Dr. Pucillo

[Guest guest]

Does anyone see Dr. Pucillo - I would like to check him out! Does he take insurance,prescribe adrenal support, bio identical hormone replacement, etc..

(yea, Jan, he does look cute!)

thanks

steph

[Guest guest]

Oh, and forgot, he has my daughter on around 1000 mgs of Vitamin D, but I don't know how often she takes that one. This, to me, is very significant. We have been having a lot of discussion lately about us thyroiidians needing the D, plus anyone else who is missing this important vitamin, considered now to be a hormone, more or less.

[Guest guest]

I think someone should talk to this doc about coding the testing and treatment for the other hormones for the "hypothyroidism" diagnosis, rather than "alternative medicine." I have never had a problem getting Aetna or BCBS to pay on testing of adrenal hormones, S*E*X* hormones or vitamin/mineral levels.

I am wondering if anyone with your insurance has seen and what that insurance paid the way he codes this stuff.

It is good news that Pucillo is hypo(?)thyroid and hypoadrenal.

>> My daughter has seen a Dr. Zuberry (Sp?) at Dr. Pucillo's facility about her thyroid and the general way she's been feeling, but on Wednesday, she had a visit with Dr. Pucillo himself, since she is going onto the bioidentical hormones and going through testing some other stuff there. I believe her visit there on Wednesday was around 5 hrs long. Dr. Pucillo is very expressive, conveys a lot of info to his patients, and, from what she's saying, both listens to and respects his patients. Dr. Pucillo also HAS thyroid disease and adrenal fatigue, so understands what the patient is going through himself. Bingo. He has put her on a low dose of hydrocortisone, a small dose of biest, his own choice of multivitamins and mineral combo, with some other stuff in there, and he has prescribed progesterone, but told her that he doesn't want her starting the progesterone until just slightly later in the game. His reasoning is that he believes she needs it, but that he is striving for total balance, and that these other things need to be initiated first, with good reason, in a stepwise fashion. He started with initial low doses, and, in his words, "go from there because some adjustment will probably be needed. She is only 32, and this was a convern for him, but as some of you know, this is the age when I was found to be making NO progesterone, so you know that it all probably starts at a much younger age than originally thought. Anyway, he told her that all this is "very serious business, not just something that is not that serious". That is the way I got it, to my best remembrance. He tried to explain all of this to her in a very lengthy time period and took a lot of time with and listened to everything she said. He was testing something directly while in the office because he put some sort of liquid under her tongue and told her that he would continue to talk to her, but for her to tell him about any kind of reaction she had and what all she was feeling after he dosed her with this. She doesn't know what this was, and I don't know either, but she told me that she felt a strange burning (not pain) like fire going down her legs into her poor hurting feet, that have become so stiff that she can't bend them without them hurting, or while walking on them. She said that after a short time went by, all the pain had gone out of her feet and legs and that they felt "normal" again, for the first time in quite awhile. She did not report this just right away while it was happening, but he asked her part way through it if she had this burning in her neck and somewhere else. Then she reported that she didn't feel it there, but rather in her legs and feet and that they no longer hurt. This is what he was looking for, evidently, as he made several decisions from that point onward. I have no idea what this substance was, but he did not prescribe any narcotic pain killers, only the substances missing from her body, or what he feels is missing anyway. She has been on a full 2 grains of Armour for the last 4 to 6 wks, but he told her that she could drop that back some, if she wanted too, but doesn't have to. In fact, he told her that he wants HER to play with it herself in certain time periods, and his words were that noone knows her body like she does, and noone knows how she is feeling at a given time except for her. This is what I gleaned from all of this. I think the reason he told her she could drop it back if needed was by certain info that she was giving him at the time, as she has not been noticing that much difference, so these other things were added. She had a battery of tests that cost around $1500, and I am sure that cortisol was one of them, as they had discussed the adrenal fatigue extensively. She says that he is very expressive and very respectful and actually talks to his patients like they may know something about their own bodies. I forget the exact dose of hydrocortisone he put her on, but it is in the morning and I THINK an afternoon dose (not sure about the afternoon one at this point), and she is taking the biest at night, Armour in the morning. He doesn't have her splitting the Armour dose, as that hasn't been discussed. I feel like it should be split between two time zones, but that is all IMO, not his, evidently. She is to initiate the HC at this dose for around a week, then they will go from there, may up it, etc...all depends, as it goes....I can't remember the dosage on the biest at this moment, but he wants her to initiate the progesterone next to last, I believe, as certin things "come into play". I know that they have tested her for DHEA, to my knowledge, but don't think that has been initiated yet, but testosterone, small amt, has been initiated also, as of now. They are going to detox her, so she is taking nistatin and one of the other antifungals, but she is going to initiate a full detox program with this being included in the money already being put down, I think. He did tell her, however, he wants to initiate these things a few at a time, so that she won't be overwhelmed, as she is already. Those are HIS words from her. I apologize as to how long this email is, but I'm just trying to think of everything that he said or did and in what order, as it may be of some benefit to someone here, and I am THRILLED that she is getting this done, and it is "coming to life". He does take my insurance, I know, but that $1500 is a bugar bear for me. It is because this insurance doesn't pay but a tiny amount for what insurance companies consider to be "alternative" methods. Who knows, maybe they will pay more. This is the same insurance I have, a PPO. This is Dr. Pucillo huge facility, with other doctors hired for all these phases of whatever they may need. > > >

