Editor’s Comment
Usually our editor’s comment is on one topic but we have a lot of housekeeping to do so I wanted to touch upon a number of things.
First of all, many thanks to those who attended Safe Harbor’s Mood Cure Workshop over the February 1 weekend in the Los Angeles area. It was a great success and Julia Ross was a joy to watch as she laid out her remarkably fast-acting amino acid therapies for anxiety, depression, ADD, and other problems. CDs of the workshop will be available shortly. We received MANY inquiries on whether we would be holding the event again in another city and the answer is probably yes. We will know more in the next month or so.
Safe Harbor’s annual medical conference Non Pharma III – Non-Pharmaceutical Approaches to Mental Disorders – is now scheduled for the weekend of June 5 and 6, 2004, in the Los Angeles area. You will hear a lot more about this in our next issue.
Also, we want to extend our appreciation to the Boston Foundation for their recent grant to Safe Harbor, facilitated by the generous efforts of one of the practitioners on Safe Harbor’s directory (Thanks, Judy!).
Lastly, we want to thank you, our readers. Safe Harbor’s work is meaningless unless people like you pass the word on and USE or GET INTO USE the information we put out. We hear from you regularly and the best payment for our work are the stories that come in from those whose lives have been improved through non-drug approaches.
Six Announcements
“Dr. Laura” Schlessinger to Speak at Safe Harbor Awards Benefit.
Safe Harbor takes great pleasure in announcing that Dr. Laura Schlessinger, America’s most popular radio therapist with over 15 million listeners a week, has generously agreed to give of her time and be the keynote speaker for Safe Harbor’s Fourth Annual Awards Benefit in Los Angeles on the evening of Thursday, October 7.
In keeping with Safe Harbor’s philosophy that recovery requires actively participating in one’s own wellness, Safe Harbor will join with Dr. Laura in presenting an evening of hope and recovery with the theme of “Taking Responsibility for Your Mental Health.”
Mark your calendars – you will not want to miss this one. (See next story for even more remarkable details.)
Safe Harbor to Honor Dr. Doris Rapp
The legendary Dr. Doris Rapp has been named as Safe Harbor’s 2004 Lighthouse Award recipient, to be presented on Oct. 7 in Los Angeles at Safe Harbor’s Fourth Annual Awards Benefit.
Our Lighthouse Award is presented to men and women who have made outstanding contributions to humanity by advancing the use of truly safe and effective mental health treatments.
Dr. Rapp, is a best-selling author whose work in showing how allergies can affect adult and child behavior skyrocketed her to fame in the 1980s. She stunned television audiences with videos showing how allergens turned normal children into behavioral problems. Appearing on the Donahue show three times, one episode resulted in 140,000 letters to her office. Still high profile in the media, appearing on Oprah and other programs, Dr. Rapp has positively impacted millions of lives.
We at Safe Harbor cannot think of anyone more befitting of the honor.
Safe Harbor Los Angeles Support Group, Feb. 11
The Los Angeles Safe Harbor Support Group meeting will be held at the Safe Harbor office, 1718 Colorado Blvd, Eagle Rock, from 7 to 9 PM, Wednesday, February 11th.
We will have Gary Erkfritz, D.C., speaking on how NAET (an allergy elimination technique) can be used to improve mental and physical conditions.
The meeting is free and open to all interested persons. Kindly RSVP (323) 257-7338 if you will be participating.
The support group will meet from 7 PM to 8 PM and the talk will be presented from 8 PM to 9 PM.
Safe Harbor Boston Lecture, March 11
Safe Harbor Boston presents “The Mind/Body Approach to Health – A Talk by Eva M. Selhub, M.D.” Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 pm
Location: First Unitarian Society in Newton – Parish Hall
1326 Washington St., Newton, MA
(corner of Highland St., parking behind Sovereign Bank)
Dr. Eva Selhub is a trained internist and specialist in Mind/Body Medicine. She is currently the Medical Director of the Mind/Body Medical Clinics at the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Boston, where she is also a clinical trainer and researcher. Dr. Selhub also practices as integrative health consultant at the Center for Balance in Newtonville. She is on staff at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and is a clinical instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and Tufts Medical School. Dr. Selhub has created a holistic approach to healthcare, integrating Eastern and Western philosophies into her practice. Much of her technique is based on the effects of stress on health. Dr. Selhub offers consultations in all aspects of health which include a unique stress physiology assessment, nutrition and exercise counseling, integrative imagery and guided relaxation, and energy healing (Reiki and Qigong).
