FAQs

Absolutely not.  Having and maintaining a proper iron load — not too much and not too little — is one component (albeit one major component) of health.  Plenty of other factors influence the body’s iron load and usage.  This means that I tend to look at much more than just iron.

Having said that, iron is incredibly important.  The name Elusive Iron is to highlight how prevalent iron dysregulation is in the population (roughly 50%), how iron dysregulation can be set off by a multitude of different conditions, both environmental and genetic, and how iron dysregulation can allow for and escalate the development of many other diseases, some of them chronic and a few deadly.  Fixing iron dysregulation can help fix other common problems, and often fixing other common problems can help fix iron dysregulation.  But looking at the whole picture to see how all the many components are interacting, with a full metabolic consult, is what is by far most beneficial.

I am extremely skilled at reading and interpreting around 200 laboratory test results.  This is something doctors are rarely trained to do these days, yet knowing one’s results and how those levels interact with the levels of other results can be absolutely essential to managing one’s health.

I am particularly good at understanding how to prevent if not reverse obesity, type 2 diabetes, type 3 diabetes (Alzheimer’s disease), heart disease, hypertension, chronic fatigue syndrome, anxiety/depression/bipolar, athritis, fibromyalgia, headaches/migraines, osteoporosis/osteopenia, menstrual issues/PCOS/infertility, POTS, sciatica, sleep difficulties, psoriasis, IBD/UC/Crohn’s/SIBO, and gallbladder disease — and generally without the use of pharmaceuticals.

I also review cases of hypothyroidism/Hashimoto’s, MCAS, and RA as so many of these, especially in women, are incidental or symptomatic findings rather than proper diagnoses because the root cause of the problem has gone unaddressed.  And, if allowed to continue to go unaddressed, they will impair or deteriorate other body systems.

Since the late 1960s, higher medical education has been steered primarily towards pharmacologics, and toward disease *management* and away from disease prevention.  A host of administrative tasks burden many physicians to where they have no appreciable time to understand their patients let alone investigate science on their own even if they wanted to.  Consequently, most doctors don’t know what analytes to look at, how to interpret those tests results, or how that vital information plays into the scheme of things.  That’s where I come in.

In medical school, doctors are taught to work from what are called laboratory reference ranges.  Reference ranges are the numbers printed next to each of your blood, urine, and other such test results.  With two exceptions, these reference ranges only note what is common in the typically sick population that particuar laboratory has been testing.  Reference ranges do not exist to show what is desirable or healthful for you or anyone else to have.

That’s concerning, isn’t it?

If your doctor is only going by the reference ranges, then they are unaware there are optimal ranges that you as an individual should have which take into account your age, sex, genetics, diet, lifestyle, and other relevant factors.

Some doctors don’t bother discussing their patients’ blood test results with them.  If they don’t, that’s a problem.  Hardly anybody’s results are perfect every time, and if there is absolutely nothing your doctor is able to impart to you about your results, then either your doctor didn’t measure much of import, they didn’t look at the results, or they don’t know how to interpret what they did measure, and the subsequent lack of discussion of results, especially as they may correlate with symptoms, is a lost opportunity for both parties to learn.

The best outcomes occur when you advocate for and get involved with your own health and your doctor is willing to meet you half way.

So if you are tired of hearing your doctor tell you “everything looks okay”, especially when you know there is something wrong, I may be able to help.

Nutrition is the most important factor by a mile when it comes to health.  I work closely with my clients to figure out what might best help them and what might harm them from a nutritional standpoint.

I am happy to work with those who have varying nutritional preferences or restrictions.  I cannot, however, work with those who insist on veganism as that diet is not conducive to human heath, thus rendering me unable to adequately provide help.

Everyone is an individual with a unique genetic composition, and I take this into account.  Sometimes data from a companies such as 23andme is useful to my process, allowing me to see if there are a few known mutations that could influence your health.

For your consultations, we can use either Zoom or Microsoft Teams.  Or, if you don’t prefer video chats, we can speak over the phone.  For those in the Kansas City area, we may be able to meet face-to-face if requested.

My goal, my job, and my purpose here is to help you work with your health care provider to solve your health problem — or, at the least, help provide moderate improvement.  I want you happy and functioning!  But if I cannot achieve at a basic level what we set out to, I will offer a partial to full refund at my discretion.