[Guest guest]

There was or is someone else here who saw Dr. R who has this same PPO. I've not seen any feedback from this person recently at all on how this insurance paid. I will tell you that this PPO only has a tiny 20% for what THEY call alternative treatment. I don't believe it is the doctor, I believe, as stated, that it's going to be the insurance company. Hope I'm not setting up someone to drop this insurance from their protocol. I wasn't there, so I just don't know all the details on that. I'm only transmitting a rundown on what was said to me, to the best of my remembrance. Who knows, they may end up paying my daughter and son in law back a whole bunch more than what was originally thought. Part of this cost is also detox and I don't know what else, as I haven't seen the lab sheet or the rundown on it all, only heard SOME of it, and I also don't know what part of all of it has to do with the detox and other things, so I'll hold judgment on that. We will know at some point. From everything I've been told, I like both his style and his judgment, so far. There was much more said by him, I just can't remember it all at this time. My daughter is aware of Dr. as a huge alternative, but if she can get the same care here, then that's good. We want more doctors in this area to use this protocol. I just haven't seen anyone so far. It's an awfully big trip to Lubbock, back and forth, back and forth, and yes, we're sure about him, to say the least, but if there is someone local who is as good as he is, I want it to come forth, for the sake of everyone who is local to this environment.

Re: Dr. Pucillo

I think someone should talk to this doc about coding the testing and treatment for the other hormones for the "hypothyroidism" diagnosis, rather than "alternative medicine." I have never had a problem getting Aetna or BCBS to pay on testing of adrenal hormones, S*E*X* hormones or vitamin/mineral levels.

I am wondering if anyone with your insurance has seen and what that insurance paid the way he codes this stuff.

It is good news that Pucillo is hypo(?)thyroid and hypoadrenal.

[Guest guest]

Great report .  It looks like it is Dr

Zobairi.

Here is their website, I think:  http://nrgwellness.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=2 & Itemid=4

Kim in No Texas

From: Texas_Thyroid_Groups [mailto:Texas_Thyroid_Groups ] On Behalf Of

Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007

1:53 PM

To: Texas_Thyroid_Groups

Subject:

