Bruises are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to injuries. Muscles that are overstretched or torn can also affect the ligaments and tendons in the area, thus complicating the injury. Some think bruises are a badge of honor and wear them with pride. Others know better and understand that a bruise is a red flag signaling an injury that needs attention. Did you know that it is possible to speed up healing by 500% with the FSM – Frequency Specific Microcurrent machine?

Bob was 93 years old when he fell hitting the side of his face causing a nasty black eye. When he came into my office his left eye was bloodshot and he had a huge deep purple bruise under the eye. While he joked that “you should see the other guy” – I rushed to get the FSM machines to immediately start treating his injury. You would never expect a 93-year-old to heal up as quickly as he did – but look what the FSM was able to do for him in just a week!

March 10, 2006 March 13, 2006 March 17, 2006

Who do you know who has sprained the same ankle multiple times? They don’t know that the area is weak because of the structural instability caused by the abnormal tension patterns created by the original injury and made worse by repeated injuries. This can happen to necks that have had been in a car accident and received a whiplash injury.

FSM Heals Whiplash Fast

Sarah ‘s neck got whiplashed when her car was rear ended and totaled. She came in the next day for treatment. After I adjusted her I put the FSM on her neck for an hour and rented her a home unit to use for the next couple days. When she brought the machine back she was amazed at how quickly her neck had recovered. She said her last whiplash took months to recover and was afraid that this time it would take even longer since this accident was worse.

FSM Heals Sprained Ankle Fast

Bavanni badly twisted and sprained her ankle on a Friday afternoon. She went to urgent care first. The doctors told her that it looked like she had an avulsion tear and would need to see an Orthopedic Surgeon on Monday. She was given crutches and told to keep off her foot. Her next stop was my office, FSM to the rescue. She could put more weight on her foot after an hour on the machine. We treated her again Saturday with the FSM and on Monday the Orthopedic Surgeon said her ankle looked fine that she didn’t even need the crutches.

The moral of the story is the sooner you use the FSM after an injury the faster it heals. So when you see a nasty bruise starting to form realize it is the body crying out for FSM therapy to speed healing and rehab the injured area so it can be strong again. Don’t wait, Don’t hesitate – FSM to the Rescue!

If you wonder if FSM could help you or a friend with any injury please email me using the contact form on the side or give me a call at 408-526-9423.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – ADHD is the most common behavioral disorder diagnosed in children. Since these kids have trouble paying attention and can be disruptive in the classroom, they are commonly prescribed stimulant medications to improve their behavior. One particularly upsetting study done on the effects of ADHD stimulant drugs on children’s brains revealed the drugs actually caused a part of their brains called the cerebellum to shrink.

Do You Want to Shrink a Child’s Brain?

Did you know that the brain actually shrivels up like a prune when a person has Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia? Do you think anything that causes the brain to shrink is a good thing? The American Journal of Psychiatry in April 2007 published this study called Cerebellar Development and Clinical Outcome in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The researchers gave 3 MRIs on a three-year interval to 36 children between the ages of 10.5 and 16.5 years old. They measured the size of the brain and compared it over the six-year period.

70% of the ADHD children studied had histories of prior exposure to stimulant medications to treat their ADHD before they had their first MRI brain scan. 94% of the ADHD children were consuming stimulants at the time of their third and final brain scan. Under the influence of stimulants, all of the ADHD children experienced the progressive loss of tissue from the right inferior-posterior hemisphere of their cerebellum. Among the ADHD children tested, the maturation of the brain’s cortex was delayed by approximately three years.

Translation of Study

Stimulants harm the brain by causing atrophy of the cerebellum at a time that it should be growing. This happened to ALL of the children tested in the study! The cerebellum is vitally important in muscle tone, balance and coordination. Functional MRIs show that the cerebellum lights up at the same time as the cortex which means it takes both for a person to be able to function properly. The stimulant drugs also retarded brain development by three years, so how can these children hope to function as well as their non-drugged counterparts?

