DR ROBY: Yes, indeed, and it happens quite frequently. As a matter of fact, I would say that a vast majority of our patients have been referred to a psychiatrist before we see them. Most of those patients already know that their doctors have missed the boat on their problem and many of our patients are on anti-depressants when they come to us, but are able to drug free in a very short time.

We have a great website: www.drroby.com, which will answer most of your questions, and if you find more that you didn’t know you had, you can email them to me, and I’ll answer them for you, or explain anything that you need to have clarified. Please read the following three sections in the order that they are listed: 1) Hormone Imbalance/Allergy. 2) Food Allergy. 3) Airborne Allergy. These three sections will give you a better idea of what is going on inside your body, why it is happening, and how we can help you to help yourself back to a happier, healthier lifestyle…which you deserve.

From Tragedy to Transformation

Denise Rodgers, M.Div., a published author, mind/body educator, researcher, and radio and television personality will offer a free “Introduction to Mind, Body, & Spirit Self-Empowerment” program on Tuesday, June 26, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at The Roby Institute, 4407 Bee Caves, Suite 122. New to the area, Rodgers is the founder of the Association for Development of Mind/Body Potential, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to the exploration of the healing power of the mind.

Denise understands how transformation can result from tragedy. She knows all too well that a healing crisis can be a stimulus for spiritual, mental, and emotional growth. Twenty years ago, soon after the murder of her husband, Denise was shot twice, beaten, and left for dead, while her 4 year old daughter looked on. Shot through the chest and forearm, Rodgers was faced with little hope from the medical community in repairing the damage that would leave her permanently disabled. Doctors gave her an 18% chance of ever using her left hand again. Not willing to accept her prognosis, Denise embarked upon a mind, body, & spirit educational process delving into the untapped healing potential she believes we all possess, but are rarely taught to use.

Throughout her healing journey Rodgers realized she was in need of more than physical healing. She rapidly began to experience a healing of her heart, mind, and spirit as well. Within several years, Rodgers was completely healed of what doctors thought impossible. More importantly, Rodgers experienced what she calls a “spiritual awakening,” where she began to discover greater meaning and purpose in life.

Since then, Rodgers has realized a great sense of mission in helping others to tap their own healing potential, devoting the past 18 years to the continual exploration of the mind and its healing and creative potential. She has created, offered and evaluated Mind, Body & Spirit programs in a variety of arenas. Originally offering her programs to the general public in Tulsa, over the past six years, her programs have been successfully used by patients with Multiple Sclerosis, and various forms of Cancer.

Rodgers and her research colleague, Carolyn Kinney, PhD, RN, from Austin, have collaborated for the past nine years in offering the Mind, Body, & Spirit Self-Empowerment Program in Tulsa, Austin, Galveston, and Houston. Together they have published their results in peer-reviewed journals showing statistically significant improvements in Quality of Life, Spiritual Well-Being, Perceived Wellness, and Depression.

Rodgers will begin offering her Mind, Body, & Spirit Self-Empowerment programs at the Roby Institute in July. The program is held in 6-week modules, where participants attend a 3 hours class one day or evening a week. Classes will be offered on Tuesday afternoons, Wednesday mornings, and Wednesday evenings. Each class will be limited to 10 participants.

Students will draw from a variety of spiritual practices, developing ways to unlock their creative potential and intuitive faculties, as well as understand and interpret their dreams. In addition, participants will practice visualization, meditation, and guided imagery techniques. They will also learn how to utilize the innate healing powers for self-healing. Participants will learn how their thoughts and consciousness create reality.

Rodgers adds, “There’s a lot of talk about the book and video entitled ‘The Secret,” and there is a great deal that I would agree with. However, the book doesn’t really give you the ‘how-to’, so I would say that my program is about The Practice.

For more information on the Mind, Body & Spirit program, call Denise at 512-303-7858 or visit her website at www.mindbodypotential.com.

Dizzy in Dallas:  Dear Dr. Roby, I am 26 yr old female with 2 small children.  I have experienced dizziness and vertigo for the past year.  I’ve had all practical tests done and the only conclusion my physician can come to is Meniere’s.  I am on and off dizzy throughout the month,  but I am MOST dizzy right before and during my period.  I linked this problem to after I stopped nursing my last baby.  I am so frustrated!  I can’t go anywherebecause I am so sensitive to light, sound, and motion.

I read about birth control maybe helping stabilize my hormones and although I HATE birth control,  I went on Mircette.  Been on it for 2 months now and can’t tell a difference either way in how I feel.  I have lost 25 lbs. over the last year also, just from eating healthier and very moderate exercise as everything makes me dizzy.

Do you think my dizziness could be related to my hormones?

Dr. Roby: The most notable sentence in your email is, “I’M MOST DIZZY RIGHT BEFORE AND DURING MY PERIOD.” This is a big HELLO. We see quite a lot of this same type of problem in our offices. It is almost always because of a hormone imbalance.

