I. History and Examination

90% of diagnosis is based on history. The rest of the diagnostics are done to support what the doctor believes is wrong and to delineate the severity of the problem(s). Therefore, a complete history is taken both verbally and via questionnaire.

Three questionnaires are used. The first is called the Patient Diagnostic Questionnaire. This will ask for the main problem and then it will go through each system of the body asking symptom questions. It is best to check off any symptom that is remotely a "yes" (ie. "sometimes", "maybe" and "I think so", etc. all qualify).

Also, any symptom that is being controlled by a drug should be checked off. A notation in the margin can be made to that effect. The next is a Family History. This sheds light on genetic predispositions. The third is Dietary Data. Once a complete diagnosis is made, recommendations will be given as to how the diet should change, if at all, to aid in the patient's attainment of health.

The examination is similar to most any physical exam given by a doctor. The difference is in what is noted as significant. Since our patients are wanting to achieve optimum health rather than simply health that is defined as the absence of disease, any change from optimum could be significant. For example, when a conventional doctor shines a light into the patient's eyes, a constriction, or lack of constriction, of the pupil is noted. Although this is very important to note, once a constriction is seen, the light is held a bit longer on the pupil to see if the pupillary constriction will hold. If a pulsing of the pupil is seen, this too is considered as a significant change from optimum.

II. Clinical Tests

A. Normal blood test

A very thorough blood test is routinely performed. This includes 28 different chemistries (ie. cholesterol, blood sugar, liver enzymes, thyroid hormones, etc.), red and white blood cell counts, inflammation indicators, blood typing and urinalysis.
These results are used not only for the detection of disease, but also for the evaluation of physiological imbalances. This is accomplished by the use of homeostatic (literally meaning "to stay the same") ranges, as well as, the usual clinical ranges that are reported on the blood test results from the lab. Any other specialized blood test, such as tumor markers for different cancers, may be performed as-needed.

B. Biological Terrain Analysis

This test is done using the patient's saliva and urine. It is performed at our office using very sophisticated equipment that detects three types of biochemical processes. Those are:

1. pH - the degree of acidity and alkalinity

2. Redox - the balance between chemical reactions that are for building things up (reduction) vs. breaking things down (oxidation)

3. Resistivity - a measure of resistance to flow which is an indication of the level of soluble minerals in that fluid

The computer portion of this equipment can predict to 98% accuracy how a sample of blood would test along these three parameters using only the saliva and urine. We end up with 9 scores, three fluids (blood, saliva and urine) with three measurements each. These scores reveal much about the degree of toxicity in the body and how the body is handling the toxins.

C. Food Allergy Testing

This is not the usual skin scratch test done by an allergist. Rather, it is done using blood and is called cytotoxic (literally, "cell poison") testing. So, it is not only an allergy test inwhich the immune system is stimulated to make antibodies, but it also detects foods that harm the body and possibly do not elicit antibody production.
For our purposes, this is a more complete test than antibody testing. The blood is sent over-night to the lab so the cells are still alive. A specially prepared drop of the food to be tested is put on a slide with a drop of the patient's blood and then inspected under a microscope. If the food causes any reaction with the cells (ie. swelling, fragmenting, shrinking, etc.) then that food is considered to be an allergen to that person. Degrees to which the food damages the cells are noted and put into categories of severe, moderate and limited reactions.

D. Hair Analysis

Hair is a storage site for toxins, especially toxic metals, and minerals. Therefore, it can be used to detect and measure amounts of specific toxic metals (ie. mercury, aluminum, lead, cadmium, arsenic, etc.) and minerals (ie. calcium, magnesium, chromium, manganese, etc.).

E. Saliva Hormone Testing (Female and Male)

Although blood is traditionally used in medicine to measure hormone levels, it is not the best to evaluate hormone function. Saliva is a far better fluid to use because it reflects what is happening at the cellular level. A patient could have normal blood hormone levels and still be dysfunctional hormonally. Just because there are hormones in the blood, does not mean those hormones are actually doing their job in the cell. This is what ultimately matters to a patient's well-being and can only be detected using saliva.

III. BioEnergetic Testing

These are methods of testing that rely on energy pathways of the body, either nerve or meridian. They are very sensitive and, therefore, yield a higher degree of false positives and negatives. The doctor will often use standard clinical tests to correlate with these findings.

A. Meridian Stress Analysis (MSA)

A meridian is an electrical pathway in which energy from and to organs flow. These are the pathways upon which acupuncture points lie. Oriental Medical Doctors have used these pathways for centuries to both diagnose and treat conditions. Until recently, Western medicine did not believe these pathways existed.
With the advent of the electron microscope, a microscope that can magnify the smallest part of a molecule, we were able to find and see the anatomy of a meridian. We found that the meridians are made up of specialized nerve cells called glial cells. A meridian pathway is a line of single glial cells that lie approximately 4 mm under the surface of the skin.
In the 1970's a German scientist named Voll, began to study these meridians in an effort to measure their function. He found that these pathways could be measured using a resistance meter, also called an ohm meter. It was found that the most accessible places to take measurements are where the meridians run over the top of a bone that is close to the surface, like on the hands and feet.
Many different points on the hands, mostly, and sometimes the feet, are measured. Each point reflects a different function within an organ(s) or system. With the advanced computer technology of recent years, the ohm meter was attached to a computer with a program written specifically to show the output of the measurements taken.
Once a point is found that has a resistance in the measurement, as can be clearly seen on the computer screen, natural medicines are tested against that resistance to find which medicine(s) will negate it. The doctor chooses which natural medicines to test based upon the diagnostics previously performed. With the help of those diagnostic test results, she can be more accurate in finding the appropriate medicines. Then, in negating the resistance, the energy flow in that meridian is restored and the body's natural healing powers are unlocked.
As each natural medicine is found, it is also measured against each subsequent point tested. Therefore, any point found to have a resistance will need another medicine to unblock it. In this manner, by the end of the point testing, a cohesive natural medicine program is obtained. Each natural medicine had been measured with each of the other natural medicines and, therefore, there is no redundancy, contraindications or waste in the program. In other words, the patient is prescribed exactly what they need.

B. Clinical Kinesiology (C.K.)

This is a manual way of testing and treating resistances in nerve energy pathways. It is a chiropractic technique that was developed by Alan Beardall, D.C., a student of George Goodheardt, D.C. in the 1970's. Dr. Goodheardt created the technique of Applied Kinesiology - see photo at left - that is used by thousands of chiropractors the world over. Dr. Beardall used this work and expanded upon it by adding hand positions to further specify his findings. Dr. Piro was certified in both techniques in the early 1990's. She primarily uses C.K. as both follow-up to the MSA testing and a stand alone technique (with diagnostic back-up) depending upon the patient's case.
Dr. Piro finds C.K. most useful to help follow the patient's progress closely between retests with the MSA, BTA and blood work. Because it is also a treatment method, she can find blockages as the body is healing and use gentle manual techniques to help unblock them. Also, it helps to fine-tune the natural medicine therapies as sometimes doses may need revising, or natural medicines added or subtracted, temporarily as the body heals.
Healing can sometimes be uncomfortable, and so it is often necessary to slow the program down or add a natural medicine to help abate a symptom that has arisen from healing, sometimes called a "healing crisis". Since the body begins to heal with the very first dose of the natural medicines, it is changing right from the start. So, by using C.K., the natural medicine program can been molded to fit each nuance of change needed which yields the fastest results, the most comfortably.

For thorough diagnostic testing, call us today at (727) 789-4020.