-A 31 year old patient Testimonial #2
HCG and I worked together toward success!
Notice my word choice 'together'. The dieter must do ones part. As can be seen by my 2 week food log, when I applied the principles I progressed well. When I did not, I regressed. As you may notice on day 7, I ate at a friends home and made choices based on availability. Corned beef brisket. A poor choice. Then I discovered the serving of green beans had olive oil! Healthy? Yes, but not allowed during Protocol. This set me back the next 4 days!! When I did an apple/steak day this got me going again, as well as lifted my spirits.
On days 18-22 my progress once again came to a temporary stall due to premenstrual weight gain-so did an all apple day—maybe not necessary, but was feeling quite determined. Steady progress continued until reaching my goal weight on day 28!
Was it worth it? You bet! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!
Was this diet simple to do? Very! Was it easy? No, but it was not unduly difficult either. It was very do-able. I had an 'empty' feeling quite often but was rarely overly hungry. Thanks to HCG. And after eating one of my small meals felt completely relieved of hunger and many times did not finish.
I do admit I 'eye-balled' rather then weighed my protein. I don't recommend this. Buy a scale! I feel I would have reached my goal in 21, rather than 27 days. There were meals my protein intake was probably a little over. It seems my fish meals and homemade chicken soup were among my most successful days.
My salvation were my evening drinks—2 or 3 of them some evenings—of seltzer water and dropperfuls of the falvored Stevia extracts. YUM!
Another tip! Eating a medium sized apple with lunch kept me satisfied for hours. And on hungrier days—eating lunch about 11 AM.
Of course, my main motivation in my decision to use HCG was fat loss, yet had some very acceptable 'side-effects'. Namely, joint pain and ankle swelling, GONE! No more stiff knees and painful ankles—which I experienced mostly mornings. Ankles would have a swollen pocket as the day progressed. Mental clarity is substantially sharper. The fat loss in itself is making me move like a younger person once again. Not 'stove-up' anymore. More stable hormones which manifest itself in improved mood and menstrual cycle is another great benefit.
A WIN-WIN wouldn't you agree?

-A 48 year old patient Testimonial #3
I was having hot flashes every 2 to 5 minutes 24 hours a day. Just as one was ending, another one would loom up until I felt like I was going to explode! This went on for months. I was absolutely miserable and my life was starting to crack at the seams. I was physically and mentally exhausted. I could not sleep more than a couple of hours at a time, I was gaining weight from the constant sugar cravings, and I was having difficulty focusing my mind on anything at all. My family began to notice a change in me that affected my relationships with them. I became distant and would retreat to another room so I wouldn't have to participate in family time. It was all I could do to just keep up with the laundry, the meals, the cleaning, the kids school & sports activities, and my job. One day, my daughter asked me why I was so sad. Well, that was it! I had to get some help. I saw several good doctors who were very sympathetic about my symptoms, but they could not recommend hormone replacement therapy, even though they believed that would make me better. At that time HRT was considered to be dangerous. Studies linked it to strokes, heart attacks, blood clots, and cancer. I began to lose hope. A friend of mine suggested that I should see Dr. Poppy Daniels because she was not a run-of-the-mill kind of doctor and she had really been helpful to my friend. So, I made an appointment. From the first office visit, eight years ago, to today, I can honestly say that was the best advice from a friend that I've ever received.
Dr. Poppy is not about the status-quo. In fact, she will battle the system if she believes that her patients are being compromised in any way. She understands that one of the best diagnostic tools any doctor has is the time spent with them talking about their issues and concerns. Dr. Poppy believes that a woman knows her own body and her job is to listen and involve the patient in the decision making process. That is exactly what she does with me. I always feel like we are working as a team. That is a far cry from times when I had been brushed off, spoken down to and had conditions misdiagnosed because I wasn't allowed to explain myself thoroughly.
Today, I am well and I no longer deal with those symptoms that so dramatically altered my life. This journey has been about communication, empathy, and education. I learned from Dr. Poppy what my options were and what course of treatment was best for me. She continues to encourage me to read about health matters that pertain to my life and notifies me about events, like seminars, that might be of interest. I am grateful to have a doctor who sees me as a person and not just a collection of symptoms. She had a deep appreciation for the struggles that I endured and yet she had a powerful belief that tomorrow would be better. And she was absolutely right! Thank you, Dr. Poppy, you are not just a physician – you are a healer!

