Gil Winkelman ND

Restore your heart-body-brain balance for optimal health

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Flu, Dis-ease, and Balance

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Dr. Gil adds that maintaining health should be no different during winter than during any other season. Ill health may manifest differently during the colder months than at other times of the year, but true vitality and wellness are reflected in many more measures than whether or not you develop an infection.
Staying healthy does not mean staying free of infection. The body needs tune-ups from time to time, which is something that infections provide. Acute illness is a way our bodies eliminate unhealthy cells and toxins.
But repeated infections, overly severe symptoms, and lingering illness are not signs of good health. Even without an infection, imbalances of mood, energy, focus, stress, sleep, and/or food cravings can be clues of disturbance in the body. Balancing these are important to be able to live life to the fullest.
When people ask me in November what they can do to avoid the flu, it’s akin to being concerned, in June, about how your bathing suit will look on you this summer. Good health is a daily process requiring constant acts. Consistently good diet, exercise, stress relief, and supplementation over months or years provides the most significant protection. That said, there are things we can do to help during the cold and flu season. Here are a few ideas to help. 
  1. Vitamin D supplementation is super important in the Pacific Northwest but likely everywhere in the winter. Testing levels can help determine how much is needed. Vitamin D helps boost immune function, and low levels may be related to immune suppression.
  2. Vitamin A is an excellent anti-viral. Supplementation can help ward off infection.
  3. A good quality probiotic (the “good bacteria” you’ve perhaps heard about), which balances immune function. Probiotics are also excellent for clearing excess hormones.
  4. Zinc supplementation is essential for immunity. Most Americans are zinc deficient. Zinc balances many functions in the body including immune resistance. Without it, the body is at a critical disadvantage fighting infections.

 A combination of these can help reduce your risk of illness and keep you healthy this holiday season. If you have tried these and still get sick a lot, call for a consultation.

How to Benefit from Online Doctor Consultations

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Online doctor consultations are becoming more popular. And why not? Patients don’t have to travel to the office, park the car, and wait for the doctor. You can stay in the comfort of your home and consult with the doctor through your computer or phone. But are online doctor appointments good for everyone? Not likely. But for many people, virtual medical visits provide a simple approach to medical care. Let’s explore what online doctor consultations look like with Dr. Gil and what sort of conditions are appropriate for treatment.

Online Doctor Consultations with Dr. Gil

Dr. Gil has been using telehealth services for mental health for many years. The process begins with either a phone call or email and determine if labs need ordering. If you have the correct labs run relatively recently, there’s no need to repeat them just yet. Sometimes Dr. Gil orders additional labs, especially if you attempted similar treatments that didn’t work or only had partial results. Labwork performed by other providers may be reviewed before your appointment.  Labs aren’t required for every patient before the first appointment but can expedite the treatment process. For most patients in the US, we can arrange for the lab collection to occur near your location. Outside the US, some results are challenging but not impossible to obtain. The office staff assists as best it can to help you get what is required.

Before the appointment, you will fill out an extensive questionnaire that combined with the lab results helps Dr. Gil uncover possible causes of the ailment.  The first appointment lasts up to an hour whereby Dr. Gil comes up with a treatment plan for your condition. You can merely order the vitamin and supplements from Dr. Gil’s medicinary or obtain through another source.

Conditions Treated During Online Doctor Consultations

It is difficult to say what conditions can or cannot be treated online. New technologies are making it possible to do medicine via telehealth services. Dermatology, for example, is moving to a model that allows doctors to diagnose skins conditions via online doctor consultations. Some situations require an in-person visit before telehealth services will be useful. The Walsh Protocol, a system that uncovers nutrient deficiencies causing mental health issues, can be productive using telehealth services for mental health.  Some of the conditions that Dr. Gil treats using online doctor consultations include:

Insurance may or may not cover telemedicine visits but may reimburse the lab fees. Check with us first about whether coverage is possible. Neurofeedback services typically require appointments to be in-person.

Demand for online doctor visits has increased as patients discover its advantages.  Find out for yourself how easy it is to get help for you or your family member. Schedule today for a free pre-consultation.

How You Can Get Results from Confidential Telehealth Services for Mental Health

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People from all over the world contact me for online doctor consultations. They or their loved ones have different problems. Anxiety, ADD, oppositional defiance, OCD, RAD, autism, and depression are some of those problems. They want to know if can I help them using a natural approach without their coming to see me in Portland, Oregon. Do I offer telehealth services for mental health? The short answer is, sometimes, yes! Insurance may or may not cover it. And I have certain restrictions on how I can help, for sure. But telemedicine is the wave of the future, and may be a good approach for many people. What does this process look like?

Telemedicine services or telepsychiatry is like having an in-person appointment. We can have our appointment on the phone or via HIPAA-compliant video. For most of the diagnoses and/or symptoms I listed above, telemedicine works great. You schedule an appointment and fill out the paperwork. I review the paperwork before the appointment. I have you get labs based on the Walsh Protocol to find what the imbalance may be. Any imbalance found allows me to treat with supplements.

Telemedicine services are a great option for many patients.  Most of my patients don’t live in places that have access to alternative providers. And my approach is truly unique. I have seen amazing progress with patients using “just” nutrient therapy. It’s not just taking a bunch of random supplements. It’s a targeted approach to balancing out the body. The combination of the intake paperwork and labs helps me determine the right supplements. In general, we do follow-up appointments every 4-6 weeks, depending upon the case, to make sure you are progressing well.

There are many things, though, that I cannot treat using telemedicine without another doctor’s help. In these cases, I can act as a health consultant. Any time a physical exam is required, you will need to visit your local physician. For example, many digestive ailments need a physical exam and/or imaging for proper diagnosis. While I can assist with naturopathic treatments using telemedicine services, I likely couldn’t diagnose. Some patients may also need neurofeedback or other services. These require a trip to my office or seeing a local provider. In some cases, I can give a referral depending upon where you live.

Also, sometimes other natural therapies are required to treat the problem. In this case, I have other approaches such as biotherapeutic drainage and botanical medicine to assist you.

Find out more about telehealth services for mental health and whether they are right for you or your family member. Call my office today.

Contact Me

P: 808-726-2772 (phone and text)
F:503-200-1044
E: info@askdrgil.com

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