My experience of PMS throughout much of my life involved physically retaining water, chest tenderness and breast engorgement (engorgement that has surprised more than one medical practitioner). These physical changes created a sense of extreme discomfort making it uncomfortable to be living in my own skin. My mood tended to spiral downwards following the physical discomfort.
In my late twenties, while in graduate school, my PMS went off the charts. My cycles were consistently 32 days long or longer. I tried specialized diets, (including the candida diet, salt reduction, no dairy and so on). I saw an acupuncturist who incorporated herbs and tested for food allergies. I saw a specialist (for PMS, peri-menopause, menopause) who further worked with my diet, tested my hormonal levels and prescribed natural progesterone and a range of vitamins. I was in counseling where I addressed my monthly mood swings. The areas in which I found some level of success included diet, dropping my sodium intake to under 1000 mg a day, drinking more water and seeing the acupuncturist who was able to jump start my menstruation, thus shortening my PMS.
I came to homeopathy, and Sadhana in particular, by recommendation. The initial appointment lasted about 2 ½ hours, was videotaped and covered the specifics of my complaints and well as my emotional and family history. Sadhana asked both open-ended and specific questions. I was more emotional than I expected I would be during this initial appointment. Her assessment addressed both acute complaints and more historical issues that predisposed me for emotional and physical instability. Sadhana gave me a time line as to what I should expect regarding improvement. She stated that I might improve for a few months and then have a month that felt like a set back. Her description was accurate to my experience. What stood out for me was the reassurance that my symptoms could be worked with, but that relief would not be immediate because my trauma went back to such an early age. I felt okay with this assessment because I had tried so many other avenues that really only dealt with symptoms and not root causes.
My initial appointment was in February 2002 and I can honestly say that my marriage is still intact because of homeopathy. There are times that Sadhana will make a suggestion that I initially resist, such as stopping natural progesterone or limiting chiropractic work, which when followed, has proven helpful. Overall I have found that my moods have been more stable and that I have more ease in my ability to cope with stress. I still have dips that prove challenging, but I have gone through a pregnancy with less emotional turmoil than any one of my premenstrual episodes. I feel more even in my temperament and able to handle what life presents, which includes an incredibly chaotic family of origin. Sadhana now helps me with my daughter as she goes through teething and developmental changes. My husband has noticed vast improvements since I began working with Sadhana. I don’t feel overwhelmed by emotion; yet I have not lost my sensitivity. Most of the time I feel more grounded, which has made connection to others easier and my life overall easier.
Sadhana spent a lot of time in the initial consultation asking me questions about my health and my life that no doctor had ever asked before. I could feel that she felt confident that she could help me and that, in itself, was healing. The fact that I checked in with Sadhana while taking remedies was helpful because there were times when my body and mind were undergoing changes and I needed the reassurance that all was going in the direction of healing and she always was non-judgmental, kind and human. I've never felt the authoritarian remoteness that a lot of doctors display. The process of homeopathy is a very different one than in western medicine in which a drug has a relatively quick action and in which each patient is given the same treatment according to the disease without treating the whole person. I learned through experience that homeopathy goes to the root of the problem to really create a shift, not to cover up the symptoms. Often in western medicine, one condition leads to another down the road plus there are often side effects from the drugs themselves to be dealt with.
I became fascinated by the process of what was happening to me and have done some reading about homeopathy over the years which has helped me to understand the process. Homeopathy is like another language to most of us. I've become much more sensitive to my body and amazed at the power of homeopathic remedies.
There have been times when my vision problem returned and each time Sadhana was able to cure the problem with homeopathy and return me to normal vision. Do you know the saying, "seeing is believing?' Well, I do now!
Time and time again homeopathic remedies have helped me through hot flashes, mood swings and headaches, all associated with perimenopause. I am most grateful to have been led to Sadhana and to this most "civilized" form of treatment. My wish is for more people to experience the power of homeopathy.
My first appointment with Sadhana was remarkable because she prescribed the homeopathic remedy that to this day has continued to help me. Not only did the original complaints reduce and disappeared, but also the same remedy eliminated them each time they seem to recur ever so slightly. In addition to original complaints, with infrequent well-timed dose from Sadhana, periodical hives, arthritic conditions, diabetic like symptoms, poison ivy type pustules, and influenza have also reduced and disappeared.
