#112 Dr. Diva Nagula – From Doctor to Patient

Meet Dr. Diva

Dr. Diva Nagula is a board-certified osteopathic physician and has extensive knowledge and training in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Dr. Nagula grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. His interest in medicine developed at an early age when he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Dr. Nagula graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at EVMS and a fellowship in Interventional Pain Medicine at Emory University. He opened a practice in rural South Georgia as well as the first AAAHC certified ambulatory surgical center in Georgia where he performed cutting edge interventional procedures.

Recently, Dr. Nagula completed training in Integrative Medicine under the renowned Dr. Andrew Weil. He recently relocated to the great Washington, D.C. area to be closer to his family and friends. He is committed to his passion for healthy lifestyles. He believes most diseases that plague this country can be prevented and sometimes treated by positive health and lifestyle changes.

Show Notes:

ABOUT DR. DIVA

• I am a board-certified physician and also in physical medicine and rehabilitation and pain management
• I had my first job as a pain management doctor in Georgia. About 9 months after starting, I left the practice
• It wasn’t the best falling out but it made me very driven to success because I really want to do a very good job in treating patients and also run a business
• I was determined to do something with myself. I was determined to do this on my own
• So, without knowledge of business, I launched my own medical practice and I literally did not know what I was doing
• Fortunately, I have some good people that I had to help me with the business
• My first year was really successful and it leads me to potentially go out, even more, hire my own staff and also, I was able to purchase a commercial building
• As it continues to grow, I learned more about business and it was all about trial and error which allow me to be more successful
• For 7-8 years, I continue my medical practice and I grew to where it would be in the logic medical practice that I was practicing
• I was able to exit my medical practice and at the time, I was so happy because I wanted to break
• A year later after I exited, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, stage 4
• That’s when things took the turn and I was shocked to why this happened because I don’t have a family history of cancer
• So, I did not understand why I was struck with this diagnosis
• After I have done some research about what non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is, I figured out the culprits and the leading factors that cause it
• I realized that it was the combination of multiple factors, but the stress was the big culprit and secondarily, it was the lifestyle that I was living at that time which was very unhealthy – I was eating the standard American diet
• I did the process of watch and weight which is, on a period of time you can undergo this diagnosis where you can see if it will regress on its own or if it would accelerate
• It was a great opportunity for me to really fight it
• I did a lot of research and I also got into an integrative medical fellowship
• I was healing myself to what I have learned
• In addition, I also learned the mind-body connection
• I was really positive that this is going to work
• Unfortunately, about six months into it, I started to have really bad back pain and doctors want me to recheck
• When they got the result, it really revealed that I have a marked of aggression and growth of my cancer
• I ended up doing chemotherapy for 6 months that is specifically for me
• My mental state was bad too because I have given up
• I gave up hope, mentally, spiritually and physically
• I did not want any help and I did not take care of my body anymore
• I gained weight and I was getting fat because I was eating crap which is not very good when you’re in a chemotherapy
• You will need some support, all-around support
• After my 5th month of chemo, they said that my immune system was so compromised so they stopped at five and they said that if I have gone to the 6th treatment, I probably would’ve died because of my compromised immune system
• I was really weak, really compromised in all aspects of my life
  
• I ran into my old personal trainer and because I have avoided human connection, when I ran into him it was like a connection
• He asked if I want to go back to working out and I said yes because that’s what I needed
• So, I started working out again, building out my strength and building out my physical body
• It was really hard to transition and fortunately, he got me where I needed to be
• Because of the endorphins in my system, it pulled me out of depression
• Looking into the mirror and seeing my body in better shape was positive for me
• Positivity is what I really needed
• I did not realize that I started to really feel that this is my moment to get myself out of that hole that I put myself in for so long and I saw myself climbing out of it
• There is hope, there is a light above the hold and I started to feel that I needed to make a move for myself
• So, I left the area that I was living at that time and I decided to come back home
• It took me a few years to really find myself
• I realized that I needed to get my story out there because I feel it would help a lot of people
• And that’s when I decided to write my book
• As I was writing my book, I realized that there is a huge missing component
• Physically, I was doing better but what I was lacking was spirituality
• I realized I need to write my book in balancing the mind, body, and spirit
• And that’s how I came up with FROM DOCTOR TO PATIENT: Healing Cancer through Mind, Body, and Spirit.
• I have really been putting spiritual growth and I think that has been the reason why I’ve accelerated in my progress as a human being, physician an as a member of the community
• I now do a podcast just to get the energetic messaged out there and help each other in the spiritual sense for healing purposes
• The physical part is huge – it’s all about the balance
• For health care practitioners or just general people that are in the wellness community, we should really teach people the importance of diet and exercise
  
• Spirituality does not mean that you have to be in a religion
• Spirituality is recognizing that we are all a part of the universe, we are all connected and we are also connected to all life on Earth
• Once we have that mentality, we will realize that we have thoughts that are disparaging to ourself and hurting our brothers and sisters, because we are all connected

WHAT PRACTICES DID YOU DO SPIRITUALITY?

• For me, right now, it’s the practice of Pranayama or breathing
• It has been really helping me because I was kind of born in a fighter flight mentality
• When I learning the techniques of breathing, it unlocked my diaphragm because it was stuck
• I have always breath in a fast and shallow pattering and that’s commonly seen if you’re always in a fighter flight
• When I started to learn the breathing techniques, I feel an immense relief
• Secondarily, I am trying to be a service to others and I think that spiritual practice is really easy
• I do not have a mentality anymore seeking power, and that’s what I did when I was younger and that’s part of my spiritual growth too

WHAT DOES YOUR DIET LOOK LIKE?

• I am a little bit extreme because that’s my personality
• For me, I do everything organic
• I don’t eat that’s processed anymore
• I eat non-GMO and organic
• Right now, I am doing to this 2 month period where I am eliminating potential toxin foods
• I am going through this detox where I am not eating any meat, gluten, dairy, sugar and drinking alcohol
• Exercise is huge too and obviously movement. Maybe walking to burn on calories

• There are many ways to addressing the mind
• A lot of time when you’re doing exercises that increase your flexibility and strength, that produces endorphins that reduce depression pattern
• If you address the physical component of your body and you’re eating right, you enhance the gut and mind connection
• It is important to modulate our system where we optimize gut function

HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU

• Dr. Diva’s book, FROM DOCTOR TO PATIENT: Healing Cancer through Mind, Body, and Spirit: Amazon, Barnes, and Nobles (online) and on my website
• Website: fromdoctortopatient.com
• Podcast: From Doctor to Patient
• Facebook: From Doctor to Patient

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