FAQs

Great question! Please see Insurance & Practice Policies for details.

Wonderful! Please call our office at (734) 929-2696 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment with our New Patient Coordinator. We will answer all your questions, go over pricing and insurance details, and get you scheduled for the program that best fits your individual needs. We are here to help and look forward to speaking with you soon!

We understand! Because our clinic is known for helping complex patients who often travel a significant distance, ALL clinical programs have the option to begin with a phone or video consult with one of our doctors. There is a fee for this service. However, if you wish to proceed after speaking with our doctors, we may, in some cases, count this meeting towards your New Patient Process.

Because we hear this almost daily, we have done our best with this website to show you how we aim to measure up to your expectations. Please spend ample time here to learn about Who WE Are and How WE Are Different. Also, you will likely be interested in Dr. Boggess’s answer below regarding our clinic’s success rate.

Patients asking this question are usually asking about our comprehensive Precision Medicine program for complex health problems. In such case, Dr. Boggess answers this question directly below:

“To answer this question, we first need to define success. While it’s a difficult definition to come up with, patients seeking hope and encouragement from far and wide have required us to do our best. From our perspective, success is discharging patients 1-3 years after treatment begins, OFF all treatment protocols (other than ones required based on genetics or other individualized needs) and feeling anywhere from 70-100% better than when they started.”

Now let’s discuss some of the inner workings of this signature program for complex patients. You have to build the foundation before you put up the walls. You see, this program attracts patients from all over the country who have failed time and again, and most are ready to invest the time and energy to do things right after they become educated about our process.

In turn, we consider it a blessing that our comprehensive Precision Medicine program selects out for the most difficult, YET also the most motivated patients, providing BOTH advantages and disadvantages to our program’s overall success rate.
How often our clinic achieves such success (as defined above) is estimated as follows: For every 10 patients who enroll in our Precision Medicine program, 8-9 (on average) will continue past 6 months.

Some drop off because they are feeling much better in the first round of taking supplements based on test results, only to risk ending up right back where they were because the process was not completed.

For others, life circumstances change. Some find the program to be more effort than what they were ready for. (Though we do try to minimize the number of individuals who fall under this category by giving as much information up front as possible.)

Of those 8-9 patients who continue past 6 months, 5-6 will discharge 70-100% better. That said, while the remaining 2-3 patients may not have achieved 70-100% improvement upon discharge, rarely do they indicate they are disappointed in our clinic’s effort, OR dissatisfied with feeling 30, 40, 60% better.

As I said, the Precision Medicine program attracts very complicated, yet motivated patients, and most who go the distance will leave very happy and well educated about their health circumstances and their genetic predispositions.”

Conventional medicine and functional/complementary medicine are two distinct approaches to illness and health. Integrative medicine combines them, and in our opinion, is the most “naturally balanced” approach to patients.

Conventional medicine focuses on treating symptoms and restoring health using life-sustaining medicines. It also employs surgery and other procedures, which are often life-saving measures. Treatments are based on the knowledge of body parts, organ systems, physiological machinery, and biochemical reactions, as opposed to the dynamic entire human biology or being.

While many conventional physicians themselves may understand the human being in total, conventional medicine simply lacks the tools to address problems from this perspective. Clearly, this approach is best for rescuing a person from acute, hard-hitting disease and emergency or traumatic situations.

Functional/complementary medicine seeks to better address the patient in total. This paradigm emphasizes genetic predispositions, nutritional deficits, emotional state, and bioenergetic balance, and its approach is more individualized and better promotes total health and well-being.

Furthermore, many treatments attempt to address the underlying cause of illness. As such, symptoms (however clinically important) are approached carefully and seen as an opportunity to locate problems, which may potentially be corrected with lifestyle changes and natural/nutritional remedies.

Any strategy offered is meant to support the body’s ability to heal itself and to root out imbalances at the source and prevent clinical disease from continuing or worsening, sometimes offering patients fundamental and long-term solutions to their medical conditions. Clearly, this approach is superior for many chronic illnesses, prevention, and the overall health and well-being of patients.