-A 54 year old patient Testimonial #4
Have been a patient of Dr Poppy's for approximately three years now. Whenever I first starting going to her I had many medical problems which caused me chronic pain, including endometriosis and interstitial cystitis. I was also told I was not able to have children. I was at my wits end. I had been to multiple other doctors as well as had taken multiple pain medications but to no avail. After coming to Dr Poppy and doing the saliva hormone test and being on hormone therapy, I feel much better and no longer experience daily pain. I'm also now a mother of a 4-month old little boy, thanks to Dr Poppy.

-A 25 year old patient Testimonial #5
I would like to first start out by saying what a blessing it has been not only to be an employee of Dr Poppy's but also a patient of hers. I use to live in Southern IL and had gone from doctor to doctor looking for help and was always unsuccessful. I had a hysterectomy at the age of 30 years old and from then on, the real struggle began. I am generally a nice, goodhearted person but let me tell you, I could have my days or just moments. One minute, I was smiling and very loving and the very next, I was ready to rip someones eyes out (you know you know what I'm talking about). I knew that I was behaving like someone that I really wasn't and wanted fixed. Not only am I talking about mood swings, hot flashes (or power surges as we like to refer to them as) but I'm also talking about being sick to my stomach constantly. I spent more time in the bathroom being nauseous or actually getting sick than I did not. I was perpetually nauseous and we could never find out the reason for it. I spent much time in physical pain with muscle spasms and joint pain, was diagnosed with fibromyalgia among other things but never found relief. The doctors in IL were constantly putting me on anti-depressants, and I would insist that I was NOT depressed, I was hormonal. The last male doctor that I went to for being hormonal said "Of course you don't have hormones, you had a hysterectomy. Take cymbalta and you will be fine." Thank God He moved me here to MO shortly after that and put me with Dr Poppy. Through much testing, we found the cause of the stomach issue, the deficit in my hormones and the deficit in the minerals and vitamins that I had. With having those results in hand, Dr Poppy set out to give me direction and guidance in the right step. I've come to find out, it's not all about the doctors telling us the right things to do, we, as patients, have a responsibility to our health. Dr Poppy can prescribe and treat the cause (not just the symptom) of the problem but we must take the next step and follow her lead. One last note, I have struggled off and on for years with fluctuating weight and was starving myself with counting calories when I started working for Dr Poppy. I was thin but not so healthy. Since working for her for two years, I had gained weight back as my body was being healed. It's a natural phenomenon, although I was not happy about it. Since then, we have completed two rounds of the HCG program and I am excited. I have not only lost weight and inches, but I have reset my metabolism with it, which is fantastic! I have lost a total of 28 lbs and my husband has lost 40 lbs. My husband is happier with the wife that he now has (with the assistance of the bio-identical hormones that I am on) and we are happier with the new health we are both finding with Dr Poppy's help.

-A 37 year old patient Testimonial #6
I am a 66 year old nurse. Three years ago, I took an early retirement because I was tired all the time and just "felt bad." After being home for a few months and resting, I didn't feel any better. I had been on oral hormone replacement therapy for many years. A pharmacist friend referred me to Dr. Poppy. She started me on a regimen to correct my hormone imbalance. She also began treating my hypothyroidism. Recently she diagnosed my diabetes and has it under control. Because she treats the "whole woman," I feel better and younger than I have felt in years. I have even gone back to work full time and feel wonderful.

