#42: From 400 Painkillers a Month to CBD
On this episode of the Natural Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Barrett chats with Fusion Wellness founder Chanel on her near-deadly addiction to prescription pain killers, life on the other side of opiates, and how Dr. Barrett’s whole body and mind approach to surgery was what made her choose Barrett Plastic Surgery for her fat transfer to the breasts. They’ll dive into how her surgery changed her relationship with herself, self-care, and healing the root causes of illness.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (00:03):
On this episode of the Natural Plastic Surgeon... At your highest, like what would be highest?
Chanel (00:08):
It was about 400 pills per month and it was the highest I was on oxycodone 30, and so I'd get 90 of those.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (00:14):
Oh, my God.
Chanel (00:15):
And then I would get 10 Percocet 10/325. I wanted to make sure it was the less amount of acetaminophen.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (00:21):
A lot of other countries, it's downright illegal. You can actually go to jail if you have CBD in your possession.
Chanel (00:27):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (00:27):
It comes from a natural plant, it does not get you high. "Oh, I have thyroid disease. I'm taking Synthroid." I'm like, "Okay, so you're taking amedication, but did you ever figure out why did you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis? Why is your body attacking your thyroid? Or why is your body attacking your pancreas and causing diabetes? Why is your body attacking your skin and causing psoriasis? Why is your body attacking your gut?"
Dr. Daniel Barrett (00:49):
All right, so we're episode 41 one of the Natural Plastic Surgeon podcast. We have a patient of mine, Chanel, who's on the show. Have you ever been on a podcast before?
Chanel (00:57):
I've never done one, but I've facilitated them before.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:00):
Okay.
Chanel (01:01):
Yes. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:01):
Amazing.
Chanel (01:01):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:02):
Well, I'm excited to have you on the show.
Chanel (01:04):
I'm so excited to be here. Thank you.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:05):
Yes. We were just chatting and after your surgery and everything, and we were just talking about a lot of the stuff that I'm doing, and very few other people are doing for postsurgical healing that has really benefited you-
Chanel (01:20):
Absolutely.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:20):
... in terms of your healing and postop. And you have a great background that I want to dive into as well, with some of your own product line.
Chanel (01:27):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:30):
Can we talk about the surgery that we did?
Chanel (01:32):
Of course, of course.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:32):
Okay. So Chanel came to me, I think it was over nine months ago because you're nine months out from surgery.
Chanel (01:39):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:40):
And you were kind of unhappy about the appearance of your breasts.
Chanel (01:45):
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:46):
And we also have some sternal abnormalities, and I believe it was pectus excavatum, right?
Chanel (01:52):
Yes, it was. Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:52):
Which, if you guys don't know what that is, that's where the chest is a little bit concave in the middle.
Chanel (01:58):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (01:58):
And I would say you have a very mild version of that.
Chanel (01:59):
Yes. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (02:00):
And overall, when you came to me, you were a very beautiful woman. You still are a very beautiful woman-
Chanel (02:04):
Thanks, Doctor.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (02:05):
... but I saw some of the things that were kind of concerning to you.
Chanel (02:07):
Absolutely.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (02:09):
And we decided to do fat grafting to the breast and also to the sternum area.
Chanel (02:14):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (02:14):
We also did a slight reduction to allow some greater symmetry for the breast and a little bit of a lift as well. Tell us briefly how you're doing now.
Chanel (02:24):
Amazing. It's been something that has completely changed my life for the better. I notice in all ways how much more confident I feel within my being.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (02:33):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (02:34):
I don't feel as insecure even just in my relationships, with all people.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (02:39):
Yes.
Chanel (02:39):
But specifically with myself, I can look in the mirror and feel like this is who I was meant to be, and this is who I truly am. So it's been life-changing.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (02:48):
What I learned in residency, I went to a great residency program, I went to a great medical school, these are all topnotch places. I studied really hard, I did well on all the tests, I did well on my boards. And they don't teach a lot about some of the stuff that I'm doing now.
Chanel (03:02):
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (03:03):
Which is kind of unfortunate.
Chanel (03:06):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (03:06):
There's a pharmaceutical solution for everything, but a lot of those pharmaceutical solutions are not the best.
Chanel (03:12):
Absolutely.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (03:13):
And I recognize that early on, it's like a patient's having pain, oh, you prescribe opioids, right?
Chanel (03:19):
Yes. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (03:19):
Okay. Well, is that always the best thing to do?
Chanel (03:22):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (03:25):
I don't think it is-
Chanel (03:26):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (03:27):
... and it's basically masking pain versus getting to the root cause of the pain, helping with inflammation. There's so many other modalities out there, so many other options, which we're going to get into, and so when you were thinking about having the surgery, did any of that pop into your head? Did you know that I do any of these other alternative things? Tell us about that.
Chanel (03:47):
Yeah. I was-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (03:48):
Let's rewind and let's start back then.
Chanel (03:50):
Yeah, so I was really drawn just based off of your name, like the Natural Plastic Surgeon, because for me, I try to do things more holistically and I want to use natural products, a part of my body, and I really saw what your pre-op care was and that was really something that I was drawn to, especially with all your education that you put on YouTube. That for me really created a sense of safety. I felt actually safe with you because I don't feel personally safe with doctors that prescribe Valium prior to procedure. There's nothing wrong with it, I get that it's from a textbook perspective, but as far as for what's going to be a healing solution for the patient prior and post-op, for me it was something that I really focus on, is making sure that it's done with natural intention and something from a pharmaceutical that's going to kind of take away the natural nerves that we need in order to actually heal. All of it is a part of it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (04:53):
That is critical, but then also what drives me in insane is what's the big picture here? Like, am I treating this person in just this limited window of time? Because if that's the case, maybe Valium's okay. But the problem with Valium, the problem without Ativan, is it creates rebound, right?
Chanel (05:09):
Yeah. The side effects. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (05:10):
Yeah. The same thing with opioids, it creates addiction.
Chanel (05:12):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (05:13):
So it's like, I don't want someone to come in here, feel fine for the surgery, but then I'm wrecking them for 6-9 weeks later, and then, "Oh, okay, it's not my problem anymore." I don't feel good about that.
Chanel (05:25):
And I appreciate you for that, because you truly care about the patient as a whole, I think that's where that safety aspect came through because I've been in positions where doctors maybe don't think long-term and I've been, as we're going to get into later, but I've been heavily addicted to opioids and so it was a huge factor for me.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (05:44):
Well, let's-
Chanel (05:45):
Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (05:45):
Let's dive into that.
Chanel (05:46):
Okay.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (05:47):
Yeah. Let's just go down that rabbit hole and tell us-
Chanel (05:49):
Of course.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (05:51):
... a little bit more about yourself, because I think that's going to help the listener understand why you were actually thinking about-
Chanel (05:54):
My perspective.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (05:55):
Yeah.
