Posted on 06/13/2021 10:54:00 AM PDT by wastedyears
So here's my thing. I want to find a doctor I could have a long conversation with, who will do some deep, comprehensive testing to find out what's wrong with me (35, male, falling apart). I ask the nurse practitioner I see for a big, comprehensive blood test to see if there are any other problems with me. She asks "what do you want tested." I say I don't know, because I'm not a medical professional and don't know where to start. It's like a circular conversation. Then she tells me to exercise when I have no energy, and tells me she knows it's like a catch-22. Lady, if I had the energy, it wouldn't be a problem.
I found out about Forward via a YouTube ad when trying to watch a video on my tablet. The premise of it is wonderful, and it really seems like the logical evolution in office visits and diagnostic testing. Biometric scanner, huge TV in the exam room, in-house blood testing so you get the results back in less than 20 minutes (so they say). They also say the first visit is an hour long to get a strong baseline for how you and your body are.
The strange thing is it's subscription-based; they don't take health insurance. For what you could potentially gain in a health sense, it's a fantastic deal.
I then went to their 'About Us' link. What did I find? Some of the people involved with the organization:
Ram Shriram - first Google investor, Alphabet board
Patrick Pichette - former Google CFO
Eric Schmidt - former Google CEO
Jessica Powell - former Google VP communications
All of us on here know Google cannot be trusted. The cost of the membership certainly isn't enough to cover just the cost of the doctor's compensation, nevermind their equipment.
This is my hangup with it. I want another professional opinion, but I don't want my medical information sold to the highest bidder. These people think nothing of personal information; what do they care about violating HIPAA laws? New information comes out regularly that some really heinous s**t goes on with the elite. China harvests organs. Children are used as currency and blackmail.
Do I bite the bullet, register and go for a visit?
What every worthless doctor will tell you is take a one a day vitamin with minerals. I too have got zero knowledge of your condition. Though I would say try the vitamins with minerals. Medical insurance is a must because of the extreme cost of medical care. Do not use marijuana, nor alcohol. Each long term will lower the energy levels. Get air-conditioning. Hot weather drains away energy. Good luck with the medical establishment. Doctors these days are close to worthless with regards to a proper diagnosis. Greg House had a team to figure out the puzzle and he was just a TV character. Real life is expensive.
Please check out Direct Primary Care. Doctor services on a monthly fee... No deductibles or copays...
Josh Umbehr MD talking to other doctors is a good resource.
You can also get prescriptions at wholesale... Most states are now included, but there are a few with quirky stuff like Oregon....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrGKfollEd0
AAPSOnline.com
PM Me if you like.
I completely agree with those who recommend seeing a doctor rather that a NP. Try and find someone you find sympathetic. I’m in no way a medical person, but if your primary complaint is that you have no energy you might have an underative thyroid. I think that is fairly common. And be sure you are drinking enough water and getting enough sleep.
Nope. They will just collect your health data for Heaven only knows what.
Have you consulted an endocrinologist yet?
My Maw died from a missed Lung C diag from a NP.
We told her stay away from that woman but she “liked” her. Well she killed Maw.
In the surgeons office I took a report from the file indicating an unidentifiable area needing further examination, which never . NP missed it or ignored it.
I wanted to sue others said no. Oh well
Ditto that....get lipid panel..glucose...kidney function..PSA...vitamin D....and anything else doctor thinks significant.....good hunting.
I get a annual physical every 6 months to catch anything going out of tolerance.
I would not.
I can’t speak to the question of the corporate management of the company, but I can give you a summary of my experience there.
What I liked:
1) I am always 15 minutes “early” to things like business meetings, doctors and dentist appointments etc. Invariably, doctors are at least 15 minutes late, harried, and have to look at the chart to remember my name. Here, I showed up, signed in, and was immediately brought to see the on-duty RN who took my vitals, drew blood for a panel etc. So, on time is good.
2) The doctor came in, and we had an unhurried conversation about why I was there, my concerns, health goals etc. I felt that we had enough time to really communicate. So, that’s a win.
3) The blood panel results came in as we were speaking, and we discussed what they might indicate. He thought that a couple of results looked fishy, so he sent a second batch of blood out for Quest to do a standard test rather than the quick test.
4) I got a call the next day, and spoke to the same doctor, who went through the results of the labs that had been sent out.