Sadhana ‘s support along with her homeopathic expertise has helped me over the years with each new struggle such as menopause and panic concerning several life threatening daughters’ illnesses. She has helped me rid of my anxiety, anger, and intense guilt.
She has facilitated me in regaining my energy and a sense of appropriate balance. I have lost 15 pounds, no longer need a psychotherapist, am more outgoing, loving, friendly, and trust my family. In my work as a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine specializing in Homeopathy I have achieved more maturity and personal knowledge of the subtle long term journey to health that homeopathy facilitates. In the last six months I feel the same sense of easy security about life that I did when I was a happy child. My husband and I have discovered ballroom dancing and competition and I have recovered a healthy physical vigor I had many years ago. I have a desire to participate in the joy that music and movement brings to us.
Furthermore, I offer my observations of Sadhana as my husband’s homeopath. With my husband, I’ve witnessed his Meniere’s disease decline from several episodes per day over 15 years, to one or two episodes per year. His chronic allergy of thirty years duration to Ragweed, a response to Ragweed, commonly called Hay Fever has over ten years reduced from six weeks of debilitation and antihistamines to a quarter antihistamine pill in the mornings for two weeks! Sadhana has also helped him psychotherapeutically as well, relieving him from periodic depressions and hopelessness.
Our family has traversed some difficult times however we have arrived at a place of love, trust and happiness.
Thanks Sadhana for your help in the past and for continuing to be one of my and our family’s most important people.
I was extremely depressed and was overwhelmed with sadness and hopeless despair. I felt as if I was living in a black hole. Driving down the road, I would burst into tears and pull over, to weep for no better reason than because my life was not worth living. I felt there was nothing ahead but deep despair and institutionalization so that I would not hurt myself. I felt suicidal but was trying to control myself as my older sister had committed suicide a few years prior.
I had tried getting help from other homeopaths prior to coming to Sadhana, and was given many different homeopathic remedies and nothing had helped me. My first consult with Sadhana was extremely thorough and highly emotional. She had clearly arrived at the homeopathic remedy and was very optimistic about bringing me to health. However, at first I was skeptical and didn’t want to raise my expectations. To my surprise, within first week, I had experienced calmness and optimism. The homeopathic remedy prescribed by Sadhana clearly seemed to be accurate since it helped me swing away from that extreme within a very short time.
Slowly, I came to trust what was happening. This was a steady path, with some swings back and forth, as difficult issues buffeted me: death of a parent, job woes, moving out of town. My ability to survive these buffets has increased. I have seen a steady improvement in my feelings of self-worth. My fear and anxiety have dropped down to normal proportions. I can more clearly see what I want. I had side effects – positive ones: I eat more healthily, I have more energy, and I see my family and friends more frequently.
I am still a patient of Sadhana's and I have the deepest respect for, and loyalty to her. She is a wonderfully warm, intelligent, funny woman who has such wisdom, such knowledge running through her veins. Her homeopathic expertise has led not only to finding the correct homeopathic remedy but also managing the frequency of repetition and potency selection of the same remedy to help me become healthy.
I was impressed with Sadhana during my first consult. She compiled a complete and thorough history of my complaints, surgeries, health and myself. She gave me two hours compared to the three-minute visits I had had with the previous physician. She was extremely hopeful about my recovery with the homeopathic remedy she arrived at. The homeopathic remedy I was treated with, and which relieved me of the worst part of my symptoms was neither bitter, nor difficult to swallow (like some of the huge antibiotic capsules), and affordable.
I knew that during homeopathic treatment, old complaints return temporarily. I clearly remember recurrence of an old symptom I had after the surgery – a naval blister on the scar of the surgery. My previous physician couldn’t help me beyond giving me antibiotics, which was ineffective. He didn't wish to treat it any further at the time and it had healed improperly. During homeopathic treatment, it reopened and once again my physician refused to treat it. During one of the follow-up consults, I discussed it with Sadhana and she adjusted the homeopathic treatment slightly. Within a few days, it completely healed, this time correctly. I was glad about not needing antibiotics that usually creates unpleasant consequences.