Chanel (05:56):
So I had been heavily addicted to opioids for about seven years or so of my life. It progressively got worse. I was prescribed hydrocodone as my first dose of an opioid, and I think that's pretty common for most people [inaudible 00:06:12]
Dr. Daniel Barrett (06:12):
What were you prescribed that for?
Chanel (06:14):
So I was prescribed, actually, for an issue to my sternum, and I was anorexic at the time.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (06:20):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (06:20):
And so when I took my first dose of opioids, it took away the pain that I was experiencing in all ways: emotional, physical, right?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (06:29):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (06:29):
It was an illusion of taking it away.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (06:30):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (06:31):
And I remember even the doctor telling me when she gave me my first prescription, she said, "This is also going to help with your anxiety" that I was experiencing, because she knew I was anorexic. I told her. You could tell just how thin I was as well. But I was going through a lot of emotional issues, and that, for me, was something that I was seeking, right?
Chanel (06:52):
I was seeking something to take away my pain. I was seeking something that I felt I couldn't give to myself at the time because I was really seeking externally for something, and so I started relying upon it in high school to start taking away not only my physical pain from cross-country and track, but also the emotional issues that were unhealed, my childhood trauma and things that I didn't know, was unconscious.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (07:18):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (07:18):
But I feel that it's a common theme for a lot of people that they get on Vicodin, which that's hydrocodone as their first dose of opioids.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (07:26):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (07:27):
And then it just progressively got worse for me.I went into my teens, because that was something that already I knew would take something away for me, it would take away pain, the illusion of taking away pain. So I started going towards that as my numbing agent when I went into my early 20s. I had several spinal procedures: I had a microdiscectomy, I had an ALIFT and I was very young at the time I had my spinal fusion, that's what an ALIFT is.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (07:56):
Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Chanel (07:56):
Anterior lumbar interbody fusion at 22-years-old. I literally woke up on my 22nd birthday to go get my spinal fusion and I then went into... Yeah, please go ahead.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (08:12):
Was that necessary?
Chanel (08:13):
No. Mm-mm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (08:13):
Looking back, was that surgery necessary? Do you feel like that-
Chanel (08:18):
No.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (08:18):
Were you having a lot of back pain? Was there something physically wrong with your back?
Chanel (08:20):
Yeah. I mean, I did have a fracture at L5-S1.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (08:24):
Oh, okay.
Chanel (08:24):
And I did have actual neuropathy coupled with... Like I lost motor function in my right leg.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (08:35):
Okay, so that's a real deal.
Chanel (08:35):
It was a real deal, but it was also accentuated and this is what I try to also help people from my story, the accentuated chronic pain was due to the emotional issues, right? And kind of then being in this mental reward system of almost being addicted to being chronic, because then I started to become addicted to the label, and I think that's important for people, it's not to self-blame, but it's also to recognize that we can use these labels as crutches and that's what I started to do because my life at the time, my personal life, was really like in the shit, in the shambles.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (09:07):
Yeah.
Chanel (09:08):
And for me, I was heavily also addicted to the party scene, I was addicted to my relationships. It was my lifestyle that I was living that really was contributing also to this whole unhealthy approach to just even life in general. So the crutch became also chronic pain.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (09:28):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (09:29):
And it's very important to me though, to share that there was so much light underneath that, I just had to allow myself to connect to it. So a lot of hope for people.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (09:37):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (09:38):
You just have to clear out that negativity that you find yourself in order to get, like you were saying, it's more of the roots, right?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (09:44):
Yeah.
Chanel (09:44):
How do these things manifest themselves? And how do they manifest to that level of accentuated pain to where that level 10 pain, where you're just automatically programmed... You've programmed yourself to be at a level 10.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (09:57):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (09:58):
And this isn't to also diminish what people go through, there's many different kinds of conditions.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:04):
Yeah.
Chanel (10:04):
I'm just saying, personally, what I experienced, I was using that as a crutch.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:09):
So, now we're heavily into... Or addicted, so if you don't have them, you feel even worse.
Chanel (10:15):
Yes. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:17):
And how are you getting ahold of these medications?
Chanel (10:20):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I was in a pain management program, and I also knew that, because I was, at the time, getting from a primary care physician and she told me, "I can't keep giving you these large amounts," because she was giving me large amounts.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:34):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (10:35):
And so she directed me towards-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:37):
At your highest, what would be the-
Chanel (10:39):
My highest?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:40):
Your highest amount of narcotics.
Chanel (10:41):
It was about 400 pills per month, and it was the highest I was on oxycodone 30 and so I'd get 90 of those.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:47):
Oh my god.
Chanel (10:49):
And then I would get 10 Percocet 10/325, I wanted to make sure it was the less amount of acetaminophen because I was a smart addict.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:55):
10/325. Okay.
Chanel (10:55):
10/325, the highest Percocet you can get. I don't know if it's still the highest, but back then it was.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (10:58):
Yeah, yeah.
Chanel (11:02):
I'd get 280 of that or 3, whatever... I think it was 2-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:04):
300 of those a month?
Chanel (11:05):
... 280. I'd get 280 plus I'd get 90 of the oxycodone 30.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:13):
Oh my gosh. That's like 20 pills a day.
Chanel (11:15):
Oh, I was taking... And then I would overtake. Because that's the thing, right?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:18):
Yeah.
Chanel (11:18):
I mean, you become so physically addicted... That's the one thing about opioids I find very interesting.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:24):
Just to catch people up, if a person who's never had opioids took a daily dose of what Chanel was taking-
Chanel (11:31):
They would die.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:33):
... they would die. They would die, just so you guys know.
Chanel (11:33):
Yeah, they would die, so, please, yeah, don't do what I did.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:35):
Yeah, I know.
Chanel (11:36):
That's the big thing, don't do what I did.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:37):
Right.
Chanel (11:38):
I was heavily addicted. And I also started supplementing outside of what I was given, and I was taking also Dilodin at the time.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:49):
Oral?
Chanel (11:49):
And I actually would inject it, I started injecting.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:53):
Wow. Intermuscular? Or did you IV?
Chanel (11:55):
I would actually do it through my anus.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (11:57):
Okay.
Chanel (11:58):
I was too afraid to do it IV, I always thought I was too chicken to do it IV.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:01):
Okay, wow.
Chanel (12:01):
So I started doing it in my anus, that was after my dad transitioned. My dad passed away from stage four esophageal cancer and he was my best friend and that for me was a big trauma so I was already addicted to opioids and then it just went even more.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:19):
Gosh.
Chanel (12:20):
Yeah. So for me, Dr. Barrett, it's very important to educate people what is actually out there because I don't think a lot of people even think it's real that this is going on.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:32):
Right. Mm-hmm.
Chanel (12:32):
That's really what I was prescribed per month, from one doctor.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:35):
Yeah.
Chanel (12:35):
I signed a... One doctor, one pharmacy in pain management so I thought I was good to go.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:40):
Yeah.
Chanel (12:41):
And pretty, much you were. Like, I was back then, I was good to go. I could get that much and nobody say anything.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:50):
Wow. Is that still possible today?
Chanel (12:52):
I don't know.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:53):
Yeah.
