaker Wellness Institute in 1979, I’ve been fine-tuning my treatment approaches for a variety of common health concerns. And for the last two decades, I’ve shared these protocols with the thousands of patients that came to the clinic. I’ve compiled a simple, at-a-glance list of supplements and other therapies for 10 common health problems. Remember, these recommendations should be added to a potent daily multivitamin and mineral supplement, a healthy diet, and regular exercise.

Doses listed are for daily consumption and should be taken in divided doses with meals unless otherwise noted.

Age-Related Memory Loss

*Acetyl-l-carnitine 1,000–1,500 mg
*Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (alpha-GPC) 250 mg
*Choline (alpha-GPC) 250 mg
*Curcumin 1,000–2,000 mg, or curcumin phytosome 500–1,000 mg
*Fish oil 2–4 g Ginkgo biloba 120–160 mg
*Niacinamide 500 mg, 3–6 times per day
*Phosphatidylserine 100–200 mg
*Vinpocetine 10–30 mg

Blood Pressure Support

*Balance3 2–4 tablets (taken at bedtime if drowsiness occurs)
*Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) 200–300 mg
*L-arginine 2,000–6,000 mg (do not use if you are taking nitroglycerin)
*Low Sodium V8 Juice 8–12 ounces
*Reishi mushroom (as directed)

Blood Sugar Support

*Vanadyl sulfate 100 mg
*Alpha lipoic acid 600–1,200 mg (higher dose for extra support)
*Chromium 400 mcg
*Cinnamon 1,000–2,000 mg
*Gymnema sylvestre 400 mg
*Benfotiamine 150–450 mg
*Berberine 1,500 mg
*Hyperbaric oxygen therapy and infrared light therapy (for complications)+

Cardiovascular Health

*CoQ10 200–300 mg
*Fish oil 4–6 g
*B-complex vitamins: B6 75–125 mg, B12 150–2,000 mcg, folic acid 800–6,000 mcg
*L-carnitine 1,000 mg
*Magnesium 500–1,000 mg
*Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP)+

Cholesterol Support

*Flaxseed ¼ cup, freshly ground
*Niacin 500–2,000 mg
*Plant sterols 1,500–2,000 mg
*Red yeast rice 1,200–2,400 mg (take with 100–200 mg of CoQ10)

Digestive Health

*Digestive enzymes (as directed, for gas and bloating)
*Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) 1 chewable tablet before meals (for heartburn/indigestion) *Probiotics (as directed, for overall digestive health)
*Flaxseed ¼ cup, freshly ground (for regularity)

Fatigue/Low Energy

*Low-dose naltrexone (LDN) 3–4.5 mg (requires a prescription)
*Magnesium 500–1,000 mg
*Ribose 10–15 g
*Vitamin D 2,000–5,000 IU

Mood Support

*Dilantin 100–200 mg (requires a prescription)
*Fish oil 4–6 g
*S-adenosyl-methionine (SAMe) 400–800 mg (between meals)
*5-HTP 50–100 mg (at bedtime)
*St. John’s wort 600–900 mg (check for drug interactions)

Pain

*Univestin (Chinese skullcap/acacia extract) 500 mg
*Curcumin 1,500–2,000 mg, or curcumin phytosome 500–1,000 mg
*Fish oil 4–8 g
*Frequency specific microcurrent (FSM) therapy (also called microcurrent therapy)+
*High-intensity laser therapy+
*DMSO (topical)

Respiratory Health

*Fish oil 4–6 g
*N-acetyl cysteine 300–600 mg
*Quercetin 250–500 mg
*Stinging nettles 200–500 mg
*Magnesium 500–1,000 mg
*Saline nasal spray/neti pot

Weight Loss

*Restrict/eliminate sugars and starches
*Green tea (GreenSelect Phytosome) 300 mg
*Irvingia gabonensis 300 mg
*Saffron extract 180 mg

+ Must be administered in a physician’s office.

Posted in Alternative Medicine, Chronic Pain, Nutritional Supplements, Prevention | No Comments »

Prolotherapy NOT Surgery for Pain Relief

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

I want to tell you about a nonsurgical treatment for the permanent relief of joint and disc problems. Prolotherapy (the Latin word for “growth therapy,” also known as sclerotherapy and reconstructive therapy) has been around since the 1920s. It is unique in that it relieves pain by stabilizing the structures that support the joints and vertebrae, realigning them, and thus decreasing stress and pain.

