Case history

Tracy*, age 49, presented with uncontrolled blood pressure in excess of 220/160mmHg, type 2 diabetes and had suffered a stroke due to mitochondrial disease.

She came to me because her GP had exhausted all avenues of conventional treatment and suggested that she may wish to look at supplements to help improve her condition but that she would need to research these herself.

Her prescribed medication included eight different blood pressure medications, including two unlicensed medicines, a statin, aspirin, diclofenac, tramadol, morphine, metformin and omeprazole.

Her health problems are thought to be due to a genetic condition leading to the death of cell mitochondria and build up of lactic acid. There is no cure for this condition but several supplements have been found to help with symptoms and improve quality of life.

Most days Tracey was incapable of holding a conversation and often showed signs of dementia. When she came to me for advice she was keen to try anything that could help her.

Supplement interactions

Whilst researching her condition and possible supplements, several issues came to light. The first was the potential for interactions given the volume of prescribed medication. The second issue was the medications that were potentially toxic to mitochondria including NSAIDs and more importantly statins.

Whilst there were a number of interactions between the recommended supplements and prescribed medication it was important to assess these interactions with a common sense approach. The key supplement recommended was CoQ10 to improve mitochondrial function and energy metabolism. This was even more important given that she was on a statin that the GPs would not discontinue due to her blood pressure and previous stroke.

Finding the right approach

The problem was that CoQ10 interacts with several blood pressure medications and can cause a reduction in blood pressure. Many practitioners would take the approach that an interaction of this nature means that the supplement should not be given. However the common sense approach in this case would be to give the CoQ10 as the blood pressure reading is so high a reduction would be seen to be beneficial. The GP was informed of the plan and agreed to monitor the patient more closely.

The results

Within a month of taking 200mg of CoQ10 daily there had been a moderate reduction in blood pressure and a dramatic effect on energy levels and cognitive function. Tracey’s GP commented that it had been months since he had been able to have such a coherent conversation with her.

My 20 years experience as a pharmacist enabled me to take a more measured approach to this case looking not just at the interactions but also at the interaction between prescribed medication and the patient. Whilst many practitioners would be reluctant to make recommendations, it is clear that just that one supplement had a huge effect on the patient. She now has this supplement prescribed by her GP.

Basic Pharmacology and Drug Nutrient Interactions course

One of the reasons I developed the pharmacology course for Integrative Health Education is to take a practical look at interactions between drugs and nutritional supplements and give practitioners the skills and confidence to recommend supplements to clients on medication safely. It also aims to give practitioners hints and tips on how to assess a client’s medication with respect to how it interacts with the client on a cellular level.

*Client’s name changed to protect her identity.

Upcoming Basic Pharmacology and Drug Nutrient Interactions courses:

JP Sears is a holistic lifestyle coach who helps to empower people to live more meaningful lives as whole individuals. He works by guiding clients to move beyond their symptoms of pain and personal sabotage so they may discover and reconcile their inner imbalances.

In this case study, JP describes a client’s emotional healing journey.

Michael’s story

“I’m broke, I’m continually getting fatter and I have no one to love in my life!” exclaimed Michael in our first session.  Michael, a middle-aged man, had not only hit rock bottom in his life, but he had been there for a few years already.

He had previously attempted to remedy the surface-level destruction in his life by consulting with financial planners and personal trainers to get his finances and health back on track.  These different attempts at change failed as they were only addressing the obvious symptoms, whilst completely overlooking the real issues going on deep inside Michael’s heart.

In our sessions, aiming for the root of the matter, we quickly discovered how Michael’s unresolved issues from his past were controlling and preserving the frustratingly negative circumstances in his life today.

In his mid-teenage years, as Michael was becoming his own person, he was no longer able to effectively please his mother by meeting her expectations about who and how he was supposed to be.  He was met with harsh and neglectful disappointment from his mother and the more he became his natural self the more her disapproval grew. Eventually she demanded that Michael move out of the house even though he was only 16.

As a teenager, Michael shrugged this experience off, moved on with his education and life, and did what he needed to do to survive.  At the time, Michael didn’t feel much more than a scratch of pain, his true feelings were buried deep inside, out of sight and out of mind.

Together, we discovered that this experience in Michael’s teenage years left far more pain deep in his heart than what his mind could recognise at the time. The symptoms of his deep pain persisted and he continued to resist this hurt over the subsequent decades.

The symptoms of financial ruin that were plaguing Michael were a direct manifestation of how worthless he felt he was to his mother.  His continual weight gain was linked to the deep shame he felt about his failure to make his mother happy.

The absence of a loving relationship in his life was a reflection of how he has closed his heart to deny his love for his mother because it didn’t feel safe to love her once she had demanded he move out of the home.

Once these hidden wounds were brought to light, Michael began working with them wholeheartedly to help himself heal the hurt and digest what had been hidden away all these years.

After several sessions together, as well as self-work in between, the symptoms of Michael’s finances, weight and love life are beginning to rebalance.  He’s been able to stick to a plan to get himself out of debt, he’s shedding pounds and he is dating again with excitement.  More importantly, he is genuinely and vulnerably nurturing the wounds in his heart for the first time in his life.