Integrative and functional medicine appreciates and utilizes both approaches under appropriate circumstances. It requires a conventionally trained physician motivated to understand both paradigms and remain up-to-date in both conventional and alternative schools of thought. It is often said in conventional medicine that if you can’t see it, test it, touch it, or remove it, then it’s idiopathic, psychosomatic, or otherwise not explainable.

Strictly conventional medicine has limited value in such cases. However, physicians also open to other paradigms will seek to identify the origin of imbalance and address subtle clinical findings more thoroughly, thereby partnering with patients to achieve overall health and healing where possible. Clearly, the combination of both conventional and functional/complementary strategies, and knowing when to apply each, is the most “naturally balanced” way to approach patients.

Great question! It is important to know the background and motivation of the clinicians you work with. Meet our team here

ANY condition other than cancer! However, while we don’t “treat” cancer, we DO support cancer patients before, during, and after their treatment with other conventional or integrative clinics. Likewise, we stay within the scope of our practice as integrative and functional medicine doctors and will refer out any needed medical conditions for evaluation and management to board-certified specialists.

Otherwise, here is a partial list of the most common conditions we treat and services we offer:

Integrative Medical Care

• Assessing medical status, functional imbalances, and genetic susceptibilities in adults and children of all ages
• Offering conventional and complementary strategies, treating many complex and perplexing health problems
• We utilize a wide range of conventional and complementary testing to identify the root cause of illness
• Personalized wellness and preventative medicine programs with lifestyle and nutritional coaching for optimal health
• Medical-Dental Wellness Programs, teaming up with your dentist to integrate care for problems such as TMJ, sleep apnea, infected root canals, and mercury removal and replace projects

Precision Approach to Mood & Functional Problems

• Stress recovery, chronic fatigue, adrenal, hormone thyroid, (HPAGT) imbalances
• Chemical sensitivities, detoxification, food and environmental allergies
• Sleep problems, depression, OCD, anxiety, addictions
• Irritable bowel, vague digestive problems, leaky gut, chronic infections, SIBO, yeast, etc.
• Medical weight loss programs AND much more

Comprehensive Approach to Autism, AD(H)D, Pandas and other Pediatric Mood Problems

• Precision and genetics-based approach, biomedical protocols, therapeutic diets, detoxification strategies
• Medical and therapy care for special-needs children and their families
• Guiding families to work together, supporting the entire family unit through difficulties

Women’s/Men’s Health & Hormones

• Menopause, PMS, decreased sex drive, impotency, sexual pain
• Male and female hormone imbalances in patients of all ages

Perplexing Pain & Physical Conditions

• Fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, other perplexing pain conditions
• Migraine, stress, and substance-related/rebound/withdrawal-type headaches
• Injury related or functional/anatomical problems of all kinds
• Offering acupuncture, osteopathic manipulations, far-infrared sauna, in-home hyperbaric oxygen, neurofeedback, phase-angle assessments for cellular hydration, and much more

Addiction Care

• Personalized biomedical and nutritional healing programs
• Alcohol and recreational drugs (mild to moderated addictions)
• Assistance getting off prescription medication (when appropriate and/or desired)
• Over-the-counter analgesics, sleeping pills, diet pill addiction
• Caffeine, nicotine, chemical sweetener addiction
• Sugar and carbohydrates addiction

And Much More...

In summary, we practice “Precision-Genetic Based Functional Medicine.”

• Regardless if you have thyroid, adrenal, or hormone problems; autoimmune conditions; poor digestion; suspected infections such as chronic Lyme, viruses, or yeast problems…
• Regardless if you have metabolic problems linked to MTHFR, under-methylation, chemical sensitivity, heavy metal toxicity…
• Regardless if your child has been diagnosed with autism, AD(H)D, OCD, or you or your child are dealing with any kind of mood problems, such as anxiety, depression, or cravings of any kind…
• Regardless of ANY & ALL diagnoses you have ever been given, past or present…

There is a next-level, genetic-based understanding of your conditions WE would love to show you!

(Answered directly by Dr. Boggess) “The litmus test of where to begin lies in addressing what is unique about you. Every treatment plan needs to be individualized. Not one size fits all. Not one diagnosis fits all. Every patient is unique, therefore the type of treatment we offer is highly individualized.

