This is the first of many supplements and products that will be available in our office for the same price as buying online. I’m continuing to research and learn, adding to our supply to help our patients maximize their health.

I’m not a Lyme doctor, and I don’t want to be. But I’m more open to the thought that people can have chronic Lyme disease or similar co-infections. I hear of many people with debilitating Lyme disease.

In traditional medicine, we were told that once you treat Lyme, it really doesn’t persist. But the more I read and hear, the more I think many of my chronic illness patients might have Lyme-type co-infections. We’re told the testing in woefully inaccurate, and that treatment is complicated.

So how do you accurately test and treat for these infections? Some people will go to “Lyme Doctors,” and we never receive notes from them. I would like to learn why they do what they do, giving tons of antibiotics for more than a year. But when I finally did have a great discussion with one Lyme doctor recently, he said they don’t send notes because most doctors don’t believe in what they do. So that leaves the dichotomy.

As I’ve learned about the gut bacteria and how important they are, I’m uncomfortable with giving antibiotics for months at a time.

I have three main books for Lyme type illnesses. One champions antibiotics, another is middle of the road, and the third leans toward Herbal supplements. I have decided that I like the herbal approach best. Herbs are natural, they don’t disturb the gut bacteria, and you can work on treating yourself without having the expense of seeing a doctor repeatedly. Even if you don’t test for Lyme or co-infections, you can use the supplements to support cellular health.

I like the book “Unlocking Lyme” by William Rawls, MD, who had Lyme and co-infections himself. Dr. Rawls explains that many different germs get into our body. Our immune system gets rid of many invaders, but some get into the cells and hang out. We tolerate them well, until something disrupts us, then inflammation can develop. “Cellular Health” is important to keep the germs in check. Natural supplements can help maintain cellular health.

Dr. Rawls has done a lot of research into treatments, and he explains things well, in the book as well as online and in zoom presentations. He has great support for those who order his supplements. I highly recommend his information.

I had a patient come in with Zimectrin Gold (for horses) and said he had been using it to “stay safe.” It has a combo of two wormers. The first one is safe for humans (has been used for decades and won the Nobel prize), but the second one is used for specific parasites in humans (I have never prescribed it).

First, hopefully people have a doctor who is willing to prescribe the first med in tablet form, for humans, if they decide to take it.

Second, if someone doesn’t have a doctor who will rx it, then make sure the paste is ONLY the first ingredient.

Another issue with humans buying the paste form… When I ordered this med for my horses to worm them, it seemed a lot more expensive these days!!

Kim had some decisions to make. Her husband’s work was offering various medical insurance plans, and each year the employees had the opportunity to choose a different plan.

She waded through comparison charts of deductibles, co-pays, and covered services. Did they dare choose a higher deductible, saving themselves money on the monthly premiums? What if something catastrophic happened? But then again, they had never yet reached their deductible, so it might not matter what she chose.

This past year they had a few expenses. Some were co-pays for seeing their own doctor. But there was the time their daughter ended up in the ER because her own doctor couldn’t see her; the schedule was too full. The co-pay for the ER visit was high, and they got an extra bill for some things that weren’t covered by insurance. Oh, it was so frustrating dealing with medical insurance!

There was another option. She had been intrigued with the Direct Primary Care practice that Dr. Herrington had started. It sounded refreshing. She didn’t deal with insurance, but instead, patients paid a monthly fee, and in exchange they got unlimited office visits and communication. Kim’s friend already went to that practice, and she had been seen three times in the past two months, getting prompt personalized service for no extra cost. It sounded like an ideal situation.

But what about the monthly fees? Could Kim’s family swing it? She called Pine Creek Family Medicine, asking if her husband’s Health Savings Account pre-tax money could be used for the membership fees. Yes, it could be used. Hmm… that would reduce the overall cost. And with Dr. Herrington providing such prompt service, they could hopefully avoid the ER. Yes, Kim thought, I think we should go for it.

Sally was distraught. She realized yesterday that her Medical Marijuana card had expired. She had gone online to do her part of the renewal, but now she needed the final step of having a doctor “recertify” her. Her own doctor supported her use of it, but he didn’t do the certifications. She had made a couple phone calls, but she couldn’t find any place that could see her sooner than a month!

She knew it sounded bad to say she “needed” this medicine, but it really was helping her chronic pain. She remembered taking literally a handful of Advil and Tylenol several times in the past, without it touching the pain. Her stomach would hurt, and she worried that she was getting an ulcer or destroying her liver. Her doctor had prescribed narcotics, which made her feel loopy and constipated. She hated those medicines. She felt like she tried everything – all kinds of prescription medicines, physical therapy, TENs units, stretches, heat, cold, saunas. Nothing seemed to help enough, until a friend told her about Medical Marijuana. By working with the dispensary, she was able to come up with a great combination of products that helped her function during the day and sleep well at night.

This morning she found the listing for Pine Creek Family Medicine for her recertification. When she called, she was told she could get in today for the appointment! She loved Sue, the receptionist. And Dr. Herrington spent some time with her, interested in hearing about how the Medical Marijuana was working so well for her. With a few clicks on the computer, the info was submitted.

Then it was Sally’s turn to learn some new things. She was intrigued with the DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice, where patients pay a monthly membership and get unlimited office visits and communication. For those patients, the Medical Marijuana certification is included. What a nice benefit! Sally would have to tell her friends about this pleasant office!

I ran across someone yesterday who said, “You used to be my doctor, but I could never get in to see you.”