Dr. Pucillo

My daughter has seen a Dr. Zuberry (Sp?) at Dr. Pucillo's

facility about her thyroid and the general way she's been feeling, but on

Wednesday, she had a visit with Dr. Pucillo himself, since she is going onto

the bioidentical hormones and going through testing some other stuff

there. I believe her visit there on Wednesday was around 5 hrs

long. Dr. Pucillo is very expressive, conveys a lot of info to his

patients, and, from what she's saying, both listens to and respects his

patients. Dr. Pucillo also HAS thyroid disease and adrenal fatigue, so

understands what the patient is going through himself. Bingo. He

has put her on a low dose of hydrocortisone, a small dose of biest, his own

choice of multivitamins and mineral combo, with some other stuff in there, and

he has prescribed progesterone, but told her that he doesn't want her starting

the progesterone until just slightly later in the game. His reasoning is

that he believes she needs it, but that he is striving for total balance, and

that these other things need to be initiated first, with good reason, in a

stepwise fashion. He started with initial low doses, and, in his words,

" go from there because some adjustment will probably be needed. She

is only 32, and this was a convern for him, but as some of you know, this is

the age when I was found to be making NO progesterone, so you know that it all

probably starts at a much younger age than originally thought. Anyway, he

told her that all this is " very serious business, not just something that

is not that serious " . That is the way I got it, to my best

remembrance. He tried to explain all of this to her in a very lengthy

time period and took a lot of time with and listened to everything she

said. He was testing something directly while in the office because he

put some sort of liquid under her tongue and told her that he would continue to

talk to her, but for her to tell him about any kind of reaction she had and

what all she was feeling after he dosed her with this. She doesn't know

what this was, and I don't know either, but she told me that she felt a strange

burning (not pain) like fire going down her legs into her poor hurting feet,

that have become so stiff that she can't bend them without them hurting, or

while walking on them. She said that after a short time went by, all the

pain had gone out of her feet and legs and that they felt " normal "

again, for the first time in quite awhile. She did not report this just

right away while it was happening, but he asked her part way through it if she

had this burning in her neck and somewhere else. Then she reported that

she didn't feel it there, but rather in her legs and feet and that they no

longer hurt. This is what he was looking for, evidently, as he made

several decisions from that point onward. I have no idea what this

substance was, but he did not prescribe any narcotic pain killers, only the

substances missing from her body, or what he feels is missing anyway. She

has been on a full 2 grains of Armour for the last 4 to 6 wks, but he told her

that she could drop that back some, if she wanted too, but doesn't have

to. In fact, he told her that he wants HER to play with it herself in

certain time periods, and his words were that noone knows her body like she

does, and noone knows how she is feeling at a given time except for her.

This is what I gleaned from all of this. I think the reason he told her she

could drop it back if needed was by certain info that she was giving him at the

time, as she has not been noticing that much difference, so these other things

were added. She had a battery of tests that cost around $1500, and I am

sure that cortisol was one of them, as they had discussed the adrenal fatigue

extensively. She says that he is very expressive and very respectful and

actually talks to his patients like they may know something about their own

bodies. I forget the exact dose of hydrocortisone he put her on, but it

is in the morning and I THINK an afternoon dose (not sure about the afternoon

one at this point), and she is taking the biest at night, Armour in the

morning. He doesn't have her splitting the Armour dose, as that hasn't

been discussed. I feel like it should be split between two time zones,

but that is all IMO, not his, evidently. She is to initiate the HC at

this dose for around a week, then they will go from there, may up it, etc...all

depends, as it goes....I can't remember the dosage on the biest at this moment,

but he wants her to initiate the progesterone next to last, I believe, as

certin things " come into play " . I know that they have tested

her for DHEA, to my knowledge, but don't think that has been initiated yet, but

testosterone, small amt, has been initiated also, as of now. They are

going to detox her, so she is taking nistatin and one of the other antifungals,

but she is going to initiate a full detox program with this being included in

the money already being put down, I think. He did tell her, however, he

wants to initiate these things a few at a time, so that she won't be

overwhelmed, as she is already. Those are HIS words from her. I

apologize as to how long this email is, but I'm just trying to think of

everything that he said or did and in what order, as it may be of some benefit

to someone here, and I am THRILLED that she is getting this done, and it is

" coming to life " . He does take my insurance, I know, but that

$1500 is a bugar bear for me. It is because this insurance doesn't pay

but a tiny amount for what insurance companies consider to be

" alternative " methods. Who knows, maybe they will pay more.

This is the same insurance I have, a PPO. This is Dr. Pucillo huge

facility, with other doctors hired for all these phases of whatever they may

need.

[Guest guest]

Yeh yeh, lol, THAT'S the spelling, hehe. That is so funny, I laugh at myself, as I've seen it spelled twice, yet I just can't seem to get it. Thank You! I made As in English grammar, spelling, and literature in school. Where DID it all go, lol!

RE: Dr. Pucillo

Great report . It looks like it is Dr Zobairi.

Here is their website, I think: http://nrgwellness.com/index.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=2 & Itemid=4

Kim in No Texas

[Guest guest]

I have BCBS and saw Dr. . His diagnoses were Hypothyroidism, other malaise, memory loss and muscle weakness. Insurance paid out of network costs. No problems when I filed the claim.

I think someone should talk to this doc about coding the testing and treatment for the other hormones for the " hypothyroidism " diagnosis, rather than " alternative medicine. " I have never had a problem getting Aetna or BCBS to pay on testing of adrenal hormones, S*E*X* hormones or vitamin/mineral levels.