Chanel (12:53):
I mean, I'm not in it anymore. I'm not in the game anymore.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:56):
No, I know. I know. It's crazy.
Chanel (12:58):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (12:58):
There are a lot of legislation, they are tracking, there's a database now that kind of tracks in, I'll get a notification that... I'll have a patient that I'll sometimes prescribe just a normal... I still prescribe some opioids for surgeries, it's a very small amount because some people still need it. It's reasonable, they have had surgery. I generally tell people don't take them unless you absolutely need to take them and the majority of my patients don't need to take them.
Chanel (13:22):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (13:22):
But sometimes every now and then I'll get somebody that it triggers an alert and it says, "By the way, this person also is getting narcotics from this other doctor." And so they are kind of catching on to some of that stuff.
Chanel (13:34):
Good, good. Well, I love hearing it. It's-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (13:36):
So, yeah. I like to think that there's still a role for opioids and I don't fully understand it, it's not my specialty.
Chanel (13:43):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (13:44):
So again, I'm not trying to stop people that really need it for certain whatever issues from getting it but there's other options for a lot of people.
Chanel (13:56):
Definitely. Well, and the side effects like you were saying earlier.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (13:58):
Yeah.
Chanel (13:58):
The downside, I can share from personal experience of obviously being heavily addicted.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:04):
Right.
Chanel (14:05):
I would have to go to the hospital because of the level of constipation.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:08):
Yes.
Chanel (14:09):
Because I wouldn't take a bowel movement for about almost a month.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:13):
Yeah.
Chanel (14:13):
And it was to the point where then my ovaries... I was having issues. I had two laparoscopies also.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:20):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (14:23):
And so I was having ovarian issues as well.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:25):
Yeah.
Chanel (14:26):
And the constipation didn't help, right?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:28):
No.
Chanel (14:28):
Then the pain would become even worse.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:29):
No. Yeah.
Chanel (14:29):
And so that was also a factor.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:33):
Yeah.
Chanel (14:33):
Right? And then when I'd go in, because I, at the time, couldn't admit to myself that I was so addicted, I was withdrawling because I would take over-prescribed and then I would go to the hospital because I needed reup.
Chanel (14:44):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:47):
Because then I didn't have anything in between and I'm withdrawling very heavily.
Chanel (14:51):
Wow.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (14:51):
And so that was the cycle I was living in was just, okay, live in this tuned out reality. And like I said, I really actually did have pain, that's the sad part of it, there was really pain, but then like I'm trying to reiterate that accentuation where it's every day, the programming, "Oh, I'm just a level 10, I'm chronic." There was a lot of debugging that needed to kind of come into play for me.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (15:18):
You know it's interesting you mentioned the constipation. Early on when I was started my career as a plastic surgeon here in Beverly Hills, I would just do the regular prescription for my patients that we are all taught in residency 30 of Norcos. And my patients, especially like after a tummy tuck, which is a bigger operation, they'd be in a lot of pain, they'd take the Norcos, they would start taking them around the clock and whether they needed them or not, and that's kind of what the nurses would do, and if they go to aftercare facility, the nurse is like, "Time for your pain pill. Time for your pain pill."
Chanel (15:50):
Yes, exactly.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (15:50):
And they would just start feeding them. And I noticed, early on, that these patients who were taking them around the clock used all 30 or even more, they didn't recover as fast and as well.
Chanel (16:00):
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:01):
They would come in, they would be kind of diaphoretic, they would kind of be groggy, they'd be out of it sometimes nauseous, constantly.
Chanel (16:08):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:08):
Definite constipation.
Chanel (16:09):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:10):
If you ever had a tummy tuck...
Chanel (16:10):
Oh.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:11):
... that's not fun.
Chanel (16:12):
Yeah. It doesn't sound fun. Yeah, it doesn't sound fun at all.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:15):
Right. Because the placation you do for your core and then they didn't have constipation, it was a disaster. Or if they'd end up throwing up because they're nauseous, their appetite would be non-existent, which is a horrible thing because you need food and nutrition to heal after a major operation, especially like a tummy tuck. I'm basically cutting people in half and so I was like, "God, there's got to be a better way to do this." So one of the first things that came out was called exparel, and that's a long-acting local pain medication. I don't think we used it for your operation because it-
Chanel (16:41):
I think we may have.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:41):
Did we?
Chanel (16:41):
Yeah, I think we did.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:41):
Okay.
Chanel (16:41):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:42):
Okay, good.
Chanel (16:43):
It actually did really help me.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:44):
Okay, good.
Chanel (16:47):
It did really help me.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:47):
Okay.
Chanel (16:47):
And I was grateful for it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:47):
Good. Well, I'm glad.
Chanel (16:49):
Yeah, I did get it. Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (16:50):
Well, I use it for a lot of operations, especially tummy tuck cuisine, because we inject in the most painful parts and it provides pain relief for three days. So what I've noticed is that exparel patients... I mean, and I learned this from the orthopedic surgeons who were injecting it in joints and everything else, and I was like, "Why aren't we doing this in plastic surgery?"
Chanel (17:06):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:06):
"Why aren't we doing this in all the surgeries?"
Chanel (17:07):
Yeah. It was amazing for me. I loved it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:07):
Yeah.
Chanel (17:09):
Yeah. It really worked.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:11):
And now I use it for any patient that wants to use it.
Chanel (17:13):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:13):
If anything, I'll use Narcaine, which at least lasts for six hours. I started learning techniques from anesthesiologists, pre-injecting numbing medicine so we don't upregulate the pain system in people's bodies, right? Like anesthesia will put your mind to sleep, but it doesn't put your body to sleep. So if you were under anesthesia and I made an incision on your body, your body cells, local nerves will feel that and your spinal cord will feel that, and they're like, "Uh-oh, trauma."
Chanel (17:39):
Wow.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:39):
All of a sudden it upregulates your pain fibers. So it's like, if you got a splinter in your finger, it wouldn't hurt right away but then it starts to hurt like a few days later. Have you ever seen that?
Chanel (17:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:48):
Where it gets red, also more painful?
Chanel (17:50):
Pain signals? Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:50):
That's upregulation of your nerves.
Chanel (17:51):
Wow, okay.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (17:51):
And so then we learn those techniques, "Okay, let's start pre-injecting numbing medicine on all of our incisions, the whole areas as long as it's safe."
Chanel (18:02):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:03):
And then we notice that our patients, instead of taking two weeks to recover from a breast augmentation, they're only taking three days.
Chanel (18:08):
Wow.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:09):
Yeah. So and then-
Chanel (18:10):
That's amazing.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:10):
Yeah.
Chanel (18:10):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:10):
And then we started adding and... I started looking into CBD, actually, before that I started using magnesium, which relaxes muscles, we don't get enough magnesium in our diet. I started looking at even things you can do pre-surgery like cold showers, and-
Chanel (18:27):
Yeah, you recommended it to me, and it was huge.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:32):
Yeah.