I was also impressed with Sadhana's professionalism and care for her patients. Whenever I returned for a follow-up visit, she was prepared, remembered the details of my complaints, persisted in an optimistic spirit that classical homeopathy could, should and would help me. I experienced a steady improvement in my symptoms. My general health improved as well, and my psychological status became definitely hopeful. I am able to go out for extended periods of time, and am also able to eat a wider variety of foods that I enjoyed prior to the surgeries without any health hazards.
To me it was a last resort regimen, and I shall be forever grateful to Sadhana Thakkar for the patience and conscientious care, her knowledge and experience.
I found a compassionate and dedicated psychiatrist who treated me with psychotherapy and medication. My response to the first drug she prescribed, Paxil, was immediate. Paxil alleviated my anxiety. I was able to eat. I felt better overall. What a relief! Unfortunately, this relief lasted only several months before the depression and anxiety returned. We tried a different medication. A cycle began that was to continue for several years - try a different medication, get relief for several months, depression returns, try a different medication, get relief for several months . . . and so on. The medications increased in number. My condition worsened to the point that I could not work. I was in an out-patient hospital program for five months. Eventually, however, my doctor and I hit upon a combination of medication that seemed to work and stay working - lithium, Zoloft, Mellaril and Vivactyl. Lithium in particular gave me great relief - I used to refer to it as “my buddy.”
I "stabilized". In this state, I still suffered from both depression and anxiety but it was manageable. I also suffered from the side effects of the medications I was taking. There were many - tremors, shaking hands, weight gain, lack of balance, flat facial affect, inability to focus among others. I took it for granted that this was the part of treatment. During this time, my doctor moved to another State. Although I was apprehensive of her leaving, I was glad that at least I was “stable.”
After a couple of years, things worsened - again. The depression and anxiety was getting stronger. Now I was running out of the energy to fight this illness. It was stronger than me. I was scared. I also realized that the conventional tools of medication and therapy didn’t work for me. I started looking elsewhere.
My town offered a four-week course on homeopathy through its continuing education program. I signed up. It was given by Sadhana Thakkar. Sadhana impressed me in the first class. Her command of the subject matter was obvious. She explained homeopathy in practical and philosophical terms that I understood. She spoke with passion and conviction. I was impressed by the subject matter and with Sadhana's presentation of it. By the third class, I had an appointment as a patient.
The first appointment was memorable. Sadhana listened to me and asked some questions. At the end of the appointment, she told me that with treatment my depression would go away. And that I would reach a point where I would no longer need medication. Outwardly, I didn’t react. Inside, I was saying, “What !?! Who does she think she is? I have been dealing with this illness for years and this woman is saying I can be cured ? ! Not need medication ! ?” I couldn’t decide whether she was being audacious or ridiculous. But in any case, she was serious and I needed help. I tried her remedy.
By the next appointment, one month later, I felt better. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly how other than to say that I felt easier in myself and also that the remedy “tickled me.” We were on the right track. Within two months, there was another change - in my menstrual cycle. For my whole life, my cycle had ranged anywhere from 4 to 10 weeks, usually around 6 weeks. And as it had always been this way, I never worried about it. Now, it started coming regularly. (My cycle now ranges from 28 to 33 days.)
We continued with the treatment. I did improve. The anxiety and depression diminished. I became stronger and healthier. As I did, my need for medication diminished. Mellaril was the first to go. Then Zoloft. Then Vivactyl. Going off lithium, my buddy, was more difficult. Sadhana and I worked closely with a new psychiatrist and therapist during this time. In less than two years, I was off all medication. My weight dropped 40 pounds (and has remained steady since.) My hands stopped shaking. I was at ease mentally and physically. I was healthy.
I do not want to give anyone the impression that this was an easy process. Some times it was, other times it wasn’t. In coming to health, I had to come to terms with my mother’s death. She died when I was fourteen. I also left a job that I loved but which was in a very toxic environment. I was out of work for seven months. Coming to health required a lot of work, perseverance and self-responsibility. At times it was painful. But what a blessing it has been.
I continue to work with Sadhana. There have been ups and downs. There have been recurrences of depression and anxiety but never to the degree it once was. Recurrences are less and less frequent. I am blessed with health. I have been further blessed. I met and married a wonderful man. We have been married for three years now. We have a simple yet rich life filled with family and friends.