Safe, Alternative Treatment for ADHD

The brain has the ability to rewire itself and restore “normal” function. One way to do this is with neurofeedback training. This is a simple, yet powerful, exercise done with a computer that monitors brainwave activity and encourages the brain to create new pathways around the ones causing the problem. This technology has been around for over 30 years. Researchers found that people could actually change their brainwave activity to improve behavior and function. I have written another blog article about how neurofeedback helps ADHD and you can read more about it there.

Wonder if Neurofeedback Can Help You or Your Child?

An ADHD Brain can be successfully retrained at any age. I invite you to give me a call if you or your child is currently or has ever taken stimulant drugs for ADHD and you are wondering if neurofeedback can help. I’m happy to discuss your concerns. I offer a free 30 minute consultation so there is no obligation.

ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – is an all too easy label given to children who have difficulty paying attention and behaving “properly.” There is a very distinctive brainwave pattern associated with ADHD and it can clearly be seen in an EGG (electroencephalograph) for children or adults. German researchers recently reported in a study that up to 75% of the ADHD diagnoses given by psychologists and psychiatrists to children may be wrong. The researchers also found that if the child was a boy there was a higher probability of them being given the ADHD diagnosis. The study concluded that thorough diagnostic evaluation would help therapists to be more accurate.

What ADHD Looks Like in the Brain

A brain that has excessive slow activity – like the graph below – has difficulty focusing and paying attention. They will be impulsive, distracted and have a short attention span. Because their brain is going so slow they will try to speed their brain up by fidgeting, rocking, tapping or any other movement to make their brain feel better. They will also look to self-medicate with caffeine or sugar, but as they age they may turn to alcohol or illegal drugs.

A child who has slow brainwave activity will often improve their behavior with drugs like Ritalin – but there are unpleasant side effects like of loss of appetite, insomnia, irritability, nausea, headache, feeling like a Zombie and the roller coaster of crashing when the drug wears off and more serious effects like slowing of growth, blurred vision and addiction to the drug.

A Brain That is Processing Too Fast Can Act Like ADHD

The brainwave pattern reflects how well a brain is functioning. The brain of a person with allergies will process much faster than “normal”. A brain that has excessive fast activity – like the graph below – has difficulty focusing and paying attention. They will be impulsive, distracted and have a short attention span…just like ADHD. The brain speeds up as an adaptive response of the immune system when a person has allergies, even if the person does not have the typical allergy symptoms.

How Can I Know if My Brain is Going Too Fast or Too Slow?

The most important thing is to do a brainwave evaluation to determine what the brain is doing. If the brainwave pattern shows the brain is going too slow then you do neurofeedback training to speed it up. If the brainwave pattern shows the brain is going too fast then you will want to treat the cause of the allergies.

How to Heal an ADHD Brain with Exercise

Neurofeedback is a highly specific exercise for the brain. This training exercise can help the brain to rewire itself. For a slow brain as in ADHD, the computer training exercise will encourage the trainee to speed up their brainwave activity. This new learning will become the dominant pattern and replace the slow pattern after doing a series of trainings.

The Power of Neurofeedback

Below is a documentary about the amazing results a variety of people experienced as a result of doing neurofeedback training with the same technology I have in my office. The video is less than 30 minutes and it is totally worth the time to see the moving stories of the people whose lives were dramatically improved as a result. One of them was a teenager diagnosed with ADHD.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you have any questions about the EEG analysis or neurofeedback training, please call my office or email me on the sidebar and I’m happy to talk with you about it.

Do you know anyone that is taking drugs for ADHD? How is it working for them long term?

Who would think that the lowly prune could help build strong bones? In the event of an injury you want to be sure to have strong bones. The Journal of Nutrition published a Florida State University study in September 2011 where postmenopausal women ate prunes or dried apples. Their bone density was measured before the study and at the end, and blood tests were given at the beginning, then at 3, 6 and 12 months to measure healthy bio markers for bone growth. The researchers found that the bone mineral density (BMD) significantly improved and so did the bio markers in the blood for the women who ate 10 prunes a day. There was no improvement in the women who ate dried apples.

