Bridgeport Wellness Center

02/12/2026

When everything feels hurried, let your practice be the opposite. Let it be steady. Let it be spacious. Let it be a place where you remember that slowing down is strength.

02/12/2026

What is CancerGuard? 🛡️

You may have heard the name “CancerGuard” and wondered what it actually means.

CancerGuard is a multi-cancer early detection blood test designed to look for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) — tiny fragments of genetic material that some cancers release into the bloodstream.

The goal?
To help detect certain cancers earlier, sometimes before symptoms appear.

Why Early Detection Matters

Early-stage cancers are often:
• Easier to treat
• Less invasive to manage
• Associated with better outcomes

Traditional screenings (like colonoscopy, mammograms, PSA testing, etc.) are still extremely important. Tests like CancerGuard are designed to be an additional tool — not a replacement.

What Patients Should Know

✔️ It’s a blood test
✔️ It looks for DNA signals linked to multiple cancer types
✔️ It may identify cancer signals before clinical symptoms
✔️ It is a screening tool — abnormal results require follow-up testing

Important Considerations

• Not all cancers shed detectable DNA into the blood
• False positives and false negatives are possible
• It does NOT replace recommended age-based screening
• Should be ordered thoughtfully with proper counseling

In preventive care, the goal isn’t just to treat disease — it’s to find risk early and act proactively.

As always, screening decisions should be individualized based on your history, risk factors, and goals.

Interested? Check out galleri.com or Ask about it at your next appointment!

Introducing Galleri® the first-of-its-kind multi-cancer early detection test that looks for a signal shared by 50+ types of cancer with a single blood test

02/11/2026

In direct primary care, we don’t open a chart and see an insurance plan.

We see a person.

Not a job.
Not a deductible.
Not a prior authorization.
Not a coverage limitation.

Just a human being who deserves:
• honesty
• time
• compassion
• and care that’s actually based on what they need

In DPC, care isn’t determined by:
❌ what insurance you have
❌ how much you can afford that day
❌ whether a diagnosis code will be “approved”

It’s determined by:
✅ your story
✅ your goals
✅ your symptoms
✅ your life

That means longer visits.
That means real conversations.
That means treating the whole person — not rushing to the next chart.

Healthcare should never feel transactional.
It should feel personal.

Because everyone deserves a provider who listens, tells the truth, and genuinely cares about them as an individual — not a line item on a billing sheet.

That’s the heart of direct primary care. 🫶

02/07/2026

🧠 Ketamine & Inflammation: It’s Not “Just Mental”

Most people think ketamine only helps mood.
But one of its biggest benefits? Reducing inflammation in the brain and body.

Here’s why that matters 👇

🔥 Chronic inflammation is linked to:
• Depression
• Anxiety
• PTSD
• Chronic pain
• Brain fog
• Fatigue

Ketamine works by:
✔️ Calming inflammatory cytokines (the chemicals that keep the body “on edge”)
✔️ Resetting overactive brain immune cells (microglia)
✔️ Reducing glutamate overload caused by chronic stress
✔️ Promoting brain repair and neuroplasticity

💡 Translation:
It helps quiet a nervous system that’s been stuck in survival mode.

This is why many patients say:
👉 “It feels like my brain finally exhaled.”

Mental health, pain, trauma, and inflammation are deeply connected.
Treating one without the others often misses the root.

✨ Healing isn’t just about neurotransmitters — it’s about calming the whole system.

02/07/2026

📝 Patient Survey
Please circle the answer that best describes your experience…

1️⃣ When you need a doctor’s appointment:
A. I text or call and I’m usually seen same or next day
B. I call, get put on hold, and I’m scheduled 3–6 weeks out

2️⃣ Appointment length:
A. 30–60 minutes where I don’t feel rushed
B. 7 minutes and a reminder that the provider is “running behind”

3️⃣ Discussing labs:
A. We review trends and talk about prevention
B. “Everything’s normal” (even though I still feel awful)

4️⃣ Cost transparency:
A. I know the price upfront and don’t get surprise bills
B. I open my mailbox with fear 😬

5️⃣ Communication:
A. I can message my provider directly with questions
B. I leave voicemails and hope for a callback

6️⃣ Preventive care:
A. We catch issues early and talk lifestyle + root causes
B. I’m told to come back when it’s “bad enough”

7️⃣ Insurance involvement:
A. My care decisions are between me and my provider
B. My care decisions are between my provider and my insurance company

8️⃣ Overall experience:
A. I feel known, heard, and supported
B. I feel like a number

✨ If you answered mostly A…
You’re experiencing Direct Primary Care — where time, access, and prevention come first.

