During this interview, Dr. Dennis Godby, ND shares his experience using Sanesco’s Targeted Nutritional Therapy™ (TNT) formula Tranquilent for children with behavioral issues, attention difficulties, and/or anxiousness.
Dr. Godby is a naturopathic doctor in Sacramento, CA where he has been a primary care provider for the past 15 years.
Read on or listen (18:30 minutes) to Dr. Godby shares how he uses Tranquilent in his practice with children.
Get to Know Dr. Dennis Godby, ND and His Practice
Please share a little bit of information about your journey as a healthcare provider.
I taught religious studies until the age of 43, and then I decided to go back to school. So, I went back to medical school at age 43 and graduated at 48. I’ve been in practice for 15 years now. I’ve been Sacramento the entire time and am a primary care doctor. The legal name of our business is the Diabetes Natural Health Center because I felt like I was going to be doing a lot of work with diabetes because my mom died from diabetes. That (diabetes) was the thing I felt naturopathic medicine could have easily taken care of because type 2 diabetes is so preventable. But then, I realized that in Sacramento there is only one other ND, a naturopathic doctor. So, I decided to focus on primary care. And now, I’m really putting my attention on brain health.
What type of clientele do you see?
My average patient has been pretty consistent over the years. It’s about 48 years of age, female. I do see about 70% women, 20% men, and then about 10% kids. I see a lot of Hispanics, a lot of Russians, from Ukraine and quite a few African Americans, for general primary care.
What are the most common clinical complaints you encounter in your practice?
Anxiousness, low mood, fatigue, hormone imbalance—I do a lot of hormones. I do a lot of menopause and andropause. These are some of the most common ones that I treat as well as a lot of brain health and a lot of digestion.
How did you first hear about Sanesco?
There was a woman (patient) who contacted me. The reason why I decided on Sanesco over another competitor, was the reports. They were so extensive. It seemed like the other lab reports were like, “Here are the lab results, good luck.” And with Sanesco, there were detailed reports that explained to the doctor and to the patient what was going on in relation to their symptoms and their neurotransmitter and adrenal results.
What made you decide to try our approach?
I’ve always been interested in brain health. I didn’t learn that much about it in medical school—serotonin, GABA, dopamine…I knew that adrenal fatigue was another issue I didn’t feel really comfortable with when I first started. But that’s who was coming in [to the practice], so I got comfortable with it real quick. Sanesco seemed to be the most supportive network.
Are there any features about Sanesco’s TNT that drew you to the formulas?
Well, certainly the safety was important. And, I really felt that it would be beneficial [clinically] and financially cost saving. If you know what the problem is (low serotonin, or low GABA, or low dopamine) then you can use the products to help support those particular ones [neurotransmitters]. It made a lot of sense that you didn’t test and tell people to just go off the shelves and buy this and buy that…that there were products that would actually help to raise serotonin and their GABA and dopamine. It made a lot of sense. The two go together—the testing as well as the supplements that support those particular areas of neurotransmitter or adrenal support.
How do you determine if a formula is right for a patient?
First, I take a look at the results of the Sanesco test; I look at their symptoms and I look at their objective results. Then [I] determine whether that particular supplement would be helpful in that particular case. Sometimes it’s a matter of financials, sometimes it’s not a matter of medical but financial. [But,] I usually start with Sanesco’s recommendations and go in the safe lane of gradually adding the supplements in. We follow through on what Sanesco recommends and that approach works well.
There are certain times when I must reinvent the wheel in my practice, and there are other times that I don’t need to. With Sanesco I don’t really need to reinvent the wheel, it’s already right there. So, I just have to know to test and then follow through on the recommendations. I don’t always do the recommendations, but for the most part, I do.
Could Tranquilent be the Natural Support Your Child Needs?
Tranquilent is one of Sanesco’s three inhibitory support formulas. It’s a unique chewable, raspberry-flavored formula targeting serotonergic and GABAergic neurotransmission.* Additionally, this formula can be used in acute situations for rebalancing the inhibitory system.* The ingredients in this formula are myo-inositol, L-theanine, and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP).
What type of health concerns do you find Tranquilent most helpful for?
I find it helpful for situations like behavioral issues, attention difficulties, anxiousness.* I find it especially helpful for kids. I see a lot of good results with children, and adults can take it as well. One of the features that parents like about it is that it seems to work very quickly. It’s not something that has to build up over a long period of time, but something that will basically have a positive effect within minutes, or within a short time, they can see changes. So, it’s safe and (I think) 8 is the maximum a day. Typically, people don’t need to take that many, but it has helped a lot of kids.
What types of clients do you recommend Tranquilent for or potentially avoid the use with?
Well, I don’t really have patients that I would not recommend it for. I guess if they (the patients) were already on a lot of 5-HTP, or they’re on another supplement that already had some of these elements, then I may not. But, the levels of 5-HTP are really pretty low, so I don’t really worry about it. There are very few people I recommend not taking it. It may not be my first choice among a number of different supplements, but I would think about it especially when it comes to kids. And again, I’ve used it with adults too. But there are very few people, because the doses are smaller, that I would not recommend it for.
Please share some tips for using Tranquilent (when, how much, sensitive patients, etc.).
I say to start off with one and to see how they do, just like with anything, and probably not go with more than a couple per day the first day or two. With any kind of supplement like this, I recommend that you start off slow and then see how they do, see how they react. If there are no side effects, then you can increase the dosage, but maybe several per day and spread throughout the day.
