Elisha Zonfrilli is hair stylist and a current patient of Direct Doctors and has given me her permission to share her testimonial which she posted on her facebook page to spread the word about the Direct Doctors Difference...



"I've had the WORST luck with doctors. When I went to see my last doctor, it was for my migraines and neck pain. After spending an hour with her, she gave me some "tips" on how to make my neck feel better (without doing any tests), told me to stop taking ibuprofen, then sent me on my way. When I had a flare-up in my neck, I called her to ask what I could do since those "tips" she gave me weren't helping. She prescribed me 800mg ibuprofen...after she told me at my appointment to stop taking them, because she assumed my migraines/headaches were from taking too much ibuprofen. I realized she didn't even know who the heck I was on the phone AND she only half-diagnosed my neck issue! About 6 months later I received a huge bill for tests she ran at the lab that my insurance didn't cover. I refused to ever go to her again and just continued to go to my holistic massage therapist for my neck pain, which helped, but I needed more. Then an article about Direct Doctors popped up in my newsfeed on FB! "Whaaat is this?!"

I was in quite a bit of pain at this point, having a lot of migraines again, having to cancel/reschedule clients, etc. My health was interfering with my work big time and I was actually starting to consider looking into other fields of work that wouldn't be so hard on my body. When I saw the article, I jumped on the website and read all about it. The best part, to me, was that it was one independent doctor doing this and she didn't take health insurance aka no co-pay. Instead of co-pays it's one flat rate (it's priced according to your age window) a month. Sold!

I am all about morale when I go anywhere. I would put off going to my regular doctor for MONTHS because I was always so paranoid about having to sit in a waiting room full of sick people. I also had issues with my health insurance and co-pays were confusing to both me and the receptionists.

Setting up my appointment was so easy after I registered on the website. She sets up her schedule and provides you with the times she has available. All you do is click on it, fill out a little info (name, phone, reason for the appointment) and she'll send you a confirmation email! That's it! Being a part of the practice you also get full access to your health records via Patient Fusion. You can contact the doctor through email, phone, or even text! Whenever I have any question to ask, I send her a text and she ALWAYS remembers me and gets back to me fairly quickly. It's kind of like just chatting with a friend and it's so convenient (as long as you don't abuse it, obviously...she has a life also).

For new mothers, she provides home visits for newborn babies for the first month I believe. Home visits are also part of the practice anyway, so if you're too sick to get to her office, she'll come see you. Old fashioned ways!

The atmosphere is also inviting. I'm no longer afraid or anxious to go to the doctors in fear that I'll have to come in contact with a waiting room of sick people, or deal with a doctor who barely knows who I am. Whenever I get there I ring a bell, sit down for maybe 2 seconds and she's already coming to greet me. The longest appointment I've had was probably 30 min long, and that was probably because we were chatting about normal life things. No co-pays, no confusion. She's also never hounded me about medications or judged me about other things that typical doctors would make you feel like a jerk for doing/not doing. She will offer advice and her perspective on important things (like for me, a tetanus shot, which I sucked it up and got) and then lets you decide from there on your own what's best for you. I had a concern about one of the medications she mentioned I could go on for my neuralgia in my neck and she was completely open with me about side effects and understood my worry. As far as cost for medications and dealing with health insurance (I have very limited health coverage), she's been extremely helpful with finding me the most reasonably priced medications for me to fit my budget and my needs. She never was just like "Ok we're putting you on THIS...here you go!" and sent me off to pay 100's of dollars of prescription costs like other doctors have done to me, without giving any alternative. A lot of times there are loopholes that doctors won't mention. I am not a fan of taking medications, but I had to have something to treat my issues quickly so I could function at work again. I no longer have to worry about migraines and nausea and my neuralgia interfering with my work. I believe in holistic medicine first, but I also believe that modern medicine and holistic medicine working together can create excellent results, so that's what's been working best for me. I was having the treatments done with my holistic therapist and then I'd go right back to work the next day and almost entirely reverse what she had done. Taking some medication allows my body to relax and heal itself after my treatments, so I am slowly feeling improvements.

Dr. Hedde does lady doctor procedures and vaccinations, as well as anything skin-related. I had her remove a mole that had been on the back of my neck since I was a baby and was just a nuisance all of my life. It healed perfectly without any issues.

So, that's my long-winded story about why I love my doctor! I know I left a lot out, but you get the point. If you're looking for somebody new, I highly recommend checking out the Direct Doctors website and browsing through all of the info to see if it's something you'd be interested in!

Have a good day!"

A recent huge study reviewed the effects of potassium intake on all sorts of diseases and ailments and found we should all be taking in MORE!

Potassium intake of 4700 mg daily or more had a nice reduction in blood pressure, especially for folks with existing high blood pressure.  Not only that, but there was a significant reduction in the risk of stroke with high potassium diets!  But, the average American is only taking in about 2640 mg daily.  

Potassium-rich foods include figs, molasses, seaweed, dates, prunes, tree nuts, avocados, bran cereal, wheat germ, and lima beans. Yum!

Just one fourth of a teaspoon of a potassium-based salt substitute provides more potassium than those ones your friends have always recommended like bananas, oranges, potatoes, and spinach. 

Here's a great list of all the potassium-potent foods.  If you have any kidney disease you should be careful with too much potassium but otherwise, patients with healthy kidneys can truly benefit from adding potassium to their diets.

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