Dr. Selhub’s lectures are based on the mind/body connection, the physiology of stress and coping, and their relationship to illness. She also lectures on spirituality in medicine. Dr. Selhub received her B.A from Tufts University, and her M.D. from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1994. She did post-doctoral training in internal medicine at the Boston Medical Center in Boston, MA. She is a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
Safe Harbor Boston is dedicated to increasing awareness about the advantages of using alternative treatments for those interested in mental health issues. We provide healing circle/support group meetings the first and third Mondays of each month from 7:00-9:00 PM at the First Unitarian Society for people who experience extreme states of mind.
For more information call: 617-964-5544 or write to SafeHarborB@aol.com
Visit Safe Harbor’s site: www.alternativementalhealth.com
For directions to the First Unitarian Society in Newton: www.fusn.org
Safe Harbor New York Lecture.
Holistic Psychiatry Lecture
Dr. Michael Gurevich will speak about using herbs, supplements, and homeopathic remedies to treat mental disorders.
**NEW DATE**: Wednesday, February 11, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Where: Neighborhood Preservation Center, 232 East 11th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues
Closest subway stops: Astor Place (6 train), Union Square (4, 5, 6, L, N, R, Q, and W), or 3rd Avenue station (L) Closest bus stops: 3rd Avenue between 10 and 11th (M101, M102, and M103) or 2nd Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets (M15)
Donation: $5
Michael I. Gurevich, M.D., C.Ac.
Founder and President, Lifestreams Integrative Health and Wellness, a holistic health center in Glen Head, NY.
Diplomate American Board of Psychiatry
Diplomate American Board of Addiction Psychiatry
Certified Acupuncturist
Please let us know if you will be attending:
Safe Harbor New York
ny@alternativementalhealth.com
New York: 212-302-9811
New Jersey: 201-656-2849
Pfeiffer Treatment Center Comes to Northern California, Oregon
The Pfeiffer Treatment Center, the world’s largest nutritional mental health clinic (a nonprofit organization) will be delivering lectures in Northern California and Oregon in the near future. Learn the benefits of Nutrient-based therapy for chemical imbalances such as ADD/ADHD, Autism, Behavior Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, and Schizophrenia.
Additionally, they will be presenting a 3-day clinic in Northern California from April 19-21, during which they will be seeing patients for treatment. They are at 630-5050-0300 and www.hriptc.org.
LECTURE SCHEDULE:
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: Wed., March 17, 7-9 pm
Embassy Suites Hotel
San Francisco Airport
150 Anza Blvd.
Burlingame, CA
650-342-4600 (for directions only)
RSVP (helpful but not required) 630-505-0300 ext.216
OREGON: Thurs., March 18th, 6:30-8:30pm Salem Library
585 Liberty St.
Salem, OR
503-588-6315 (for directions only)
Sponsored by Integrative Mental Health Care
RSVP to 503-316-8117
MRI Tested As “Bipolar” Treatment
Magnetic waves being used to examine “bipolar” patients actually made them feel better, prompting further study with promising results, according to a study published in the January 2004 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
“This is a very unusual MRI [magnetic resonance imaging] exam used for the first time in this study. We were surprised at our good fortune in discovering this effect and we are excited about the initial findings,” says Michael Rohan, imaging physicist in McLean’s Brain Imaging Center.
“We were using MRI to investigate the effectiveness of certain medications in bipolar patients and noticed that many came out of the MRI feeling much better than when they went in. We decided to investigate further.”
Researchers theorized that one type of magnetic pulse they were using was having the positive effect. “This was purely accidental. We just happened to use this set of magnetic gradients, which we think somehow matches the natural firing rhythm of brain cells.” Technically this kind of scan is called EP-MRSI, or Echo-Planar Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging.
After realizing they may be observing a real effect, researchers expanded the study to include sham EP-MRSI scans [equivalent of a placebo control] with bipolar subjects, normal EP-MRSI scans in healthy subjects, in addition to EP-MRSI scans in bipolar subjects.
The results showed 23 out of 30 bipolar subjects who received the actual EP-MRSI tests reported mood improvement. Subjects who were not on medication showed even greater response (100 percent) compared to the response rate of those on medication (63 percent). These results were not seen in either of the control groups.
