The short comings of contemporary medicine…

“Contemporary views of human disease are  based on simple correlations between clinical syndromes and pathological analysis which date back to the late 19th century.  While this approach to disease diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment has served the medical establishment and society well for many years, it has serious shortcomings for the modern era.”  says Dr Joseph Loscalzo, Professor of Medicine, Harvard.

The Dawn of Personalized Medicine – Functional Genomics..

 Kara B, a married business consultant and mother of three high school aged children, was the picture of health until she reached 55.  Her wellbeing, vim and vigor started to deteriorate:  joint aches and pains, trouble maintaining weight, cognition problems, heart irregularities, anxiety and  sleep  issues.  She was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, depression/anxiety, and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation…and subsequently prescribed pain meds, antidepressant, and blood thinner.

 “Where to turn?” she wondered.  Hoping that Functional and Integrative Therapy might offer some clues, she sought the help of The Renewal Point. 

When Kara met with me in my office for a New Patient Consultation, she said her goal was to get back to her original good health without requiring so much pharmaceutical medication.  I promised her we would look for answers.

Her initial lab work demonstrated low levels of gonadal and thyroid hormones.  While natural hormone therapy helped considerably,  she still felt as if she were unable to maintain the high energy and competency level she expected from herself with her family and work. 

Fortunately for Kara, our practice now offers a new Genomic profile of 160 genes, called the MaxGen;  a gene study directed at the interaction between her unique genome, environment, and lifestyle.  Personalized gene studies, such as this, are truly a breakthrough in Integrative and Functional Medicine in two ways…

Genomics Profiles:

1.  Shed light on the root cause of physical problems.

2.  Offer keys in developing a personalized intervention program.

Kara’s Personalized Program; her Genomic Makeover Plan…

Adjusting for 160 genes, practitioners at The Renewal Point were able to optimize Kara’s diet, exercise, nutrition, supplements and sleep patterns.  Her genetic profile revealed, among many other things, that;  1) Kara would lose weight more easily on a low glycemic diet rather than the intermittent fasting she had been trying for years.  2) Over two cups of coffee may be adding to her heart problems (she was drinking around five cups a day).  3)  Certain genetic methylation defects added to her anxiety and sleep problems, and could be corrected with the right B vitamins.  4)  A gene affecting vitamin D receptors  increased the incidence of Fibromyalgia…we can target the root problem  5)  She was more able to gain muscle and lose fat with a specialized Closed Kinetic Chain exercise program (CKC Fitness)  than the aerobic program she had been doing for years while seeing no improvement.

Following her Genomic Makeover Plan, Kara was able to get her health & mojo back.  She lost the weight that had plagued her for years, firmed up her body with her new personalized exercise plan and was able to go off her pain meds prescribed for Fibromyalgia, her Psych meds for depression and sleep, and her blood thinner medication. – According to her doctors, she no longer needed them. 

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital report on the Silence of Menopause.

From time to time, my wife has me read news articles that she finds interesting.  Here is one from womensenews.org that I think bears passing along…

When the Netflix show Goop Lab debuted a few months ago,  there was one important bright spot  we should all pay attention to: 90-year-old sex educator Betty Dobson offering advice on sensuality.  She is living proof that sex doesn’t end at menopause-and that’s just one of the powerful lessons our culture needs to learn about post-reproductive years.  Our national silence on menopause has led to misdiagnosis, mistreatment and needless suffering for millions of women.

On average, women live for about 78 years ~ of that, only about 15 years fall in the peak reproductive period (25-40).  Most women will spend far longer in the post-reproductive years.  And many know almost nothing about what to expect when those years end.  Less than 5% of women surveyed report that their mother or another significant female figure shared information about the menopausal years.  Mothers of that era did not typically have the tools to help guide their daughters themselves.   Many times, what was passed on was misinformation and silence.

This shouldn’t be surprising: For most of the 19^th and 20^th century, women’s body’s and health needs were regarded as less important than men’s.  As researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital reported in 2014, “The science that informs medicine – including the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease – routinely fails to consider the crucial impact of sex and gender.”

As a gynecologist and a man, I am dismayed at our cultures silence on menopause.  Sadly,  I am constantly reminded of this fact.  Recently,  Kathy M.,  a  68 year- old patient came to our practice complaining of severe vaginal dryness and pain with intercourse.  She  had consulted her  physician and a  specialist about this problem, but was told she should just expect her sex life to suffer as she ages.  One doctor offered her anti-depressants.

