I’m going to share something with you that, perhaps, no one has ever shared with you before: not your doctor, not your health insurance company, not the media… You were made to be healthy. Healthy used to be normal; Sick is the new normal. People you know, like, and trust are selling you a bad message — that message is that there is no hope, that “your condition is fully determined by bad genes, bad germs, or bad luck.
Hi I’m Dr. Jay Hobbs, Wellness expert, for Hope and Health. I am certified in Functional Medicine, which is finding the bio-nutritional causes and solutions that cause the body to breakdown and lead to disease. I am also board certified in Chiropractic Neurology, which is a sub-specialty that focuses on natural approaches for the prevention and recovery from nerve and brain dysfunction that leads to nerve breakdown and disease. There are only 488 of us in the world with this level of certification, as of 2021.
Today I am going to give you hope that leads to health, but first, we need to get a closer look at how we ended up here. And I do believe you are here for a reason.
The TV and radio we watch are FILLED with ads from pharmaceutical giants telling us how the solution to our problems is the new, fancy DRUG they have developed.
Swallowing that message, hook, line, and sinker, is laying a path to your dysfunction and disease. I will show you that there is another way.
The information I will be sharing with you will change your life. You will never look at your Health the same way, your body the same way … even your LIFE, the same way again.
I’m not sharing this to entertain you; I am sharing this to REVOLUTIONIZE you. And if I revolutionize you, if you pay attention, you will be changed so profoundly that you will want to share it with others. I’m going to mobilize you.
Before I continue, I want to RECOGNIZE and thank you that you are taking your health seriously. You are here, investing time and energy. You are COMMITTED. Thank you.
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{My story – what moves me? Where does this insatiable drive to help others come from?} This pic is of my wife and I hiking. She’s a blessing.
My drive to help people recover from, and even prevent, degenerative nerve conditions comes from a deep place in me and my past. I used to visit my grandfather 1-3 times per year when we lived in another state. When I was 9 years old, I hadn’t seen him for many months.
When I had last seen him, he was his pleasant, familiar self, open arms, and all smiles. Those who had good relationships with their grandparents know; it was just that familiar, comfortable, “grandad” feeling.
I had heard that he wasn’t doing well and was in a nursing home. We traveled across several states to visit him and my grandmother. When I was 9, I had never been in a nursing home – what we now call retirement homes. I walked in … I’m sure I was told what to expect, but I did NOT expect this. I said, “Hi Grandad!” as I saw his familiar face and pleasant smile. … But, that just created an even more shocking moment when he didn’t know who I was. He was pleasant about it, but I was crushed.
I left the room crying and never saw him again until I saw him in his casket a year or so later.
So, yes, I have a PASSION for the prevention of dementia, but that is just one of many disorders that are a result of neurodegeneration.
I ALSO, PERSONALLY, developed peripheral neuropathy, noticing numbness in my feet. I knew if the disease process continued in me, the consequences could be much worse than numbness – it could result in poor healing, infections, and even amputations, as well as being a warning sign of what may have been happening in my BRAIN cells.
My passion, my drive to know the most and to be the best I can, comes from a desire to help others – and to help myself. As I have found solutions for myself and my patients, I am compelled to share them, and to always improve on them.
Neurodegeneration and neuro-REGENERATION is what has brought me here to this point and has brought you here to this point.
It hurts me to see people suffering. It hurts again when I know they can be helped, and they aren’t receiving the information and care that can help them.
The solutions being offered to 95% of those suffering ARE NOT solutions; they are masks, band-aids! There is a place for band-aids, drugs, and surgeries, but let’s not mistake those for addressing the cause – they don’t.
Perhaps the worst part of this is that many people believe their condition is improving while the drugs are only making them FEEL better while the tissue disease and damage WORSEN.
Oh, I’m all for feeling better, but not at the cost of the subtle death of nerves…or toes.
