You’re Suffering From Low Dopamine, I Said
This is what I said to a women who came in to my pharmacy recently. She said she was really struggling to get out of bed in the morning. Had no motivation for doing anything. She felt like there was a big black cloud over her head. She had been feeling miserable for months, and was now getting desperate for help.
As a nutritional medicine pharmacist, I had suspicions about dopamine straight away. But rather than jump to conclusions, I ran through my 15-point dopamine checklist. Her score was in the “Highly Likely for Dopamine Deficiency” zone.
I sent her on her way with some basic dopamine-boosting nutrients. I said pop back if you are not feeling great within a few days and I’ll book you in to my clinic and we will dive in a little deeper. You may be thinking that a few days is not enough time for someone to climb out of that sort of hole. But my experience is that dopamine deficient patients bounce back very quickly. She popped back about 3 weeks later to buy another bottle of my magic pills. She was feeling back in control, happy and with a spring in her step.
Not many conditions respond so quickly. Many require months of diet, lifestyle and nutrient supplementation to get such great results. But once you have seen a few low-dopamine patients they are easy to spot and easy to fix. And they become raving fans about your magical prowess.
If you want to be able to recognise the signs and symptoms of nutrient (and neurotransmitter) imbalance, then the Nutrition Medicine in Pharmacy Programme is just right for you.
Are you talking to ALL your patients on PPIs about their long-term health goals?
The long term health outlook for patients on PPIs is not good. Just ask the Ministry of Health who have issued warning statements to doctors that PPIs are not for long term use (with a few exceptions).
The not so funny things is that when I talk to many of my patients, they don’t even remember why they were put on it 20 years ago!
So as the medicines experts, we have a responsibility to let our patients know that they need a discussion with their GP about stopping their PPI. For those that do want to stop their PPI, they may experience rebound heart-burn symptoms when they try and stop. That is where Nutrition Medicine can be a super hero. There are many nutrients that can make the withdrawal process pain-free.
PPIs cause serious nutrient imbalances. So for those patients who don’t want to stop their PPI, they need to understand what they need to do to reduce the side effects of long term use. They must replace their minerals, B12, and nitric oxide. They may also need neurotransmitter support. A big price to pay to reduce heart burn!
Imagine if it was you or someone you love. We have an important job let these people know what is best for their health.
Are you talking to all your patients on thyroxine about radiant wellness?
Did you know that 90% of hypothyroid conditions are caused by an auto-immune dysregulation? Giving levothyroxine won’t cure them. In fact, once the auto-immune condition has destroyed the thyroid receptors, levothyroxine won’t do much at all. How often do you ask your hypothyroid patients how well they are feeling? I bet most don’t feel well. And the longer their condition continues, the more likely they are to feel unhealthy. You see the auto-antibodies that attack the thyroid often attack other body parts like connective tissue, and the cerebellum. So the patients joints get sore, and their brain stops functioning well. Hardly a recipe for health.
Auto-Immune disease sounds complex. Too hard to treat in pharmacy even. But it is not. Mostly, it is caused by an incompatibility between genes and lifestyle. And it is not being treated well by anyone else.
Imagine handing a patient an information sheet on how to manage the auto-immune problems underlying their thyroid dysfunction and them returning 6 weeks later feeling like a new person.
This is Nutrition Medicine in action. Real health gains for patients. Not just a little complement on the side, but really powerful strategies to get people radiantly well. That is why I call my pharmacists “Health Coaches”. Maybe I should rename them “Health Gurus”?
Statins and CoQ10 – yawn!
If you think that on my NMiP course I am going to talk to you about recommending CoQ10 to patients taking statins then you have seriously underestimated the role of Nutrition Medicine in health. CoQ10 is awesome, I won’t deny that. And if you guessed that the person in front of you on a statin is low in CoQ10, you might be right. It’s a great start. I could write you a 20-page article about the health benefits of CoQ10. I am a big fan.
But there is so much more that we need to be doing to make our statin patient radiantly well. Is there a reason their cholesterol has gone up? Has the GP assessed inflammation, oxidative stress and immune system dysfunction which underpin cardiovascular disease and are all fixable with lifestyle medicine. Probably not. But if you do, you can not only “fix” the patients cholesterol, but the patient will have less aches and pains, more energy, and think more clearly – the usual side effects of getting lifestyle right. They become radiantly well.
But how do I do that in a busy pharmacy? That is where my pharmacy-specific Nutrition Medicine protocols and resources come in to play. My pharmacy is busy, but I still make time for my patients that want to get back to good health. It is financially viable. Spending 15 minutes coaching a patient might seem to be a luxury you can’t afford. But think about when that patient gets truly well. And tells all their friends about your pharmacy. And when they return every month for repeat supplies of their supplements for the next 10 years! Your hourly rate will be tens of thousands of dollars!
Sick of Pharmacy? Need a Motivational Boost?
Then tune in to listen to how Martin keeps his team motivated, enthusiastic and excited about coming to work each day. When you’ve got seriously powerful tools at your finger tips to create real wellness with your patients, then life is exciting.
No need to join the Police to get better work stories!
Why Should I Get Upskilled In Nutrition Medicine?
My own story involves getting a diagnosis in my 30s of a debilitating arthritic condition called ankylosing spondylitis. This condition robbed my Dad of much of his mobility and quality of life.
Since discovering Nutrition Medicine, I have turned off my arthritis. I have oodles more energy and vitality than I did back then. Aren’t you supposed to slow down as you get older?
My Nutrition Medicine journey received a turbo-boost when I enrolled in my formal Nutrition Medicine studies at RMIT University. Professor Mel Sydney-Smith share his knowledge of nutrition medicine and it changed my health, my career and my life.
I sometimes wonder, what if Professor Mel did not bother to share the information that he had learned over his career in medicine? My life would be a lot worse without that knowledge. Which is why I think we all have a duty of care to our patients to get up-skilled in nutrition medicine.
How many patients walk out your pharmacy door without their full health solution?
I can show you powerful tools that create great health gains for your patients. Once you understand the power in your hands, you will never be “just an ordinary pharmacist” again.
Starting SSRIs: Nutritional Support To Remove the Lag
SSRI’s are commonly used to treat depression. As a pharmacist you will be aware that while serotonin levels in the synapse increase straight away, patients will often not feel better for several weeks. Some may even feel worse. As a good pharmacist I am sure you counsel your patients about this.
What if there was some nutrient support that gave patients a short-term boost in mood immediately? Obviously, you would need to choose nutrients that were compatible with SSRIs. For some patients, this nutrient support might be a life-saver. At the very least you could save your patient from weeks of stress.
As a Nutrition Medicine Pharmacist, these are some of the powerful tools that you will have at your disposal. Is that the sort of pharmacist you want to be?