Prunes – or dried plums – are one of the world’s healthiest foods. Prunes have a lot more going for them than their well known laxative effect. They are packed with bone-building phenolic compounds, boron and potassium that are all important for healthy bones. Even diabetics are able to safely eat prunes. Diabeticcooking.com explains how prunes are low glycemic, fat free, cholesterol free and low sodium. Prunes don’t spike blood sugar for most diabetics, so it is a great source of nutrition and natural sweetness.

How to Determine Bone Loss

Have two consecutive (one to two years apart) bone density tests of the lumbar spine and hip on the exact same machine. You cannot compare two different machines. There are also lab tests to measure bone specific markers which can be indicators of potential bone loss. Be sure to test your Vitamin D levels as well because it helps you absorb calcium.

How to Improve Bone Density

Don’t rush to take medications to increase bone density. Bisphosphonate drugs can have some nasty side effects for some causing their bones to become more fragile and fracture with little or no trauma. If you have mild bone loss, consider exercise. Whole body vibration and weight training can increase bone mass. Weight bearing exercise like walking is best.

Don’t Wait for Osteoporosis

The lead researcher of this study Dr. Arjmandi said, “Don’t wait until you get a fracture or you are diagnosed with osteoporosis and have to have prescribed medicine. Do something meaningful and practical beforehand. People could start eating two to three dried plums per day and increase gradually to perhaps six to 10 per day. Prunes can be eaten in all forms and can be included in a variety of recipes.”

You may want to add prunes to your diet because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Did any of your elderly relatives eat prunes regularly? How was their bone health?

Vaccinations are supposed to help prevent an illness, but there can be side effects. One side effect of the shingles vaccine can be an immediate outbreak of shingles or a case of shingles later on. We all know someone who got a flu shot and caught the flu as a result – the same kind of thing can happen with the shingles vaccine. There are no guarantees of immunity.

Shingles is caused by the Chicken Pox virus – Varicella Zoster. Before the shingles vaccine was approved it was tested on about 38,000 people aged 60 years and older. Half received the vaccine and half a placebo. They were followed for three years to see if they developed shingles. Researchers found that the vaccine was 50% effective for persons age 60 and older. People in both groups got shingles. The ones who were vaccinated had the same amount of pain but recovered a little bit faster than the placebo group.

Shingles Vaccination Caused Burning Pain

My assistant, Aldine, received the shingles vaccine. The next day she felt burning in her face around her eye. I checked the area and found that the Shingles virus (Varicella Zoster) was active there. I treated her immune system to calm the virus and she started using the FSM – Frequency Specific Microcurrent – protocol for shingles. After ten minutes she could feel the burning subside. She used the FSM home treatment unit for 4 or 5 hours each day for 3 days in a row to completely calm the virus down. Luckily she did not break out in a rash, because shingles on the face is very painful.

Research Shows No Benefit to a Second Shingles Vaccination

Since the initial research showed the Shingles vaccine to only be 50% effective, researchers wondered if 2 vaccinations would improve the odds. The American Academy of Dermatology reported on March 19, 2012 at their 70th Annual Meeting that there was no added benefit from a second shingles vaccination. The researchers found a booster of the initial vaccination did not improve its effectiveness. This suggests that those who have already had shingles might not benefit from the vaccination because their immune system had already been stimulated by their case of shingles.

If you are deciding to have the shingles vaccination, then consider the pros and cons and make an informed choice. Talk to your friends and family to get feedback on their experience with the vaccination.

Help for Shingles Pain and Post- Herpetic Neuralgia

Post-Herpetic Neuralgia is the lingering pain after the Shingles lesions heal. In case you or anyone you know is suffering from Shingles pain I can help them with my FSM- Frequency Specific Mircrocurrent. There is a published paper on Non-pharmacologic Treatment of Shingles where you can learn more about how FSM can speed the healing and put an end to your suffering. I wrote another blog article on this subject last week. (link to be determined)

When Shingles happen – just know that I can help you resolve it more quickly. The sooner you treat it the faster the results. If you or anyone you know has shingles or post- herpetic neuralgia please give me a call and I’ll tell you how the FSM can help.

Have you ever had Post-Herpetic Neuralgia? If so, what helped it and how long did it take for the pain to go away?

Shingles pain can be unrelenting and the lingering pain called Post-Herpetic Neuralgia can definitely be helped with FSM – Frequency Specific Microcurrent.