It is quite likely that you are having a true allergic reaction to one or more of the hormones that you produce, as well. When you become allergic to a hormone that your body is producing naturally, a few things happen. The hormone cannot perform it’s natural functions, and it causes your body to perceive itself as an enemy invader.   As a result, your body starts an attack… on you! The more that it happens, the more confused your body becomes. You start to produce and use more adrenaline, which causes stress, the stress causes pain, pain causes more stress and so on, and so on.

Allergy also causes soft tissue swelling (seen by your docs as Meniere’s). Unfortunately, they are looking for a disease. What I see in your case is a symptom of hormone imbalance, not a disease.

Can we fix it? Yes, because we are really looking at the root cause of the problem. Once we address the basic imbalance, and the allergy, all of the symptoms start to go away.

Originally published here

34 menopause symptoms? Really? It is a logical question to ask. After all, millions of women are experiencing one or more of the 34 menopause symptoms right now! What is going on? We all remember a grandmother or older aunt, how they made the transition into menopause. The so-called change will happen, but something tells us that experiencing many of the symptoms of menopause as early as ages thirties or forties is not normal.

First, here is a list of the most common 34 menopause symptoms. Take a moment to consider each one, as some are subtle and at first glance may appear to have no relation to being menopause symptoms:

1 – Aching joints and muscles

2 – Allergy symptoms

3 – Breast tenderness

4 – Chronic fatigue and morning sluggishness

5 – Cold or tingling hands or feet

6 – Craving sweets, caffeine, carbohydrates and unstable blood sugar levels

7 – Depression, anxiety and mood swings

8 – Dizziness, lightheadedness

9 – Dry, thin or wrinkly skin

10 – Endometriosis

11 – Facial hair growth

12 – Fibrocystic breasts

13 – Hair loss, thinning hair

14 – Headaches, migraines

15 – Heart palpitations

16 – Heavy or light periods

17 – Hot flashes

18 – Incontinence

19 – Irregular periods

20 – Irritatibility, inability to handle stress

21 – Lack of concentration, foggy fuzzy thinking, memory lapses

22 – Leg cramps

23 – Low metabolism

24 – Lower sex drive, loss of sex drive

25 – PMS and menstrual cramping

26 – Night sweats

27 – Osteoporosis

28 – Ringing or buzzing in ears (tinnitus)

29 – Sleep disturbances, insomnia

30 – Spotting, light bleeding

31 – Symptoms of hypothyroidism with normal T3 and T4 levels

32 – Uninary tract and yeast infections

33 – Uterine fibroids

34 – Water retention and unexplained weight gain, especially in hips, waist and stomach

Menopause is a natural process for a woman, not an illness. As a woman ages, there will be an expected slowing and ultimately shutdown in the reproductive cycle and system. This is normal. However, most of the 34 menopause symptoms are indications of underlying hormonal imbalance or damage to the body from poor eating habits, stress, obesity and other factors. Millions of women in the industrialized countries experience one or more of these 34 menopause symptoms many years before the normal age of menopause, which is about 51 years of age.

Why? There are several reasons. Women often put tremendous demands on their bodies, much more stress than it was designed to handle, and then do not give it the support it needs. Women have demanding and stressful careers. There are family responsibilities. The relationship with the spouse or partner may not be the best. Aging parents can add to the burden. All of these and other responsibilities are cumulative in the toll they take on the body and health of a woman.

And at the same time, the womans body may not be receiving the support it needs to function as it was designed to do. Poor eating habits, lack of exercise, obesity, excess caffeine and alcohol add to the problem instead of helping the body cope with the demands placed on it. This lack of balance between the demands made versus support given contributes to many of the 34 menopause symptoms.

Then there is the issue of the menstrual cycle and hormone production in the body. In the normal menstrual cycle and a healthy woman, estrogen is the dominant hormone that is produced for the first 10-12 days following the previous menstrual flow. If ovulation occurs, ovulation then signals the female body to produce progesterone, which happens for the next 12 days or so. If pregnancy does not occur during ovulation, progesterone and estrogen levels will drop at around day 28, allowing menstruation to begin. However, if you do not ovulate, you will not produce progesterone that month. This event, called an annovulatory cycle, is a typical occurance today for women even 10 to 20 years before the normal age of menopause. This leaves the woman with an excess of estrogen and a deficiency of the vital hormone progesterone which can only be produced if ovulation occurs.

Many women in their thirties or forties are actually having fewer ovulations, creating hormone imbalance, resulting in many of the 34 menopause symptoms. And once ovulation ceases at menopause, progesterone levels fall to virtually zero. At the same time, estrogen is still being produced, again leading to hormone imbalance and the resulting symptoms. If a hysterectomy has happened, surgical menopause means the woman no longer produces progesterone.

Besides the problems created by missed ovulations or hysterectomy, excess estrogen is regularly obtained from other sources. Birth control pills, household chemicals and pesticides, certain foods that have been sprayed or given chemicals and many construction materials used in homes are all sources of unhealthy estrogen. Doctors call this hormone imbalance condition where excess estrogen exists – estrogen dominance. What are the symptoms of estrogen dominance? The symptoms are nearly the same as the 34 menopause symptoms!

When your estrogen and progesterone hormones are balanced, you feel more alert and energetic. And balancing family, career, stress and your own needs becomes much easier to do, like it was when you were younger.