-A 66 year old patient Testimonial #7
I married and went to work when I was 15 years old. I raised six sons, saw them through school, watching each of them graduate and thinking with the last one, aww!!! Now it is MY time. Then there were weddings, grandchildren, divorces and the loss of two sons, my spouse, parents, and sister. I was invincible, I was quite sure, to still be standing. Then I reached the "golden years," all of that behind me, now it was surely MY time! Over a couple of months time, I realized I did not feel good, had no strength, couldn't breathe well. Everyone said that is the way you feel when you get old! Well, I did not settle for that answer! I went to the doctor who said, "Oh, yes, with your family history, it is your heart." Well I said, "Let's fix it." After all the tests, NO, it is not your heart, it must be your lungs. After all the tests, NO, it is not your lungs. There were CT scans, blood tests, probing, prodding and shaking of the heads. Each doctor would say NO that is not it. So you can imagine this strong person who has taken care of everyone for so many years, thought I must be losing my mind, I KNOW something is wrong. Enter Dr. Poppy who also did not take NO for an answer, she kept looking in the obvious places and the not so obvious places until, although there was absolutely no family history of diabetes, I was diagnosed and treated by this caring doctor. In just a few months I once again felt like a 40 year old, the golden years are truly golden!!!! Thanks, I believe because Dr. Poppy did not give up until there was an answer. I could write a book about Dr. Poppy. I know I am not her only patient, I've seen other people in the office, but that is how she makes me feel. Thank you, thank you for my "golden years."

- A 71 year old patient Testimonial #8
I always smile when I think of Dr. Poppy. She saved my life! Now, I didn't have a life-threatening illness, but what I did have was years and years of hormone imbalance that no one could help me with. I also had adrenal problems that most doctors don't recognize. I had been on many occasions to doctors saying, "I don't feel well." They offered what they had to offer but nothing helped. I went so far as to have a telephone consultation with a doctor in New York who worked with bio-identical hormones. They did help but it is hard to have a doctor in New York when you live in Missouri. Not long after that I saw an advertisement in the paper for Dr. Poppy Daniels stating that she specialized in hormonal issues. I called for an appointment the next day. I have never been disappointed since then. She prescribed bio-identical hormones and she has worked with me tirelessly to make adjustments where necessary. Whatever I need, she is always there with a suggestion, a solution or another idea. To have someone here locally who works with bio-identical hormones and always tries natural solutions before prescriptions drugs, if that is what you want, is so important to me and a change from what most doctors do. I feel that I can go to her with any complaints and she will find a way to make me feel better. She listens, she is open to hearing my ideas (however crazy they might be) and she cares. She really did save my life! I am so thankful for so many things.

- A 55 year old patient Testimonial #9
After reading about hormone saliva testing and bio-identical hormones and their benefits, I started looking for a doctor who believed in them. Four years ago I started going to Dr. Poppy Daniels for this reason. I am 61 years old and have osteoporosis. I want to do all I can to keep my bones strong and healthy and hormones play a big part in that. I was also suffering from un welcome hot flashing or "power surges." I have been on bio-identical hormones for 4 years along with Boniva and my bone scans have improved and the hot flashes have stopped. I would highly recommend trying bio-identical hormones.

- A 61 year old patient Testimonial #10
After 12 years of suffering from chronic fatigue, pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, weight gain, insomnia and on the verge of becoming a type 2 diabetic I went to at least 5 doctos that wanted to pass me on to another one or wanted to guess what was wrong with me withough doing any type of test. I saw an ad in the paper for a doctor that treats my symptoms. I made an appointment right away for Dr. Poppy Daniels. She sat down and asked me questions and truly wanted to know what I had been going through. She knew right away what was wrong with me and ordered tests to confirm. Dr. Poppy has changed my lifestyle but saved my life. My hormones are balanced now, she taught me how to eat right and I no longer have diabetic symptoms, sleep with CPAP for sleep apnea and actually wake up feeling like a new person everyday. I wish I would have known about her much sooner.

- A 38 year old patient Testimonial #11
Although I am usually quite reticent about personal health data, I want to express my appreciation and respect for Dr. Poppy's professionalism and attention to detail. She diagnosed a previously undetected health problem and greatly alleviated a chronic condition. I have referred family members to her and feel fortunate that she has chosen Poplar Bluff for her medical practice.

-A 66 year old patient Testimonial #12
My eyes begin to fill with tears as I stare at my beautiful sleeping boy. Becoming a mother has been the greatest blessing in my life. I wish I had more than just words to express my gratitude to Dr. Poppy. I believe without her, I would not have my little man. When all other fertility specialists over my five year journey could only suggest IVF, you simply and naturally helped me conceive. My heart and life have been forever changed. "Thank you" is not enough. I will forever be grateful.

- 27 year old patient.