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes Chicken Pox. This Varicella Zoster Virus lies dormant in the nerves and under stress it wakes up and causes burning pain and blisters to form on the skin along the course of the nerve. Some people are able to stop the virus with anti-viral medications if they take it within 24 hours of the outbreak. Anyone who has had shingles knows all too well how painful it can be and that it can take a long time for the lesions to heal.

I Found FSM Because I Got Shingles

I felt a sharp burning pain in my back on a Sunday and on Monday I woke up with a rash on my back. I immediately recognized it as Shingles and went to Urgent Care. I took the anti-viral medicine and hoped it would knock them out….but it didn’t. One of my patients had read a Second Opinion newsletter by Dr. Robert Rowen that hailed the FSM as a miracle machine. Now that I was sidelined I had time to research this device. I read that it helped shingles – now it had my full attention. I called a friend in Southern California who has the machine and asked was it true that this FSM helped Shingles – he said every time! Long story short – YES the FSM helped me and that is why I bought my first machine. Since then I’ve helped others get relief for their Shingles.

Burning Pain Can be Early Warning for Shingles

Dr. Carol McMakin developed a set of frequencies for the FSM specifically to treat shingles. She published a paper on Non-pharmacologic Treatment of Shingles.

Often her patients would feel burning pain before the shingle lesions would erupt. She discovered that some of her chronic pain patients would find relief of their burning pain when using the shingles frequencies on them. I have found that to be the case with several of my patients too. Now I know to check for shingles at any sign of burning pain.

The FSM Puts the Fire Out of Shingles Post Herpetic Neuralgia

Tammy came to me with unrelenting burning pain in her back, buttock and leg. She had a case of shingles where the lesions had healed but the burning nerve pain (post herpetic neuralgia) remained. She had to sleep standing up for the past 3 months. She found relief after her first FSM treatment. It wasn’t long and she was able to sit and sleep comfortably again.

If you or anyone you know has shingles or post herpetic neuralgia please give me a call and I’ll tell you how the FSM can help.

Next week please watch for my blog about the Shingles vaccine.

Have you or anyone you know ever had shingles? How did you treat it?

We all handle emotional stress differently. Some vent their frustrations while others internalize them. When people are shocked or traumatized by an event their nervous system does the best it can to adapt to the stress. Experiencing traumatic accidents or tragic events, rushing to meet major deadlines or always rushing around can contribute to emotional breakdowns. PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – results from a horrific shock to one’s nervous system.

PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – results when a person experiences a major, often violent, event. They can have painful vivid memories, even experience flash backs of the traumatic events. Their nervous system gets zapped. They do their best to cope, but often they withdraw from family and friends. PTSD often disrupts their ability to interact and function in society.

Afraid to Ride in the Car

8-year-old Vivian was afraid to ride in the car after she and her parents had a car accident where their car was rear-ended. The sound of screeching brakes and the sound of a siren became stressful sounds that made her cringe when she heard them. Her parents brought her in for treatment because they knew that I could help reset Vivian’s nervous system so she could be comfortable riding in the car again. After a couple treatments her nervous system was back to “normal”, the sound of sirens and brakes screeching didn’t bother her and she was happy to travel in the car again.

Afraid to Drive the Car

Mary was in her 60s when she came in after an accident. Because she was really nervous and worried when she drove, she was afraid to drive on the freeway even though her accident was on a side street. Her initial concern was treatment for her neck pain. She didn‘t realize her neck muscles would tighten up even more when she drove. Once I treated her for the emotional stress caused by the accident her neck recovered too. She laughed that she got a bonus because now she could drive in the rain on the freeway and feel relaxed.

PTSD After Serving in Iraq

Before leaving for Iraq Mark enjoyed being with his family. He was very social and loved to spend time with his children. When he returned home from Iraq he had a short temper and withdrew from playing with his children and interacting with his family. He didn’t trust anyone. He was in what he described as “hell”. An MD at his VA hospital asked him if he would be willing to try a machine that might make him feel better. He agreed and she connected him to the Frequency Specific Microcurrent , FSM, machine and ran a program that helped to calm and reset his nervous system. After three one-hour sessions Mark’s wife told the doctor she could see improvement. Mark was engaging more with his family and friends and he was more calm and trusting. Mark continued to receive FSM treatments and his PTSD became manageable, but more importantly he got his life back.

