FAQ

DO stands for “Doctor of Osteopathy”. In the US there are two kinds of fully licensed physicians and surgeons – DOs and MDs. Look in the phone book and you will see both kinds of physicians, and you may have seen a physician for years never knowing that they were trained as a DO. Osteopathic medicine is a unique form of American medical care that was developed in 1874 when Andrew Taylor Still, MD was dissatisfied with the effectiveness of 19th century medicine. He felt that many of the “modern” therapies were useless or even harmful. Basing his philosophy on the tenets of Hippocrates and the belief that ones own body held the secrets to health, he developed a concept of wellness that emphasized eating properly and keeping fit. He developed many forms of manipulative therapy which are still taught today. His concept of wellness focused on body, mind, and spirit all integrated together in one being. You can learn more at www.kcom.edu or www.osteopathic.org.

This ancient symbol is called a triskele. It has been found in artifacts from Bronze Age Europe and from pre-Columbian America. Most often, it is associated with ancient Celtic tribes. Its exact meaning is uncertain, but is often used to symbolize the cycles of life. Many authors feel it represents earth, sea and sky, or water, fire and wind. Others think it may have symbolized Father, Son and Holy Spirit to early Christians converting from Druidism. Some feel it stands for life, death and rebirth. Yet others feel it represents an energy flow with each aspect simultaneously flowing outward and returning to the point it began. It was chosen as the symbol for Campbell Family Medicine for each of these reasons, and was first seen by Dr Campbell on a recent trip to Ireland.

Dr Campbell is a family physician who uses many kinds of therapies, including BI-HRT. She is very interested in learning how hormone imbalances affect our sense of well being and utilizes saliva hormone testing where indicated to help monitor and replace hormones to their natural levels – not too much or too little. It is still important to watch diet, exercise and lose weight, but added HRT is often very helpful, as well.

Routine preventive healthcare includes a fasting cholesterol test every 5 years - or more often if your levels are high. Heart disease is the number one killer of adult men AND women. In many cases, heart disease can be prevented and treated, if your doctor has the right information. Two very enlightening facts illustrate the limited value of certain screening tests.

First, half of all people who have a heart attack have NORMAL cholesterol levels! Second, the current lipid panel that most doctors utilize does not directly measure LDL cholesterol. A standard lipid profile calculates the LDL based on 35 year old technology and does NOT identify some hereditary risk factors associated with heart disease. Many people at highest risk for heart disease don't even know it. Fortunately the VAP test directly measures LDL and identifies some hereditary and emerging risk factors for heart disease. There are many treatments (medications, vitamins, herbs and lifestyle changes) that can dramatically change your numbers and reduce your risk. Early detection can mean a lifetime of better health. The VAP test is covered by most major insurers and is available through your family doctor or at Campbell Family Medicine. See www.thevaptest.com for more details.

Functional medicine is a science-based field of health care that is grounded in the following principles:

  • Biochemical individuality describes the importance of individual variations in metabolic function that derive from genetic and environmental differences among individuals.
  • Patient-centered medicine emphasizes "patient care" rather than "disease care," following Sir William Osler’s admonition that "It is more important to know what patient has the disease than to know what disease the patient has."
  • Dynamic balance of internal and external factors.
  • Web-like interconnections of physiological factors – an abundance of research now supports the view that the human body functions as an orchestrated network of interconnected systems, rather than individual systems functioning autonomously and without effect on each other. For example, we now know that immunological dysfunctions can promote cardiovascular disease, that dietary imbalances can cause hormonal disturbances, and that environmental exposures can precipitate neurologic syndromes such as Parkinson’s disease.
  • Health as a positive vitality – not merely the absence of disease.
  • Promotion of organ reserve as the means to enhance health span.

Functional medicine is anchored by an examination of the core clinical imbalances that underlie various disease conditions. Those imbalances arise as environmental inputs such as diet, nutrients (including air and water), exercise, and trauma are processed by one’s body, mind, and spirit through a unique set of genetic predispositions, attitudes, and beliefs.

Read more about this exciting field of state-of-the art medicine at http://www.functionalmedicine.org

As a family practice, much of the testing we do is familiar to you. We do blood work to measure blood sugar, cholesterol, liver and kidney function etc. We can do in office urinalysis and pregnancy and strep tests. We can do EKGs and office spirometry to check lung functions.

In Spring 2007, we added the ability to measure BioImpedence, or BIA. This is a painless test used to measure body composition including percent body fat, percent lean tissue and hydration status among other things. (See http://www.rjlsystems.com ) This is a tool that can objectively measure the effectiveness of your weight loss program!

However, with our interests in functional medicine and finding the “root cause” of symptoms, we may run some traditionally unfamiliar tests as well. We check vitamin levels, either by serum or by a functional white cell analysis called Spectracell. (see http://www.spectracell.com), or an individual optimal nutrition panel called the ION (see http://www.metametrix.com).

Vitamin D is especially important and one of Dr Campbell favorite topics! Seevitamin D white paper.indd (click OK) or http://www.vitamindcouncil.com

Additionally, we order IgG food sensitivity tests- a little different from food “allergy” tests, but no less important for symptom improvement. (see http://www.foodallergy.com )

We measure hormone levels (including sex steroid hormones and cortisol) by saliva (see http://www.zrtlab.com or http://www.diagnostechs.com ).

We can evaluate for IBS, intestinal yeast overgrowth or “chronic candidiasis” and abdominal pain symptoms with a comprehensive digestive stool analysis. (see Diagnostechs, or http://www.genovadx.com). Genova labs also offers genetic testing for individual gene variations that affect hormone metabolism, detoxification pathways and future disease risk (see http://www.genovations.com)

We may order hair mineral or heavy metal analysis from Genova or Metametrix as well.

This list is not meant to be comprehensive, but looking at these links will give you some insight in to the information that we try to gather as we search for the elusive cause of your chronic symptoms, or the secrets to helping prevent certain diseases. Thanks for looking!

Our office earned a prestigous title in January 2008. We were named a Therapeutic Lifestyle Center of Excellence meaning that this office was recognized for its outstanding work in altering the course of chronic disease through lifestyle and natural therapies. We are one of the few in Georgia.

You may want to look into our "Fee for Care" model. Read our announcements tab for more information.