If you are taking Pregabalin, Gabapentin, Amitriptyline, you may be heading down this deceptive path. Is it possible to not feel these symptoms anymore? Before we get to that, let’s look closer at the sensory symptoms.
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What does peripheral neuropathy feel like? If you are reading this, you likely KNOW what it feels like, because you have been feeling it.
Here, we borrow from the words of the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy.
It usually begins with numbness, prickling or tingling in the toes or fingers. As the condition worsens, the symptoms spread to the feet or hands and cause burning, freezing, throbbing and/or shooting pain that is often worse at night.
The pain may be constant, or it may come and go.
The pain is usually felt equally on both sides of the body—in both hands or in both feet. Some types of peripheral neuropathy develop suddenly, while others progress more slowly over many years.
Weakness, numbness, and loss of feedback to the brain from the numb area commonly results in not being able to hold something, not knowing where your feet are, and experiencing pain that feels as if it is stabbing or burning in your limbs.
These pictures are meant to be an exaggeration, but they really aren’t. The pain can be debilitating. The classic symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include one or more of these:
– A sensation of wearing an invisible “glove” or “sock”
– Burning sensation or freezing pain
– Sharp, jabbing, shooting, or electric-like pain
– Extreme sensitivity to touch
– Difficulty sleeping because of feet and leg pain
– Loss of balance and coordination
– Muscle weakness
– Muscle cramping/twitching
– Unusual sweating
– Abnormalities in blood pressure or pulse
– Eventually, this leads to Difficulty walking or moving the arms
– And the numbness makes you unaware of cuts or nicks that lead to ulcers and amputations of toes.
We always have the option to keep doing what we have been doing. But if your condition has worsened to the point it is now, what will keep it from continuing? Even with conventional medical wound care, which I strongly encourage, the options become limited.
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The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy may depend on the kind of peripheral nerves that have been damaged, so far. There are three types of peripheral nerves: motor, sensory and autonomic. Some neuropathies affect all three types of nerves, while others involve only one or two.
Most people, however, suffer from polyneuropathy, an umbrella term for damage involving many nerves and all nerve types at the same time.
This is what a neuron looks like, but they are MUCH longer. It begins in the spinal cord of the neck or back and travels all the way down to your fingers or toes.
This graphic illustrates the neuron fiber types and their functions.
When the nerves start to die, any or all of these functions can be damaged, either becoming excessive or dying away.
From left to right on the bottom row, we see how body function is interfered with as different nerves are damaged. With MOTOR nerve damage, Muscle function and Reflexes are lost; with SENSORY nerve damage, Loss of many sensations and the appearance of Pain develop; and with AUTONOMIC nerve damage, we develop restricted Blood flow and Organ dysfunction and damage.
What we have found is that the damage and nerve dysfunction loss occur from smallest to largest, generally speaking. So, blood flow, organ dysfunction, and pain are often early problems, although either pain or numbness may be what is noticed first. As nerves get damaged by the high blood sugar, reactive oxygen species, or restricted blood flow, nerves slowly die.
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The Problem (…which can cause Pain. Fear. Stress.)
So, how do people get this terrible condition?
There are several causes of neuropathy
… including some that you may need to talk to your doctor about right away.
Let’s look into those causes a little more closely.
If we know the cause, we can better solve the problem.
If you are still doing what got you here, it’s going to be a lot harder to get you well.
That makes sense, right?
As we discuss these causes, consider your own history. Did any of these happen to you?
– Physical injury (trauma) is the most common cause of acquired single-nerve injury. Injury from automobile accidents, falls, sports, and medical procedures can stretch, crush, or compress nerves, or detach them from the spinal cord. Disc bulge or herniations are in this category and often require computerized, non-surgical decompression to effectively avoid surgery.