The authors note that one other test using electromagnetic energy has previously shown some positive effect in subjects with depression. This rTMS, or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation test, was originally developed in the 1980s to test nerve function. It uses a magnetic device that is held next to the head. Studies using this treatment for depression typically result in a 40 percent to 50 percent response rate. However, the McLean authors note that this test uses a much stronger magnetic field (200 times stronger than theirs) that can be painful to the subject.
Like a standard MRI, the magnetic field the McLean researchers are using is not felt by the patient. Researchers are currently developing a tabletop device capable of generating the same magnetic field as originally used with the MRI scanner.
The smaller device is expected to prove more efficient and cost-effective enough for use in routine visits at a doctor’s office.
“We are also planning a much larger clinical study using this smaller device to further test this effect,” adds Rohan.
This story has been adapted from a press release by McLean Hospital, a psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School with the largest research program of any private psychiatric hospital in the U.S.
Fish, Essential Fatty Acids Linked to Lower Hostility
A study summarized in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2004, finds that high dietary intake of DHA (a fatty acid)and consumption of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids may be related to lower likelihood of high hostility in young adulthood. (Iribarren C, Markovitz JH, Jacobs DR, Schreiner PJ, Daviglus M, Hibbeln JR, “Dietary intake of omega-3, omega-6 fatty acids and fish: Relationship with hostility in young adults-the CARDIA study.”)
“Hostility has been shown to predict both the development and manifestation of coronary disease,” states the abstract of the study, which examined the relationship between dietary intake of fish and of polyunsaturated (omega-3 and omega-6) essential fatty acids with hostility.
The data analyzed came from a 1990-1993 study of 3581 urban white and black young adults. A dietary assessment in 1992-1993 and measurement of hostility and other factors in 1990-1991 were used in the analysis.
The multivariate odds ratios of scoring in the upper quartile of hostility (adjusting for age, sex, race, field center, educational attainment, marital status, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity) associated with one standard deviation increase in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake was statistically significant. Consumption of any fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, compared to no consumption, was also independently associated with lower odds of high hostility.
Bipolar Recovery with Fish Oil
This recovery story appeared on Safe Harbor’s support group email list, SafeHarbor2, and is reprinted with her permission:
I “accidentally” discovered fish oil helped my bipolar immeasurably when I started taking it as a natural alternative to surgery for my wrist. They never did decide whether it was peripheral neuropathy from an OLD injury, or if it was carpal tunnel, but they didn’t hesitate to recommend surgery. The fish oil sounded like a much better solution.
It worked… slowly. Meanwhile, a bipolar friend who saw me for the first time for a few months said how much BETTER I seemed – and whatever I was doing, to keep it up! I did, and the moods got even more stable. And more, and more. I knew the DHA [docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid] in the fish oil was shown to help depression, but while I was taking it they discovered EPA [eicosapentaenoic acid, another omega-3 fatty acid] was good for mood swings.
As this continued, my psychiatrist started weaning me off of the drugs. Not just taking them away, but doing it in a controlled, recommended manner. He kept taking more and more away, and I got MORE stable. He kept taking them away until I wasn’t taking any. I don’t see him anymore, but knowing him, he’s just as happy about that! Everything I need “talk-wise,” I seem to be able to handle better by talking to other mental health consumers or writing to them.
Recovery From Years of “Bipolar Disorder” index
The following comes from a woman who knew she had a parathyroid problem and asked us if it could be causing her bipolar symptoms. Safe Harbor responded an emphatic “Yes” and referred her to Dr. Sydney Walker’s book A Dose of Sanity, which discusses a case where this occurred. Parathyroid problems are often marked by increase calcium levels on blood tests because this gland plays a role in calcium metabolism.
Dear friends,
You will be pleased to know that I underwent surgery for a parathyroid tumor December 23. Before the tumor was removed, my prime identification was “60 year old female with bipolar disorder.” Immediately after surgery I had none of the markers of bipolar: gone were the dizziness, confusion, nausea, depression, exhaustion. I kept asking “What did you put in the anesthesia??”
As my calcium begins to pump into my nervous system, I have the most extraordinary feeling of well-being. My memory, though still sluggish, is becoming sharper, my spirits are full and I have never felt better in 60 years.
I do not want to get into the grief I know I will feel for the agonizing years I have lost and did not need to. But I do want to put up a red flag to those of you who can make a difference. Listen with all your ears, test everything upside-down, hear the patient.
