You Are Never Alone, So Reach Out For Help: Sometimes it’s comforting to know that someone is going through the same thing you are, says Dr. Paul Stallone

Sometimes it’s comforting to know that someone is going through the same thing you are. Call it human nature, but knowing someone else made it through something similar can give you the motivation to make it through, too. When a patient named Ruth asked during her first visit how common her symptoms were, she was very surprised and relieved to learn she was just one of the thousands of women who visit with their doctors with similar ailments each day.

Ruth had a few people over the years tell her she was exaggerating her symptoms, but her symptoms were very real. The actual reasons why she and thousands of other women were experiencing many serious mental and physical symptoms ranging from depression to migraines and weight gain could be reversed.

These symptoms were not part of getting older or anything she was exaggerating. Ruth was naturally skeptical about how easy it could be to return to “normal,” as she had been seeking out medical help for years, but with no success. Nothing she tried, including countless over-the-counter medications, had produced results, and still her symptoms continued to get worse. A friend that had experienced similar conditions recommended she try the alternative treatments that had worked for her, because they addressed the root of the problem.

Ruth was suffering from severe mood swings, overpowering fatigue and night sweats that contributed to her insomnia, so her female hormones were tested. Her adrenals and thyroid were also tested because she complained about weight gain, even though she ate a fairly healthy diet, as well as moments of memory loss and low libido. Ruth’s test results confirmed that her hormones, adrenals and thyroid were all out of balance; so all the insufficiencies were addressed.

Because fatigue and depression were her worst symptoms, she was prescribed a natural thyroid medication to help increase her energy levels, reduce her need for more sleep, restore her libido, improve her muscle and joint pain and reverse her depression. Four weeks later, she saw the predicted improvements and a big improvement in the quality of her skin and hair, and her digestion was more regular.

Ruth had also taken home a few natural adrenal supplements to help correct her cortisol production. She had become so stressed that when her body should not be producing cortisol at night it was, and vice-versa. Supplementation can take up to a month to correct this imbalance, and after about a month, Ruth saw more improvements. She also received bioidentical hormone replacement cream, specifically compounded for her. Ruth needed to correct her hormones as part of the treatment plan, or else any progress made would eventually decrease because her body would find a way to make up for any hormonal discrepancies and this would lead back to overworked systems.

It’s been one year since Ruth had her first visit, and she is now one who enjoys her children because she has the energy and patience to appreciate them. Ruth and her husband have a much better physical connection. She no longer feels guilty about her life and how she wasn’t living to her full potential. Ruth once thought she was alone, but women all over the world, every day, are going through the same thing. For Ruth, knowing she wasn’t alone gave her the strength.

Paul Stallone, NMD, founded the Arizona Integrative Medical Center, located at 8144 E. Cactus Rd., Ste. 820, in Scottsdale. He combines natural/alternative/conventional treatments to best fit and benefit each individual patient’s needs. For more information call 480-214-3922 visit DrStallone.com.