– Diabetes: 60-70% of diabetics suffer from PN – damage to sensory, motor, and autonomic nerves that cause such symptoms as numbness, tingling, or burning feet, and weakness in the feet, legs, trunk, or pelvis. Great blood sugar control leads to significant reduction in development and progression of clinical neuropathy by 64%.8,9 This is why many of our patients choose our ketogenic diet to reduce blood sugar AND the amount of medications they take. But that still isn’t enough to reverse the damage that is already there.
– Vascular and blood problems that decrease oxygen supply to the peripheral nerves can lead to nerve tissue damage. Diabetes and smoking are common causes, but blood vessel irritation may also cause patchy nerve damage in which isolated nerves in different areas are damaged—called MONOneuropathy multiplex or multifocal mononeuropathy.
– Systemic (body-wide) autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues, can directly target nerves or cause problems when surrounding tissues and compress or entrap nerves.
– Chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer cause polyneuropathy in an estimated 30 to 40 percent of users. Only certain chemotherapy drugs cause neuropathy and not all people get it. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy may continue long after stopping chemotherapy.
– Radiation therapy also can cause nerve damage, sometimes starting months or years AFTER the treatment.
– AIDS, can extensively damage the central and peripheral nervous systems. An estimated 30 percent of people who are HIV-positive develop peripheral neuropathy.
– Hormonal imbalances can disturb normal metabolic processes, leading to swollen tissues that can press on peripheral nerves. We see this as carpal tunnel in pregnancy.
– Nutritional or vitamin imbalances, alcoholism, and exposure to toxins can damage nerves and cause neuropathy. Vitamin B12, C, and D deficiency are the best known vitamin-related causes.
– Numerous medications have been shown to occasionally cause neuropathy.
Wait a second … PRESCRIPTION medications cause neuropathy? Which ones?
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Medline, another US government website for consumer health information, shares that many medicines and substances may lead to development of neuropathy.
These include:
Heart or blood pressure drugs
Drugs used to treat high cholesterol
Drugs used to fight cancer (chemotherapy drugs)
Drugs used to fight infections
Drugs used to treat autoimmune disease
Drugs used to treat seizures
Anti-alcohol drugs
Drugs to fight HIV/AIDS:
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DID YOU KNOW THIS INFORMATION? How long have you had these symptoms?
That’s just the basic information on the government fact sheets for peripheral neuropathy. THAT information, you should have been told already. Of course you should have been carefully consulted if you are presently taking these meds and have peripheral neuropathy symptoms.
And you are not alone. The American National Institute of Health, Neurological Disorders branch shares that( ):
– More than 20 million people in the United States have been estimated to have some form of peripheral neuropathy, but this figure may be significantly higher—not all people with symptoms of neuropathy are tested for the disease and tests currently don’t look for all forms of neuropathy. Neuropathy is often misdiagnosed due to its complex array of symptoms.
– 86 million with Pre-diabetes are at risk for developing DPN. The CDC explains: That’s 1 in 3 adults! And more that 8 of every 10 of THOSE don’t even know they have it. And without taking action, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
By the time these PRE-diabetics get diagnosed with diabetes, 20% will ALREADY have peripheral neuropathy.
You’ve seen those reports with the sensational headlines: “What your doctor doesn’t want you to know about…[fill in the blank]!” I’m not that cynical. I believe your primary doctor cares sincerely about your well-being and is motivated primarily by your best interest… So…Why didn’t you know this information? Don’t THEY know it?
Here’s what happens that brings us to this point in American health care.
Drugs and surgeries work well to save people’s lives in the emergency room. That’s awesome. I thank God for that life-saving institution. It requires no effort on the patient’s part. Ambulance brings you in, doctor examines you (you might even sleep through the process (although, we call that unconscious…not the best type of nap to wake up from), the doctor and staff do amazing tests and evaluations to determine what your life-threatening condition is and what steps need to be taken in minutes or hours to get you back in action. “They send you off with appropriate bandages or a few meds and say “You’re good to go; just follow up with your doctor in the next few days.” And much of the time, insurance or some state tax-funded program will cover most of the expenses.
