- Severe Arthritic Pain Improved Within Days*
- An End to 37 Years of Chronic Pain*
- Pain Reduced, No More Meds*
- You Don’t Have to Live With Chronic Pain*
- Rebound From Shoulder Pain*
- Topical Painkillers + DMSO = Pain Relief*
- I Put My Cane Away*
*Individual results may vary.
Severe Arthritic Pain Improved Within Days
I was in tremendous pain due to severe arthritis and was scheduled for a knee replacement. My surgery was postponed several times due to complications—by the third time, I knew God was trying to tell me something. That’s when we turned to the Whitaker Wellness Institute for help. The thorough assessment by my doctor at Whitaker Wellness lead to the discovery of an additional health issue that we addressed along with my extreme pain and other health goals. They really listened to my goals and developed a treatment plan that I started right away.
Within days of receiving platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, my pain subsided, my knee stabilized and I was able to limit the use of my walking cane! My condition was also enhanced by other therapies including hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), reflexology, and high intensity laser therapy. I believe that my recovery and progress will continue and I thank the Whitaker Wellness Institute for my improved quality of life.
—Florence C. Odita, Ph.D*
An End to 37 Years of Chronic Pain
“My name is Tom Ryan. I am 57 years old and I came to the Whitaker Wellness Institute because of 37 years of 24/7 pain in my right shoulder, which was wounded in Vietnam. I had several surgeries and actually had a shoulder replacement. I also had problems with my knees, my right leg dragged when I walked, and my right arm just hung at my side. My right hand was blue and puffy to the point that I was unable to shake hands, so for the last 37 plus years, I’ve been shaking hands with my left hand. I felt pain throughout my entire body, and it progressively got worse. It had brought me to a point in my life where I could no longer work or do much of anything.
“At Whitaker Wellness my doctor set up a program for me, which has worked out just absolutely terrific. The prescribed treatments were hyperbaric oxygen, infrared light therapy, and IV vitamin C. The first two days I was so sick I was ready to quit, give up, forget it, and go home. I had a headache that was worse than any migraine headache that I had ever had. (Headaches were another big problem. I was having migraines all the time and taking several medications for them).
“But after the first two days, I started feeling much, much better. In fact, on the third day, I was feeling actually great. The pain in my arm had almost completely gone away, I also had a tremor in my right hand and that tremor had completely gone away. After the fourth day, there was no longer any pain in my right arm. There was no more puffiness in my right hand, and for the first time in over 37 years, I was able to shake hands using my right hand. This might seem like a small thing, but to me it was just a tremendous accomplishment.
“I didn’t get much sleep the first two days, but after that I got a normal night’s sleep. Prior to that time, I would sleep two, maybe three hours maximum of interrupted sleep. I’d be getting up and down because of the severity of the pain. It’s so amazing to feel energized again. It’s great to be able to get up in the morning feeling rested and refreshed. Today I’m totally pain free. It’s really a miracle. It’s like being reborn—especially after all of those years. I have no pain in my knees, fingers, or right arm.
“I’m smiling, I’m having fun with other people. I’m able to joke with people again. I haven’t done that in all those years. I know it’s a relief to my wife. I don’t see myself as a burden anymore, as I saw myself for a long, long time. I kind of had a hopeless feeling during those 37 years. Had I known about Whitaker Wellness years ago, I could have done something about this and not lived the majority of my life in pain and disappointment to myself and my ability to work and make a living. It’s almost like I’ve been given a second chance at life. I’m really thankful for that.
“Being here has been such a blessing. It has really been uplifting to my spirit and to me physically. I will continue to tell other people about this place, about the great and loving people here and how there is hope for others if they will just come here. People don’t have to go to hospitals all the time for everything, that there are alternative ways to get well.”
— Thomas Ryan*
Pain Reduced, No More Meds
“After receiving 16 hyperbaric oxygen treatments, the pain I was experiencing in my legs due to poor circulation had been reduced by 80 percent. I don’t take any medication for pain, day or night.
“My lung capacity has improved and my skin has a healthy color. I even look younger!”
— Pat Height, Mesa, AZ*
You Don’t Have to Live With Chronic Pain
Kathy Stevens, who has been training my dogs for years, is a battle-scarred veteran of the war against chronic pain. Kathy injured her back when she fell from a ladder in 1996. As a result of her injury, she lost the feeling in her legs for four weeks. When sensation did return, she almost wished it hadn’t. She suffered intense pain that deprived her of sleep and interfered with her ability to do her job. Her legs were so weak that at times they would simply give out from under her.
