Dr. Steph

I don't just want an anti-depressant! Can't they test for root causes?

Finally a Doctor that addresses Happiness blockers root causes! When I began considering getting on an antidepressant 5 years ago, I was quickly overwhelmed at the different types and the difficulty figuring out which antidepressant or anti anxiety  would be best.  

Do I look at one that addresses my Serotonin or my Dopamine levels? Which would make me fat? Kill my sex drive? Make me one-dimensional & flat? Take my current Serotonin & leave it on the synapse longer but not actually get me more of it?  I didn't want to trial and error serious brain balance shifters if really I just needed to cut out my processed sugar and exercise more. 

I initially looked at the brain scans the Amen clinic offered in Northern California and Newport Beach fascinated by the prospect of injecting a radioactive isotope that would travel to my brain and light up the parts of the brain that were in use to show  which parts were functioning correctly. I shy'd away at the $3000 price tag and later learned a few tidbits that made me grateful I had waited to sign up. But I wanted access to my happiness equation and I was getting desperate.

Was it my birth control? My wacky crazy genetics? My sugar addiction? Something blocking my micronutrient absorption? A serious Serotonin imbalance in my brain? At almost 30, I was over not knowing the next time the sky would fall and I was ready to take drastic measures.

Then the heavens opened and I met the exact resource I was looking for.

A doctor that knew what to look for and knew which tests to order! She checked to see if I had problems with my nutrition intake, absorption, or conversion as well as how well my brain manufactured my happiness chemicals Serotonin and Dopamine. She checked my hormone balance and explained which times of the month my estrogen & progesterone would be out of whack with normal annoying female cycle drops. She explained stress hormone Cortisol and it's affect on mood and relationship with sugar.

She gave me a better understanding of the pieces of the puzzle and changed the way I looked at chocolate pie. Dessert is now called Moody Blues in my house.

My actual results:
1. my Vitamin D levels were as dangerously low as many of her depressed patients (taking 5000 IU/day if you live north of LA/Atlanta is a good idea & getting 15 minutes of sunscreen free sunshine per day mid day is also good)
2.my B vitamins weren’t converting properly to help make Serotonin ( 60% of people have conversion problems genetically )
3. my brain didn’t naturally make enough motivation and reward driving Dopamine ( Which explained the draw to chaos and constant activity )
4. My Serotonin stayed on my brain long enough (yay! SSRI’s (Prozac) would not have helped my mood at all & would have likely lowered my libido and sparked weight gain! )
5. I am extremely low in estrogen which makes me muscular and lean w little boobs, makes me break out, and affects mood but reduces my chance for most reproductive cancers.

I am so beyond grateful and hopeful that natural medicine is available and I can treat the root causes and not just symptoms with darts thrown in the dark. I even have custom vitamin & amino acid blends I take daily to fit my specific needs. ELATED, GRATEFUL, & HAPPY TO SHARE MY FAVORITE WELLNESS RESOURCE!