During this interview, Gayle Randall, MD shares how she has used Prolent™, a Targeted Nutritional Therapy designed for serotonin support as well as overall inhibitory neurotransmitter support, as a part the Sanesco Clinical model to help thousands of patients.*
Dr. Randall has more than forty years of experience in integrative medicine. She has overseen several health and rehabilitation centers and currently runs the Randall Wellness Center in Woodland, Hills, CA.
Read on or listen (20 minutes) to Dr. Randall as she shares her vast experience.
Get to Know Dr. Gayle Randall and Her Practice
Please share a little about your background and how you became a healthcare provider.
I’ve been doing what you might call holistic medicine for 40 years, since before we had the name integrative medicine. So, I’m one of the original pioneers along with Andrew Weil and Larry Dossey. David Eisenberg was my colleague at UCLA.
Before I even went to UCLA as a medical student, I had a holistic perspective. I didn’t have a definition for it, but I had the opportunity to spend time on the Native American Indian Reservation. The medicine people took me in. They gave me my framework to hang my sense of holism on. They taught me all the things they take their tools from. Their herbs and their philosophy and theology were earth-based, and it made so much sense to me. I took that with me when I went back to my training at UCLA as an internist/gastroenterologist.
That was the heyday of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research — when we were taught in medical school and internship residency to take our tools from the altar of science as opposed to the altar of spirit and herbs and earth. But I had an intrinsic balance from both types of training. It was a beautiful journey and helped me to always see the whole person.
I continued my interest in esoteric study even though I became very advanced and went on staff as a professor [at UCLA] and went up through the ranks. I was a triple threat: did the research, taught, and had patients. Through that I’ve always been open and always seeking more tools to help my patients have a better life and “live younger.”
Learn how Dr. Randall uses Sanesco Services
When Hector Romero, owner of Sanesco International, brought some speakers to Santa Monica and wanted to talk about his company, I went. When I first heard him speak, a light went on for me.
He inspired me so much.
I wanted to become part of the [Sanesco] family. I knew immediately that this clinical model was a real thing that could help people with so many problems: mood and anxiousness, even menopause, and headaches, you name it.
I was the first doctor to take integrative functional medicine into the addiction inpatient rehabilitation setting. As a matter of fact, I became the Chief of Medicine at a place called Passages. It was Passages, by virtue of my programming in part, that changed the conversation in the world of addiction to not just being 12 steps but being holistic. Holistic really did offer them something beyond what they could get otherwise. We offered Sanesco testing for every single person; we did nutritional testing on every single person too. We also had spiritual counseling and acupuncture. You can’t look at an addiction center now that doesn’t claim some kind of holistic approach.
That’s a big deal if you can change the conversation globally about a subject.
I saw probably 5000 people at Passages. As a matter of fact, right now we’re finally getting someone to collate that data for us. We’re going to see what we can say about it. I know we could say a lot because I see it clinically. When I did the white paper, I was still at Passages. We had 250 people, and we saw amazing stuff. They were less anxious and had improved mood. They slept better. They had fewer cravings and relapses, which is a pretty profound statement.
I’m all in when it comes to Sanesco and neurotransmitter-adrenal testing.
Through it all, I’ve always had my practice. I’m an integrative functional medicine practitioner, gastroenterologist, internist…I have 5 board certifications. I practice truly integrative medicine. Plus, I’m trained in Chinese medicine, Japanese medicine, Ayurveda, color healing, and Native American medicine. So, I’m truly integrative but also cutting edge western. That’s why people come and see me. They want a western doctor that’s really on top of it, that has all these other knowledge bases, so they can get the help they want.
Are there some more common complaints you see coming into your practice?
It’s a pretty broad spectrum, but I see a lot of people that want to “age gracefully.” There are also people with health issues ranging from cancer to depression, anxiety…a lot of gut problems because really, health begins in the gut.
There are so many things influenced by it, including the production of neurotransmitters. 90 percent of serotonin is produced in the gut. So, if your gut isn’t in balance, then your neurotransmitters aren’t going to be. I see pretty much everything. I even see children, not babies but children, and menopause, man pause [andropause] to name a few.
Is there anything about our TNT formulas that you specifically like compared to other formulas?
They are effective, and I’ve been using them for a long time. I actually have my own line of supplements, but the way I feel about Sanesco [formulas] is: “Why should I reinvent the wheel when these [formulas] work so well?” The formulas do what I want them to do, and I’m totally pleased with them. I’m not saying I don’t add in other things sometimes, because I’m treating people on more than one level, but I’m very pleased with them.
What is the most common patient complaint in your practice?
It probably would be fatigue, but fatigue can be a product of so many different things. It’s like a wastebasket diagnosis. It isn’t itself a thing; it never exists alone in other words. You’re going to find gut problems, you’re going to find endocrine issues or other things that are going on with that patient to cause fatigue or adrenal problems.
That’s why I like Sanesco’s HPA testing. It helps me dig down to figure out what is or isn’t causing the patient’s fatigue. Generally speaking, even if it’s from a gut problem or some other issue, EBV or something, the neurotransmitter support is still essential in helping that person reach a better state of health. I don’t see people as just their neurotransmitters any more than I did back when I was a medical student. It’s part of a greater puzzle, and it’s very helpful for me in helping my patients to achieve a better state of health.
Prolent for Serotonin Support
Prolent is an inhibitory and serotonin support formula.* It contains ingredients to support glycine, serotonin synthesis, and GABA release and/or function.* Prolent also includes our proprietary Neuro Support Blend (NSB), designed to enhance absorption.*
Do you use Prolent with many patients?