What issues/objections, if any, have you encountered using Tranquilent?
Well, I don’t really remember any objections to the product. Sometimes people would want to take more than I would recommend, and so that was really the only thing I came across. It works effectively, but maybe not enough that they wanted to stay with the low dosages. But, that’s the only thing I can kind of vaguely remember.
How often do you alter the protocol or your recommended dosing of Tranquilent after a retest?
Yes. After a retest, I will change what I’m recommending to go along with the results. In fact, I tell patients that one of the benefits of retesting, even though it costs money to test, is that often times you save by using less of the product down the road. If the supplements are working, then you don’t have to take as much. Better to reduce the dosage if we are able to if we find that the supplements have been beneficial and that the testing demonstrates that.
Do you recommend Tranquilent in combination with other Sanesco products?
Typically, it’s not done at the same time in which you would take Prolent. It’s usually more of smaller dosages for people whose serotonin levels may be ok but not optimal. So, you take a smaller amount. I would recommend it with OMEGA-3s and other kinds of support system for brain health, and certain B Vitamins, perhaps some multivitamins and other things that are going to be supportive. We also do a nutritional hair test that shows us the nutritional deficiencies. I might use that to try to note more exactly what supplements to add in addition to the Tranquilent.
Of course, we are also looking for finding and treating the cause of the disease whether it’s attention difficulties, behavioral issues, or anxiousness. We work on toxins and heavy metals, toxic metals. We are trying to find things that are going on, that the person may have been exposed to, rather than just giving supplements. We are always looking for the why. “You know, why is this person the way that they are? Why are the neurotransmitter levels the way that they are?” It could be based on one of the 80,000 toxins in our environment.
Do you have a specific patient success story with the use of Tranquilent you would like to share?
I have two memorable cases. First was a child with really extreme disciplinary or behavioral problems. The mother was also anxious, so together it was a difficult situation. Tranquilent really helped the child to just kind of mellow out and be calm.* And it really made a huge difference, because the child was really upsetting the whole family structure. The child was better able to respond to directions after taking Tranquilent.*
Another patient was probably in her late teens. We also used a lot of hyperbaric oxygen with her. She was very anxious and sad. She had a lot of really unusual symptoms. Sometimes she would just scream, but the Tranquilent helped her to just be calm.* She would talk to herself a lot, and that cut down drastically. And, she kind of had this laugh. She would suddenly start laughing, apparently for no reason, and the Tranquilent really helped her to calm down.* This issue with her just kind of came up suddenly. She was doing well with school. Then it was like suddenly a switch got flipped, and she suddenly became a different person. Tranquilent helped her to get through her days with peace.* It also helped her when she was in the hyperbaric chamber. They would never do the hyperbaric oxygen without having taken the Tranquilent. Her parents would ask how many she could take. She would take up to 8 a day.
Are there specific areas that you see improvement in when patients are taking Tranquilent?
Well, I think it’s a good name. Maybe I’m prejudiced because of the name of the product because it kind of tells what it does. In Ecuador they have a word, my wife is from Ecuador, and they have a word called tranquilo. They think of themselves in Ecuador as tranquil and calm people. So, Tranquilent is a perfect name to me, because I’ve been married to an Ecuadorian for close to 32 years. While I can’t say the Ecuadorians are always tranquilas, I can say that the [supplement] certainly helps people to be calmer and more tranquil and be able to get through the day.*
I believe they are able to focus more and to complete tasks, but in general, they are calmer.* It’s amazing what you can do when you’re calm. And so, I think the name of the product was appropriate. I think it’s a major thing if you can help if a company has a product that can help kids to be calm, to not be anxious, to be able to complete tasks and to be able to not act out as much. So, I think it’s all really good. I think that’s what every parent, every teacher wants is for a kid to not be drugged out but just able to be calm. Again, not negatively affected but calm in the sense that they are not needing to react or get emotionally upset, so they are able to complete their tasks more.
Do you find that Tranquilent helped improve compliance with other things you are doing?
It’s like a foundation for what we are doing. So, if we can do the Tranquilent earlier on, then the intake of supplements is easier. And, for the parents, it’s easier for them if they see more success earlier. And so, for a lot of people that are paying out of pocket, seeing the results earlier, I think, makes a huge difference.
Do you ever give Tranquilent before you get the test results?
Occasionally I don’t wait for the test, because I haven’t found any negative consequences using Tranquilent. But, typically with Sanesco products, I wait until the test is done so that I can demonstrate to the patients their need for the supplements. Sometimes I will if I think, “I really need to help this kid right now.” Then I’ll recommend it before; other times I’ll just wait. If I can get the parent on board by saying, “Look, these are the results. This is what we are recommending based on these results.” Then, it seems like we are doing more science and not that it’s just a “supplement”. We’re not a health food store selling supplements.
Tranquilent- Chewable Inhibitory Support for Relaxation*
Tranquilent is not just for children. Adults may also experience calm and relaxation from ingredients in Tranquilent.* The chewable format makes it easy for children and adults to take on the go.
Find out if Tranquilent can help you or your child. Find a Sanesco provider near you. If you are a clinician, set up an account or log in to order.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Interviewer
Anna Nazemi
Clinical Support Intern at Sanesco International, Inc.
Anna Nazemi is currently a senior at UNC-Asheville pursuing a Bachelor of Science in General Chemistry. In her free time, she likes to swim, run, and hike with friends.
