What You Can Expect on Your Wellness Journey

But am I really sick, because I feel normal!

Think about an activity that brings you great joy. Are you still able to perform the activity? Can you imagine living the rest of your life without the ability to do it? Are you already at that point where you’ve had to stop out of fear of further injuring yourself, or it continues to make your symptoms worse? No matter where you are in your health journey, we have the tools in our office not only to be able to determine if the direction you are headed is where you are trying to go, but also how to alter it and get to where you want to be.

How do you feel?

At our office, we see many different cases. In fact, we treat each case as if it is different. What works for one patient doesn’t work for another patient. So we ask questions like, “Do you feel unhealthy?” or “Have you made positive changes but haven’t seen any results?” The truth is, we are all on a different path towards health. Some of us are going backwards, withdrawing from our health account and others are depositing regularly, but then making big withdrawals. Some of us have no clue as to what our bank account balance is, because we don’t know if what we’re depositing are $100 or $1. But what if we could provide you a health statement to see if you’re eating foods that could be causing damage, or worse; your body has a hormonal imbalance that is setting you up for increased risk for cancer?

But what do I need to be healthy?

It’s hard to tell what you need and how to get it to you without testing. Testing can be expensive, especially if you have no idea WHAT needs to be tested. That’s where the expertise and experience of the doctors in our office comes into play. We are your health advisors. We will use our vast knowledge, training, and recommendations to ensure that your hard-earned resources are used as effectively as possible. During the initial consultation, the doctors will have an excellent sense of where you are, where you want to be, and how to take the steps in the right direction to a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Great! So what can I expect at my New Patient Consult?

Consulting with a new patient starts before the appointment is scheduled. We ask that any previous exams and labs pertaining to their case be sent to us several days prior to the appointment. We also have the patient fill out a Health Assessment Questionnaire, which gives us a sense of their greatest strengths, most worrisome health hazards, health objectives, and motivational incentives. After review of this information we are ready to start the visit and ask more specific questions to fill in the cracks and thoughtfully listen to the responses. Once we feel we have an accurate enough picture, we will recommend specific testing whether it be for food allergies, stool microbiome, hormone testing, etc. Chiropractic care is often recommended to help reduce the healing time, and with chiropractic care X-rays may also be warranted, though usually only if the patient’s condition is not improving. If chiropractic care is recommended, that is a completely different and separate plan of care as the spine and nervous system are stressed by different forces.

What to Expect at the Beginning

At the beginning…

So you know what your food allergies are. Finally, a piece of the puzzle to help you get to optimal health! But how exactly do you avoid foods that may be a staple in your diet? For the vast majority of people the hard and fast approach is to just cut them out of your diet. Raid the pantry, cabinets, and refrigerator and purge all of the offending ingredients! Some people are wired that way, and that is absolutely fine, and ultimately ideal. For everyone else with a soul and/or an emotional or cultural connection to food, this is going to be a lot more difficult.

How do I live without my favorite inflammatory foods?

Corn, rice, and wheat are dietary staples for most cultures across the world. Tell someone of Mediterranean descent that they can’t have garlic and see how nice they are to you. Trust me, we’ve done it and felt their wrath. That’s why we have developed a Nutrition Education visit. We encourage patients to send us a list of specific food items of concerns before this visit so we can more appropriately prepare, because not everyone has the same list of food allergies. Additionally, not everyone has the same preference for foods. A non-specific Nutrition Education consult will touch on major and common food allergies such as various yeasts, egg, dairy, and wheat as well as their acceptable substitutions.

Is empowerment part of the recipe?

Most of our patients leave this visit with a new sense of motivation, empowerment, as well as interesting new recipes to try. Those who were disappointed will now have suitable substitutions they can immediately start implementing. If you’ve had difficulty finding a gluten free, yeast free, vegan bread recipe, we have one you should try. Not a baker? Neither is Dr. Vito, but he can make this bread in 40-60 minutes from start to finish. Did tomatoes come up on your list, but they’re the cornerstone for your grandmother’s pasta sauce? You may not have imagined that you could make an acceptable pasta sauce out of sweet potatoes, but it exists! We would never leave you hanging with just a list of broken dreams.