We all have a strong Human nature and desire for not wasting time or effort. It makes us think, “I want ALL my health care to look like this. Quick, easy, and cheap.
Drug companies say, we can meet that need if you’ll pay us handsomely for it.
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And, oh, they ARE paid handsomely. Mayo Clinic did a study, back in 2013, even in the early days of the opiate crisis and found exactly how many Americans are contributing to that handsome pay.
– 70%, 7 out of every 10 Americans are on a prescription drug,
– 50% are on at least 2 prescription drugs, and
– 25% of patients are on 5 OR MORE prescription medications.
– Antibiotics, antidepressants and painkilling opioids are most commonly prescribed, their study found.
– Over 6 MILLION US kids are taking some psychiatric drug in 2020.
– With over 300 MILLION people in America in 2013, and so many taking THAT many prescription meds … That may explain their money, power, and influence.
– How much money are we talking about?
– In 2013, it was $285 BILLION. Do you think that is enough?
That should explain why there are so many advertisements for these drugs paying for TV and radio and why there is so much research on new replacement drugs that is used to help form the latest evidenced-based treatment recommendations for conditions that so many Americans are suffering with. The TV and radio we watch is FILLED with ads from pharmaceutical giants telling us how the solution to our problems is the new, fancy DRUG they have developed. And if you read the medical journals or even Prevention magazine, you would see that is littered with drug advertisements. I would spend the first few minutes ripping out about 15 pages of drug ads so I could read the research in peace. It was amazing. When the OBJECTIVE research journals sell that many ads, they don’t even need to make money on the journal sales. We HOPE that money doesn’t interfere with which research they choose to publish.
So, the poor primary doctor is being pressed hard by multiple sources, always from one side. Patients demanding solutions that are Quick, easy, and cheap, Pharmaceutical sales reps and research publications — and even FDA approval and medical school costs funded largely by drug companies themselves — offering evidence-based solutions to the demand for Quick, easy, and cheap that patients are calling for, and paying for. Then you add that doctors are pressed by cost-cutting managed care insurances and hospital-owned clinics and referral networks to see more people for shorter times.
What’s a doctor to do? When the occasional patient comes in that wants a natural solution, they aren’t really prepared to help, because it’s not common and no one is getting paid to educate them how to help this type of patient.
Remember, how I said that prescription drug payments by patients were $285 billion in 2013? What do you think that increased to in 2020?
385 billion dollars. That’s a 100-BILLION-dollar INCREASE in just SEVEN years.
So, it makes sense that patients are not getting the whole story from the media or even their doctors. Again, it’s not bad motivation, it’s just narrowly-focused education.
Remember that, and you will be less frustrated. 95% of medical doctors know Disease Management well, but only 5% know Wellness Care well. Think of it this way, it’s frustrating for everyone when you ask an electrician to do carpentry. Neither is “wrong.” In fact, there is an ideal time for each, but, unfortunately, it is usually still up to you to manage when to embrace Wellness Care so that you need less Disease Management.
Where has that left you?
Has the pain, numbness, or weakness, blood flow problems, or concerns about what could happen kept you from going places, doing things, or doing things the way you wanted to? Have you noticed your strength, energy, focus, sleep, or additional drug side-effects growing increasingly worse?
If you were healthier, what would you be doing more of, or being doing differently: working out, hiking, vacations, work, family, or social interaction?
Does this hiking picture make you drift into a peaceful feeling of a mind and body feeling easy, light, and free…or does it make you think how much your feet would be killing you?
If things don’t change, what will your body function and feeling look like five or 10 years from now? What if you do nothing…or not enough? We don’t like to think of things getting really serious, but amputations are still fairly common in those with peripheral neuropathy. Approximately 25% of people with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime, which can progress to infection and limb amputation in severe cases. Ninety percent of hospital admissions for diabetic foot ulcers are related to peripheral neuropathy and infection, and diabetes accounts for 83% of all major amputations in the United States.