Here is How it Works. Prolo targets the ligaments, the bands of connective tissue that hold the joints and vertebrae in proper position. When these ligaments are weak or lax, the affected joint or area of the spine becomes misaligned, triggering muscle spasms, compression and irritation of nerves, and pressure on the cartilage that may lead to degeneration. During a typical prolotherapy session, dextrose or another slightly irritating solution is injected into the weakened ligaments, initiating a healing response that repairs and strengthens them. Once these supporting structures are strong and taut, symptoms disappear—not for weeks but for years.

Prolotherapy is remarkably effective. Studies suggest it relieves pain in more than 80 percent of patients with chronic pain, even in those who have been unsuccessful with other types of treatment.

You Can Have Permanent Pain Relief with Prolotherapy. Joe had tried every therapy imaginable for his unrelenting lower back pain, including over-the-counter drugs and months of chiropractic treatments, with minimal results. He saw an orthopedic surgeon who ordered X-rays and an MRI, and gave him steroid injections that provided some relief, but the pain quickly returned. Then he learned about prolotherapy and figured it was worth a try. Results were remarkable and enduring. Two years after treatment, Joe is more active than ever, hiking and trekking—without pain.

There are some aches and pains that just don’t respond to standard therapies. That’s when you’re usually sent to a specialist who tells you your only option is surgery. Now you know it isn’t!

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Posted in Alternative Medicine, Back Pain, Chronic Pain | No Comments »

A New, Innovative Therapy for Pain Relief

Friday, June 24th, 2011

As promised, whenever I come across a new therapy that’s safe and effective, I will share it with you. And my latest discovery is the best “painkiller” I’ve run across to date. It is called high-intensity laser therapy and it’s providing remarkable benefits—for me and my patients.

I know it works because I’ve had back pain for close to 15 years and I’ve tried just about every treatment out there. Almost all of them provided relief, but the pain always came back—until I tried high-intensity laser. After a short treatment course, I was completely pain free.

Unlike most “low level” lasers used for pain, this particular therapy delivers very high-energy wavelengths of light that penetrate the skin and tissues by as much as four inches. This is very important because it reaches deep into the affected areas where therapeutic effects are most needed. As injured and ailing cells absorb this light, their energy production and metabolism increase, and this stimulates tissue repair.

Though “high-intensity laser beams” may sound a little intimidating, this therapy is completely safe. Because the light is pulsed in microseconds rather than in a continuous stream, there’s no danger of burning or tissue damage.

High-intensity laser therapy is helpful for a number of chronic and acute pain syndromes. At the clinic, we’ve successfully used this treatment to alleviate discomfort from all manners of musculoskeletal pain including, but not limited to: back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, knee pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, sciatica, shoulder pain, sports injuries, and many more.

I can’t guarantee that everyone will respond as well as I and many of our patients have, nor can I say with certainty how long benefits will last. However, this therapy is certainly worth checking out if you are suffering with acute or chronic pain.

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Posted in Back Pain, Chronic Pain, Innovative Therapies | No Comments »

Bountiful Benefits of Fish Oil

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Fish oil is making headlines yet again. Study results published in the journal Cancer revealed that people who took fish oil while undergoing chemotherapy treatment were able to stave off weight loss and muscle deterioration.

Folks, this is a big deal. Muscle wasting and weight loss during chronic illnesses, called cachexia, is a huge problem for people dealing with cancer. And in this particular study, nearly 70 percent of the participants who took fish oil either gained or maintained their muscle mass.

This is wonderful news. Whenever a nutritional supplement shows benefits like these, I’m even more excited about getting the word out. The dose used in the study was around 2 g daily; however, I recommend that everyone—regardless of health status—take 2-8 g of high quality fish oil each and every day.

Total-Body Protection
The reason I recommend fish oil so wholeheartedly is because the essential fatty acids it contains, particularly DHA and EPA, have many profoundly positive effects throughout the body. Fish oil:

• Protects against heart disease
• Reduces inflammation throughout the body
• Ameliorates symptoms of depression
• Staves off sudden cardiac death and arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythms)
• Alleviates arthritis and joint pain
• Supports normal cognitive function and memory

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s really no reason why fish oil shouldn’t be part of your daily supplement regimen.

Eat Plenty of Fish Too
In addition to 2-8 g of supplemental fish oil daily, you should also eat a few servings of cold-water, low-mercury fish per week. Safe species include (but are not limited to) flounder, herring, salmon, sole, and trout. To keep your fish dishes healthy, the best preparation methods are baking, sautéing, or grilling.

