I received the following letter from one of our patients last week and I thought it would serve as a powerful example of what one can do when they apply the principles that I advocated for on this site.

Judy is one of the hundreds of patients that we see in a year whose life is transformed through the use of these principles.

In 1994 I had elective surgery after which I felt afraid to be alone and had great difficulty sleeping. I went to a local physician who gave me a strong drug to sleep. His advice: "Snap out of it!" When I visited a physician who specialized in sleep disorders, he found nothing physically wrong so he sent me to a psychologist who administered a Hamilton test and told me I had anxiety and depression. I was urged to take Elavil which I refused. I was also given Ambien for sleep which left me feeling groggy and drugged in the morning.

Eventually not sleeping and taking sleep aids caused me to experience exhaustion with hot flashes and chills at work by 2:30 PM. After having to leave work early a few times because of these symptoms, I sought out a holistic physician recommended by the manager of the health food store where I shopped. There I was put on a medical leave and placed under the care of a therapist who tried Chinese herbs, Bach Flower remedies, and acupuncture.

I was also given intravenous drips of hydrogen peroxide and vitamin C. In addition, progesterone pills, thyroid pills, and DHEA pills were tried with disastrous results. At this time I had no interest in anything but agonizing over my health. In the middle of the leave, the physician went on a two weeks vacation while the insurance company was harassing me and sending me to their physician in a bad neighborhood and to their psychiatrist. Those doctors did not accept the treatments I was getting and as a result I was forced back to work and told I had to work 9 hours per day by my employer and by the company doctor who ignored my physician's letter.

A friend then took me to their doctor (Internal Medicine) who said, "You've been all over the place! What do you expect me to do for you?" After I began to cry from frustration and exasperation, she took time with me and said I needed to take Paxil for panic attacks and needed to make arrangements for a psychiatrist to administer the drug on an ongoing basis.

Three weeks later I was outside doing things. It took longer, but I also began to sleep. In addition, I became very fidgety and nervously began picking at the nails on my little fingers until I mutilated them! Then I started gaining weight until I gained almost 30 pounds. The psychiatrist denied that Paxil would cause these problems. After a year or two on the drug, I asked if I could begin to wean myself off.

The doctor was agreeable and all went well for a few months until I couldn't sleep again and had crying jags that I had never had before. When I revisited the doctor and had to resume the drug which takes a month to take effect, she said that people who try to get off and fail need to stay on long term (10 years) or for the rest of their lives! I tried to wean myself off once or twice more without confiding in the psychiatrist and failed.

Then late one night I heard an interview on the radio of Dr. Ann Blake Tracey. She was speaking about SSRI drugs and said that they are too new and untested for long-term use and effects. She said they act as LSD on the brain and that one must wean off them very slowly by shaving off small increments. If one does not go off slowly, some people have experienced electric like shocks in the brain or, like me, several months later they experience worse anxiety and depression than they ever had in the first place.

Around this same time, I was introduced to Dr. Mercola's's website and was impressed by the innovative techniques offered at his clinic. I decided I would try to obtain help from him even though I would have to drive nearly an hour to his office. During the consultation with Dr. Mercola, I was told he felt my problems were emotionally based.

He referred me to his talented therapist, Lynn Young, to work on my "emotional toxicity" via several methods. I had to make a commitment to follow Dr. Mercola's diet. I learned that mood can be adversely impacted by high blood sugar levels.

This knowledge was reinforced when I visited the nutritionist. Then I visited Jim Jordan for a live blood cell analysis. He recommended supplements and also that I read "The Power of Now" to help me to stay centered and in the "precious present moment." Jim Jordan then recommended that I see Dr. Lina Garcia, a cranial osteopath.

It was through the skill, treatments, emotional support, and workshops that Dr. Garcia has given that I finally had the courage with her help to start shaving off small increments of Paxil starting February 19, 2002. By the end of June, 2002, I had discontinued the small chip of Paxil that I had been taking.

I still have a few challenges that I am working on with the help of Lynn and Dr. Garcia, but each day things are getting better and better. I feel as though I have been through Hell and back. I urge anyone reading this who is in a similar situation to make the same commitment to turning their physical, mental, and emotional health around.

Sincerely,

Judy