FAQs

Is the Center for Wellness a primary care office?
Dr. Speight provides an integrative medicine approach to health and wellness. While we offer primary care in this office, we currently do not have an on-call physician for 24 hour coverage thus it is wise to continue a relationship with a pre-existing primary care provider. We can offer work in visits for all manner of primary care issues for established patients and hope that you will consider utilizing us in this manner as well as for your nutritional and environmental medicine needs.

Does insurance cover office visits at the Center for Wellness?
Dr. Speight no longer contracts with major insurance carriers, however we can generate HCFA insurance forms so that you may submit your claim for reimbursement. Depending on the individual policy reimbursement may be forthcoming, and in others it is not. Some procedures are denoted as experimental, i.e.nutritional assessment of oxidative stress markers in the blood stream, some genetic risk screenings and nutritional health screens generally are not covered. You should come expecting that you may not be able to obtain reimbursement for services. We are not Medicare/Medicaid providers.

 

Dr. Speight and Tina Kujawski, NP understand it takes time to listen to their patients in order to properly identify an illness and its underlying cause; therefore appointments are scheduled in 30-60minute intervals so that one does not feel rushed. Costs of the visit are based on a per minute basis. This ensures the most fair billing. The average primary care clinic blocks 10 minute visits with a reimbursement of $51 ($5.10/min) some specialists can be reimbursed approximately twice that amount. Although we are not Medicare providers, that is the standardized tool that many insurance companies use for reimbursement; therefore Dr. Speight is in line with the fees that lie between Medicare and private insurance at $5.90/minute. One is only billed for the actual face-to-face time with the clinician.

 

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, do you do it?
Yes, we offer hormone replacement therapy for qualified patients at the Center for Wellness. Assessments are very thorough, it is not a one size fits all prescription. The choice of delivery route varies with the individuals lifestyle, unique metabolism and personal preference. We are able to taylor to the individuals needs for optimal well being.

 

How does Dr. Speight treat fibromyalgia and or chronic fatigue syndrome?
Fibromyalgia is a complicated illness with multiple influencing factors.  We endeavor to look at all of them in a systematic fashion. In some patients the cause of fibromyalgia seems to be a Vitamin D deficiency. In other patients, it is due in part to a hypercoagulable state (thickening of the blood) due to environmental factors playing upon a person's own genetics. We have also seen fibromyalgia respond to the use of medications such as SSRIs, but also respond to the use of amino acids that the body then takes and converts to neurotransmitters to help with pain and fatigue. Other sufferers respond to testosterone replacement therapy (when it is appropriate to give).  Our approach is to evaluate each person based on their symptoms, our experience, and what the medical literature has to offer. This may include testing of blood clotting factors, assessment of urinary neurotransmitters, an overall nutritional evaluation including vitamin and mineral panels, and in some cases even chronic infections as they can contribute as well.  In the case of chronic fatigue syndrome patients, we may refer them for assessment of postural hypotension ( low blood pressure) and if present further evaluate their adrenal gland for insufficiency.

Do you treat Parkinson's disease?
Yes, with both a conventional drug based approach as well as nutritional support. We have found significant improvement in some patients with our nutritional protocol for this illness.

Does Dr. Speight use growth hormone replacement therapy?
We screen for growth hormone deficiencies using IGF-1 levels and if low, arginine stimulation testing. If patients fail these two tests they may be candidates for growth hormone replacement therapy, but the criteria are strict and patients are only started on growth hormone if they are felt to be appropriate candidates and their lab work confirms a true deficiency: IGF-1 less than 84 and/or failure to reach a GH level of 8-10 on an arginine stimulation test.

Does Dr. Speight treat autism?
We perform nutritional assessments and make interventions where necessary. A growing body of literature confirms methylation deficiencies in these patients as well as potential issues with their lipid membranes. Thus, we often will assess these patients using the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Red Cell Lipid Testing and offer nutritional support accordingly. This test reviews over 40 different red blood cell fatty acids. We have uniquely tailored protocols that have been beneficial in improving speech and cognitive abilities.

Does Dr. Speight treat ADD?
We do treat Attention Deficit Disorder using a combination of nutritional and pharmaceutical interventions where necessary. Many adults and children respond to a specific regimen of amino acid therapy unique to each individual. It is also prudent to assess them for methylation defects and nutritional deficiencies though the deficiencies found do not always correlate with improvements in ADD. In selected cases we may assess patients for allergies as these may contribute to their focus issues as well.

Does Dr. Speight treat IBS?
Yes and we have often had good success in helping patients with this disorder. We seek to identify the underlying cause of the symptoms associated with IBS; often times the diagnosis may have been missed due to the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome can mimic that of someone with food allergies or other disorders such as leaky gut.

What about Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease?
We perform nutritional assessments in patients with Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis. Additionally early research suggests that Crohn's disease and/or Ulcerative Colitis may respond to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. As such this is a therapy that may be offered on a case by case basis.

Do you offer weight loss plans?

We have many success stories with our weight loss plan which offers two free follow up visits as we want to ensure success in the program. The process takes an approach to assess the underlying chemistry of the person as to why they have gained weight or unable to lose weight. Treatment options are tailored to the individuals physical make up.