I remember those days. My day would be jammed so full that I barely had time for a bathroom break, let alone fitting someone extra into my schedule. I often mourned the patients that had migrated to the physician assistants. I wondered why they had left me, but often I heard it was because I was not accessible.

Or at times my patients would get in to see me after having been seen by several of my colleagues. I would have to piece together all that was done, trying to understand the decisions that had been made.

I love my new DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice. It’s just me. I’m the one who answers the medical questions. I know my patients. There’s no one else, other than the occasional specialist, managing their care. I’ve even been known to answer the phone!

With Direct Primary Care, we don’t bill insurance. Patients pay a monthly membership fee, and in exchange they get unlimited office visits and communication. I’ll be limiting my practice to about 500 patients, rather than the usual 2000 patients. Doctors who have been doing this for years will see 3 to maybe 10 patients per day, because that’s all that is needed. We have time to answer questions and see patients the same day if desired.

Yes, patients use their insurance for referrals, ER visits, and some testing. But with my availability, we can often keep them out of the ER, saving them time and money.

Working for my patients, instead of for the insurance companies.

Dan was in for bloodwork last week. He admitted he’d eaten poorly and had 4 alcoholic beverages the previous night. I hesitated – did he want to postpone the bloodwork? It might not give an accurate picture of his cholesterol readings or his sugar, even though he was fasting.

“Go ahead and draw it,” he said. “And I’ll come back next week to have labs drawn again and we’ll see if they’re better.“ He promised to eat better and not drink before the repeat labs.

In the traditional medicine world, insurance would have had a fit. No way would they pay for bloodwork that soon, without a good reason. He would have to pay for those labs himself.

Through my office, we draw self-pay labs at great prices. Dan’s cost for Lipids ($2.54), Liver ($1.26) and Kidney ($1.43) plus $10 drawing fee was a grand total of $15.23. At a local lab, with a self-pay discount, it would have been $51.50.

I don’t know if most doctors have a favorite medication, but I do. When it comes to Blood Pressure medications, I really like one in particular. It has minimal side effects, it seems to have some anti-anxiety effect, and it recently went generic, which lowered the cost. But insurance almost always refuses to pay for the medicine! I’m told either it’s completely denied, or we must jump through hoops of “failing” two different medications of that same class first (that class tends to cause fatigue, but this med does not).

I like that I can dispense medications in my office. While the brand name drug would cost me more than $170 per month (!!), I sell the generic for $10 and $15 per month depending on dosage. My patients are loving the option of using a good medication while saving money.

That’s just one of the benefits of my DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice, where instead of billing insurance, we provide unlimited office visits and communication for a monthly membership fee.

When Bob came for his appointment yesterday, he announced to me that he’s healthy now, so he thinks he’ll stop paying his monthly membership in my DPC (Direct Primary Care) and save some money. He’s not sure what doctor he’ll change to. He explained, “I’m frugal.”

Bob is in his 30s, and I don’t think he has had a lot of experience with the medical system. He had some issues a few months ago, and by my spending an hour with him at his first appointment, we figured out how to help him feel much better. He has been in here for paperwork to be completed (a quick visit the same day he messaged us about it), and he has communicated a few times with me through our secure messaging app.

* I don’t think Bob has ever had to wait for hours, or even days, for a nurse to call him back.

* I don’t think he has had to see someone besides his doctor, because the doctor couldn’t possibly fit him into their schedule.

* I don’t think he has had to wait for weeks for an appointment.

* I don’t think he has ended up in the ER or Urgent Care because no one at his doctor’s office could see him or even call him back quickly when he was having an acute problem.

* I don’t think Bob has received a medical bill in the mail and had his chin hit the floor as he saw the charge, wondering how the heck he would owe that money.

* I don’t think he has had to deal with deductibles and co-pays and non-covered services and all the other ramblings from insurance company contracts.

* When Bob has been between jobs, without insurance, he didn’t have to worry about large bills (he was seeing me at the time, almost everything was covered).

Bob has insurance now, but he hasn’t had to use it. He told me he heard a co-worker arguing with the insurance company on the phone about a bill. Yes, I said, that happens.

I pulled out a price list from another practice. If Bob didn’t have insurance, or if he had to pay a portion of the charges, his cost could be far more than the $50/month he pays our practice.

Bob may be frugal, but he’s also smart, and it didn’t take much for him to realize it’s best for him to stay with my practice. Where else can you get prompt excellent personalized medical care at a great price?

Tina called the office yesterday. For financial reasons, she was planning on waiting until the end of the year to sign up with our practice, but she was sick. She could use some advice, and yes, she wanted to become my patient now.

She arrived at the office within an hour. She’d had a lot of stress, which she realized made her more likely to get sick. But what could she do now?

Years ago I wouldn’t have had as much advice as I do now. Over the past couple years, I’ve learned a lot about the immune system, including supplements that help greatly. These days it rolls off my tongue: Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, etc.

I used to wonder why, when I was feeling the start of a cold, that I could take some Zicam and the cold wouldn’t materialize. But if I waited even a day or so, I’d have a full-blown cold. Well, it turns out most of us were zinc deficient. And zinc (Zicam has it) helps decrease viruses reproducing in cells.

There are all kinds of viruses circulating. Treatment is similar for most of them, including potential antiviral medications. Occasionally antibiotics or breathing treatments are needed. And there’s even advice for preventing others around you getting sick. I love sharing what I have learned, helping people get through illnesses fairly easily.

In Tina’s case, we came up with some baseline advice. And she has full access to me through our secure messaging system and phone calls. I plan to communicate daily for a while, making sure she’s recovering.

I love my DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice, where I’m available for personalized medical care.

Working for my patients instead of the insurance companies.