Ask Dr. B – September 2020


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How to deal with chronic pain and inflammation? Hoping for some direction. I have been experiencing chronic, debilitating nerves, and muscular pain for several years. After trying a year of alternate therapies such as acupuncture and bodywork, I found a corrective chiropractor. However, my inflammation is severe, and I repeatedly was injuring my back. I ended up having a microdiscectomy due to my left leg giving way without reason. The surgery has stopped the issue, but I continue to have severe inflammatory episodes where I lose complete bladder control. This usually is followed by an episode of leg muscles drawing up to the point I can not put weight on my left leg. My right leg is my weaker leg with the hip being much more arthritic. After four years of this, my frustration level is high. This last episode has my toes and the ball of my left foot numb with restricted movement in toes. I have finally succumbed to the pharmaceuticals and am on Gabapentin and being moved from Meloxicam to Celebrex after I complete a round of oral steroids. The steroids are helping with inflammation, but I cannot stay in these. I am scheduled for a contrast MRI at the end of the month and will see my neurosurgeon right afterward.
I am also experiencing significant edema on the left side, especially on foot. This edema has mostly been lopsided. Previously, was most pronounced on the right leg. Edema has been an issue for decades.
Can you guide me in the best way to weather this health challenge, as I want to heal not treat symptoms? For the past several years, I have been quite sedentary, and no movement is needed. How can I learn to deal with pain without pharmaceuticals and allow my body to heal rather than treat the symptoms? Resources? Direction?
Head to toe burning and itching
62 years old, severe herniation to L4-5, L5-S1 IN 1988, 2 failed surgeries, 32 yrs pain mgt, NAFLD, first real (quite severe) sunburn July 12 this year. Already had severe polyneuropathy, lost muscle mass, don’t eat junk, weaned me from all drugs from 32 years, last one this month. Have everything that can be wrong In a spine but cancer at some level, top to bottom, but ending up permanently disabled at 29 got me SSI and Medicaid, which won’t cover a real doctor or drug-free alternatives. Please feel free to make suggestions. Extremely hard to do anything for 2 months. Thought I was healing from the severe sunburn but feel like I’m bathing in acid, restless legs/arms, insomnia is insane.
Cyst on neck
I have a cyst that’s been on the back of the neck for years over 10. Last week it got big and painful. I’ve tried warm compresses and iodine but it hasn’t helped. Do you have any other suggestions to shrink it and get rid of the pain?
I feel like my journey is never-ending! I have implemented so many positive things into my health journey with little results. And I just received news that my thyroid nodule has grown to 4.1 and it’s vascular and my TSH is still non-existent. Any advice, turn arounds, help would be greatly appreciated as I feel like I have done so much(Ozone IV, High dose Vit C IV, supplements, Chiropractic adjustments, changed my entire lifestyle & environment)
TSH increasing after stopping Synthroid
My wife had stopped taking Synthroid for the past 10 months wanting to fix the issue rather than treating the symptom. She had started doing yoga, meditation, and started taking an Ayurvedic med Kachnar guggul to support her thyroid. In the first blood test (6 months after stopping Synthroid ) her TSH was up from 2.5mUI/L to 5, and her AST and ALT were 181U/L and 322 U/L resp. Although she had no hypothyroid symptom or and other liver-related symptoms, to the contrary she was feeling more energetic, based on the MD’s recommendation we reduced Kachnar guggul’s dosage. In the recent test, the liver enzymes ALT 42 U/L and AST 50U/L seem normal but the TSH is 8.5. She still does not have any major hypothyroid symptoms but recently she has also started feeling pain in the upper neck near the tonsils (not near the thyroid gland).
Is there anything you can suggest before we move back to taking Synthroid may be any specific test or any other naturopathic intervention that can figure out what’s causing the stress.
She has a gluten allergy and is on a gluten-free diet for 4 years, also taking Ashwagandha, Lugol iodine, and a small dosage of Kachnar guggul.
Infrared Sauna. I recently purchased the Relax F.I.R. sauna and am beginning to use it daily. There are 2 mechanisms of action, heat, and infrared, that affect the physiology of the user. Can you expand on how it affects the physiology, and what physiological processes are accelerated during its use?
What other modalities (e.g. red light therapy) would you pair with a sauna?
Appointment. We have enjoyed and learned so much by listening to you for quite some time now. My husband and I,( 60 and 62 years old), would like to get appointments for a “full workup” in your Tijuana Clinic, or wherever you provide these. We live in Maine and we do concrete foundations for a living but could take time in January or February.
Hip/ back pain. I recently received information on Blood Pressure medications causing back pain. I have been on Hydrochlorothiazide for many years. Now I suddenly have hip and back pain and was wondering whether there could be a connection between the two. I was keeping a Keto diet until this summer when family meals each Sunday broke the diet with each member bringing their favorite meals ( mostly not Keto). When I go off of my blood pressure meds my pressure raises to 147/97 (average). Now even on my meds my pressure wildly fluctuates. Do you have any insights to get me back on track? I go to the Chiropractor 2x per week and get massages once a week.