Chanel (18:32):
I mean, I loved it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:33):
Right.
Chanel (18:33):
It really did work. It worked.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:33):
Yeah. So-
Chanel (18:33):
Yeah, I was grateful for that.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:34):
Anyway. So I think you caught me pretty much when we're really getting into some of the... nine months ago, really getting a lot of those things and tell us... All right. So how did you find out that I actually did some of the... Was that how you picked me? Or what fell into how you found me?
Chanel (18:53):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:53):
Or did we find that out later?
Chanel (18:54):
So I found you on YouTube.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (18:55):
Okay.
Chanel (18:55):
And really what drew me in was the Natural Plastic Surgeon, you know, as far as your podcast.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:00):
Yes.
Chanel (19:01):
And just your name really resonated with what I'm seeking.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:04):
Okay.
Chanel (19:04):
And I did see that you actually prescribed CBD as a form of your recovery.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:10):
Yeah.
Chanel (19:10):
And that was huge because I hadn't seen that with any other doctor, and that was huge for me, is because that's what I used to help me heal from my opioid addiction was also cannabis.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:21):
So how did you come clean from opioids? Do you still use opioids at all now?
Chanel (19:25):
No.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:26):
Okay.
Chanel (19:26):
Been completely clean for six years.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:28):
You were taking like 20-30 pills a day-
Chanel (19:31):
Yeah, like 30.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:32):
... and now you don't take anything.
Chanel (19:33):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:34):
This is really... We got to get into this. So how did you do this?
Chanel (19:37):
Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:37):
Because I mean, you seem like an amazing person-
Chanel (19:41):
Thanks, thank.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:41):
... and it's just like I can't imagine that you went through that and you had such a horrible addiction and now you're like this outstanding, bright, amazing individual with your own product line here.
Chanel (19:49):
Thanks, Dr. Barrett.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:50):
Yeah.
Chanel (19:50):
You're beautiful.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (19:51):
Well-
Chanel (19:52):
Yeah. I mean really it was just... Gosh, I have David here, he's sitting on the side, my partner.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:00):
Yes, we have David in the room.
Chanel (20:02):
Yes. He was a big part of also me getting clean.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:05):
Okay.
Chanel (20:06):
He facilitated space for me through love and understanding, which really helped me heal. And we were talking about safety earlier, you know?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:14):
Yeah.
Chanel (20:14):
Really feeling safe with someone, you're able to let go, right? You're able to heal.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:18):
Mm-hmm.
And there's many different ways to feel safe with someone. And with David, it helped me realize that there were other humans that would really love me for just being me, and that helped me to also love myself more and just having that support, but also really... Gosh, I mean, there's a lot, Dr. Barrett, with that, just having a near-death experience. I had a near-death experience.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:40):
Was that because of the opioids?
Chanel (20:41):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:41):
Okay.
Chanel (20:43):
I overdosed and went to what I would like to call "the waiting room" and it was with my dad who had just transitioned and he basically looked me in the eyes, his soul.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:52):
So he'd already passed from the living world into-
Chanel (20:55):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:55):
And to how long ago was this?
Chanel (20:56):
It was about a month.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (20:57):
A month after your dad physically passed?
Chanel (21:00):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:00):
Okay.
Chanel (21:00):
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And he basically let me know, like with lessons that... I reflected with the lessons later, that he would not do it for me and he could not do it for me. And that this was a self-created illness, meaning like inner self, as far as choice, like there was a choice that I was making each day to use drugs.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:21):
Yeah.
Chanel (21:21):
And that was huge for me, just like empowerment. And that woke me up. Like when I came back into this reality, I remember screaming as loud as I could.
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (21:29):
I felt my soul come back into my body.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:31):
Oh my god.
Chanel (21:31):
And my heart... The whole thing. And I just remember screaming and just being so happy to be alive.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:36):
Yeah.
Chanel (21:36):
And I knew that in that moment, everything was going to change.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:39):
How did you know it was a near-death experience? Was anybody witnessing this or you-
Chanel (21:43):
No, I was alone in my apartment.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:51):
Okay.
Chanel (21:52):
But I just know by the way that I felt-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:52):
Yeah, that you got close. It was the only-
Chanel (21:52):
... because I felt my soul come in and out.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (21:54):
Yeah.
Chanel (21:54):
And I know that I went into... Because I set the... Oh, this is why, because I set the intention that day to die, so. I set that intention that day to overdose. So I was taking six at a time, pills, for anyone that's not trigger alert, but just, yeah. I set the intention that day that I wanted to die.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (22:13):
God.
Chanel (22:14):
I don't even know how many I took that day.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (22:16):
Yeah.
Chanel (22:19):
But I know, at least from what I know with my body, I feel like I went into cardiac arrest and went cold and-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (22:22):
And that feeling normally never happens when you were just on a regular day.
Chanel (22:27):
No, because I could resuscitate myself. I knew how to resuscitate myself to a certain degree.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (22:30):
Yeah.
Chanel (22:31):
I just lived in that cycle, it would become to a point and I would just start hitting my chest because I could feel myself starting to go, like my breathing would start to get depressed.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (22:42):
Yeah.
Chanel (22:43):
My heart would start to slow and I knew how to basically hit my chest in a way where, okay, I feel my heart come back into this existence. I was watching Euphoria the other day and like just kind of resonated with what the storyline a little bit, because I went through similar experiences.
Chanel (23:03):
Mm. Okay.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:04):
Yeah.
Chanel (23:05):
So you woke up, you screamed and you're like, "Something's got to change"?
Chanel (23:10):
Yeah. From that point on, I mean I could feel it on a soul-level, you know-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:14):
Yeah.
Chanel (23:14):
Where I was just like, "If I don't do this, if I don't and I mean, if I really don't put any effort into this, I will fully transition next time."
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:23):
Yeah.
Chanel (23:24):
And I wanted to be alive and I actually really wanted to just have a good life.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:29):
Yeah.
Chanel (23:30):
I didn't want to keep living the life that I was.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:32):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (23:33):
And so that was really big for me knowing that no one's going to come save me, I got to save myself, and the relationship I was in at the time with my prior ex, he wasn't supportive. So I knew that I had to do it myself-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:44):
Was he enabling the drug usage?
Chanel (23:47):
Yeah, I mean you could say that to a certain degree.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:49):
Okay.
Chanel (23:49):
I think there was parts of him, I send love to him. I think there was parts that enjoyed me on drugs to a certain degree.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (23:55):
Okay.
Chanel (23:56):
Sent him love. But yeah, he got to do certain things and that's okay. That's where we were at at the time.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (24:02):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (24:03):
We were together for seven years and just went through a lot of life together.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (24:08):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (24:08):
But yeah, it just became so unhealthy at that point.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (24:10):
Okay.
Chanel (24:11):
Yeah. And so there was some enabling he had his own addictions, I think you kind of have to when you're in that sort of situation, to have your partner that high, there's parts of you that are obviously doing things as well...