As I relay my story, Sadhana remains in the background for much of it. I think this is for several reasons. In part, it’s due to my own absorption with my story. But in a larger part, I think it’s due to Sadhana's manner and presence - constant and secure, reassuring but not overwhelming. During the eight years (Sadhana, I don’t know how many years it has been. Please change if need be.) we have worked together, it has always been a given that she has and will continue to help me. The whole experience of coming to health is intensely personal, constantly moving and growing. Sadhana has watched over this process, letting it take its own course, its own direction in its own time. She has the wisdom and discipline not to sway it but to foster it. She is there for the appointments, phone calls and remedies. The sum of this experience is that she has led me to health. I am thankful to her, to the many others who have helped me, and to God.
I hope that you who are reading this may also come to the blessing of the gift of health.
In terms of Sadhana as a family homeopath, I can only say I am very grateful how she has helped in treating me over the last 3 years. The difference it has made has been profound, not only physically but on my whole attitude towards life. Life always brings its challenges, but her treatment has helped me become resilient and flexible in each situation- to me this is what true health is. I can also say the same for my children. Sadhana's treatment of my daughter has helped her overcome major obstacles in her studies. As for my son, it is wonderful for the family to know that Sadhana is so capable and is always there for him- reachable and available. This is so important with teenagers."
I began seeing Sadhana soon after I returned to the States. She patiently listened ... making only gentle, subtle remarks on occasion. She seemed genuinely to want me to feel better in myself and with people close to me. I often did not know what she really felt or thought, as she spoke very little ... but over the years I’ve gathered that the process is to help me come to the place where I have the confidence and clarity to make my own decisions, to be more sure of myself ... more spontaneous in life ... not so much caring what others think ... including her.
There were some difficult times along the way ... a potentially abusive relationship which she helped me strategically and safely end. She would always, in her quiet way, support me and help me feel worthy of being treated with respect.. although at that time this did not come naturally for me. She stood by me during an attempted move to Canada to go to school. She supported me for the duration and allowed me to make my own choices ... until I saw that this was not the right thing for me at the time ... or perhaps I was not strong enough to do it successfully ...or a combination. She supported me when I felt sadness and pain in disappointed relationships ... would be love affairs ... whether real or fantasy. She did not interfere with me feeling sadness and pain.
She was very patient and met me where I was ... although I was at times self-conscious about the state of affairs in my life, my thoughts, fantasies, dreams, I never felt she wanted me to be different ... at least not for her. She seemed genuinely to want me to be happy ... healthy ... free from encumbrances. That gave me a tremendous strength ... that there was no pressure ... no expectation ... just a caring, a concern ... She judged never, she advised rarely ... but she always understood.
In a discussion about school we were talking about a common acquaintance who was on the faculty. Sadhana was aware of my tendency to put certain types of men in a peculiar role not comfortable to them; not out of respect to the individual and not based on who they were, not conducive to a friendship ... but out of my insecurity and need. She asked me if I was putting this person in the same role I had put another common acquaintance (male). It was a shock to me when she asked me that question ... but it was true. She was not being polite, but honest and genuine. The shock was probably timed so that I could make use of it to change ... be more aware in myself ... treat others in a better and healthier way.
Another tap came from her receptionist ... I had called upset, needing to speak with Sadhana urgently ... and in the course of conversation to schedule the appointment Doe mentioned my “anxiety”. It was definitely true, but until then did not have a name ... was not concrete. I’ve heard it said that when the student is ready, the master appears. I must have been ready at that moment to know that aspect of the truth ... and although not directly from Sadhana, it was through her. It jarred me a bit, but I did not feel it was an accident. It seemed only to be an integral part of the process of healing.
I can recall her impatience on rare occasions over many years ... Once when I was nearly hysterical about the condition of my cat ... It was winter and Sadhana was asking me about the cat’s condition last winter. Had I not kept those notes? And on other similar occasions where I was overreacting to symptoms in my animals (or myself) without seeing the whole picture she would bring me back to reality by reflecting on the disproportionate nature of my reaction. I felt awful at those times ... but she was right. Over time I began to see.
She also praised little ... which for me was perhaps a much needed balance to what I was used to from others. When we were talking about the mouse I had rescued, she said, “You have a very big heart”. Coming from her this meant a lot to me.
