This is article 1 in a three part series...
Most often MTHFR+, Developmental Delay and other causes of chronic illness overlap. There are certain stock things that clinicians do when they are confronted with these illnesses that may or may not be right for you. Most often these clinicians are not acquainted with genetics, epigenetics, methyl groups, methylation or any of the issues described above. They may know to test for MTHFR, but not know very much about what to do after that. This section highlights some common problems that come up when you are attempting to get treatment, and is an effort to help you avoid them.
Mistake #1: Trying to teach your doctor anything. You may be one of the fortunate few who has an open-minded doctor. Good for you. You can bring him books and other information, and while he will smile and accept them, you have no clue if the material you hand him is getting read, let alone digested and integrated into his knowledge base well enough for him to be able to help you with it. Most doctors get their serious education at seminars put on by professional organizations for professionals like themselves. They may conclude that if the information is really important enough for them to learn, their local hospital or medical society would be presenting it. Your doctor may be busy right now trying to keep up with the changes in health care or even the changes in health care insurance. He may be working on how to keep you as his patient and get paid. There are a zillion reasons why he will take your material and lay it aside. Still, you need him, so just accept this. Your doctor may tell you that he is willing to do the testing you ask for, but he really does not know much beyond that. Good for you. You have an honest, humble person there to help you. If you are using an additional clinician who is at a distance, or getting information from an online forum, you will still need a good local doctor at times in order to be examined, get a mainstream diagnosis, and get their particular testing, so you can put all the information together and figure out what to do next. Your doctor may undergo one of any number of transformations when you attempt to present him with information. He may get officious and stuffy, overtly or covertly tell you how much you don't know, or try to impress you with how little the information is worth. Or, he may just ignore you.
Then again, he may change into something just short of a raving maniac when you bring up anything outside of his knowledge base. There are as many reactions out there as there are doctors. Stay calm. He still may be a good doctor. Just do not try to teach him anything.
Use your doctor for what he knows, not for what he doesn't know. It is his job to go out and learn what he thinks will get you well. It is not your place to tell him. It is your place to find out what you need to know to get yourself well, and to use your doctor for what he can help you with, as opposed to what he cannot.
I have a free, downloadable ebook on my website www.NancyMullanMD.com that explains methyl groups and methylation. Click here to download your free ebook.
If you want expert help personalized to your unique body chemistry, you can consider getting an Exploratory Conversation with me. This is a 30-minute conversation in which I will listen to your health issues, review your test results (if any), and make recommendations about what I think you should do. You can tell me all of the things you have tried and I will give you my input about what you can consider next.
The fee for this service is $129. It is easy to set a time for this conversation, and it can save you weeks or months of doing the wrong thing, lurching around in the dark with a clinician who doesn’t know anything about the genetics or molecular biology of MTHFR. You may be dealing with conditions in your body that are confusing and difficult to understand. I can help you cut through all of that and give you clarifying input that moves you in the right direction.
I look forward to being able to help,
Dr. Mullan
What people like you are saying about Dr. Mullan’s work:
I shudder at the thought of what my family would be like without Dr. Mullan. Thankfully, with her help, we have stopped my husband's chronic 30 year battle with kidney stones. He is no longer forming them and is stone free. My thyroid is now working normally, my body temperature is almost normal and my hair has grown back. My oldest daughter's Autism is in the process of being reversed and her hair pulling has stopped. The greatest blessing from our good health is the birth of my second daughter Ava, now one-year-old. At 50 years old I carried her to term. One of my doctors commented to me saying “ you are carrying this baby like a 22-year-old.” Yes, I am because of Dr. Mullan and working on my methylation pathway. One by one she is knocking off symptoms and bringing us back to health. The future is bright! Thank you, Dr. Mullan, for the work you do.
JVW
Wow. I feel great. Thank you for your help. It's amazing really. Like a light turned on. Curious to see what the next tests show. To ride this peak indefinitely is my goal. Ha. I have energy again. Yay!
Really grateful,
DG
I am so relieved. My daughter is doing SO WELL since we started with you! We have been to so many doctors and tried so many things.Now I can start working on my own program with you....
GV
So excellent! I literally learn something every single time and I get clarification on things that have been lingering in my mind… VB
You are giving people a huge gift by empowering them… It’s about helping the patient become their own healer by taking them to a higher level of consciousness… AL
Thank you so much, Dr. Mullan. Thank you so, so much for everything you do. MS
Wow! I have to tell you, this was such an uplifting session. It’s so nice to hear good news, especially about a child. Anxiety, OCD and a host of other mental/psychiatric symptoms have been a huge hurdle for me. So to hear this story of all those awful symptoms totally going away is such a bright light for me!!!! TR
Fantastic, caring, smart, savvy doc. I worked with Dr. Mullan for a couple of years to help MTHFR mutations and their associating expressions! To say the least! She's brilliant. At that time she had weekly calls for her patients - free - where we could ask questions and she would reply. What doctors do this? She does. She's also an animal lover and is right on about the way she practices medicine. I highly recommend her. In good health!
MG
"Dr. Nancy Mullan is a beautiful person. She is an expert in her field and has helped our family so much. I am very grateful to her. She came highly recommended and I know why. I would recommend her and her website for information re: healing from a genetic point of view. Thank you, Dr. Mullan, for everything.”
GD
"Dr.Mullan has helped me with issues that I have struggled with for years. She is knowledgable and practical. I would recommend her to others.”
BC