😵 If you answered mostly B…
You’re not alone — and it doesn’t have to be this way.

Healthcare shouldn’t feel like a guessing game.
It should feel like a relationship.

02/05/2026

Imagine you show up to work for 8 hours and then later find out AI decided you only deserve to get paid for 6 of those hours… Would you continue the job? Would you put the time and effort into billing insurance 🤔

Learn what payer downcoding is, why it’s rising with AI-driven audits, and how proactive RCM strategies can prevent silent revenue loss.

02/05/2026

Did you know giving back to the community is one way to increase Oxytocin and decrease anxiety 👏

You’re the missing piece to ensuring our blood supply recovers from a severe national blood shortage. Distributions of blood products to hospitals are still outpacing the number of blood donations coming in, and patients across the country receiving critical medical care need you.

Come to donate blood or platelets through Feb. 28, and we’ll share our heartfelt thanks with a $20 e-gift card to a merchant of your choice. Make an appointment to give: https://rdcrss.org/49VBPNp

02/04/2026

🧠 Trauma, PTSD & Hormone Imbalance — Yes, They’re Connected

If you’ve ever thought…
“Why did my menopause symptoms hit so hard?”
“Why does my anxiety feel worse as my hormones change?”

There’s a reason — and it’s biological.

Women with a history of trauma or Post-traumatic stress disorder often experience more intense hormone-related symptoms, especially during perimenopause and menopause.

⸻

🔥 Here’s What’s Happening in the Body

Trauma keeps your nervous system in a long-term stress response. That affects the HPA axis (your brain–adrenal–hormone communication system).

Chronic stress can disrupt:
• Cortisol rhythms
• Estrogen & progesterone balance
• Sleep cycles
• Blood sugar regulation
• Inflammation levels

These are the same systems that shift during menopause.

⸻

🌡️ Why Symptoms Feel Worse

Trauma + hormone changes can amplify:

• Hot flashes & night sweats
• Anxiety or panic surges
• Insomnia
• Heart palpitations
• Brain fog
• Mood swings
• Fatigue

It’s not “just hormones.”
It’s not “just stress.”
👉 It’s both systems interacting.

⸻

💤 Progesterone & Calm

Progesterone helps calm the brain.
When progesterone drops (common in perimenopause), women with past trauma may notice:
• Increased anxiety
• Feeling on edge
• Poor stress tolerance

⸻

🧬 Trauma Can Even Influence Timing

High lifetime stress is linked to:
• Earlier perimenopause
• More severe menopause symptoms

Your body remembers stress — including hormonally.

⸻

💛 The Good News

When care addresses both:
✔ Nervous system regulation
✔ Sleep restoration
✔ Trauma-informed support
✔ Hormone balance
✔ Lifestyle & metabolic health

Women often feel dramatically better.

⸻

📌 Bottom line:
Your symptoms are real. Your history matters. Your hormones and nervous system are deeply connected — and both deserve support.

02/03/2026

One of the best things about being a provider in a direct primary care model is taking the time to educate patients and providing meaningful education before it’s too late… Pre-diabetes and insulin resistance and undoubly the most common “finds” and 90% of the time, patients have no idea…

📊 Top 5 States with the Highest Adult Diabetes Rates
Recent national data shows:
1. West Virginia – ~18%
2. Mississippi – ~17%
3. Louisiana – ~16%
4. Alabama – ~15.7%
5. South Carolina – ~14.9%

These numbers show how widespread diabetes has become — but diabetes doesn’t start overnight. It begins with early metabolic changes that can be prevented with the right care.