The good news is that many safe and effective therapies are now available for vaginal dryness, pain, and other sexual issues.  At our office, Kathy M. was prescribed a combination of natural, bio-identical hormones and a short term vaginal cream to both alleviate the dryness and increase her sensitivity and orgasm.  Shortly, she reported resuming sexual relations with her husband.  (Her husband was also placed on natural bio-identical hormones)  It has changed their marriage.

With over 30 years of experience and numerous board certifications and credentials, Dr. Watts, MD, ND, MSNM and Helena Williams, ARNP, MS are experts in the Science and Art of Integrative Medicine and Bio-identical Hormone Balancing.  Bio-identical Hormone Balancing requires individualized therapy and ongoing dosing changes based not only on a patient’s diagnostic lab values, but also their symptoms. Due to the sensitive nature of hormone balancing, it is imperative that you work in partnership with an experienced provider and program.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, you can call us at 941-926-4905, email us at info@therenewalpoint.com, or RSVP (or tune in on Livestream) to our upcoming seminar. 

Reference:

Douglas. A.S. Sex Doesn’t End at 40, and Other Reasons to End Silence About Menopause. March 2020.

According to a recent article published in  the journal  of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), “If you are having difficulty identifying the right word to express yourself clearly or remembering a story correctly, you may blame menopause.”

Previous studies have shown that women experience a decline in memory for verbal material, such as words and stories, as they transition through menopause.  In this new study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to document the occurrence of physiologic hot flashes and their specific  effect on hippocampal and prefrontal cortex functioning during encoding and recognition conditions of a memory task.

Marilyn K. , a 55 year old, single, mother of two, reported being very successful at her local real estate agency, winning awards and accolades which afforded herself and her high school aged boys a better than average life style.  However, all that was to change, beginning several years into menopause.  Along with the hot flashes, poor sleep, and foggy brain, she began  noticing herself slipping at work.  “I’m just not able to bring my A-game anymore.”  She lamented.  “The younger agents seem to be more on the ball.  I’m worried I can no longer keep up.”

At a time in Marilyn’s life when she should be at the top of her game, she was losing her confidence.  This scenario is not an isolated case.  In fact many women who come to The Renewal Point for hormone balancing relate similar stories.  The loss of cognition (inability to focus, absent mindedness, missing words, and fuzzy thoughts) are a common complaint of this ‘change of life’.

The hormones of a woman in her 20s, 30s, and early 40s are generally in balance, contributing to her health and vitality. Beginning with the onset of menopause, however, this  balance is turned on its head.

Dr. Dale Bredesen,  professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California, and author of “The End of Alzheimer’s”, points out in his famous book that hormone balance is critical to cognition.  His advice is to  rebalance these deficiencies back to normal, healthy levels.

In the  medical journal, ‘Neurology’,  Dr. K. Yaffe reports that, after menopause, rebalancing estrogen levels increases brain blood flow, neural growth factors, acetyl choline, and natural antioxidants, to improve cognition 30%.  The rebalancing of all the hormones decreases cognitive decline a full  50%!  No medication can even come close to that statistic.

So what about safety?   Hormone balance, using pharmaceutical/synthetic versions, has been found to cause a myriad of problems including: blood clots, cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease and increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. 

The good news is that in large populations of women, over decades, the balancing of hormones using bio-identical hormones has been found to be much safer than their pharmaceutical counterparts.

 Marilyn’s  lab work did demonstrate the imbalances which were causing her to feel  so incompetent at work.  Shortly after these imbalances were corrected with bio-identical hormones, she began sleeping much better,  her hot flashes ended, and her foggy brain cleared up.  “I’m back!”  she declared joyfully  on our last visit.

With over 30 years of experience and numerous board certifications and credentials, Dr. Watts, MD, ND, MSNM and Helena Williams, ARNP, MS are experts in the Science and Art of Integrative Medicine and Bio-identical Hormone Balancing.  Bio-identical Hormone Balancing requires individualized therapy and ongoing dosing changes based not only on a patient’s diagnostic lab values, but also their symptoms. Due to the sensitive nature of hormone balancing, it is imperative that you work in partnership with an experienced provider and program.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, you can call us at 941-926-4905, email us at info@therenewalpoint.com, or RSVP to our upcoming seminar.