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Thank you for taking the time to speak with me about your experience,
Dr. Costello. How long have you been in practice?
I
have been in practice since 2000, but was working with incorporating
integrative medicine and neuroscience into my medical practice during my
residency and post-doctoral training from 1989 through the present.
At what point in your career did you recognize tick-borne disease as a
potential contributor to neuroimmune-based illness and chronic health issues?
My
PhD was in developmental neuroscience and the prenatal influences of the immune
system on the developing brain. I did an extensive undergraduate scholarship
program as well in tropical medicine, so my interest in infectious disease goes
back to the early 80's.
In
1993, while doing my graduate research, I became further tuned in to the issue
[Lyme Disease] during my post-doctoral studies on Alzheimer's brains.
Truly fascinating. Earlier in your career, when you were studying
prenatal influences on the development of the brain and the immune system, what
kind of role did you discover that infection and environmental toxicity played
in neurological and immune dysfunction?
In
my research, I studied the interface between the developing nervous system and
the immune system, in that they shared common markers. When the immune system
was infected or imbalanced, those markers were often missing or altered,
leaving the developing nervous system in disarray.
Chronic
infection, with Lyme particularly, disables subsets of the T cells of the
immune system, making normal surveillance of the brain and spine altered, so
they are far more vulnerable to chronic infections being established,
suppressing normal brain function. When in utero, the brain does not develop
normally.
At what point in your career did you become interested in treating these
issues holistically? I’m interested to hear what influenced your choice to move
from the use of pharmaceutical-based "conventional" medicine to
treating with natural and alternative modalities.
In
medical school, residency, and on into my private practice, I've always been
plagued by the limited scope and high side effect or toxic profile of
allopathic medications. I've struggled with following AMA guidelines and to
following the "standard of care" while working in the hospital, thus
I often agreed to prescribe only those medications that I could clearly reason
were on the low end of toxicity and high end of therapeutic yield. As for
managing my out patients (I.e., clinic or office patients), I've intuitively
avoided the corruptions of the pharmaceutical industry. I didn't have to play
ball with them with my outpatients, so I didn't. I was always repulsed by the
representatives’ transparent attempts to incur favor with the doctors in
exchange for their selective prescribing of that particular pharmaceutical company’s
products.
Managing
my hospitalized patients was more difficult in that standard prescription
medications were often all I had available to treat the patient. The increasing
tide of multiply resistant organisms and worsening side effect profiles of the
ever increasingly powerful antibiotics, in conjunction with the increasingly
toxic disease states, actually became both eye opening and quite disturbing.
I
started officially working with alternative medicine in 1989, including using
IV Vitamin C infusions during all of my surgeries. I was naturally drawn to
leaders in the integrative field such as Andrew Weil, MD, and Dr. Deepok
Chopra, whom I met in the early 1990's. At that time, I studied alternative
therapies primarily on my own, referencing these pioneers and others (Dr. Linus
Pauling was amongst them), until I found Dr. Thomas Rau of the Paracelsus
Institute in 2004. I underwent a rigorous 4 years of training with him,
including an internship at his clinic in Switzerland, completing my degree in
Biological Medicine.
I
would say, then, that it has been an 'evolution' toward a fully integrative
practice.
What types of health conditions do you treat on a day to day basis in
your integrative practice?
I
have a wide variety of patients who seek my care, as I offer comprehensive care
as a neurosurgeon, neuroscientist (treating all adult and pediatric neurologic
conditions), but I also sub specialize in infections and neurotoxins that
attack the nervous system. This covers a large group of the population in this
era of such potent organisms, with our rather toxic, genetically altered food
supply, and with a water and air source that is rife with neurotoxins and
lacking in any vital energy.
I know that Byron White Formulas™ play a significant role
in your practice and in the treatment of your patients. How long have you been
using the formulas?
I
became aware of Dr. White and his products while completing an ILADS sponsored
fellowship in advanced Lyme Disease diagnosis and care with Dr. Steve Harris in
Redwood City, CA early last year. I was so intrigued by Dr. White and his non
drug line of products, in conjunction with being so disenchanted with the
standard antibiotic approach, that I immediately converted to exclusive use of
non drug therapy, using his product line.
My
partner, Dr. Bill Wolfe, is a renowned Mercury free Biological dentist and
naturopath, and also produces energized detox and dental products. His
products, as well as Dr. White’s formulas, are the only two product lines I
carry and prescribe, other than my standard IV supplements (Vitamin C, etc.).