While our Precision Medicine program with education sessions is the crown jewel of our practice, we recognize that it is also a significant investment in time and resources. Therefore, our doctors make themselves available for 30- to 60-minute paid consultations to discuss treatment options further prior to enrolling if needed and/or desired if you would like us to answer this question for you specifically prior to enrolling.”

(Answered directly by Dr. Boggess) “Our clinic is known for our precision, individualized approach to patients, and we often boast success helping patients and families with issues and symptoms considered unsolvable by other clinics.

This high-level success starts with offering focused educational sessions for patients where we talk about the fundamentals of Precision Medicine, nutrigenomics, and how we put it all together to tackle life-impacting symptoms and rehabilitate your health.

Education sessions via video or in-person seminars, combined with subsequent one-on-one time with our doctors and clinicians, has allowed us to offer an even better patient experience in a more efficient and cost-effective way.

The advantage of focusing on educating patients has also proven itself time and time again by increasing patient confidence, compliance, and motivation. It also has led to more efficient, shorter, and more cost-effective follow-up visits once treatment is fully underway – a win-win for our patients and our clinic.”

Ultimately, with all our Preventive, Wellness, and Precision Medicine programs, there are five questions our doctors need to ask to address any condition from a functional medicine perspective:

1. Is a health imbalance associated with something the body needs? (examples: magnesium, electrolytes, B-vitamins, essential fatty acids, etc.)
2. Is it associated with some form of stress the body needs to avoid? (i.e. chemical toxicity, inflammation, food intolerance, oxidative stress, stressful people or places, etc.)
3. Is it caused by something that needs to be eliminated/detoxified? (i.e. poison/toxic accumulation, parasites and other pathogens, even overgrowth of normal (good) GI bacteria, etc.)
4. Are there other factors interfering with and/or preventing healing and restoration? (examples: weak adrenals, hormone imbalance, physiological memory of pain or trauma, vertebral subluxation, emotional blockage or episodes imprinted into the autonomic nervous system)
5. Are there any maladaptive emotions or core beliefs that impede improvement? (i.e. excessive fear, catastrophic thinking, fear of normal movement, belief that one is not deserving of health, subconscious “desire” to remain unhealthy, etc.)

Of course, not every patient will require every aspect of these five concepts, but in the context of a functional medicine approach, we must at least consider all 5 of these questions about fundamental health and well-being in order to return to a state of “natural balance.”

(Answered directly by Dr. Boggess) “Our way of doing things at Natural Balance is much different than the insurance model allows for. For years we billed insurance but eventually had to disenroll due to continual denials of our medical services and testing we ordered for our patients.

The good news is that the insurance companies tend to treat their own clients (i.e. you) much better than they ever treated us, and the vast majority of our patients report getting reimbursed fairly for their visits and labs as per the details of their insurance contract.”

(Answered directly by Dr. Boggess) “While the number of physicians who utilize integrative medicine is growing, it’s not nearly as widespread as one would expect given the excellent outcomes we observe daily. The truth is, despite the growing push in this direction, medicine-at-large is slow to embrace it.

The requirements for doubly blind, placebo-controlled studies to prove it works is also misinformed given functional medicine itself is highly individualized. Also, it seems pharmaceutical companies prevent medicine from evolving in a more natural direction and stands as perhaps the single greatest force behind treating symptoms with drugs.

While newer medications are hailed deservedly for saving lives, they are often over-marketed and overused as first line, when there are plenty of effective, natural, and less harmful approaches to try first.

It’s also important to understand as consumers that drug companies lose billions with even the slightest change in perspective, and that’s why their hold on patients, doctors, medical education, regulatory agencies, and even high-level government and law makers is a stronghold.”

Our doctors order an array of functional, medical, and genetic tests. Insurance generally pays for these tests when ordered by a physician and the testing laboratories we use are finding ways to make tests that insurance won’t cover more affordable for patients as an out-of-pocket service while conventional research catches up. Here is a list of the most common tests our doctors order for patients.