FAQs

Q: You use the word “insane” in your title–do you really think the female brain truly goes insane?
A: It is important to remember that this book was inspired and informed by my experience of listening to and treating more than 3,000 female patients, and also based on my own personal trials. I think anyone who has suffered the debilitating, sometimes devastating, emotional effects of PMS and other hormonal imbalances would definitely agree that they feel a kind of temporary insanity. I think the word is perfectly descriptive of my experience and that of the patients and readers this book is written for.

Q: Why did you write Female Brain Gone Insane?
A: After sitting with, treating, and holding the hands of so many women in over twenty years of clinical practice, I KNOW the suffering they go through. With my treatment plan, education and support I was able to give them hope and helped turn their lives around. I know there are millions of women out there suffering in similar ways. I believe that Female Brain Gone Insane will give women out there who suffer alone without help or explanations the information and hope they deserve and require to feel better.

Q: What do you consider the most important message of Female Brain Gone Insane?
A: You do not have to suffer debilitating emotional symptoms. Your body’s symptoms are real telling you your body’s brain chemistry is off. By balancing your brain chemistry, using natural supplements, symptoms disappear and you will feel like your old self again

Q: Who is the book written for?
Female Brain Gone Insane is a hands-on manual for women who feel like they are falling apart, losing it, or going “insane.” Female Brain Gone Insane focuses on the emotional symptoms of hormone and brain chemistry imbalances associated with the combination of stress-filled lives and life transitions such as PMS, perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.

Unlike other hormone books on the market, Female Brain Gone Insane is less focused on physiological changes such as bone loss and weight gain and instead tackles the legitimate panic and distress women feel as they experience symptoms associated with emotional and intellectual turmoil, including mood swings, loss of concentration and/or memory, and mental acuteness–to name a few. Women who have asked “Why do I feel like I am losing it? “How can I cope with the emotional changes I am experiencing?” and “Will I ever feel like myself again?” will find real and compassionate help in this emergency guidebook.

Q: What would you say is the greatest cause of female “insanity?”
A: Clearly our stressful lives contribute to our out of whack bio-chemistry. Getting through a day in the 21st century is complicated and we neglect taking the time we need to breathe, relax, and unwind. The speed of our lives is revved up way beyond what our bodies were created to actually handle. While we run around doing too much, our brain chemistry changes and we experience a litany of unpleasant symptoms. But we rarely listen. Our innate intelligence shouts out, “Hey, you! Slow down. Breathe. Relax.” “When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep and a nutritional meal?” And what do you do with that endless stream of intuitive knowing that tries so hard to interrupt the rat race? Maybe you slip into a yoga class to stretch for a quick hour but then you’re off to gulp another cup of coffee and dash back into your demanding life. Maybe you sit down for a glass of wine and kick off your shoes. But do these temporary distractions and activities really bring you lasting peace or calm; instead it causes bio-chemical imbalances, causing the unpleasant symptoms you are experiencing.

Q: Why do you place such an importance on symptoms?
A: Symptoms are your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. I practice what is called functional medicine, a science-based healthcare approach that assesses and treats underlying causes of illness. Traditional medicine tends to band-aid symptoms while ignoring the underlying causes of illness, which continue to make the body sicker. I look for the underlying causes and listen carefully to what women tell me. Their symptoms, such as anxiety, irritability, brain fog, weeping and more, speak volumes and tell me how their body and brain chemistry are out of balance. I then provide their bodies with what they are screaming for–and by that I mean bio-identical hormones, sometimes adrenal and thyroid support, as well as supplements, mood food, and lifestyle changes that help repair and rebalance. Then the body’s natural intelligence can take care of the rest.

Q: How can I use this ‘temporary’ insanity as a way to learn more about myself beyond biochemistry and hormones? What deeper meaning is there in this difficult time that I can mine and apply to my life now and in the future?
A: Learning to listen to symptoms is more than keeping a check list of I’m tired/I’m anxious/I’m confused. It is about really paying attention to yourself with tenderness and compassion as well as respecting how your body/mind tells you what is going on and what it needs. This is a skill you can cultivate that will serve you for the rest of your life.
Contentment isn’t the end of the road. Once you feel happier and in balance you now have the time and space to really be there for yourself and others in a way you may not have known or considered before.

Q: In your opinion, how do we achieve happiness?
A: Happiness is not the goal. Happiness can wax and wane. Whereas happiness, is an outcome, contentment is a state of ‘being.’ I am interested in building lasting inner peace and contentment. I believe those qualities actually bring about more joy and satisfaction. When you bring joy into simply waking up, sipping your tea, and looking out the window, even the simplest of acts can nourish your body and soul. Cultivating contentment or inner peace is actually health-inducing and it will balance and reenergize the spirit. Balanced brain chemistry is the result of this kind of attitude. Of course we all need some help getting there, but once your brain chemistry is balanced will you be able to access contentment again.

Q: Can my brain chemistry be tested?
A: Yes. Many laboratories determine the level of your brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters, through a simple urine test. Once I find out the levels of my patient’s different brain chemicals I am able to put together the precise custom treatment to rebalance her brain chemistry. I can also do follow up testing to see how we are doing. The Emotional Rescue Treatment Plan in the book is a distillation of all that I have learned from testing and treating patients over the years. Of course, the book focuses on using symptoms as the key guidelines to determine brain chemistry imbalances, but also suggests further testing if the reader is so inclined.

Q: In your book, you say you can actually modulate/change someone’s brain chemistry with nutritional supplements. Is this true? I’m scared to play around with my brain chemistry. Is it safe?
A: The most widely prescribed antidepressant drugs today are the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac or Lexapro. These drugs help the body “re-uptake” or re-absorb the serotonin that might not be properly used in the brain, leading to anxiety or depression. Re-uptake is the body’s means of recycling. While these drugs can help a woman feel better, they often cause a variety of unpleasant side effects.