⸻

✨ Prevention Starts Before Diabetes — With Early Detection ✨

Most traditional healthcare models only act once blood sugar is already high. But conditions like insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction can be detected long before diabetes develops — if someone is being monitored regularly and thoughtfully.

That’s where Direct Primary Care (DPC) makes a difference:

💡 Frequent, Meaningful Follow-Ups
Regular check-ins help us identify early signs like subtle increases in fasting glucose, trending hemoglobin A1c, rising insulin levels, or changes in triglycerides — before diabetes takes hold.

💡 Trend-Focused Lab Review
Labs can look “normal” in isolation — but when viewed over time, tell a story. In DPC, we track trends not just snapshots and take action early.

💡 More Time With Your Clinician
We don’t rush through visits — we spend time understanding your goals, habits, stressors, sleep patterns, and lifestyle factors that contribute to metabolic health.

💡 Prevention-Focused Coaching
We help you translate lab insights into real lifestyle changes: nutrition, activity, sleep hygiene, stress management, and strategies to improve insulin sensitivity — long before diabetes develops.

⸻

🔍 Early Warning Signs We Can Catch Together:
• Slightly elevated fasting glucose or insulin
• Gradually rising A1c (still in “normal” range)
• High triglycerides or low HDL
• Increasing waist circumference
• Fatigue, sugar cravings, or decreased exercise tolerance

These are signals, not diagnoses — however, early intervention can prevent diabetes, saving you $$ on healthcare costs down the road!

PS I actually love when a patient is ready to ask questions, ready to listen, and ready to make changes! Feeling like we make an actual impact is why we chose healthcare in the first place 💯

02/02/2026

Officially back from a little week long hiatus! Excited to be back in the swing of things and catching up with my patients!
Shout out to chatGPT for the BWC selfie hahahaha

01/31/2026

Picked this up at the airport bookshop and I probably got some funny looks for it but I don’t care 😂 I love this book and highly recommend for anyone! Seriously you could be a 20 year old male and still learn a few things on regulating your body. No oavries needed! No medication needed.
Bringing this to the office is anyone wants to check it out for a few weeks, just let me know 🫶🏼

01/29/2026

How to control your weight, blood sugar, and the crash you feel after eating simple sugars… FIBER

🧠 1. It slows down digestion

Especially soluble fiber (oats, beans, chia, flax, apples).

When soluble fiber mixes with water, it forms a gel-like substance in the gut.

That gel:
• Slows how fast food leaves your stomach
• Slows how quickly carbohydrates are broken down
• Slows how fast glucose enters the bloodstream

👉 Result: smaller blood sugar spike after meals

Instead of a sharp glucose spike 📈 → crash 📉
You get a smoother rise → gradual return to baseline.

⸻

🍽️ 2. It reduces how much glucose gets absorbed

That fiber “gel barrier” physically interferes with sugar absorption in the small intestine.

So:
• Some glucose is absorbed later
• Some may be absorbed less efficiently

This is why the same carbs (like an apple vs apple juice) have very different effects on blood sugar.

⸻

🦠 3. It improves insulin sensitivity (big one)

Fiber feeds your gut bacteria. When they ferment fiber, they produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like:
• Butyrate
• Propionate
• Acetate

These compounds:
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve how cells respond to insulin
• Help muscles pull glucose out of the blood more efficiently

👉 Over time = lower fasting glucose + better metabolic control

⸻

🧬 4. It lowers liver glucose output

Those same SCFAs send signals to the liver to:
• Make less new glucose
• Improve metabolic regulation

This helps stabilize blood sugar between meals.

⸻

🫃 5. It increases fullness (less overeating)

Fiber slows digestion and stretches the stomach.

That means:
• Fewer cravings
• More stable appetite hormones
• Less frequent high-carb snacking

Which indirectly = fewer glucose spikes all day

⸻

📊 What this looks like in real life

Without fiber:
White bread → fast digestion → rapid spike → insulin surge → crash → hunger

With fiber:
Beans + veggies + protein → slower digestion → controlled glucose rise → steady energy
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