She went through the usual merry-go-round of treatments with painkillers, physical therapy, and even a high-tech procedure called thermocoagulation in which a hot needle was inserted into her lumbar spine to shrink a swollen disc. But none of these relieved her pain, so after “living with it” for a year, she consulted an orthopedic surgeon who advised her to have the damaged disc removed. When she mentioned to me that she was contemplating surgery, I urged her to first try prolotherapy, a nonsurgical intervention that eliminates pain by addressing the underlying cause: weakened ligaments and tendons.
Kathy came to the Whitaker Wellness Institute once a month for four months for prolotherapy. By the third month her pain had lessened considerably, and after her fourth treatment, she had regained much of the strength in her legs. Today she exercises on a treadmill, sits through movies without suffering pain, and has no trouble keeping up with her dogs.
— from Health & Healing by Julian Whitaker, MD*
Rebound From Shoulder Pain
Dick Randolph of Fairbanks, Alaska, is 66-year-old avid outdoorsman who hikes miles into the wilderness to fish and hunt. He tears around on a snowmobile, chops wood at his remote cabin, and soars through the skies on a paraglider. The only thing that ever slowed Dick down was shoulder pain. Small wonder: he’d been diagnosed with large, complete rotator cuff tears and joint degeneration in both shoulders.
The constant soreness and restricted range of motion, which were exacerbated by paragliding, made him seriously consider the surgery his orthopedist had recommended—until he heard about prolotherapy, a remarkable treatment offered at the Whitaker Wellness Institute for chronic musculoskeletal pain. After Dick’s first session, he could move his shoulder more freely than he had in years. Two months later he returned to the clinic for his second treatment. From here it was on to Idaho for paragliding, which he now does with little or no pain.
— from Health & Healing by Julian Whitaker, MD*
Topical Painkillers + DMSO = Pain Relief
Jean, a longtime patient at my clinic, and her daughter were out shopping for something to wear to an important event they were hosting the next day. As they walked through the mall, Jean’s right knee suddenly gave out. Excruciating sharp pain shot down the inside of her knee, and if her daughter hadn’t been there, she would have collapsed to the floor. They managed to get her home, but she was unable to bear weight on that leg without intense pain.
Her husband took her to see an orthopedist who, after examination and X-rays, told them she probably had a tear of the meniscus (cartilage) that would likely require surgery, and he ordered an MRI to confirm the diagnosis. Jean, who had spent months planning the event, was crushed. She asked if she could get a steroid shot in the knee to get her through the next evening, but the orthopedist declined, saying he had to see the MRI results before proceeding with treatment.
So Jean and her husband went home and tried a treatment that she had received from her Whitaker Wellness physician for an earlier bout of back pain: a prescription anesthetic mixed with a little DMSO, applied directly on the affected area. To Jean’s delight, the pain decreased dramatically after the first application. And although she was on her feet during much of the event, she sailed though the evening without pain. She continued to use the cream as needed (the MRI ruled out a meniscus tear), and today, four months later, she is pain-free.
— from Health & Healing by Julian Whitaker, MD*
I Put My Cane Away
“I came to the Back to Health Program because my diabetic neuropathy was so bad that despite taking Lyrica for pain relief, I was miserable. I was only sleeping 2-3 hours a night, I was unable to work because I couldn’t sit for more than an hour at a time due to severe leg pain, and my life was steadily going downhill. The last straw was a family vacation to Disney World where my wife had to push me around in a wheelchair. After that, I made up my mind that this had to change.
“My wife and I came to the clinic in March 2010. When I first arrived, I had to use a cane because I was very unsteady on my feet. But after just four days of undergoing enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP), hyperbaric oxygen therapy, microcurrent therapy, and receiving intravenous nutrients, I put my cane away—and I haven’t used it again to this day!
“My family and friends cannot believe the difference in me. I can now walk and do things I hadn’t been able to do for three or four years! I bought a microcurrent machine to use at home for pain relief, and I watch my diet because I never want to be in the shape I was before I came to the clinic. Thank you, Dr. Whitaker, and your wonderful staff for all your help.”
— William G. Edwards, LaBelle, FL*
*Individual results may vary.