I told every clinician I was not a manic depressive and (upon reading my files) was designated in severe denial, noncompliant, etc. I also addressed my high calcium levels 10 and 15 years ago, but my concerns were dismissed with “They’re slightly high – nothing to worry about.”
Thank you, Safe Harbor, for Sydney Walker’s A Dose of Sanity, pages 56-57 (misdiagnosed parathyroid tumor). A very happy New Year to everyone!
B12 Lozenges Produce Bipolar Recovery
Here is another recovery story sent to Safe Harbor:
Our son was born with a blood disorder called spherocytosis and had his spleen removed at age three. All was well and he had to take folic acid for years.
At age 20 he was misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder. This diagnosis came after he had suffered something quite horrific which left him in a manic state.
Because of his disoriented state, my son was taken to the hospital, where he was deemed “medically fit enough” to sign a form giving the hospital permission to keep him as a psychiatric patient for an indefinite period of time. When we realized what all those meds were doing to him, we tried to get him released, or perhaps transferred to a hospital nearer to our home. The response was that he was “not mentally fit” to sign a form giving us his medical power of attorney (something that he has since made sure that we now have).
We found ourselves in a “catch-22” situation in which our son seemed to be a pawn. We knew his normal behavior, the hospital didn’t and we knew that something horrific had happened to him, something that the hospital didn’t seem to think was important. We have since learned that severe stress can quickly deplete the body of B12, causing mania and bipolar-like symptoms. Because our son was in that age group when bipolar symptoms often begin, he fit that profile and was exhibiting abnormal behavior, he was admitted to the psychiatric ward.
He couldn’t tolerate the meds and quit taking them. After five years of taking no meds, the doctors had to re-evaluate their original diagnosis, as a bipolar person cannot go five years without proper meds and maintain good mental health. He seemed fine but bouts of depression and anxiety will hit him now and again.
I remember reading an article which stated that a deficiency in vitamin B12 could cause a person to be misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder. I sent my son this article and after reading it he started taking B12 in the form of lozenges which are dissolved under the tongue. He is 29 now and still takers B12 in lozenge form daily. He doesn’t suffer anxiety or depression unless he forgets to take them.
Today he has still not been able to get that initial bipolar diagnosis removed from his file, a fact which prevented him from passing his medical after being accepted into the armed forces last year. He was accepted ROTP (Regular Officer Training Plan) and they had had agreed to fund his final year of university, but unfortunately he failed to pass his medical, based solely on the bipolar diagnosis. He was rejected and had to struggle financially in order to finish his degree.
UK to Probe Antidepressant/Suicide Connection
The British government’s medicines agency says it will look into whether new anti-depressant drugs increase a patient’s suicide risk, according to a Reuters story released January 6, 2004.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said the study will estimate the risk of suicide, suicidal thoughts, non-fatal overdose and self-laceration in patients taking selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) and tricyclic anti-depressants (TCA).
Among health regulatory agencies, Britain’s has taken the lead in reviewing the safety of SSRI drugs following reports that some depressed patients turn violent or suicidal while under the influence of the drugs or undergoing withdrawal from them.
A safety review in children last year resulted in the UK agency’s advice against prescribing nearly all SSRIs to under-18s due to risks found to outweigh the benefits.
The new study will follow patients of all ages up to 90 who were diagnosed with depression between 1995 and 2001, the agency said.
Relative risks of suicide and other problems would be calculated for SSRI and tricyclic anti-depressant treatment versus no drug treatment, SSRI versus TCA treatment, and for each SSRI compared with GlaxoSmithKline’s SSRI Seroxat/Paxil (paroxetine), perhaps chosen as a benchmark because it is Britain’s most commonly prescribed SSRI.
Stroke Effects Can Be Reversed
Strokes can now often be treated successfully with medications years after the original incident. Dr. William Hammesfahr, a Florida physician, discovered that the use of FDA-approved hypertension and cardiac disease medications can produce significant improvement in cognitive, personality, intellectual and memory function in most patients with brain injury or stroke. For this discovery, Hammesfahr was nominated in 1999 for the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology.
Previously, it was believed that stroke victims saw whatever improvement there would be within the first few hours, and that there would be little or no improvement thereafter. Medications given after strokes were mainly to prevent further strokes.
Understandably, Dr. Hammesfahr’s announcements have met with skepticism and outright attack. Claims that the revolutionary stroke therapy could not possibly be true, and therefore must be fraudulent, were brought before the Florida Department of Health. After a thorough investigation, Judge Susan Kirkland declared that Dr. Hammesfahr was “the first physician to treat patients successfully to restore deficits caused by stroke.”
