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Catherine G.

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2 Reviews by Catherine

  • Contact Lens King

5/8/23
Verified site experience
Reason I chose this business:

Convenience

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Amanda R. – Contact Lens King Rep

HI Catherine. Thank you for ordering with Contact Lens King and for the review. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you in the future.

  • Envita Medical Centers

7/12/13

I went to Envita for treatments from 1/14/13 thru 3/21/13. My overall impressions are that the center itself is a pleasant place with a professional environment; the staff are friendly, helpful and professional, especially the nursing staff and front desk folks. My doctor, Dr. Korn, seems very knowledgeable, sincere, and helpful. Did I benefit from the treatments there? After I left there I would have said absolutely not (details below), but at this time I am less certain (details below).
I came to Envita in desperation. I had suffered from severe facial and head pain since 2004 and, following a hip replacement in 2008 and revision surgery in 2010, had much worse pain in that hip than before and also started having chronic fatigue and sickness. I have been to over 90 doctors (including the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins), and healthcare practitioners. I endured many fasts, diets, medications, surgeries and various other treatments. I had tested for Lyme disease several times but there was never any clear positive result. A couple of doctors concluded that I did not have Lyme disease and a couple of doctors concluded that I did. The doctors that thought I had Lyme disease based their diagnosis on the symptoms that I had. I truly had all the symptoms of Lyme disease.
I found out about Envita thru an article sent to me by a loved one. I was skeptical, but called them and was sent a web video of the founder, Dr. Dino Prato. I was impressed with this video; I felt he was speaking directly to me about my illness. As a result, I was very interested in what Envita had to offer. My first appointment was with Dr. Korn in October of 2012. I was ready to sign up as soon as I saw how nice the facilities were, and I was very impressed with Dr. Korns knowledge and demeanor. My husband, on the other hand, needed convincing, and he did quite a lot of research about Envita. Like many subjects of research, you can find just as many negative opinions as you can positive opinions. After talking to Dr. Korn on the phone a couple more times we bit the bullet and headed out to AZ for at least 2 months. I had hope, one of the best feelings ever!
During my initial visit at Envita October 2012, I had numerous blood tests taken. The results of these showed that I had chlamydia pneumonia (CP), a bacterium that can cause pneumonia, heavy metal toxicity and candida. I did not have a test for Lyme at this time because I had already had several of those tests. According to Dr. Korn, my treatment plan was similar to a Lyme disease protocol because, if the infection or co-infections were CP, the protocol would be the same. My treatments included several IVs a day. Each week I had 2-5 IVs of doxycycline, rocephin, calcium EDTA, oxybush-ozone, peroxide, MSP, a biological injection, glutathione, and vitamin C. I was also prescribed oral antibiotics, coffee enemas, ozone and dry saunas, and numerous supplements.
Although I had a comprehensive list of the treatments, I had no idea what to expect and how my body was going to react. The best part of the Envita experience were the patients that were being treated in the same room as I. (Envita provides patients with a choice of a private room for treatment or a public room with other patients.) I was very fortunate that there were several patients that had been there for several weeks and knew the ropes. I was quite distressed to witness many of these patients reacting to the treatments by being terribly sick to the point where they requested IV medication that helped them to basically pass out. The sickness included severe nausea, vomiting, tremors, chills, terrible pain and all sorts of malaise. But we believed that this was the price we paid to get better. I was told before I started the treatments that it would be no picnic, that I would get much worse before I got better, and that I could expect to begin feeling better after six weeks, generally. The other patients and I would do just about anything to get well. And I did witness some patients getting better. I also know of patients that did not get better.
In my case, my first 3 weeks went relatively well compared to the other patients. I had a lot of edgy energy (like steroids) due to the coffee enemas and the Himalayan salt that were part of the treatments. Also, my body seemed to gobble up the various IV treatments. Other patients were not able to consume the IVs as quickly as I was. I was told that that did not mean anything; every individual is different. It was during these first three weeks that I got to know the other patients and learned so much from them about Lyme disease, about the treatments, about what to expect, and about what to do in general. I was surprised that no one on the staff gave me any of this information during my 1st week. I do not know how I would have gotten through without those other patients. The nurses were very helpful if asked a question. But it was up to the patient to ask first for any information.
It is also the responsibility of the patient to be cognizant of each and every IV to be sure that the proper one is administered. Several of the patients have a friend or loved one there with them who can be their advocate as well as support. I could not have gone through the treatments without my husband there. Surprisingly, there were a few patients there alone; but they did have the other patients for support.