In Female Brain Gone Insane and my practice, I suggest nutritional supplements whose core components are amino acids. You cannot make brain chemistry without amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, the source material that create your brain chemistry. For example, tyrosine increases dopamine levels in the brain, while tryptophan increases serotonin levels.  Research strongly indicates that when the brain has adequate supplies of amino acids for brain chemicals, emotional behavior tends to be normal. You feel good.

They do not “recycle” the supply; instead they increase the level of the specific brain chemical you need. This method rarely causes side effects and is very safe.

Q: What are bio-identical hormones and do they have to be compounded to be bio-identical?
A: There is a huge misconception in the medical community and among women that hormones are not bio-identical unless they are compounded by a compounding pharmacy.

“Natural” or bio-identical hormones are actually made in the laboratory. Yes, they are derived from plant sources, meaning the plant hormone is extracted from the plant but they are then synthesized, “tweaked” in lab, to look exactly like the hormones made by your ovaries. In other words, these hormones are the right key for the right lock. The lab that makes the bio-identical hormone out of soy distributes this raw material to other pharmaceutical companies and compounding pharmacies. The pharmaceutical companies use this raw material for patches, pills, gels and creams, and the compounding pharmacies mix the raw material with fillers and put them it into capsules and/or mixes it with gels and creams.

Q: What causes PMS and why do I feel such rage before my period?
A: As you age, the first hormone that declines in your body is actually progesterone. In your mid to late thirties your progesterone level drops as an-ovulatory cycles (meaning ovulation does not take place), become more prevalent.

Symptoms of PMS, such as anxiety, irritability, and rage are associated with sharp declines in circulating progesterone levels, leading to low levels of GABA, the calming or “Valium” like neurotransmitter. Low progesterone also causes a drop of another neurotransmitter, serotonin, the brain chemical that can gives you a sense of calm or well-being. It all spells out irritability which can turn to rage. You just don’t have the hormones and neurotransmitters you need before your period and you go insane!

Q: Can I modulate or balance my neurotransmitters by just eating the right food?
A: Sufficient modulation of brain chemistry for optimum health can rarely, if ever be brought about by simply having an exquisite diet! Certainly it helps. You can eat bananas and drink milk to increase tryptophan or serotonin. You can enjoy eggs and other proteins such as cheese to increase phenylalanine, which contribute to the production of dopamine. It’s a great habit to eat well, but it is close to impossible to eat well enough to modulate neurotransmitter levels if they are out of balance. Taking specific amino acids based on your neurotransmitter imbalance is a much more effective and efficient way to create balance and well-being.

Q. I am feeling so stressed out. I have so many stressors in my life right now. I am taking care of my mother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, I have two teen-age kids, and I am working extra hours to be able to pay my mortgage. These types of stressors cannot be eliminated. What can I do to feel better?
A: I understand that certain stressors cannot be eliminated, However the recommendations in Female Brain Gone Insane will teach you simple hormone and brain chemistry adjustments that can help “thicken your skin,” and “lengthen your fuse,” and change the way you perceive and react to the unavoidable stressors. You also need to re-prioritize your time and at least give yourself a quiet ten minutes, maybe in your car, to breathe deeply, listen to soft music, and check out.

Q: Why do I feel like I cannot find my off-switch? My mind is constantly racing; I feel anxious and cannot fall asleep at night. Why is that?
A: If you feel like this, it is more than likely you have been experiencing a period of intense stress. The biochemical changes that take place in a stress response are exactly the same— whether a tiger is about to pounce on you, or whether you are having a combination of typical daily stressors such as marital problems, financial pressure or chronic pain. The body gets ready to fight the tiger. No matter what type of stressor you are exposed to, the adrenals (your stress glands) do not distinguish one type of stress from another. The same biochemical changes that occur during short “fight or flight” episodes often happen day after day, contributing to long-term stress. Your muscles remain tense, your heart and respiration rate are elevated, blood sugar is high, and your digestion slows down. At night when it is time to go to sleep, your body and brain are still “fighting the tiger.” You do not know how to flip the off-switch and you are unable to fall asleep. When you finally fall asleep, your mind can continue to spin and you fail to wake up rested let alone at ease.

Q: When I feel stressed out I want to talk to my husband, but when he is stressed out he does not want to talk about it and just be left alone. Why is that?
A: Men and women are actually hard wired to react differently to stress and the support they require to relieve stress differs radically. The pituitary hormone oxytocin helps suppress the stress hormone cortisol that keys the body up for fight or flight. New studies suggest that oxytocin is actually released when a woman feels seen, heard, and supported.  This gives her a sense of calm and then she can relax. When a woman is stressed out she instinctively seeks emotional support in the face of “danger.” That is what she needs to find some peace.

Men also produce oxytocin, but their sex hormone testosterone; produced in high levels when they’re under stress, lessens the effects of oxytocin. Instead of “tending and befriending,” men are more likely to fight or flee in a stressful situation. Instead of coming home to a sanctuary of love, support, and communication, men go into their cave to escape. When they do they actually replenish their testosterone levels and get relief.

Q: Where can people who have read Female Brain Gone Insane go for resources and continued support?
A: The website www.femalebraingoneinsane.com will have blogs and forums where you will be able interact and get support from other women. The website will also have tons of other information such as links to other websites, upcoming lectures, podcasting, webseminars and recommended reading for more information.

Q: What is your next project?
A: Male Brain Gone Insane? Or How to Get Your Man Out Of His Cave?