How to Get the Most Out of a Free Consultation

We offer a complimentary in-office consultation because complex illness does not fit into a phone screening. But we have noticed a pattern: the patients who get the most out of that hour are the ones who arrive organized. Here is how to be one of them.

Write Your Timeline First

Before anything else, write down when you last felt well. Then list what changed and roughly when — an illness, a tick bite, a surgery, a pregnancy, a period of severe stress, a move to a new home. Chronology reveals causality that a symptom list cannot.

Bring the Records, Even the Normal Ones

Especially the normal ones. A result inside the reference range is not the same as an optimal result, and a series of normal values over three years can show a trend worth investigating. Reference ranges describe a population, not you.

• Complete blood count and comprehensive metabolic panels
• Thyroid studies, including any antibody testing
• Inflammatory markers such as CRP and ESR
• Any infectious disease testing, including Lyme and co-infections
• Imaging reports and specialist consultation notes

Name Your Actual Goal

Not 'feel better' — something concrete. Working a full day without needing to lie down. Walking the dog again. Getting through a family dinner without brain fog. Specific goals let us build a protocol that can be measured against something, and they tell us what matters to you.

Patients often apologize for having too much history. There is no such thing. The history is the case.

Come With Questions

Ask what we think is going on, what would confirm or rule it out, what treatment would involve, and what it would cost. Our article on choosing an integrative practice has a longer list worth borrowing.

And ask what happens if the first approach does not work. Any practice worth your time should have a clear answer.