I am wondering if anyone with your insurance has seen and what that insurance paid the way he codes this stuff.

It is good news that Pucillo is hypo(?)thyroid and hypoadrenal.

>> My daughter has seen a Dr. Zuberry (Sp?) at Dr. Pucillo's facility about her thyroid and the general way she's been feeling, but on Wednesday, she had a visit with Dr. Pucillo himself, since she is going onto the bioidentical hormones and going through testing some other stuff there. I believe her visit there on Wednesday was around 5 hrs long. Dr. Pucillo is very expressive, conveys a lot of info to his patients, and, from what she's saying, both listens to and respects his patients. Dr. Pucillo also HAS thyroid disease and adrenal fatigue, so understands what the patient is going through himself. Bingo. He has put her on a low dose of hydrocortisone, a small dose of biest, his own choice of multivitamins and mineral combo, with some other stuff in there, and he has prescribed progesterone, but told her that he doesn't want her starting the progesterone until just slightly later in the game. His reasoning is that he believes she needs it, but that he is striving for total balance, and that these other things need to be initiated first, with good reason, in a stepwise fashion. He started with initial low doses, and, in his words, " go from there because some adjustment will probably be needed. She is only 32, and this was a convern for him, but as some of you know, this is the age when I was found to be making NO progesterone, so you know that it all probably starts at a much younger age than originally thought. Anyway, he told her that all this is " very serious business, not just something that is not that serious " . That is the way I got it, to my best remembrance. He tried to explain all of this to her in a very lengthy time period and took a lot of time with and listened to everything she said. He was testing something directly while in the office because he put some sort of liquid under her tongue and told her that he would continue to talk to her, but for her to tell him about any kind of reaction she had and what all she was feeling after he dosed her with this. She doesn't know what this was, and I don't know either, but she told me that she felt a strange burning (not pain) like fire going down her legs into her poor hurting feet, that have become so stiff that she can't bend them without them hurting, or while walking on them. She said that after a short time went by, all the pain had gone out of her feet and legs and that they felt " normal " again, for the first time in quite awhile. She did not report this just right away while it was happening, but he asked her part way through it if she had this burning in her neck and somewhere else. Then she reported that she didn't feel it there, but rather in her legs and feet and that they no longer hurt. This is what he was looking for, evidently, as he made several decisions from that point onward. I have no idea what this substance was, but he did not prescribe any narcotic pain killers, only the substances missing from her body, or what he feels is missing anyway. She has been on a full 2 grains of Armour for the last 4 to 6 wks, but he told her that she could drop that back some, if she wanted too, but doesn't have to. In fact, he told her that he wants HER to play with it herself in certain time periods, and his words were that noone knows her body like she does, and noone knows how she is feeling at a given time except for her. This is what I gleaned from all of this. I think the reason he told her she could drop it back if needed was by certain info that she was giving him at the time, as she has not been noticing that much difference, so these other things were added. She had a battery of tests that cost around $1500, and I am sure that cortisol was one of them, as they had discussed the adrenal fatigue extensively. She says that he is very expressive and very respectful and actually talks to his patients like they may know something about their own bodies. I forget the exact dose of hydrocortisone he put her on, but it is in the morning and I THINK an afternoon dose (not sure about the afternoon one at this point), and she is taking the biest at night, Armour in the morning. He doesn't have her splitting the Armour dose, as that hasn't been discussed. I feel like it should be split between two time zones, but that is all IMO, not his, evidently. She is to initiate the HC at this dose for around a week, then they will go from there, may up it, etc...all depends, as it goes....I can't remember the dosage on the biest at this moment, but he wants her to initiate the progesterone next to last, I believe, as certin things " come into play " . I know that they have tested her for DHEA, to my knowledge, but don't think that has been initiated yet, but testosterone, small amt, has been initiated also, as of now. They are going to detox her, so she is taking nistatin and one of the other antifungals, but she is going to initiate a full detox program with this being included in the money already being put down, I think. He did tell her, however, he wants to initiate these things a few at a time, so that she won't be overwhelmed, as she is already. Those are HIS words from her. I apologize as to how long this email is, but I'm just trying to think of everything that he said or did and in what order, as it may be of some benefit to someone here, and I am THRILLED that she is getting this done, and it is " coming to life " . He does take my insurance, I know, but that $1500 is a bugar bear for me. It is because this insurance doesn't pay but a tiny amount for what insurance companies consider to be " alternative " methods. Who knows, maybe they will pay more. This is the same insurance I have, a PPO. This is Dr. Pucillo huge facility, with other doctors hired for all these phases of whatever they may need. > > >

-- CauleyHome Cell

[Guest guest]

I have been lurking on this group for a long time, keeping quiet

because I am the lone

oddball, I think, having Graves' disease, instead of being

hypothyroid like everyone else.

I have been quiet regarding Dr. Pucillo because I didn't want to

color anyone's thinking---

whoever was going to see him for the first time. I have known Dr.

Pucillo since 1987

when I went to work at Ft. Bend Community Hospital (its name back

then) as a labor and

delivery nurse. I delivered many of his patients (he was great at OB,

which he no longer

does any more) and subsequently my children and I became patients of

his. All three

of us liked him! (It doesn't hurt that he was from the same town I

was from and graduated from

a neighboring HS!--does he still have his NY accent?) He impressed me

from day one--and,

being a nurse, I am darned particular.

I can say nothing bad about this man. Unlike what was said earlier

about him, I am saddened to

hear he has hypothyroidism and hypoadrenalism---wouldn't wish any

condition on anyone, though

I do know it adds an element of empathy to a person. However, he was

never lacking in that.

He DOES listen to his patients...and has never been averse to

anything " different. " I have never

seen him act patronizing to anyone, staff or patient.

I wish I lived closer to Sugar Land now. I would still be using him.

He has come a long way since

I first met him. Instead I am " stuck " up here in Spring where there

are nothing but cretins for endos

(sorry to sound so harsh, but, man, there is a dearth of Pucillo-like

docs up here!)

[Guest guest]

This is a great report. We most definitely need some good docs for

thyroid. They are so few and far between. I am currently going to

Lubbock but would love to have a " plan B " .

I went to Mapquest to get directions to check mileage. I think it is

almost the exact same mileage for me to go to Lubbock as it is

Sugarland (with 3 miles).

I sure would love to find someone who take BCBS and does adrenals.

Kim in No Texas

> I can say nothing bad about this man. Unlike what was said earlier

> about him, I am saddened to

> hear he has hypothyroidism and hypoadrenalism---wouldn't wish any

> condition on anyone, though

> I do know it adds an element of empathy to a person. However, he

was

> never lacking in that.

> He DOES listen to his patients...and has never been averse to

> anything " different. " I have never

> seen him act patronizing to anyone, staff or patient.

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for your feedback, , and this is pretty much the way I'm

getting a " feel " for this person, through my daughter, of course, not

myself. She needs someone who believes her and has that " feel " for what's

best for a patient, just as we all do. All this mistrust we have doesn't

come out of nowhere, you know. It takes a lot of bad docs to get that way.

I think he has all the aspects of what is really going on with the whole

person, as far as I can tell.

Re: Dr. Pucillo

>I have been lurking on this group for a long time, keeping quiet

> because I am the lone

> oddball, I think, having Graves' disease, instead of being

> hypothyroid like everyone else.

> I have been quiet regarding Dr. Pucillo because I didn't want to

> color anyone's thinking---

> whoever was going to see him for the first time. I have known Dr.

> Pucillo since 1987

> when I went to work at Ft. Bend Community Hospital (its name back

> then) as a labor and

> delivery nurse. I delivered many of his patients (he was great at OB,

> which he no longer

> does any more) and subsequently my children and I became patients of

> his. All three

> of us liked him! (It doesn't hurt that he was from the same town I

> was from and graduated from

> a neighboring HS!--does he still have his NY accent?) He impressed me

> from day one--and,

> being a nurse, I am darned particular.

>

> I can say nothing bad about this man. Unlike what was said earlier

> about him, I am saddened to

> hear he has hypothyroidism and hypoadrenalism---wouldn't wish any

> condition on anyone, though

> I do know it adds an element of empathy to a person. However, he was

> never lacking in that.

> He DOES listen to his patients...and has never been averse to

> anything " different. " I have never

> seen him act patronizing to anyone, staff or patient.

>

> I wish I lived closer to Sugar Land now. I would still be using him.

> He has come a long way since

> I first met him. Instead I am " stuck " up here in Spring where there

> are nothing but cretins for endos

> (sorry to sound so harsh, but, man, there is a dearth of Pucillo-like

> docs up here!)

>

>