Hello everyone,
Here is the final update of 2023! My apologies for the length- I’ll chunk it into sections, and you can read what is relevant to you or interests you.
Please don’t forget the office is closing at the end of this week for our annual Winter closing. We will not be available, so please check on any prescription refills you may need. We will respond to everyone when we re-open on January 2nd, 2024
~ New & Updates ~
Covid:
Covid is alive and well. Lot of positive testing, lots of people feeling crummy and sick. No quality data on positivity testing to report since most people either test at home and don’t report it to the state or are simply not testing. Testing fatigue, quarantining fatigue and masking fatigue has led to increased transmission. The good news is that there are very few hospitalizations other than people with significant health problems or elderly/frail nursing home patients (WI/IL both have a state rate of 3% hospitalizations). Booster vaccines are available at pharmacies if you would like one and have not had covid in the past 3 months. Paxlovid is available for people with risk factors should you test positive. It needs to be started within 5 days of symptom onset.
Just know that our area (IL/WI) has mild cases compared to the Southern US and the Western states so if you have holiday travel plans to those areas or are hosting guests from those areas, you may get the gift that keeps on giving. Hardest hit states for covid are South Carolina and Louisiana followed by California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and New Jersey. Again, this is all under reported so cases are actually much higher. The best state award right now for fewest cases goes to Minnesota. Overachievers.
Flu, RSV, & Strep
Flu was alive and well but for the time being has died down. There was a lot of influenza going around about 4 weeks ago. The flu vaccine is available if you would like one. We expect flu to increase through Winter- the typical peaks are after the holidays- more Feb/March but we’ve already had one wave. Similarly, RSV is popular these days in the pediatric population. Surprisingly, strep is also making a comeback in both adults and children alike. Strep is the only one of these infections that is bacterial and requires treatment with antibiotics to prevent post- strep complications like scarlet fever, rheumatic fever and post strep kidney disease.
Libertyville office:
The practice is now full. We will continue to accept patients that are referred by current patients and as space opens up. If you refer someone, please have them let us know. We want to be able to accommodate referrals from current patients ahead of other patient sign ups. We are still finishing construction there – mostly because my own house construction took away my free contractor- aka husband. He will be thrilled to start a new project in 2024, I’m sure of it.
We are also adding a massage therapist to our Libertyville office. His name is Jason Brown and I have worked with him for several years. You can reach out to him directly to book at 847-912-3821. He is very knowledgeable and does consistently excellent work. I’m happy to answer questions as well.
Kenosha office:
The practice is thriving, and we are still accepting patients. Michele has moved her Elevation Health practice to the lower level and that is thriving as well.
Office staff:
Laura will be out for surgery in January sometime. She has been a trooper and has been on crutches since JUNE. She is inviting people to her crutches burning party – reach out for an invite or for well wishes. Michele is still building her elevation health practice and managing family and life while also taking excellent care of our Medlogic patients. I’m truly grateful for both these ladies. We call each other our work family and we really appreciate how easy it is to work together. If anyone has ever had a job that was miserable or a colleague that was a pain in the tushy, you can definitely appreciate how much less stress we all have after from working together for 8 years now. Cheers to us and all the other normal colleagues out there!
Education and learning:
This year we decided to close on Thursdays to have time for education, meetings and professional development. In that time, I have taken several additional courses to increase my depth of knowledge and scope of practice. I took course and certifications in functional medicine, opioid safety, trans healthcare, psychedelic integration, thought work, men’s health, low dose naltrexone, ultrasound, polyvagal theory and functional nutrition. I am hoping to be able to share what I have studied in a podcast/video series that everyone can access if they want a brief summary of any of these topics. I’m still working on the tech side of that and have finally recruited someone to help me because I definitely do not have any media skills.
Functional medicine or Wellness Intensives:
Functional medicine is a fascinating area of medicine and I have spent the past 2-3 years taking various courses toward certification in this. The testing is more refined and complex than standard primary care blood tests that are done at the annual physical and it has been fun to dig deeper to solve for the root cause. This is a time intensive process but can be very rewarding if you have a concern or issue that has been hard to solve, or you have tried many different things and seen several specialists. If anyone is interested in either a functional medicine consult, that information can be found on my website: www.JillGreenMD.com
Likewise, if you have been thinking about working more intensely or consistently on some part of your health, I do have Wellness intensive spots available in Winter 2024 still open for the 4-week, 8-week (limited space remains) and 12-week programs. The 24-week program is full currently. Definitely check it out if this interests you and please message me if you have any questions. That information is also on the www.JillGreenMD.com website.
Wisconsin health insurance option 2024:
I know there is a lot of interest in this, and I will send out any updates as soon as I get them. The last I messaged with the group doing this, I was told they have everything on their end ready and set up, including website and FAQ. They are waiting on regulatory approval in each state for Tier 1 (which includes WI) before they can go live with the website. The latest update is that they still plan for an early 2024 launch- still on track for some time in Q1 of 2024.
Setting Resolutions:
New years often brings goals of new beginnings for people. If you are setting resolutions for 2024, here are some good guidelines: Set small goals, celebrate your success and accept that failure is just as good as success because at least you were in the game. A lot of people didn’t even try. Failure brings growth but negative self-talk does not. Learn to fail with grace.
In terms of setting small goals: If your end goal is to lose 60# or find a partner or find a new job, set small incremental goals that move you towards that and give yourself time and grace. The people that set the BIG goal for 2024 and then don’t see much progress in January end up giving up because it seems sooooooo far away, but then also beat themselves up mentally for not making it. Setting goals is a way to challenge yourself. It’s not intended to make you feel worse than you do now because you didn’t “make it”. Your first goal should be a new minimum baseline. What is the minimum you need to do to work towards your goal?
If your goal is to lose 60#, your minimum baseline could be to walk one day a week for 10 minutes. Or it could be to cut out alcohol one day a week. If you make your goal to lose 60# by exercising for one hour every day and eating low carb and low fat every meal and cutting out all alcohol, you are setting yourself up for frustration because that is a lot of intense change all at once. If your goal is to find a partner and get married, you could start by creating an online dating profile. Even if you don’t post it.
Let’s be honest, you aren’t going to wake up on January 1st a drastically different person from when you went to bed on December 31st. Trying to take big leaps and do several things at once is going to feel overwhelming because it is overwhelming. The brain loves and craves safety, comfort and routine. So, making big changes is very upsetting to your brain and it will fight you on this. You need the sneak attack strategy. Your brain will definitely rebel if you try to go big, but won’t protest at a simple step. Start small, but start somewhere. Becoming fixated with the end result feels overwhelming because it is.
The difference between doing something and doing nothing is called The Infinite 1%. Even if you just do one small thing, you are infinitely ahead of all the people who chose never to start at all. You are more likely to keep going if you set a small tangible goals that you can achieve quickly. Then you can set the next one. And the next one and so on, until all of your small steps become a big leap when you look back at it all.
In my own life, I have been working on some goals for 20 years. I have a yoga posture that I work on every week, every practice session and have not succeeded in 20 years. Failing but trying again every week has still been a valuable lesson and I’ve benefited from the practice much beyond this one elusive posture. Thankfully, I have another 3-4 decades to get it. Start somewhere and be consistent.
Happy new year and best wishes on your success!
Warmly,
Dr. Green