Our lovely Patient Coordinator, Sara M. took a phone call the other day from a patient of ours wanting to schedule a consultation with Dr. Kass for Botox.  This patient came here once, a few years ago, took advantage of our free consultation and was treated with Botox on the same day.  Botox is an injectable to relax facial muscles to reduce the production of facial wrinkles, keeping a more youthful appearance.  Sara was a bit confused that the patient was requesting a consultation for a procedure that they have already done.

“Is there a specific concern that you would like to discuss with Dr. Kass” Sara asked?

The patient quickly responded, “Yes, I recently purchased a Groupon for Botox at a clinic that I haven’t been to before for the discount pricing.  I assumed that Botox is Botox and that since it only takes minutes that there really isn’t much for the person administering it to know.  I was wrong and now I look horrible!  I trust Dr. Kass and his work; I would like to know if there is anything that he can do to make me look myself again.”

Sara quickly scheduled the patient.

Everyone has the right to price shop for their purchase.  What I will bring to people’s attention is that when purchasing a medical procedure on a discount site without knowing the provider or company is leaving room for a loss on your investment.  When, in the long run, you are not fulfilling the premise of the situation in saving money.  Always understand the ins and outs of what you are purchasing.  Yes, thinking that you have saved yourself money is great for self esteem and actually gives some of us a natural high and over all good feeling.  But, ask yourself some basic questions before you purchase.

• Can you even have the treatment?
• What can and can’t you do before and after the procedure?
• Who will perform the procedure?
• How much training have they had?
• Do you have realistic expectations of the procedure?

Don’t be a victim of a shopping addiction or great marketing.  Make informed decisions regarding all medical procedures.  Price isn’t the only factor to consider when purchasing medical procedures.

The majority of the patients at our Vein Therapy Clinic are recommended sclerotherapy as a form of treatment for their spider veins.  Sclerotherapy is considered the “gold standard” for spider vein treatment.  It is an injection into the diseased veins with a solution to begin a process whereby the vein will be naturally absorbed by the body.  People who have spider veins caused by venous disease know well enough that they will need maintenance treatments after their initial round of treatments to clean up newly formed veins.  Venous disease is chronic and there isn’t a cure, but with great advances in medicine there are in-office procedures that minimize downtime.

Many of our first-time patients who have been treated before at other clinics question the effectiveness of sclerotherapy since they got poor results or the problem worsened. This is usually due to not diagnosing correctly the cause of the veins.  What you see on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg.

For instance, we had a patient come to us for vein treatment.  This person had been treated with sclerotherapy many times in the past from a few different clinics.  They stated that they hadn’t seen results from the treatment and was aware this was the only treatment option for them.  The main concern for this patient was the cost of the treatment.  As someone who understands the financial constraints of these economic times I understood this patient’s concern but what really concerned me was more medical.  Where had they been treated?  What types of medications were used in the treatment?  Did they have underlying causes of the spider veins?  Do they have medical conditions such as a heart defect, coagulation disorders or allergies that would contraindicate the treatment?

How many times have you gone to the doctor and had to get further testing for something with ultrasound imaging?  I have experienced this 3 times in my 29 years.  Each time a technician did the initial ultrasound and they had to bring in the doctor to make the conclusion, due to a lack of understanding by the technician.  It’s better when the treating physician/radiologist simply does the ultrasound.  When seeking out vein treatments find a clinic where the physician does the ultrasound.

In nearly 100% of spider vein cases, we see that they actually have deeper vein issues causing the problem that has not been treated.  Ineffective diagnosing, untrained technicians, and taking short cuts in treatment plans are the cause of many misdiagnosed varicose veins.  In most cases, saline sclerotherapy and laser treatments will not effectively treat leg veins.

Sclerotherapy is best administered utilizing a pharmaceutical sclerosing agent, which can be foamed for better results.  Utilizing ultrasound guidance enables the treatment of larger, deeper veins previously treated by surgery.  Remember there are no guarantees in health care and each person reacts differently to treatment.  Roughly 10% of all Sclerotherapy cases result in fair to poor results, which means the vein did not completely close or a closed vein reopened after the initial treatments.  If that’s the case, other methods are utilized.

One of the reasons purchasing sclerotherapy treatments through online purchasing, like Groupon, is a bad idea is because you don’t even know if you’re a candidate for sclerotherapy and it is usually offered by centers without the necessary training or experience.

Always remember your 5 W’s when entering into a new situation.

• Who will be treating me?
• Where does the problem originate from?
• What are my treatment options?
• When will the veins be gone?
• Why do I need this?

When do we start aging?  Some would say that we start aging at conception; others say we start aging when development stops.  But when do we stop developing?  We all decline at different rates and start declining at different ages.

With all of these philosophical questions, what is the question that we should be asking?

How do we prolong a healthy life that includes our wits and functioning bodies?

There are a million studies that show both sides to any topic.  What we do know is that the nutrition that we put into our bodies, frequency and intensity of exercise and how we live our lives affects our health and quality of life.  The sooner that we take ownership of our lives and start making conscious decisions to make a healthy lifestyle change, your quality of life will increase.