Mark’s case study was presented at one of the FSM advanced trainings I attended in early 2011. Since then I have used this protocol on many of my patients. They aren’t war vets – but they do lead stress filled lives. Even the stress of everyday life can be shocking to the nervous system. They all reported feeling calmer and more relaxed as a result of the treatment.

Have you or someone you know experienced an emotionally stressful event that still troubles them? I have several ways to help them. Please give me a call and I’m happy to talk with you more about it.

Did you know that memory loss is the second most common side effect of cholesterol lowering, statin drugs like Lipitor and Zocor? In February 2012 the FDA forced the makers of statin drugs to list more side effect warnings on their labels. Now the label must include new information on the potential for usually mild and reversible cognitive side effects. It must also warn that there have been reports of increased blood sugar with statin use.

University of California-San Diego researcher Beatrice Golomb M.D., PhD. published a paper in 2006 describing 171 statin users who reported that they had developed memory problems and dementia-like symptoms which they attributed to their use of the medications. According to her study, the vast majority experienced an improvement in their symptoms after stopping the drugs and many saw their symptoms return after going back on the statin drugs.

Dr. Julian Whitaker’s article about statins causing memory loss goes into great detail about how these cholesterol lowering drugs robbed people of their memory. One of his stories is about a successful 50-year-old business owner who started taking Lipitor in 1998. Within three years he was wracked with pain and weakness, and his memory and concentration were so poor that he was forced to close his business. Although he’s improved somewhat since getting off Lipitor, he continues to have severe cognitive problems.

How Statins Harm the Brain

The brain requires cholesterol to maintain the myelin sheaths that make the transmission and reception of nerve signals happen. We need these signals to work if we want our brain to work properly. In fact cholesterol is so vital that specialized glial cells in the brain produce it to help keep the brain healthy. Statins strip these good cholesterols away faster than the body can make them, causing memory and cognitive issues.

Statins Harm Muscles Too

Barbara took Lipitor for several months when she started noticing weakness in her legs. She was working with an exercise trainer and they both noticed she was getting weaker rather than stronger. Luckily she caught it early on and she stopped the medication. Unfortunately her full strength never returned. She is permanently injured because of the side effects of Lipitor.

Dave came into my office a good ten years ago complaining that statin drugs, used to treat his high cholesterol, caused him sharp back pain. It took him months to figure out that the Lipitor was the culprit. He was on a one-man campaign to educate everyone he could about this common side effect. He insisted that I tell all of my patients to watch out for this.

If you are currently taking any medicines please check for the side effects. You may be surprised at what you find. If you suspect that you are experiencing memory loss or other cognitive problems as a result of a medicine you are taking, be sure to tell your medical doctor.

I offer a free evaluation of medicines for side effects so please give my office a call to schedule this.

Have you or anyone you know experienced side effects from a statin drug?

In the first study of its kind, a 35 year long follow-up study linked psychological stress to the increased risk of dementia.  This was published in the Journal Brain in May, 2010. Data was collected from Swedish women in 1968-69, 1974-75 and 1980-81. They were given the same set of questions all three times. The results showed that 61% never reported stress. Of the remaining, only 24% reported frequent/constant stress at just one examination, 10% at two examinations and 5% were stressed during all three of the examinations.

The study started with 1,415 non-demented females in 1968. 161 developed it during the 35 years of follow-up. 105 were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, 40 with vascular dementia and 16 with other dementias. 32 of the participants got dementia before age 70. 72 of the women were diagnosed between the ages of 70 and 80. The remaining 57 got it after age 80.

As you would expect, the women who reported frequent/constant psychological stress at all three testing intervals had a significant increase in developing dementia later in life. Researchers concluded that it is also possible that a heightened stress response is a predictor or early marker for dementia rather than a causal factor. Other research studies show that Alzheimer’s changes in the brain begin 20 to 30 years before a person exhibits the decline associated with the disease, so stress could accelerate these changes.