I
use Byron White Formulas™ almost exclusively to treat my patients,
including his A-Inflam for standard inflammatory conditions, as well as his
detoxifying line of remedies and his sophisticated line of Lyme related remedies.
Envi-Rad and A-Inflam are probably my two most utilized agents. Detoxifying the
nervous system, while balancing immune function lends to a rather rapid
response in improving or correcting neuroimmunologic dysfunction and disease
states.
The fact that you use Byron White Formulas™ almost exclusively (alongside necessary IV nutrient therapy and
energized detox remedies) to comprehensively treat patients speaks volumes
about the efficacy of the formulas. You mentioned that the formulas you
incorporate most often into patients' protocols are A-Inflam and Envi-Rad. What
do you feel indicates the need for these two products and what types of
beneficial shifts do they facilitate?
Envi-Rad
clears the microcirculation of the brain and body, which is an important
starting point, as everyone on this planet daily interfaces with pesticides,
plastics, jet fuels, EMR, radiation, etc. Whatever their neurologic issue, this
clears the superficial clogging energetic and environmental detritus. The
formula also greatly elevates
patients’
energy, allowing them to better handle the next phases of their treatment.
As
for A-Inflam, it's a good immunologic toning agent for over and under active
immune systems, as well as a good starting point for patients with brain and/or
joint inflammation.
The
deeper issues of Lyme or Mercury toxicity will often manifest or declare
themselves after starting these two formulas, so they guide the next layer of
treatment.
Why do you personally believe that Byron White Formulas™ hold such potent healing potential?
Through
his genius, his years of hard work and compassionate and his attentive patient
care, Dr. White has well defined the requirements of effective and safe
treatment of modern maladies. He has done so through a homeopathic and
herbal approach, as well as by incorporating the very essential component of
energetics into his formulas, making his products unmatched in today's
commercially available product market.
This level of healing is indeed incredibly rare, and indisputably
powerful. It holds such promise and hope for those chronically suffering. "Stories
of Hope" are actually quite exceptional gems amidst the chronically ill
community. Could you share a few stories in which Byron White Formulas™ played a role in a patient's recovery?
Every
patient who uses his products affirms for me his wisdom, compassion, and
effectiveness in anidoting today's diseases or imbalances in their testimonies of
their often immediate and safe response to his products. Whether it's clearing
brain fog or reversing signs of advanced neurologic degenerative disease, my
patents have all had a positive response.
While prescribed Byron White Formulas™, do you find that some
patients experience herxheimer reactions or a neurotoxin-induced exacerbation
of symptoms as chronic infection is addressed? If so, how do you ease these
reactions?
Herx
reactions occur if a patient is not guided carefully. This usually becomes an
issue when the patient’s drainage status has not been addressed first, or when
their bowel status is not optimal. Intestinal dysbiosis makes clearing Lyme
very difficult. Heavy metal toxicity is also something that is usually
overlooked, as well as diet and food allergies. Herx reactions are usually due
to short sightedness with these issues. When they are addressed, herxes
subside.
It’s so true; it is essential to look at a patient’s “whole picture”,
rather than just a piece of their health puzzle. Infection is just one
component. Do Byron White Formulas™ help you to achieve this
caliber of holistic and comprehensive treatment with patients?
Yes.
Holistic medical care is mandatatory in my opinion, if one expects to truly
heal any patient. This thereby necessitates considering the 'whole picture'
when diagnosing and treating a patient.
After
many years of intense scientific and allopathic study and patient care, as well
as study of and practice with alternative or integrative modalities, my
approach necessarily includes the integration of the best of Western and
Eastern Medicine.
We
are complex beings and both illness and wellness are mulitfactorial. True healing
is achieved only once all contributing issues have been identified and
considered.
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Dr.
Pamela Costello is a rare caliber of physician. It is doctors like Dr. Costello
that keep the flame of hope burning for those with chronic illness, and help
those suffering to understand the multifaceted nature of striving for wellness.
Instead of placing a band-aid over the surface, Dr. Costello delves deeper into
the layered imbalance within the body to find and address the root cause of
debilitating symptoms. With the help of doctors like Dr. Costello and
invaluable tools like Byron White Formulas™, patients
with complex neuroimmune disease have the ability to piece together the many
portions of their health puzzle and rebuild their foundation for strength.