To better understand how we live a happy, healthy, fully functioning life we need to take a hard look in the mirror.  Stress truly is a killer.  When our stress levels are increased our bodies secrete norepinephrine, which is the flight or fight hormone, and cortisol, which is secreted when an individual feels a sense of defeat.  These are normal responses in our bodies, but when we are unable to “de-stress” our bodies continue to secrete these hormones; and the effects of cortisol being secreted in the body over long periods of time leads to a variety of damaging circumstances.  Our bodies start breaking down tissues,   producing visceral obesity (which is VERY dangerous), and suppresses the immune system.  After a prolonged period of time in this hyper state our bodies will eventually not produce an adequate amount.

In order to avoid these damaging effects of stress we need to learn to “de-stress,” eat a healthy well balanced diet to promote a healthy immune system, and get our stress hormones under control.  Without getting our hormones balanced and working in harmony we start experiencing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, weight gain, sexual dysfunction (lack of desire, impotence, dryness) etc.

Stop blaming fatigue, weight gain, and a general feeling unwell on aging and take a positive step to de-stress, eat healthy, and exercise.

1. Stay well hydrated and eat a high fiber diet with bran, fresh fruit, and vegetables. Fiber helps soften your stools and decrease your risk of constipation.
2. If needed, start using a stool softener.
3. Use baby wipes or Tucks Pad’s after each bowel movement.  To a hemorrhoid, toilet paper is like applying sandpaper to your behind.  This “sandpaper” cleansing after you have a bowel movement increases irritation and causes discomfort or pain as well as bleeding.
4. Apply topical ointments like witch hazel, Balneo cream, or Preparation H to relieve itching and burning.
5. Take a 20-30 minute bath to not only relax you, but to clean.

In order for our nutrients to be absorbed, which are necessary for the function of our hormones, we need to eliminate these toxins at least once a year. Many people are starting to feel the effects of aging, like insomnia, decreased sex drive, irritability, depression, and stubborn weight gain, because of hormone decline. Unfortunately traditional medicine does not deal with nutrition, detoxification and hormone optimization to slow aging and its effects down.  You have to be seriously ill before they will intervene.

The field of age management, restorative or functional medicine is evidenced-based alternative medicine dealing with these issues preventing you from becoming seriously ill or just living in a deficient state.

A compression stocking is hosiery that provides pressure that is strongest around the foot and ankle and loosens as it moves up the leg.  The steady pressure provided by compression stockings assists the leg muscles and veins in moving blood more efficiently and quickly back up to the heart.  They can also prevent the superficial veins, directly beneath the stockings, from over expanding and pooling blood.  To ensure best results they should be worn during daytime hours on a daily basis.

It is important to know that even though compression stockings can alleviate some symptoms they cannot treat the underlying cause of varicose veins.  Even when worn faithfully the disease may progress to a point that surgery may become necessary.  Compression stockings do reduce the risk of developing a blood clot on long plane or car rides.

The only compression stockings proven to work are medical grade compression stockings requiring a prescription from your physician.  Those you buy online or in magazines are not as effective.  They also need to be measured to fit you properly and be effective.

I have to admit I am not a coupon clipper.  I have clipped them in the past only to forget all about them until after they expired.  Recently I watched the show Extreme Couponing on TV.  Now, I have to admit I was sucked in and it was quite entertaining.  I had to see how much money these people saved.  After the show I got to thinking.  Why am I not a couponer?  So last Saturday when the coupons came in the mail I went through them and clipped the ones that I would use.  The key here is to get deals on the products that you already use.  I know that part of the purpose of coupons is to get people to purchase new products on the market, but I am a creature of habit.  Also, a new product doesn’t automatically mean it is a better product.  Yesterday, I went to Target to get my needed household cleaners and such and I saved $8.00.  Yes, I know that is not much, but when you add that up over the year with an average of two trips a month, you get a savings of $192.00.  Now that’s a few tanks of gas!

Yes, I was happy to save the extra money, but here is where I think the couponing craze has gone wrong.  People are not staying in their budget or they don’t have a budget.  So when they see deals on Groupon or Living Social they instantly go for it without really knowing about what they are purchasing.  Just because you are getting a financial break does not mean you are getting a quality product.

Let’s take the laser hair removal frenzy, which took place last summer on coupon sites.  Laser hair removal is a wonderful treat for yourself, but there are factors to consider before jumping into it.  RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!  For each area that is to be treated you will need six treatments spread out six weeks apart from each other.  There are different lasers that are used for the removal of hair.  An IPL laser is not primarily used for hair removal.  Hair removal is simply a side effect of the laser.  Humans operate the lasers which leave a margin of error, areas can be missed.  You should ask if a “missed spots” touch-up appointment is included in the price or if it is a separate fee.  Be informed of what you can and cannot do before and after treatments.  We are dealing with lasers here and they can permanently scar you if they are not operated by trained professionals.  Certain treatable areas can be a bit painful, depending on the individual’s pain tolerance.  You should get a sample of the laser to see if you can tolerate the procedure, if not you should be given options for pain management before you purchase.

Skin and hair color play a role as well.  There are certain hair colors that will not be treated with the laser; white, grey, yellow, and red.  If you have African skin then you need to be treated by highly trained laser technicians due to an added risk of scaring.  This is a lot of information to process within a split second online purchase without having had a consultation.

I am not saying hey, there is too much risk, don’t get laser hair removal.  I am saying get a consultation before purchasing the procedure!  If you think you are wasting your time with a consultation, consider how much money you could be wasting if you go to the wrong place.  Because there is always more than meets the eye when impulse discount purchasing of cosmetic or medical procedures are involved.