Dr. Daniel Barrett (24:26):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (24:27):
... to allow it. So, and not in all cases, but in our case, that was what happened.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (24:32):
Got it. And how did you... Okay, so steps to doing this, you've made the mental resolve, but you've got this massive addiction in your body now to opioids, so how did you get there?
Chanel (24:45):
So for me, I knew I actually had to go to Hoke Hospital the first couple nights that I was choosing to withdrawl because of dehydration and some other factors.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (24:58):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (24:58):
And I chose to go cold turkey, I would not recommend that for anyone.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:03):
Oh god.
Chanel (25:03):
I went cold turkey.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:03):
Yeah.
Chanel (25:04):
I did choose to use cannabis, though.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:06):
Yeah.
Chanel (25:07):
That really helped me. So this is where CBD comes through, I actually took Rick Simpson Oil.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:13):
What's Rick Simpson Oil?
Chanel (25:14):
So Rick Simpson Oil is a high THC concentrate.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:17):
Okay.
Chanel (25:17):
And my father actually used it when he had cancer.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:21):
Yeah.
Chanel (25:21):
And actually, that's where it inspired me to use it in my own life because I saw how much it helped him. So that's what I used in conjunction with also, I took a low dose of Gabapentin for a little bit. But after that-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:39):
Was there any medical supervision of this? Was this at Hoke or no>
Chanel (25:42):
Mm-mm. At Hoke, they just basically gave me a patch to regulate my heartbeat.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:47):
Okay.
Chanel (25:47):
And they just said, because I finally admitted to them, "Hey, I'm having an opioid withdrawal", which was huge because before I wouldn't admit it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:51):
Yeah.
Chanel (25:52):
And yeah, they basically sent me on the way with just my little heart patch to make sure, "Hey, you're going to need to stay hydrated."
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:58):
Yeah.
Chanel (25:58):
They gave me IV fluids.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (25:59):
It's actually not life-threatening for opioid, it is for other addictions. Like alcoholic can actually be life-threatening.
Chanel (26:08):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (26:08):
But-
Chanel (26:08):
And Xanax, too.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (26:09):
Yeah, the barbiturates and benzos, yes.
Chanel (26:13):
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (26:15):
One of the harshest things that can happen though, you can't die from it, but it's probably one of the most uncomfortable things is opioid withdrawal.
Chanel (26:23):
Yeah. It was really, I have to say though, beautiful if you can use it as an opportunity.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (26:27):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (26:27):
It was very intense. But if you can use it as an opportunity, I saw it as like, "Okay, I'm not going to use Suboxone", because I was offered Suboxone, didn't want to do it because Suboxone's just another narcotic for me.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (26:37):
Right.
Chanel (26:39):
I knew that if I got on that, I'd probably get addicted to it, too.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (26:41):
Yeah.
Chanel (26:41):
And so I chose to use cannabis, so going back to that. But I saw it as a beautiful blessing to be able to purge out all my old life. So kind of like what people use ayahuasca for, you know, these plant medicines?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (26:56):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (26:56):
I saw it as an opportunity then to purge out my old life, because you're already going to be vomiting and having diarrhea...
Dr. Daniel Barrett (27:04):
Gosh.
Chanel (27:05):
You're already going to have that, and that's the part that I think people are very afraid of is to withdraw. Because it is very intense, but it's also can be like a blessing if you look at it that way, because it's just it's temporary.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (27:17):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (27:17):
Like you said, you're not going to die most likely if you have the right fluids and the right person and the right environment, you're not going to die, so if you have that in the back of your mind. I mean, for me though, I was at the point where I was already dying, like the life I was living?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (27:32):
Yeah.
Chanel (27:33):
I was just existing. So for me it felt like I didn't even care at that point. Like for me I had such a conviction that I don't even care if I die because then I'll least be sober. I can say I tried.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (27:45):
Yeah.
Chanel (27:45):
So it's just a perspective shift, and I think that's really big for people who are about to make any leaves or especially coming off of that type of substance.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (27:56):
How many days did it take you to get off, feel back to normal? If that could be a possibility?
Chanel (28:01):
Mm-hmm. I think for me, I realistically felt like I withdrawaled for... I mean, it was about 30 days or so, but I'm going to say like on my whole like level, cellularly, I felt like it took me like six months.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:18):
Yeah.
Chanel (28:18):
But 30 days for me, like really feeling it like the acute, I would say more acute.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:24):
Yeah.
Chanel (28:25):
But everybody's different. Like I said, I was a heavier user.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:28):
Yeah.
Chanel (28:28):
So for me 30 days was like, I was still really feeling it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:34):
I mean, you were on for so long-
Chanel (28:35):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:35):
... you did so much, I mean, it probably affected every cell down to the DNA.
Chanel (28:40):
Yes. Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:40):
And that takes a long time.
Chanel (28:44):
It does. And that's why I felt like I withdrawed for like, six months. I mean, I felt... But it was okay, like I knew when it would kick in, okay. I would just make light of it. I was like, "All right, the withdrawals are kicking in again." I mean, if people [inaudible 00:28:56]
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:55):
That's crazy Chanel!
Chanel (28:58):
And I know, I'd just be like [inaudible 00:28:58]
Dr. Daniel Barrett (28:58):
That is crazy. I can't like... You-
Chanel (29:00):
And I tell [inaudible 00:29:00] I go, "Okay, it's kicking in again so I'm going to feel a little nauseous, I'm going to feel a little uneasy. Little"... For me, Dr. Barrett, it was like, I was so grateful to be alive, I was so grateful. Like I was so grateful that I had this beautiful life ahead of me, so to me, it's like my spinal fusion. Like I still kind of get pain here and there today, but that's like normal, like I have my life back.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (29:25):
So besides CBD, what else did you do? Because you have some serious pain concerns... And I'm not trying to label it as that, but it sounds like there's still some things in your body that are causing pain. So what are some other things that you've done besides CBD or and THC to help with that?
Chanel (29:53):
So physical exercise is huge.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (29:54):
Yeah.
Chanel (29:54):
And I know that you're a huge-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (29:54):
Yeah, so not just a certain pill, but like some lifestyle things, [inaudible 00:29:57] and a lot of people don't realize that exercise daily is like one of the best things you do for a lot of things.
Chanel (30:02):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:02):
Including chronic pain.
Chanel (30:03):
Yes. Yeah. For me, the bike is huge.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:06):
Cool.
Chanel (30:06):
I love the bike. I found out I'm like a little indoor cyclist after I started getting my life together.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:12):
Is that like Peloton or like on a [inaudible 00:30:13]
Chanel (30:13):
Kind of, yeah, I like to do like indoor cycling classes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:17):
Okay.
Chanel (30:17):
I found a hobby and diet is big, nutrition, limiting sugar.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:23):
Yeah.
Chanel (30:24):
It's definitely anything that's going to help with inflammation.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:28):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (30:29):
And the people I associated with. We can take on other people's energy, I really believe in energy and I just think that the people we associate with are also reflections of parts of us that need to just kind of be healthier.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:42):
Yeah.