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Posted in Alternative Medicine, Cancer, Chronic Pain, Depression, Diet, Foods That Heal, Heart Disease, Nutritional Supplements, Prevention, Vitamins, Wellness | No Comments »

Serious Pain Relief—Without Pills

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

In a study published in the June 2010 issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine, researchers from the University at Buffalo (State University of New York) revealed that prescription opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin, morphine, and codeine are potential gateway drugs. An alarming number of people who were legitimately prescribed these medications after surgeries or injuries turned to street drugs such as heroin once prescriptions ran out because the illicit drugs were easier to get a hold of and more effective.

Folks, extended use of oral drugs to relieve pain just doesn’t make sense. Chronic use of aspirin, ibuprofen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause gastrointestinal ulceration and bleeding, and are responsible for as many as 16,500 deaths per year in this country alone. “Safer” COX-2 inhibitors are somewhat easier on the GI tract, but they are linked to increased risk of heart attack and death from cardiovascular causes. Tylenol (acetaminophen) can damage the liver, especially when used in conjunction with excess alcohol. And as this study illustrates, opiates are addictive with a significant potential for abuse.

Topical drug application, however, is another story. This delivery system has two major advantages over the oral route. First, you’re able to target the affected area, so you get faster relief. And second, systemic absorption is minimal, so you don’t have to worry about these dangerous side effects. The topical drugs we’ve had the most success with at the Whitaker Wellness Institute are ketamine, an anesthetic that curbs pain, and ketoprofen, an NSAID that reduces inflammation. They’re mixed into creams that patients simply rub into the painful area several times a day. I also like to throw in a little dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to help with absorption. (This certainly isn’t a requirement, but in my experience, DMSO just seems to make the topical drugs work better. I recommend a 70 percent concentration for topical use.)

I’ve personally used this therapy successfully for low back pain, and we’ve had positive reports from patients suffering with sciatica, arthritis, fibromyalgia, sprains, and strains. The best-studied application, however, is for relief of neuropathic pain—deep, often intense pain caused by damage to or dysfunction of the central or peripheral nervous system.

I’m not suggesting that topical pain relievers are a slam-dunk for all difficult pain syndromes, but I can tell you that we’ve had good results at the clinic. Furthermore, the relative safety of this therapy warrants a trial for most everyone with neuropathic or musculoskeletal pain. Most physicians are unfamiliar with the topical use of ketamine and other painkillers. If you’re suffering with acute or chronic pain, I recommend that you talk to your doctor about the benefits of this safe, effective therapy. If he’s not open to prescribing these topical medications, find a doctor who is.

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Posted in Back Pain, Chronic Pain, Dangerous Drugs | No Comments »

Prolo Your Pain Away

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Two weeks of hunkering over a computer for hours each day left Laura with severe low back pain shooting into her right leg. Josh had such intense pain in his neck after a surfing accident that he could barely get out of bed. Fred had another in a long line of recurring back spasms, this one caused by carrying in the groceries. And Marie—well, she’s been told she just has to learn to live with the pain in her lower back and legs.

Chances are that you have a neck or back pain horror story of your own. These very common flare-ups are like the villain in a scary movie, lurking about and attacking at random moments—or, in some cases, haunting you continuously.

Most people look to the medicine cabinet for pain relief, opting for ibuprofen, aspirin, or prescription painkillers to knock out discomfort. Others try chiropractic care, massage, or acupuncture for relief. In the short term, most of these solutions are okay. But the real goal is to get to the bottom of the pain and stop recurrent attacks before they start. And that’s where prolotherapy comes in. Prolotherapy relieves pain by addressing it at the source: weakness in the ligaments and tendons. The obvious solution is to strengthen these weakened areas, and that is precisely what prolotherapy does.

A slightly irritating solution (dextrose is the most common) along with a mild anesthetic is injected into the region where the ligaments attach to the bones. This causes the body to mount a healing response, and inflammatory chemicals and growth factors begin repairing and reconstructing the affected area. The end result is strong, tight new connective tissue that restores proper alignment. Pressure is removed from the nerves and discs, and pain resolves. Because prolotherapy tackles the underlying cause of chronic pain, its effects are in most cases permanent.

If you have neck, back, sciatic, or knee pain, you should consider a course of prolotherapy. But don’t expect to hear about it from your conventional doctor. Most physicians are far too entrenched in the drug and surgery paradigm to even consider this treatment. Instead, do your own research. You can start by reading prolotherapy testimonials from real Whitaker Wellness patients who are living pain-free lives thanks to this remarkable treatment.

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Posted in Alternative Medicine, Back Pain, Chronic Pain, Prolotherapy | No Comments »