It has been noted in other reviews how horrible it is to endure these treatments. I am not in a position to criticize any of the specific treatments. I will, however, point out that the vitamin C IV's were particularly horrible. After watching all the other patients react negatively to this treatment, I finally got so sick from the vitamin C starting in my 4th week that I actually stopped taking it after my 5th week. I will also point out that the treatments for each of the patients were individualized but there were a lot of similarities. And there were some patients who were diagnosed as having Lyme disease in their brain that had an even more aggressive and intensive treatment that I do not think I could have endured. It was horrible seeing how those patients felt after that treatment. I can't recall the name of this treatment, but it involves the patient going into a separate room where they are given to drop their blood sugar to a very low level where they almost pass out.
So after my first 3 weeks I got so sick I could barely get out of bed. The world felt crooked to me; I was so dizzy that I had to hold the wall to walk. I couldnt eat; everything tasted strange and water tasted terrible. But I was told by the nurses and by the other patients that being this sick was necessary to get better. I believed this and did my best to get through the horrible sickness. I requested marijuana pills to help my appetite and they did indeed help.
Part of the treatments included seeing the doctor every two weeks or so. When I first met him I was doing much better than the other patients. On my second visit I was feeling terrible but this was expected. I was told by both the doctor and the other patients that the period of horrible sickness would last about 2 weeks. After 4 straight weeks of feeling terribly sick (my 7th week of treatments), I saw the doctor and shared with him how sick I was. I was expecting him to tell me that I needed to hang in there and continue the treatments for a couple more weeks. In fact he told me that I should stop the treatments. This was music to my ears, but I was a bit confused by it. I stopped all the treatments and just had a daily IV of saline solution and continued with the saunas to help clean my system of all the medications. I had become so close to the patients that I did not want to leave and was glad to continue coming to Envita. It took about 10 days for me to feel somewhat better, but I still felt worse than when I walked in the door in January.
Sometime during the last couple of weeks at Envita I was re-tested for chlamydia pneumonia (CP), heavy metals, and candida. And in every case my test results were worse than they had been when I was initially tested in October. Dr. Korn said he suspected that I had CP and not Lyme disease and that one of the antibiotics I had been given is ineffective for CP. All of this news put me over the edge, and I basically went downhill. I was so devastated and disappointed with how I felt (which again was worse than when I started the treatments). I was told by some of the nurses that this happens to some patients, and that they feel better after a couple months.
In addition, I had been told by the doctor, the nurses and the patients about the at home or after treatments which consisted of a frequency device to continue to kill the bacteria, Himalayan salt tablets and several other supplements. In my case, since I tested very high in CP, heavy metals and candida, I was given 3 different protocols to follow when I went home (in addition to the machine and salt). One of these was the Wheldon protocol which involves a series of oral antibiotics over a year. Another recommendation was to continue having the calcium EDTA IVs for heavy metals.
My husband and I decided to go home on March 21st. I went into a depression because I was devastated with how I felt, and I was so disappointed. The hope was gone.
I started all 3 at home protocols. I tried a frequency device and continued the Himalayan salts. We called the doctor and asked why I felt worse. He did not know. We discussed that it might make sense for me to do one protocol at a time rather than all 3. I followed the Wheldon protocol for a couple more weeks because my husband had done a lot of research and was hopeful that this protocol would help me.
After a lot of prayer, I just instinctively wanted to stop all at home protocols. My husband hesitantly agreed, so I stopped. Then, in April, my depression started to lift. I still felt sick physically and was in bed quite a bit. But in mid-May I started feeling more energetic and was able to do things around the house. Since then I have continued feeling much more energetic and have been able to be out of bed the majority of the time. I continue to take the pain medication that I was taking before I went to Envita. I also take some vitamins and about 6 Himalayan salt capsules a day. I now feel as good as I felt during one of my good periods before I went to Envita. If this continues, I will be inclined to give Envita credit.
A criticism I have of Envita is the lack of formal feedback from the patient to them on how the patient is doing after the treatments. There is so much to learn from the patients. Since leaving Scottsdale four months ago, no one from Envita has called to follow-up on my condition or on the results of their treatment.
A plus for Envita is the documentation provided to you when you finish the treatments, which include extensive notes by the doctor on your history, assessments, diagnoses, plan and procedures. A full report is completed for each doctor visit. Plus you are given a copy of every test result.

Catherine Has Earned 55 Votes

Catherine G.'s review of Envita Medical Centers earned a Great Find vote

Catherine G.'s review of Envita Medical Centers earned 54 Very Helpful votes

Catherine Has Received 1 Thank You

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Diego N. thanked you for your review of Envita Medical Centers

“Thank you for providing such a detailed representation of your experience. Diego Nigro”

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