Chanel (30:43):
And yeah, I noticed that the lifestyle that I was living with them, very unhealthy, just the drinking, too, not even the opioids, but drinking, smoking. There's many things that I chose also that were contributing to the pain, emotionally, too.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (30:59):
So lifestyle.
Chanel (31:00):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:01):
Interpersonal relationships.
Chanel (31:02):
Yes, mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:03):
Definitely some THC, CBD... Any other type of products [inaudible 00:31:08] I mean, tell us about-
Chanel (31:09):
Hydration too is important.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:10):
Okay. Tell us about... You decided to come up with a product line on your own and can we talk about it for just...
Chanel (31:16):
Please.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:19):
Okay. So it is Fusion Wellness.
Chanel (31:21):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:22):
And so 50 milligram CBD bath bomb. Hell yeah.
Chanel (31:26):
Yeah!
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:26):
I didn't even know you had this! Can I buy this from you?
Chanel (31:29):
Oh, of... You can have it for free!
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:30):
Are you sure?
Chanel (31:31):
You can have it for free!
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:31):
Holy crap!
Chanel (31:32):
You gave me the beautiful tincture, yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:35):
I'll trade, this is awesome. It's like sometimes I'll do a-
Chanel (31:39):
[inaudible 00:31:39]
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:39):
... I'll do a big race, I'll do like a triathlon or something and I'm just like=
Chanel (31:42):
I think this will really help you.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:42):
Oh, I'm just like, "Rad."
Chanel (31:42):
Yeah, do you take salt baths?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:46):
Yeah, I'll do like a magnesium bath, but I didn't know you could actually do a CBD bath bomb.
Chanel (31:51):
Oh.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:51):
That's badass.
They really help and-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:52):
And frankincense.
Chanel (31:53):
And that was also what I would use for withdrawals, is salt baths.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (31:57):
Uh-huh.
Chanel (31:58):
So salt baths really will help with the muscle aches and cramps and whatnot.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:02):
Okay.
Chanel (32:02):
And also just helps emotionally too, but it will help with the muscle aches.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:06):
This is fantastic, you've got some really quality ingredients here. Himalayan salt crystals, which is a better form salt, organic fractionated coconut. So it's like that stuff's not cheap, you know?
Chanel (32:17):
No, we actually... And dead sea salt, you know there's-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:18):
Yeah.
Chanel (32:19):
Yeah, so these are all... For us, it's really choosing... Yeah, the ingredients were important to the brand, because there is different salts from different regions where you're going to get different energy, different mineral content...
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:31):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (32:32):
And people forget about that, it's not just Epsom salt.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:34):
Yeah.
Chanel (32:35):
There's also different forms of salt that will help your body because there's trace minerals, from each different region.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:41):
I've been using Redmond salt to eat with, is that any good?
Chanel (32:45):
Okay.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:45):
It's from Utah? I don't know.
Chanel (32:47):
I don't specifically know the one you're talking about. Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:50):
Okay, all right. Because they're supposed to come from like some salt mines in Utah, which is supposedly pretty good.
Chanel (32:52):
Okay, I'll like to check it out. Yeah, I'll have to check it out.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (32:54):
All right.
Chanel (32:54):
I love salt, I mean, it can really do wonders too. I mean it's a universal... It is universal.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:01):
Well, when did you start this product line and tell us about your products and like what do people use these for?
Chanel (33:08):
So I started Fusion Wellness in 2018.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:15):
Okay, do you have a website?
Chanel (33:18):
Yes, I do. It's www.fusionwellness.shop.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:18):
.shop?
Chanel (33:18):
.shop.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:18):
.shop. Okay.
Chanel (33:19):
Yes. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:21):
Www.fusionwellness.shop...
Chanel (33:22):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:23):
And then do you have an Instagram?
Chanel (33:23):
I do.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:23):
Okay.
Chanel (33:23):
It's fusion_wellness_co.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:23):
Do I follow you yet?
Chanel (33:31):
I think you do.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:31):
Okay.
Chanel (33:31):
I think you do.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:32):
Okay.
Chanel (33:33):
Yeah, and it's really focused just on... Like we were talking about, treating the person as a whole. We all have different addictions in different forms, I believe. So it's really kind of just having a more loving and understanding approach towards ourselves and like as a society.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:48):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (33:48):
So this isn't just about CBD products, it's about the message.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:50):
I found it. Fusion Wellness... So fusion_wellness_co.
Chanel (33:53):
_co.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:53):
Yeah.
Chanel (33:53):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:54):
Cool.
Chanel (33:54):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:55):
All right.
Chanel (33:55):
Cool.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:56):
I'm on it.
Chanel (33:56):
Awesome.
Chanel (33:57):
Okay.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (33:58):
Thank you, thank you.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (34:01):
And so yeah, so you came up with this product line.
Chanel (34:03):
Yes, mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (34:06):
And is it overall wellness or any specific group of people that want these products?
Chanel (34:11):
I think it's honestly for every everyone.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (34:13):
Okay.
Chanel (34:13):
Everyone needs self-care.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (34:14):
Yeah.
Chanel (34:15):
It's mainly self-care. We all forget, like life becomes really hectic and challenging for everyone.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (34:22):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (34:22):
If you're here on this planet, you're going to go through a challenge, that's just a part of being human, and we all have different forms of, like I was saying, kind of addictions, I believe. Now that's not to say that you have an addiction like as far as like... It's just a lot of times we find ourselves into positions that we wouldn't normally find ourselves in if we had some type of outlet, right? Like we need to take care of ourselves. We need some type of hobby, we need something outside of what we're currently doing in our work environment, in our relationships, you need something for yourself that's actually going to clear your mind, body and soul. And so this is why we created these products, so you can really focus on yourself.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:04):
Okay.
Chanel (35:04):
From my own story, that's what I learned, it's light and dark aspects.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:07):
I know, I'm so tired of like finding stuff that's just like basic cost-driven stuff.
Chanel (35:13):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:13):
I pick out organic food for myself and I'm so particular, you can ask my staff like I don't eat sugar, although yesterday I broke down, I had a piece of cake that my patient brought me.
Chanel (35:24):
Okay, well. Yeah, but you know-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:24):
But it's just like, I had to do it.
Chanel (35:27):
It's like sometimes that's okay, though.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:27):
Yeah.
Chanel (35:27):
Sometimes that's okay.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:28):
Yeah.
Chanel (35:29):
Things in moderation are okay, but you start noticing is it starting to become like a really unhealthy habit, then yeah, you evaluate it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:35):
Yeah.
Chanel (35:36):
But like you said, I mean, it's good to be particular and it's good to know what your body needs. Like I think that's common too, people don't know fully what they need.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:46):
Yeah. Well, CBD, I do want to spend just a minute on that.
Chanel (35:49):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:52):
It's one of those things that is countercurrent.
Chanel (35:55):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:55):
California's very progressive about it.