The evidence presented included results of independent studies done on stroke victims using Hammesfahr’s protocol. Diane K. Harley, a court-recognized expert in physical therapy located in the Tampa Bay area, reported that most patients in her study had been paralyzed for longer than a year and had no hope of improvement. She tested patients in the study prior to the protocol, and then three weeks into the procedure. Of 242 patients tested, 221 improved within three weeks, and none were harmed.
Dr. Alex T. Gimon, a Tampa Bay psychologist and a court-recognized expert in neuropsychology and brain injury, tested a group of 168 patients, and then a group of 164 patients. Again, most of these subjects had experienced stroke or brain injury at least a year before the study began, and had discontinued physical and cognitive rehabilitation. Gimon reported marked improvement in most of his test subjects within 15 days.
Further testimony was made by two private physicians who themselves experienced strokes, underwent Hammersfahr’s treatment, and returned to their practices. A former NFL football player, Steven Putnal, testified that after being paralyzed for 18 months, he was now able to return to his hobbies of hunting and walking in the woods. A man who had been unable to speak after a stroke testified verbally for over two hours about his recovery.
Acceptance by Medicare is a good sign that a treatment has been accepted into the medical mainstream. In November of 2002, Medicare approved federal funds for the Hammesfahr treatment, identifying the innovative physician as the first to treat patients with permanent neurological deficits who were previously felt to be untreatable.
Finally, the U.S. Patent Office, after a five-year investigation, declared the therapy innovative and effective, and issued a patent.
Dr. William Hammesfahr has offices at the Hammesfahr Neurological Institute, 600 Druid Road East in Clearwater, Florida, 33756, (727) 461-4464, Fax (727) 443-1984.
Medical Societies Warn of Anti-Psychotics’ Side Effects
A new recommendation jointly signed by the American Diabetes Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists urges caution in administering the anti-psychotics Abilify, Clozaril, Geodon, Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa.
People taking these drugs – commonly prescribed for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and dementia – should be carefully watched for signs of diabetes, obesity or high cholesterol, according to the statement, published in the journal Diabetes Care (February 2004).
Recent studies were cited linking those side effects to the antipsychotics.
Obesity and diabetes, like high cholesterol, raise a person’s risk of heart disease.
The recommendation says doctors should screen patients before starting them on such a drug or as soon as possible afterward, noting such things as a history of obesity and diabetes in the patient and the family, and the patient’s weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Doctors should also monitor the patient during the course of treatment.
Patients and family members should be informed of the potential for the side effects, and be told of signs of diabetes and especially those of a life-threatening complication called diabetic ketoacidosis, the statement says. That complication is marked by such symptoms as weight loss, nausea, vomiting, rapid breathing and dehydration.
That complication has appeared in some people using anti-psychotics, and it was an early indicator that the drugs might be linked to diabetes.
Book Review: Our Toxic World, A Wake Up Call by Doris Rapp, MD
Dr. Doris Rapp, internationally recognized authority on allergies has come up with an outstanding work in her latest book, Our Toxic World, A Wake Up Call: Chemicals Damage Your Body, Brain, Behavior, and Sex.
This book exposes the disturbing truth about the multifaceted daily assault humans experience in the industrial world through our air and water. She discussed the primary chemicals we are exposed to, their effects, and what you can do about it.
Chapters include How Can You Tell if Chemicals Hurt You?; Can Chemicals Affect Behavior, Activity, Learning, and Child Development?; Sex and Chemicals; and Just How Contaminated Are We?
She not only addresses those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities but also the millions of other who are harmed, often unknowingly, by chemical, mold, and other exposures, resulting in debilitating physical and mental injury. The book also gives specific instructions on how to spot if you or your loved ones are being adversely effected by chemical exposure.
Like all of her books, Our Toxic World is an extraordinary contribution and will save and improve many lives. Always the humanitarian, Dr. Rapp ensures that readers are empowered with plenty of tools to improve their own health and that of the planet.
Parody of Zoloft Commercial
For those of you who have winced while watching the Zoloft commercial with the little oval creature becoming happy and sad as the announcer explains that it’s all a chemical imbalance – the following Web site may give you some relief from this depressing advertising.
It is a full action cartoon with sound so takes a little time to load but it is very funny: