Doctors Thoughts
By Dr. Van D Merkle DC, DABCI, DCBCN, CCN
Nutrition Help • Blood Chemistry • Office Tips • and more!
Search by Date
- Breast Cancer – December 17, 2018
- Aluminum and DMSA – November 27, 2018
- ALS – November 21, 2018
- The flu – November 12, 2018
- Cholesterol – Find Out Why it’s High – October 31, 2018
- Sometimes the answers are clear with correct testing! – August 28, 2018
- Tell the fee to the patient – August 08, 2018
- Nutrition and Dental Implants – July 26, 2018
- Don’t be afraid of the tough cases! – July 24, 2018
- Write it down! – July 20, 2018
There’s so much to know and so much to learn that can help not only yourself but your patients too! From running a business to nutritional advice, I thought it was important to share some of these thoughts with all of you! Stay tuned!
~Dr. Van D. Merkle
Signs and Symptoms
Close observation of a patient may assist in discovering underlying problems. Are you frequently sick? Do you bruise easily or heal slowly? Chronic skin problems? Do you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis? These can often be a sign of an internal problem that needs to be addressed!
September 20, 2019
Depression
What can happen when a patient starts taking several medications at the same time? What can happen if a patient suffering from depression among other things, is prescribed a medication that includes depression as a side effect?
September 19, 2019
Kidney Transplants and Kidney Disease
Why is the United States discarding so many donated kidney’s while the need for a donated kidney is so high? Why is kidney disease so high? Dr. Merkle reviews this topic and presents his opinion on what is going on and why it might be happening.
Original Article can be found here:
September 18, 2019
Type 1 Diabetes Narrowly Missed in an 11 Year Old Girl
When this patient came to see one of our SBN members she was showing Ketones in the urine of 3.00! Upon discovering this, a C-Peptide was immediately ordered. This young lady’s C-Peptide level was at 0.50 NG/ML which is critically low! The high Ketones and low C-Peptide indicated that she was a very short time away from becoming Insulin dependent. After 2 weeks of following our program she was retested. Let’s find out what happened next!
August 22nd, 2019
Lupus, Sjogren’s, CFS, GERD in a 33 Year Old Female
In this video we discuss a 33 year old woman spent a large portion of 2018 in the hospital for several conditions. By her labs, it’s evident that she is in a lot of pain and is on 12 medications at such a young age! What testing should be done for a patient in her condition? Let’s find out!
August 19th, 2019
11 Year Old With Severe Abdominal Pain
One of our SBN members had an interesting case with an 11 year old who was experiencing pain in her stomach. After running a comprehensive panel several important things were found. What can be done to help this young girl?
August 15th, 2019
Stage 4 Kidney Cancer Update
We have an update on the kidney cancer case!
A patient recently went to her medical doctor who informed her that she has lung cancer. Under further investigation they found out that the lung cancer came from her kidney’s. The kidney cancer had metastasized to the lungs so the patient had stage 4 kidney cancer before she knew she had anything!
August 12th, 2019
Stage 4 Kidney Cancer
A patient recently went to her medical doctor who informed her that she has lung cancer. Under further investigation they found out that the lung cancer came from her kidney’s. The kidney cancer had metastasized to the lungs so the patient had stage 4 kidney cancer before she knew she had anything!
July 30, 2019
Treating Allergies Naturally
Allergy season hits some harder than others and if you are one of the latter, this video is for you! Let’s hear what Dr. Merkle does to reduce his allergy symptoms!
July 18, 2019
Insulin – Can a person get off of it?
Can a person ever get off of Insulin? How do we check to see if the pancreas is making insulin or not?
June 25, 2019
Consider the Possibilities with SBN Video 2 Proper testing and nutritional protocols can be life changers! In this video Dr. Merkle discusses: hepatitis C, severe liver problems and liver cancer, low testosterone, Parkinson’s, osteopetrosis, Crohn’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and Ulcerative Colitis.
June 21, 2019
A Breast Cancer Update
Following up and following through is crucial in monitoring certain critical patients. This patient had a cancer marker jump 12 points in 6 months! While not clinical yet, this should be alarming to doctors and patients. Let’s hear what Dr. Merkle and his practice did to help this patient get her cancer back under control.
June 19, 2019
Consider the Possibilites with SBN
We’ve helped patients with low testosterone, TBI, kidney failure, and blocked arteries. We’ve helped patients get off bio identical hormones safely and naturally and much, much more. Did you know, you only need 20% kidney function left to be symptom free. This is why yearly blood testing can be crucial.
Let us show you some of what SBN can do for patients with proper testing and protocols!
June 10, 2019
The Thyroid and Elevated TSH
Low thyroid function can be caused by many factors. What happens when your thyroid isn’t functioning correctly? What do you check or test for? Sometimes it’s difficult to determine and retesting can be key, particularly when a patient is on Synthroid.
June 6, 2019
The 2019 Spring Logan Symposium
Sometimes it’s great to catch up with old friends, meet the upcoming generation of young people and share our experiences with everyone! Today, Dr. Merkle walks us through his recent time spent at the spring symposium and Logan University.
June 4, 2019
UA Dipsticks – Don’t Go Cheap!
There are differences between a cheap UA dipstick and a quality UA dipsticks. We compared the cheap dipstick to the quality dipstick and found that the cheap UA dipstick couldn’t detect high leukocytes! Let’s take 3 minutes and talk about it!
May 28, 2019
Magnesium and Malic Acid
Today we briefly explore a case of a child with symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s. Several close family members in this boys family have Parkinson’s so closely monitoring this boy is crucial.
May 2, 2019
Tardive Dyskinesia
Today we briefly explore a case of a child with symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s. Several close family members in this boys family have Parkinson’s so closely monitoring this boy is crucial.
