- Staff Spotlight: Isabelle Amigues, MD, MS, RhMSUS
- Healthy Hormones Assessment and Maintenance Programs
- New York Times: “Women Have Been Misled About Menopause”
- Guide to Care: Hormone Therapy
- COVID Updates: Homeopathic Support
- Happy Thanksgiving!
Meet Isabelle Amigues, MD, MS, RhMSUS
In this month’s Staff Spotlight, I am honored to highlight our “direct care roommate” THE Dr. Isabelle Amigues! For this past year, Dr Amigues has been seeing her clients (and ours) at our office as she opened the first direct care Rheumatology practice in Colorado. This has been great for us as Rheumatology is a very hard speciality to access with traditional insurance. Check it out: UnabridgedMD.
At the age of 40, Dr Amigues faced a life-altering diagnosis of stage IV breast cancer, a pivotal moment that sparked a profound shift in her approach to medicine. She began blending Eastern healing principles with Western medicine which allowed her to offer her patients a unique approach that empowers them on every level – physically, emotionally, and spiritually!
As a dedicated rheumatologist, Dr. Amigues has successfully integrated the best of both worlds into her practice, allowing patients to benefit from a harmonious fusion of traditional and modern healing modalities. Recognizing the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit, she advocates for a calm and conversational approach, steering away from the conventional “fight the disease” mentality. Her commitment to a blended treatment model and unwavering dedication to patient empowerment are what make Dr. Amigues a trailblazer in the pursuit of transformative and compassionate healthcare.
She is truly amazing and really you can see from her philosophy “part Osteopath” 🙂
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GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP
Healthy Hormones Assessment & Maintenance Programs
In September, I had the privilege of attending the North American Menopause Society Meeting, where practitioners fearlessly addressed women’s concerns about menopause and perimenopause. While fears about the risks of hormone therapy persist in our culture, many women are eager for their symptoms to be heard, validated and addressed! We are excited to share that our Healthy Hormones Assessment Program has been empowering women (and men) with knowledge about YOUR hormone health since last September!
If you haven’t heard about the program, here is a little sneak peak:
Healthy Hormones Assessment Program
1. Lab Testing
$207 for Members | Retail value $456 – Labcorp level 1 panel (17 labs)
$105 for Members | Retail value $348 – Labcorp level 2 panel (7 labs)
Our baseline lab panel is 17 different labs that address not only hormone health but provide a comprehensive metabolism and heart health screening along with detailed thyroid assessment and vitamin levels that can be tested in this traditional format. We can expand from our basic panel to more detailed panels to include information about fertility and where you are at in the peri-menopause and menopausal journey. We also have this same panel for men to evaluate low testosterone and “andropause”.
2. Optional, in-detail salivary hormone assessment
$208 for Members | Retail value $260 – ZRT Salivary Hormone and adrenal panel
Including a cortisol curve to look at the impact of chronic stress. Hormone symptoms often overlap with decades of chronic stress – we want to see the full picture
3. Lab Review visit (Virtual visit duration: 30-45 minutes)
$225 for Members | $350 Non-members
During this visit, we will do an in-depth review of your lab and salivary testing results. You will get a personalized interpretation of your hormone journey, and a review of interventions and treatment options that align with your goals.
Healthy Hormones Maintenance Plan
(Maintenance Plan follows the Assessment Plan)
1. Lab and Follow-Up Schedule:
Throughout perimenopause, we recommend labs and visits every six to twelve months initially, allowing for potential adjustments as needed. As you progress into later stages of menopause, the frequency can increase to quarterly as needed, especially if you elect to add in prescription hormone therapy. Each visit involves a comprehensive review of labs, symptoms, and health goals, with the possibility of medication adjustments.
Fees are settled at each follow-up visit and visits as we go! Our hormone therapy maintenance lab panel includes estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid testing along with liver/kidney/electrolytes and blood counts for monitoring. Often insurance doesn’t cover this panel so we offer our great membership price of $150. The retail value (self pay) for example for this panel is $241! We can use insurance for this panel if it is in your best interest.
There is also a review fee for the phone or office visits when we discuss these labs and adjust our treatment plan as this type of care isn’t standard in a primary care clinic – as you know! Often Ob/GYN practices don’t even prescribe hormones anymore so we are happy to have this offering. Anytime we are going “above and beyond” typical primary care clinic offerings there is a small review fee. This is how we keep our membership prices low!
GUIDE TO CARE:
Hormone Therapy
Reproductive hormones play a vital role in shaping your overall well-being, regardless of gender. Maintaining a delicate balance of these hormones is key to ensuring the smooth functioning of your body’s processes. If, after your hormone assessment you have a deficiency in specific hormone levels, you may look into Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).