A year or so later after I had come through a very difficult time, I was deeply thanking her for her help, saying I did not know how I would have gotten through without her ... and she reassured me “You are very strong”.
I can’t emphasize enough what a knack she had for timing. I must have criticized and blamed my parents dozens of times in the course of 7 or more years ... until just a few months ago she said “Your parents are not the problem”.
There were times during the years that I had physical symptoms; bee stings ... heart palpitations ... one time severely. I called her during the night on this occasion. Although the distance was 3000 miles, it seemed that she knew ... and responded and advised me to act accordingly even at late hours.
She is also knowledgeable about medical situations. On several occasions I have asked her about the effect of conventional medication. She has responded accurately. She has also advised expertly regarding medical tests, treatments, and getting a diagnosis from medical doctors or Vets. She always uses them as the basis for homeopathic treatment. She is also very clear about her knowledge on health, disease and homeopathy.
She took to treating my cats after having been my homeopath for 4 or 5 years. She encouraged me to enjoy my animals ... to let her be the practitioner ... for me to just be the mother. Sadhana was there at the times that were most needed ... prescribing a remedy the day before my cat died. She said very calmly “If it is his time he will go” ... and he did. She was there for me after he died ... and allowed me to feel the feelings and express them to her.
There was a time she suggested that it was natural for me to have a child ... that the cats were substitutes for that. This idea was difficult for me, although I knew it ... and she had the courage to bring up ... at the right time ... She reinforced many times that my parents’ caring for me was normal and natural ... and that I was not weak because they were giving to me and helping me in so many ways.
She seemed to have the same compassion and concern for others close to me that she had for me ... my parents, sister, cats ... dog. I feel that in treating me she sees ME as a bigger self ... extending to those I love/relate to. There is fairness, a genuine unbiased caring on her part ... for other living beings ... creatures ... a concern for others just as genuine as for me ... the one who is her patient.
She seems to have an overview, too ... not just the ability with medicine and healing ... not just the emotional support ... but also a philosophical and spiritual understanding ... as when I was later processing the death of my cat ... that in the last few days I could have done this or not done that I was moved by the depth of her profound comment, “Nobody ever dies prematurely”.
In the beginning she said that I was just wanting the remedy ... not wanting to talk with and communicate with her. Often just after consulting with her I would feel better. In her voice, in her energy, and what she says is the healing ... When I take the remedy it is this same fragrance ... the same light, freeing feeling that I experience when I see or talk to her.
She helps me see. This is her knack ... and also why I believe some crises are essential. She seems always to know how much and when to allow me to have them ... only when I am ready; strong enough. I believe this may be characteristic of homeopathy; that without them the healing does not occur. It has been a time of becoming stronger as well as more receptive in myself ... very gradually ... yet consistently. She has waited and watched ... and supported me ... and guided a little ... not too much ... in a gentle, subtle way ...
At times when I was very alone and felt that others did not understand or support me, I knew I could talk to Sadhana. I know I can tell her anything ... that she will listen ... that she will not judge. ... It is a unique, priceless relationship. There is the challenge of my needing her too much ... of clinging ... and she seems to have the knack of silently but definitively keeping a balance of distance.
I feel over the time with Sadhana something in me has softened. I was not only stuck, but also hard at the core before. I have ended many of my self-destructive patterns... and my life is better in more ways than I expected. I feel better about myself; more creative. She once said that I had to love myself first ... before searching out a relationship with another. Now, I feel an inner strength in relating with others.
She has helped me see many things about myself which I don’t know that I would have been able to see on my own. She has recently made suggestions that the community I had lived in many years ago (which I still held as an ideal) had shortcomings. She did not say this many years ago ... until the time when it was needed and she felt I was ready. Letting go of the past gives me a tremendous strength to live in the present.
In the process Sadhana has been supportive and nurturing, knowledgeable and understanding. She is strong and firm when it is needed ... able to deliver the “shock” of honestly speaking the truth. She is also very gentle and subtle. The process of homeopathic treatment seems to be a delicate balance, often tenuous ... requiring utmost accuracy and perseverance. It is also ultimately creative. As a homeopath she reminds me of a patient sculptor ... slowly and tediously carving away all the excess stone ... until only the pure form remains.