Chanel (35:57):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (35:58):
I wouldn't say very progressive, but I would just say moderately progressive about it and a lot of other states are not, a lot of other countries are... It's downright illegal. You can actually go to jail if you have CBD in your possession.
Chanel (36:10):
Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:11):
It comes from a natural plant, it does not get you high, THC can get you high.
Chanel (36:16):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:17):
CBD has incredible medicinal properties. I actually, previous podcast way back when, within the first season last year, I had makers of Wild Health CBD and this is when I first started doing my research about CBD, and that was the product that I recommended before I developed my own.
Chanel (36:33):
Yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:33):
Which both are good, but my product I've actually made it a little bit better.
Chanel (36:37):
Well, and I love your product by the way.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:39):
Thank you.
Chanel (36:39):
I think your product's amazing.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:41):
Yes.
Chanel (36:41):
I don't just say that because you gave it to me.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:43):
Okay, okay.
Chanel (36:43):
I really mean it. I really mean it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:45):
Yeah.
Chanel (36:45):
You've created something very special. It has those terpenes, which I know you really were focusing on.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:51):
Right.
Chanel (36:52):
That terpene profile for specific uses, which really, for me, I found it did its purpose.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (36:57):
Yeah.
Chanel (36:58):
Really good for pain. Really good for sleep.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (37:00):
Yeah.
Chanel (37:00):
And we know our stuff as far as CBD, so.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (37:04):
Well, good. I'm glad to hear that. We actually another patient who tests quality of CBD.
Chanel (37:09):
Okay, yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (37:09):
And she does spectrum analysis-
Chanel (37:11):
Oh, wow.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (37:11):
... she checks for pesticides, she checks for all this other stuff. She tested our product and it was like, it was perfectly clean and very good concentration, had actually some CBG in it, which is this kind of this newer kind of...
Chanel (37:22):
Oh, okay. Mm-hmm.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (37:22):
Like, that's the idea of this full spectrum of CBD, which you get kind of this synergistic effect of some of the CBDs in there, which we fully don't quite understand yet, but we're working on it. But what we know about CBD in general is that it works on CB1 and CB2 receptors. CB1 is generally responsible for anxiety in our bodies, and CB2 can be responsible for pain. And CBD works in an amazing way that is non-addicting. That's what's so incredible about it, is that it knocks the pain down and knocks down anxiety, but it doesn't get you addicted to it. So if you stop using it, you don't feel worse right after. And it's like, why is nobody talking about this?
Chanel (38:02):
Yeah. I know. It's interesting to me that we're still-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (38:06):
Well, people are, but why aren't more people talking about it? Why aren't we talking about this for all surgeries versus narcotics?
Chanel (38:12):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (38:13):
Opioids.
Chanel (38:14):
Hmm. I think it's a lack of education and I also think it's people's belief systems. That's why "Allow healing" was big for us as a slogan.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (38:22):
Yeah... Oh, "Allow healing" is your slogan?
Chanel (38:24):
"Allow healing", yes.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (38:24):
Great.
Chanel (38:25):
Because you also need to break certain belief systems within yourself because not only culturally, we've been programmed with cannabis, I think, right? depending on what time you were born, also, you have certain programming towards the plant.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (38:40):
Yeah.
Chanel (38:41):
And so you kind of have to navigate it, you're unlearning and learning, and I think that's really what creates this resistance towards using CBD as the medicine, is just kind of people's belief systems and a lack of education and-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (38:55):
I think that's a big contributor, but do you also think it's a pharmaceutical influence in terms of lobbying and profit margins and shareholders trying to keep something out that might actually work better than the products that they already have patents on?
Chanel (39:08):
Yes. Yeah. It's a business. Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (39:09):
Yes. Wait, we don't want to show up on the radar of the FDA, you know it's like-
Chanel (39:14):
Well, it's a business, you know?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (39:16):
Right. I know.
Chanel (39:16):
And that's the thing, I mean, it was kind of when my dad had cancer, observing that, and anyone who is going through cancer is listening right now, I send you love, because it's a very intense experience, but it's interesting keeping people sick is really how you create a business.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (39:34):
Yeah.
Chanel (39:35):
So just keeping that in mind when, yeah, you're being pushed pharmaceuticals that you wouldn't actually want to take.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (39:42):
Right.
Chanel (39:43):
Just remind yourself that people are making their money from you being sick.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (39:47):
Yes. Remind yourself of that and then understand the root cause of what's going on in your body. So I get a lot of patients that come in and they're like, "Oh, I have a thyroid disease and I'm taking Synthroid." And I'm like, "Okay, so you're taking a medication, but did you ever figure out why did you have Hashimoto's thyroiditis? Why is your body attacking your thyroid? Or why is your body attacking your pancreas and causing diabetes? Why is your body attacking your skin and causing psoriasis? Why is your body attacking your gut and causing ulcerative colitis? Why is your body attacking your joints and causing rheumatoid arthritis? Why is your body attacking your joints? So why is your body attacking your blood causing lupus?" Right?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (40:20):
So it's just like, I had a lot of profound discoveries and it's like every medicine that we currently learn about in medical school and trust me, I learned them all is all designed to suppress immune system. Nothing is designed to treat the root cause of what these things are, and I think if you go a step further and you understand the root cause of pain, you can treat it better. If you can understand the root cause of inflammation, which is largely in the gut...
Dr. Daniel Barrett (40:43):
For example, I had a patient two weeks ago, she came to me it was like her four-month out, she's like, "My boobs are great, Doc. Thanks so much. But you cured my rheumatoid arthritis because I started on a gut regimen." Yeah, I taught her about fasting and stuff like that, and she healed her gut. Her flares went down. I'm not saying that's going to work for everybody.
Chanel (40:59):
Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (41:00):
But it's just something that us doctors were not taught this. We're brainwashed that we go to this high elevated medical school and then unless there's a double-randomized control study on something it's bullshit, but that's not true because it costs a million dollars, tens of millions of dollars to run a study on magnesium to treat pain after surgery, and no one's going to put that kind of money into it because you can't patent magnesium.
Chanel (41:24):
Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (41:25):
It's crazy.
Chanel (41:25):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (41:25):
I'm going on a rant here, but it just-
Chanel (41:27):
No, but it's true. It's true. And they need to hear it, people need to... Yeah, we all need to-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (41:30):
Right, and you'll see me on my TikTok, you've seen my Instagram, and I go off on these other doctors. I'm like, "You guys are drinking the Kool-Aid, this is BS. You need to kind of figure out the root cause of some of these things." And then some people, that's only going to work for them. Like they just want to take their Synthroid, they want to eat whatever they want and that's fine, I get it. So it still has its role. But it's just like if people really want to get to the root cause of what's causing their problems, why is it the plastic surgeon that's treating your breast augmentation teaching you about your gut health and how that's curing your rheumatoid arthritis? Don't you think a rheumatologist should be able to kind of have that in their armamentarium? I don't know.
Chanel (42:01):
Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting, I mean sometimes, though, people don't want it to be that simple.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:06):
Yeah.