Almost always! It’s rare that I find someone with a normal serotonin- very rare. If I do, we celebrate.
I can tell you this: Of the 5000 people that I looked at in my initial studies, there was not one person that had a normal serotonin.
So, since Prolent is the targeted formula for serotonin support, yes, I would say I use it a lot!*
How do you explain Prolent to patients?
Well, I don’t ever use serotonin support (Prolent) alone, because the protocol for treating neurotransmitter imbalance is about balance. Serotonin is one of two neurotransmitters on the inhibitory, or what I call “calming” side. I call them your “buffers to stress.” You don’t just treat serotonin, because if you do, you’re going to have the consequence of other things going out of balance.
If you only treat the inhibitory side, the excitatory side will go down, like a level. Think about a bubble in the middle of a level. If you only treat with serotonin support, even on the inhibitory side, the GABA will go down. [Serotonin and GABA] are married to each other, and they cover for each other. So if your serotonin is low, the GABA tries to go high until it wears itself out and vice versa. So, you don’t ever just treat serotonin—or I don’t—because you have consequences for that.
If I treat the serotonin, I also have to take into account the other inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, and the other side, which is the excitatory neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and glutamate. Again, you’re talking about an orchestra; it’s the whole orchestra that you have to keep in mind.
To explain Prolent, I tell them, “Your serotonin is low, and we know what chemical reaction in your body makes serotonin. We know what chemical reactions in your body make GABA. We know what chemical reactions make all of the neurotransmitters. Since your serotonin is low, we want to pick this formula- Prolent- because it has all the amino acids and nutrients in it that feed into that chemical equation, so your body can make more of what it knows it really needs.*
“It’s like giving a person bricks and mortar and wood because they know they want to make a house. It’s targeted amino acid and nutrient therapy to allow your body to do what it knows how to do.” That’s how I explain it to them.
How do patients report feeling after starting on Prolent?
It doesn’t usually happen in a few days, it takes maybe a week or two. I tell them, “In order for this to really happen, it’s going to take a matter of months. You may feel better within a short period of time, but don’t stop [the protocol] because then you’re going to slide back to where you were.”
Sometimes, you have to know how serotonin became depleted in the first place.
Usually, it’s from having your foot on the accelerator for too long, from a flight or fight reaction, or substance abuse, which mimics the same thing. When your body sees too much [serotonin], it goes “Oh my God, I have too much!” So, it sends out this strong negative feedback to stop making serotonin, or whichever neurotransmitter we are talking about. In order to get that negative feedback to go away, it takes a consistent low-level stimulus feeding those serotonin support precursors and nutrients into that equation so the body feels safe. What I found in my data is that [the body] will start doing it on its own between 3 to 18 months.
Are there times when Prolent doesn’t work out for certain patients?
There are a couple of situations where it doesn’t work. One is they leave it in the drawer or the cupboard, and they don’t take it. I always tell my patients, “Condoms don’t work in the drawer.” It’s kind of a joke, but they get the idea. The other time is when their stress is so high that they’re swimming upstream against the current.
I try to teach them anti-stress techniques and methods. They have to change their lifestyle. If they don’t change their lifestyle, how they’re eating, their stress, the things that are really causing this low serotonin in first place…You can give them Prolent all day long, and it’s not going to have an effect. That’s because the stress is too much to allow the body to build up serotonin. You can hold them steady, but you’re not gaining as much ground as you would if they got involved in anti-stress techniques.
A Prolent success story:
I’ll tell you my biggest success story lately. I have many, but my biggest success story recently even impresses me. She told me her symptoms. She was very stressed out and had a very big job as head of a hospital. She was almost OCD, trying to keep her health going through intense running, exercise, and diet programs. She was seemingly doing all the right stuff but not getting exactly where she wanted to and still feeling fatigue, still feeling down and kind of spent but still able to accomplish most things. So, there’s no accounting for personality style.
I always tell people that when I test them. You could find someone almost flat-lined on all their neurotransmitters, but they’re still pretty functional even though they have symptoms that brought them in. I always tell them that there’s no accounting for personality style, because people are amazing, and it never ceases to amaze me. They can push through a lot, even if they’re chemically imbalanced.
But, once they’re chemically balanced, a shade lifts. Then suddenly, all the things that they’re having to try so hard at are easier. It just changes their lives. That’s what happened to this lady as a matter of fact.
She was born without adrenal glands, so this was a big thing for me to even take on in the first place. I couldn’t guarantee her that it was going to help her because of that, because that’s quite a handicap. But I said, “Let’s try it. It’s not going to hurt anything .” And, she was willing.
Honestly, it changed her life, totally changed her life. She is happy. She doesn’t remember experiencing happiness in the same way she experiences it now. People are asking her left and right, “What have you done? You seem so different. You’ve gained weight. Your hair is thicker. What’s going on with you?” She just said, “Well, I met doctor Randall. She’s doing targeted amino acid therapy on me for my neurotransmitters, and I am a different person.”
I’m just so pleased for her, and I’m so impressed by what the system has been able to do for her. Basically, she has her life back. She has a boyfriend now, which she hadn’t been able to do [in the past]. She has a life. She didn’t really have a life outside of just being a doctor with her exercise program previously, so it’s really a “happy ending” story for her.
Interested in Prolent for inhibitory neurotransmitter and serotonin support?
Interviewer
Sophie Thompson
Clinical Support Specialist at Sanesco International, Inc.