5) I got copies of all lab results sent to me on their proprietary app, which is great. I never understood why most doctors don’t share the patient’s charts with the patient.
6)I got a follow up with a specialist via a video conference to discuss some goals and “wellness” strategies, as promised.
What I didn’t like:
They do tend to be a bit gimicky. They have a fancy scale that has a touch screen, and displays your heart rate, bp, pulse ox etc. Gives no more information than standard methods, but I guess some people like it.
Pricing is transparent. They will take insurance if needed, or you can pay cash. You can call as often as you want for the subscription price, should you need to follow up.
So far (I’ve been on their service since January of this year), I’m a happy customer.
Go Forward and get your euthanasia shot.
Extremely enlightening also encouraging.
Most medicine is so inefficient. Doctors are usually their own worst enemies being unorganized, poor managers and even worse business men.
This sounds like the antithesis of all that. I like my doc and think he has my best interest in mind. Small town, gives me quite a lot of his time and we are reasonably acquainted but I need a sounding board to him, this may be it.
Sorry. Just catching up
To the OP. Please PM me and depending on your location I can help figure out a recommendation for you.
However in general with the loosening of the televisit rules there is a lot of interesting snd some not quite so good looking options being brought forward. Having looked at this my gut reaction is it’s not the real deal. Suggest that perhaps you have a comprehensive eval done that could be arranged at Cleveland Clinic of Mayo Clinic. Otherwise a good medical school and tertiary academic center would be a reasonable alternative.
ARNPs are good extenders but not physicians. There are an awful lot of good and thorough physicians. The trick is just finding it in the area
Step one: find a real doctor. I used to visit a Nurse Practitioner until I realized the next problem he helped me with would be first problem he helped me with.
I can’t think of the name, but there are specialists who look at those blood work numbers like you wouldn’t believe, 10 times more knowledgeable about the numbers, what they mean, and how they interact than a GP doctor.
Do you have experience with direct primary care? What was it like? Does the doctor spend a lot of time with you? Are blood tests covered by the membership?
A blood specialist? Hemotologist?
That doesn’t sound like a very trustworthy company.
Write down all your symptoms and then try to narrow down what might be wrong through the internet and then go get tested. There are places called “health fairs” that you can go get blood work at for various tests and then have the results sent to you and your doctor.
When someone just tells you to exercise when you have no energy, I see that as a red flag. When I had no energy it turned out to be a combination of cancer and thyroid problems. Being hypothyroid and anemic zaps your energy something fierce. There are a lot of medical problems that can cause that. I pray you can figure out what’s going on and can get help for it.
See #31, he’s a Doc.
No. Go to the Hotze Health and Wellness Clinic in Katy ( Houston).
I have hypothyroid, primary generalized epilepsy, elevated cholesterol, general anxiety, diagnosed low-T (tried 3 HRTs, none helped), low Vit-D which I take Rx-strength supplement for, and OTC allergy meds for seasonal/cat dander.
Person posting at #15 agree with.
Suggest checking out the Life Extension Foundation.(www.lef.org)
They are of the work begun by researchers Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw 40 years ago. Become a member for $20 and get every blood test under the sun for minimal cost results sent to you, and also can begin by discussing them with a phone visit by appt with an MD and/or an ND at no cost. They do sell nutrients and such by large slick monthly magazine, very high quality. Their database of articles is quite large. Begin search education for health.
Also, should seriously consider reading “The Cure For All Diseases” books, by Hulda Clark, most of which are online in Pdf form, but the books are $20 at health food stores and should be investigated. Has to do with parasites, and must be considered. Also stressed liver resulting from, as parasites rob nutrition and release fecal ammonia into bloodstream. Apparently,this can produce both fatigue and sleeplessness.
I don’t know about that organization. Sorry.
What I do know is that I went through a very similar thing. Vague symptoms, getting more and more tired. Blood tests which were just outside of the normal, but not enough to give a clue.
I was labeled a hypochondriac and a liar and, because of a 22.5 year bout of intense back pain, a drug addict. The last was demonstrably proven wrong but the back pain doesn’t really come into it.
I finally went to Singapore to a diagnostic specialist to get him to listen to me. When I predicted to him what the results of the blood tests would be I got him to dig deeper. He referred me to a haematologist and I have been successfully treated.
My recommendation: don’t quit searching. Go to a foreign country if you must. Sadly, you must be your own advocate because no one is as concerned about your own health than you are.
GOOD LUCK!
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