It is interesting that 61% of Swedish women never reported frequent/constant stress during the 35 year study. Perhaps that is why less than 10% of the participants manifested dementia. Another interesting finding was that 16 of the 105 had “other dementias.” Since they didn’t fit the traditional classifications perhaps these other dementias were drug or chemically induced.

Drug induced dementia is well documented. It has names like Post Operative Cognitive Dysfunction.  General Anesthesia, anti-depressants, antibiotics or other toxic chemicals can cause brain fog, cognitive decline or other types of dementia as a side effect.

Regardless of the underlying cause of dementia, it is clear that psychological stress aggravates the situation. This study collected data from 1968 to 1981. Most would agree that stress is far greater today than it was 30+ years ago.

If you want to avoid being a dementia statistic, find ways to relax and reduce stress in your life. If you already have brain fog or notice you have lost some of your mental clarity, come in for a free toxin analysis to determine if you are in the 10 to 20% of people who have lingering side effects from drugs or other toxic chemicals that can cause brain fog, memory loss and lead to dementia.

Please contact me on the form on your right or call my office at 408.526.9423. I’m happy to discuss your concerns with you.

The FDA is responsible for testing medicines for possible side effects. They say right on their website that ALL medicines have benefits and risks – side effects.  The key word being ALL!  Side effects are so commonplace that Consumer Reports recently created an interactive slideshow on its website so people could match common drugs with their side effects.

We have all seen TV commercials that depict the wonderful benefits of a drug then play down all of the side effects as they are quickly listed at the end of the commercial.  Magazines have pages that are completely filled with just one drug’s potential side effects.  Drugs are man-made chemicals that are supposed to create chemical reactions to help a health problem.  Unfortunately those chemicals can have side effects that cause sensitivity reactions  and can affect memory or mental clarity.

The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine estimates that serious drug reactions occur more than 2 million times each year among patients in hospitals and are the fourth leading cause of hospital deaths.  Adverse drug effects send about 4.5 million Americans to the doctor’s office or emergency room each year.

Real Side Effect Stories

84-year-old Harriette woke up in the middle of the night to go the bathroom. She fell flat on her bottom when she tried to stand up. She said she was dizzy before she fell. Her doctors and nurses brushed off her dizziness as being caused by the side effects of the drugs she was put on just 2 weeks before. She spent 3 days in the hospital having tests. Her daughter researched the side effects on the Internet. Armed with the facts, she battled with all five of Harriette’s doctors before one agreed to take her off the medicines. Within a couple days Harriette’s dizziness went away. Had she continued taking those drugs the dizziness could have led to a serious injury.

59-year-old Lynn was rushed to the emergency room with symptoms of sudden, severe tightness in her chest, dizziness and nausea. She thought she was having a heart attack. After two days in the hospital and a multitude of tests that came back negative, it was discovered that she was having side effects from a medicine she started taking 3 weeks before.

Both of these ladies are classic examples of how side effects from medications caused new symptoms. When the doctor and patient fail to recognize this, another medication is prescribed for this new symptom that could be mistaken for a “real” medical problem. Taking drugs that mask symptoms can generate more side effects. Experts estimate that tens of millions of people are suffering every day – often without knowing why.

“There are a lot of people taking drugs to treat the side effects of drugs,” says Gordon Schiff, M.D., an internist at Harvard Medical School and associate director of the Brigham Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice in Boston. “And sometimes that makes sense, and maybe the initial drug is essential. But when you’re taking a drug to treat the side effect of a drug which is treating the side effect of another drug, it gets to be rather a house of cards.”

Medicines work best when they are in harmony with the body. I always test my patients with their medicines to make sure they are in harmony. If they are not, then I treat them for the medicine. Joe was on two blood pressure medicines. My testing showed that neither of them were in harmony with Joe’s nervous system. I treated him for both medicines, and his medical doctor reduced the dosage because both drugs were working so much better together for Joe after the harmonizing treatment.

Beware of side effects. What you don’t know can hurt you. I’m happy to discuss any concerns you have about potential side effects.

What side effects have you experienced?