Natural immunity. Hi Doc B. I don’t fully understand natural immunity. Could you give an in-depth discussion on this? I hear some people can’t contact a disease, let’s say the popular one at the moment. What percentage of people will not contract the disease if exposed? Why would that be? Would that be because their natural killer (NK) cells take over and it never gets in/stays in the body? Or does it still get into the body although the person doesn’t have any symptoms? What’s the difference in natural immunity in fighting disease and what you hear about the Typhoid Mary effect where you don’t have symptoms but can infect others? They say that’s an asymptomatic carrier, right? How does all that play into natural immunity with a person getting exposed but not getting the disease?
Parathyroid issue and supplements
I have high calcium levels in the blood and very low bone density from hyper parathyroid. Should I avoid taking vitamin D supplements and calcium-rich food or supplement? What can I do to treat this condition naturally? I”m taking a product from Full Script called Thyroid/Thymus/Parathyroid Drops. What is the root cause of this? FYI, I also have hypothyroidism and am treating it naturally.
I am wondering if you could explain the placebo and nocebo effects and how we can use them to our advantage. How do we choose to believe something simply because it would benefit us to do so? Also, along the same lines, how specifically does worry affect our health and how do we abstain from worrying when doing so seems out of our control?
Blackhead with the nodule. My question is I have a small blackhead on my chest that has a nodule under it, probably from me trying to get rid of it…is there anything I can do that can dissolve it?? I have been putting castor on it at night.
infrared thermometers. I am a Correctional Officer for the state of CA. Every day when we come to work we have to have our temps taken with an infrared thermometer. How safe is that? I can see occasionally going to a mall or something but every day? I looked online and have differing opinions.
hypo/hyperthyroid. My labs point to hyperthyroidism, with a TSH of 0.01 and freeT4 of 2.2. My basal body temp. points to hypothyroidism, with my morning temps ranging 96.23-97.20. I also have more symptoms consistent with hypothyroid. No jitters, weight loss, etc. I also have NO antibodies.
Cleanse your arteries in 90 days. We have heard you say more than once that you can “clean your arteries in 90 days” and we would really like to know how to go about that, for many health reasons… Especially, the fact that my husband is recovering from open-heart surgery (last April), so it’s a little more critical for him than it is for me… we also need to have our mercury fillings replaced and are hoping you can give us a recommendation for an amazing holistic dentist.
Would you recommend taking liposomal glutathione for general health?
I heard some voices on the internet, recommending it since all of us are mostly depleted of Glutathione, which impairs the immune system.
I believe I may be suffering from testicular cancer and a spermatocele. My left testicle is WAY BIGGER than my right one and when I give it a little squeeze, it is a bit firm but there’s no pain/feeling. I also feel a pea-sized lump on it as well. As far as the spermatocele, I feel what feels like a smaller “third testicle” at the top back of the epididymis. There’s no pain. I just don’t want to go to the doctor and have him tell me “you have cancer”. I have been changing my diet: starting to ferment sauerkraut, take spirulina/chlorella, trying to find foods with no glyphosates, and sticking to organic as much as I can, and doing rebounding exercise. Any advice on shrinking the swelling down and getting rid of the lump (possible tumor) on my left testicle? I hear that cayenne pepper, turmeric with black pepper, and ginger can shrink tumors. Or is it the case that as long as I follow an organic plant-based diet, everything will correct itself?
Is there a way for the body to detox genital herpes (HSV-2)? Or is it the case that eating fermented foods and caring for the gut microbiome, that will eradicate the HSV-2 virus?
I am nearsighted. For several years, my right eye has not been as good as my left eye in eyesight. With my right eye, straight lines are becoming more curvy and crooked. What can I do about this? I’m fearing some form of macular degeneration.
Thyroid. Is it true that cruciferous vegetables are not good for thyroid issues? – I heard this from a holistic dietitian.
Smoking. I have made a few positive changes, but I still smoke about 7 cigarettes/day. I’m 50 and in the past, I was able to stop for 12 years ( and had put on a lot of weight ), but now the thought of quitting completely gives me too much anxiety. Would I still improve my health if I could gradually go down to 2/day?
Acne. My daughter has tried so many things to try to get rid of her acne but really hasn’t had any success.
Wet muscular eye disorder. It’s a friend that can only see some grays he can’t see much anymore. He told me that they gave him shots in his eyes which Helped for awhile. He also has cellulitis and the doctors gave him antibiotics. He also had diabetes but has it under control without meds.
Inflammation. I would like to know about how inflammation works in the body. Is it true that inflammation is the body’s response to an infection, should we take anti-inflammatories, whether it is ibuprofen, or turmeric during this time? So if we have a sore throat should take lemon, ginger, turmeric, or let the body take its course?
Risperidone induced diabetes
If someone has Risperidone-induced diabetes though could have developed from excessive sugar can they recover without stopping Risperidone and if not will diet exercises, and supplements make a difference in their health as regards diabetes?
Enlarged prostate, Erectile dysfunction, memory loss. My boyfriend Age 65 has an enlarged prostate which results in erectile dysfunction (inability to stay hard). He also Has been losing his memory and ability To focus. He experiences much mental stress and worry and is inconsistent with Meditation which I taught him in the last year. He had been on ADD medication for several years until I got him off of medications for the last year. Going off medications has not improved his cognition or prostate. He appears To me to have an impingement in his sacral area and neck.
My boyfriend fell and wrenched his back and knee. I would like to know what would be good to take besides aspirin? What would be good to build your bones and muscles? He is 63 and is always working.