Let’s release the Pressure a bit:
— I’ve shared a lot of facts and research data. The conclusions have been finalized. All the experts agree. When it comes to your health… It’s all in your head….No, seriously. This story from a colleague of mine will illustrate.
— He says, “When I’m on the airplane, I get the middle seat. Do you know how it is in the middle seat? Oh, that’s OK, I like to talk, listen, and share life solutions with people. So, there’s this guy, sitting next to me, and he’s so big, he’s overflowing into my seat. This guy is struggling with all sorts of health problems: high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol… he’s eating three low-fat granola bars, and washing them down with two diet Pepsi‘s. He’s got a total misunderstanding of health intuition. Then he looks over me and says, “I don’t even know why I bother. These health issues run in my family.” And I look back at him and say, ‘Dude, the problem is that NO ONE runs in your family.’ This is a health problem that begins in his head, with his belief system.”
— The way you THINK organizes your behaviors. And your BEHAVIORS will predict your OUTCOMES.
Let’s choose some THOUGHTS will result in an outcome of a healthy future,
– What if you had all your health back? What would you do differently?
– What would you do that you can’t or don’t do the way you want to do now?
– What would you do if you had your body back?
– How would you live the life you want to live?
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Let’s talk about how that could happen.
This is literally what we are here for. Our mission is to Restore Hope and Health for Lifetime Family Wellness. We do this naturally. We use no drugs nor surgeries. Most of the medical world says, “What else is there?” You may not hear about it since there are not billions of dollars paying to educate you and your doctor about it, but the advances have been mind-blowing. The solutions are eloquent, yet quite simple, ONCE you know what the CAUSE is.
These advances in solutions include:
– Nutritional
– Nerve activation
– Regenerative Light therapy (Healing laser and high-energy LED)
– Removal of the Toxic or Compression CAUSE: This may include: Medications, Diabetes, Spinal or soft tissue Neuron compression. If the cause cannot be reduced, extra or more frequent therapy may reduce the symptoms or slow its progression.
The more you are educated about and embrace a Wellness Lifestyle, focused on Health & Wellness — as opposed to disease management — the more chance you have of slowing or reversing the condition.
– This includes what you Eat, Drink, and Breathe, and how you Sleep, Think, and Move
– Related to nutrition, we use specific nutrition to support nerve health and eating and exercise programs to remove toxic sugar from the fat and sugar-filled nerves.
– To give the malnourished, emaciated nerves energy to heal, we use healing laser and LED light energy that makes the cells produce energy more efficiently. They get a temporary, internal kickstart or burst of healing energy that allows them to gradually repair.
– To exercise the atrophied nerves, we provide specific sensory stimulation. Think of it like nerve exercise. This is directed to various nerve fiber types.
When it comes to moving, this includes Posture, Exercise, and Chiropractic which uses techniques that restore motion. Motion is how most of the nerves we feel with are activated. In chiropractic, we use the term “subluxation” to describe the lack of motion that causes nerve interference.
Subluxation
1) “Subluxation” is joint dysfunction with nerve interference.
2) Subluxation reduces nerve feedback to the spinal cord and brain, increasing the likelihood of pain and numbness.
3) Subluxation is caused by Trauma, Toxicity, and Thought (stress)
4) If you have a subluxation, specific chiropractic adjustment of the involved joint restores the motion, nerve activity, and health. Usually this is by hand but is done with small percussive instruments when that is more appropriate.
5) How do you know if you have a subluxation? A Structural and Neurological evaluation will reveal this.
To help someone get better, we really need to know:
1) How Bad is it? – This gives us a time-frame for recovery.
2) What is causing it? – This gives us treatment methods for recovery
We do this through our Peripheral Neuropathy Discovery Process
This Discovery Process is amazingly thorough and includes a:
1) Neuropathy Exam
2) Severity & Prognosis Report
3) Structural Neurological Exam
4) Cause & Recommendations Report