April 17, 2019
Blood Clotting and Thrombophilia
Thrombophilia is when blood clots easily and quickly and varies in severity from mild to severe. Specifically we’re discussing the prothrombin 20210 mutation. While this is a genetic disorder, why does it effect some people later in life than others? Is it genetics causing this to trigger in some patients or could it be the environment? What can SBN members do to help those with this condition?
March 21, 2019
Liver Disease
Just a quick word on liver disease. A patient was told they would need a liver transplant, comes to see an SBN member and in 2 months, no longer need the transplant! Incredible!
February 26, 2019
Lymphoma
What can we do for lymphoma patients? With proper testing, diets and protocols an amazing turn around can occur! Listen to what Dr. Merkle has to say about lymophoma by listening to the newest blog entry now!
February 12, 2019
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Anklyosing Spondylitis is an inflammatory arthritic condition that reduces flexibility and often causes pain in the spine or around the ligaments and tendons sometimes in joints. With proper nutrition and a trained SBN health professional, symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis can be reduced.
One of the most important questions you should be asking yourself is, when did the problem start and what kind of testing is being done? The best way to get to the bottom of health problems is through proper testing, and that’s what we do! Today, Dr. Merkle explains a very fascinating case he has had with ankylosing spondylitis.
January 4, 2019
Breast Cancer
An otherwise healthy woman came to see Dr. Merkle for a second opinion. An opinion that likely saved her life. Originally told that she had only 8-10 years to live if she did chemoradiation, she’s still going strong and healthy 12 years later and no chemoradiation! Listen to what Dr. Merkle and Take2 Healthcare have done to help her in her journey.
December 17, 2018
Aluminum and DMSA
A Study
November 27, 2018
SBN members: I’d like to thank Dr. Dennis Mariano for passing this along. Even though it is from 2005, it nicely illustrates the benefits of DMSA and notice that the doses that I recommend for treatment are way below what was used here. The treatment dose of dmsa was 900mg/day for 19 days in a row.
Dennis: thanks again, it is always welcome and appreciated when we get notes like this.
A series of 7 symptomatic patients who were employed in the aluminum industry were identified. They ranged in age from 19 to 65 years of age, all were male, and length of exposure to aluminum was from 1 to 35 years. The patients worked without protection and were exposure to dermal and respiratory contact to aluminum dust and shavings, as well as vaporized cutting oils. Each patient complained of recurrent sinus infections, chronic fatigue, motor and sensory losses, ataxia, vertigo, memory loss and chronic pain. Physical findings were sinus tenderness, ataxia, positive Romberg Sign, memory loss, fatigue, and signs of reactive airways dysfunction syndrome. All of the patients were disabled and unable to work due to their illness. All of the aluminum exposures were remote (longer that 3 months previously) and chronic (mean over one year exposure). Serum and urinary aluminum levels were not markedly elevated (7 to 30 μg per gram of creatinine in urine), but the patients all exhibited a positive chelation challenge test using DMSA (succimer) as the chelator. All had a positive clinical response to treatment with DMSA in the usual treatment regimen of 900 mg bid for 19 days. The ataxia, Romberg Sign, memory loss, fatigue and recurrent infections resolved with treatment. Two of the patients were able to return to full duty at work (with proper protection in place), others already had retirement and were able to start more active lifestyles.
Conclusion chronic and remote exposures to aluminum with toxicity may not be detected by elevated urinary and blood levels. Serum and urine levels of aluminum may decrease to “normal occupational ranges” in chronic and remote exposure cases. Chelation challenge testing may be valuable to help diagnose the chronic and remote aluminum toxicity cases. DMSA was useful as a clinical chelator for these cases of chronic and remote aluminum toxicity.
ALS – What can be done?
ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig Disease. There’s much to know about ALS and still much to learn. But, what can be done about it? Today’s blog entry takes a little more time and discusses what we can do to help and what I’ve done in the past for patients with ALS.
November 21, 2018
The Flu – Another new drug?
Xofluza? It can reduce cold and flu symptoms. But, it’s side effects are basically cold and flu symptoms?! What can we do that might just work just as well but minus the drug?
November 12, 2018
Cholesterol – Find Out Why it’s High
A woman did a blood test and most of her values were good but with a few exceptions. Why would a woman with a good diet and coronary risk assessment have high cholesterol? What’s going on here?
October 31, 2018
Sometimes the answers are clear with correct testing!
SIBO? What is SIBO and what am I looking for in the SBN reports? There are quite a few things that can clue you into the answers you need. But, you need to be testing correctly!
August 28th, 2018
Tell the fee to the patient
Always to be sure that your patients know what they are paying before their credit cards are out. Be sure that you are telling your patients ahead of time and that the doctor is the one informing your patients of the cost.
August 8th, 2018
Nutrition and Dental Implants
What can we do with regards to dental implants? Implants can cause infection are often the cause of inflammation and inflammatory processes. Fistulas and inflammation may occur. A better diet and a properly executed infection protocol can drastically help with the dental implant. Having good hygiene, good gums, good teeth, is a reflection of what’s going on in our bodies.
July 26th, 2018
Don’t be afraid of the tough cases!
A gentleman was given 6 months to live with metastasized kidneys. After seeing Dr. Merkle his symptoms went away, no pain, no impairments, no problems at all for 3 years! How exciting is that? Also, a woman was tested for CA 27.29 dropped 6 point to 24, her lowest in nearly 3 years! Proper testing and protocols can save lives!
July 24h, 2018
Write it down!
Write down your findings! It’s important for your patient to know how serious and important the findings are. Using the SBN color coded report, you can show your patients the test results by letting them see what’s going on and can refer back to it again and again!
July 20th, 2018