Chanel (42:06):
I think that's the interesting thing of our society, is if you tell someone, "Maybe if you cut back your sugar or if you eat less of this"... Yeah, like-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:17):
Sugar's also an addiction, too.
Chanel (42:18):
Oh, it is. Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:19):
Yeah. And so that's-
Chanel (42:20):
And we don't see it as that, you know?
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:22):
I know.
Chanel (42:22):
When we're doing it because we've been... It's, once again, it's a programming.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:25):
Yeah.
Chanel (42:26):
It's like you get sugar as a reward system like when it's your birthday, when there's a celebration.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:31):
Right.
Chanel (42:31):
Like it's looked at as something that's actually a reward.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:35):
Right.
Chanel (42:35):
So we're programmed at early ages that sugar means good.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:38):
Yeah.
Chanel (42:38):
Sugar is like a treat and when people are stressed, they turn to sugar. I think you could go even further on why that's happening physiologically, but just purely on a mental reward system.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (42:52):
Yeah, I mean, I personally think humans never evolved to eat sugar, maybe random fruits here and there, but our body actually produces its own sugar. You don't actually need it. I mean, I believe that humans evolved to eat most of a keto-based diet, maybe a little bit of carbs, but it's just like, it was seasonal, based on some of the research I've done. And if you look at like modern history, the past 10,000 years when we evolved farming and all this other stuff, is about, if you look at... If human evolution is about a year, we're talking about the past five hours, right? That's that's how long we evolved to eat from agriculture and everything else, everything else before that was like hunter-gatherer. Anyway, I'm diving down some other rabbit holes.
Chanel (43:29):
No, but it's true though. We got to kind of go back to our ancestral roots.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (43:33):
Yeah.
Chanel (43:33):
I think that's something that we often forget. The more simple, the better, that's how I like to live my life now, is because I used things that just made my life more complicated. It's actually hard work to take 30 pills a day. It's actually harder to take something to alleviate pain, then maybe I could go on the treadmill for a little bit, and walk instead, that would help me. But instead, it's like the programming to reach for something because you think it's going to take it away, you think it's going to take away the pain. So it's just about trading choices and this is something I'm going to leave on, too, Dr. Barrett is it actually takes a discipline to live an unhealthy lifestyle. Now I know that sounds a little bit more esoteric or-
Dr. Daniel Barrett (44:16):
Oh, I like that. I'm going to write that one down.
Chanel (44:17):
Well, it's true. It actually takes discipline to live in unhealthy lifestyle. So if you can use that discipline towards positive choices, you'll excel, like look at where I'm at today, and I still have so much to do here.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (44:30):
Yeah.
Chanel (44:30):
But it's like, that was big for me. If I could live that life and take 30 pills a day and go to hospitals and live like the life that I was, I can do a healthy life.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (44:41):
Right.
Chanel (44:42):
I can switch those choices, and I can just use that discipline for something that's actually going to benefit me.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (44:48):
That's a fantastic way of looking at it. Do you have any advice for someone who has had an addictive pattern in their past, whether it was opiate or something else, and they're thinking about getting surgery, and they're concerned about getting addicted. I have a lot of patients that are concerned about that. Do you have any advice for them?
Chanel (45:06):
I would just say to really trust your intuition.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (45:09):
Mm-hmm.
Chanel (45:09):
You know what's best for you. When you're coming off of pharmaceuticals or if you've had a prior history of opioid abuse, I would just be really mindful that you're a different person now, so it's also trusting that because I think people go through like a self-trust exercise, I do it with myself a lot. I have to remind myself I'm not the same person anymore, but also just be aware that your sensations you feel in your body, if you really feel like it's not for you, like you don't need to take the pharmaceutical for your surgery.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (45:38):
Yeah.
Chanel (45:38):
Then don't. That's how I felt. It's immediate red flag, I could feel it in my body like, "Don't do it."
Dr. Daniel Barrett (45:43):
Yeah.
Chanel (45:43):
And I honored that and that's so much of getting healthy, is like honoring your intuition. And everybody's different, right? Everybody is so different. There's going to be people watching this that even may not use cannabis as a form to withdraw.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (45:55):
Right.
Chanel (45:56):
And that's okay, because that's your alert system like, "Hey, that's not for me."
Dr. Daniel Barrett (45:59):
Right.
Chanel (46:00):
But there is alternatives, if you don't want THC, you want just CBD. So it's all about knowing what your body needs, like you were talking about, kind of tuning into that awareness. But I would just say really trust yourself and don't take it too seriously. I think when it comes up, it's a topic if you've had prior history with it that it can be sensitive, and just remind yourself that this is happening for a purpose and it's to teach you more lessons and to become more connected to yourself and to just be very loving and gentle when it comes up.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (46:35):
Amazing. Well Chanel, I can't thank you enough for being on the show. I feel like we could spend another hour talking.
Chanel (46:43):
I know, I know.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (46:43):
So we'll probably have to rebook you another time and we'll pick a topic to dive in, but-
Chanel (46:45):
Yeah.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (46:45):
Is there anything else you want to share with the audience before we sign off?
Chanel (46:48):
Just that Dr. Barrett is doing things for medicine that I think so many more doctors... You're doing something very, very special, Dr. Barrett, and everyone needs to really look at your practice in eyes of understanding because it's changing how we're thinking about plastic surgery as well.
Chanel (47:09):
Like I was saying, there was doctors that were going to prescribe me Valium prior to surgery after the opioids and that was just a part of treatment and actually thought that if I took CBD, I would have negative side effects, like were against it.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (47:21):
Yeah.
Chanel (47:22):
And just really leaning into your practice with an open heart and open mind, because there's so much that they can gain, not only from your perspective, but what you've experienced over the years of seeing what you have, like all these experiences you're sharing of being in these environments where you're being taught something that just doesn't resonate on a level of your soul.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (47:46):
Yeah.
Chanel (47:47):
And you're bringing that forward for all of us. And it takes a lot of courage to do that, so I think people also need to remember that it takes courage, what you're doing.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (47:59):
It does take a little bit of courage, but you know what? I found it being very rewarding when I do step out there that if you be yourself and you keep an open mind to these trends that you're noticing, take notice of them and do step out and say, "Hey, I'm noticing this is working better", and take the heat, take the criticism. Because if you think that there's a number of people that are criticizing you, there's probably 10 times a number of people that are actually thanking you. So that's been my experience.
Chanel (48:26):
That's beautiful.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (48:26):
And so that's my recommendation to other providers out there that are just like, okay, if you're listening to this, please just... Or patients that have just been thinking one way, just open your eyes to these other alternatives and see what works for you and just know that there's a lot of other things out there that traditional medicine doesn't understand that we didn't learn in medical school and that are really powerful, so.
Chanel (48:51):
That was beautifully said.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (48:52):
Great, well-
Chanel (48:54):
Thank you.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (48:54):
Chanel, thank you for being on the show.
Chanel (48:55):
Thank you, Dr. Barrett.
Dr. Daniel Barrett (49:04):
All right.