A4M valued member Gregory Seaman, MD shares insight from his professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature.

Q: Before joining A4M, what was your medical background?

Prior to joining A4M and opening thriveMD, I spent 7 years practicing as an anesthesiologist in the Chicago area. While I enjoyed the pharmacology and pharmacodynamics of anesthesia I didn’t feel very connected to the patients I worked with. I was certainly providing a service to them but I always felt medicine could be more. I started questioning why people needed all of these surgeries. Why do we wait until things go wrong and then take these drastic steps to correct them??

Q: What anti-aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice? And how did you do so?

When I started thriveMD we were focused on 4 main treatment modalities. We focused on bio-identical hormone replacement, medical weight loss, IV therapies and platelet rich plasma therapy. I believed these represented some of the “pillars” of anti-aging medicine. We have since expanded into many additional therapies. We now offer oxidative therapies, adipocyte as well as umbilical cord stem cell therapies, ultra-violet light therapies and will be starting with the HOCATT™ Platinum sauna very shortly. The HOCATT™ is a revolutionary invention by a man from South Africa, which incorporates an ozone sauna, carbonic acid, whole body hyperthermia, exercise with oxygen therapy as well as pulsed electro-magnetic field therapy and more all into one 30-minute session.

We started with the four pillars (as I saw them) and have let the people we work with dictate the direction we have headed. We are always searching for the latest advances and have been blessed to work with many other providers who are also striving for optimal health for their clients.

Q: What are the benefits of practicing anti-aging medicine (as a professional and for your practice)?

There are many benefits to practicing anti-aging medicine. The medicine I practice now is really the reason I wanted to be a physician in the first place. I spend more time with the people I work with and I really get to know them. There are a lot of things that make up a patient that traditional medicine either does not value or simply cannot fit into the current model. Each person that comes into my office is completely unique. Each persons’ family or financial stressors, relationship or work issues, the environmental hazards they are exposed to and these things combined bring a completely unique individual. In addition, so many people deal with GI issues, absorption problems, poor nutrition and high stress. These issues are critically important to the health and well-being of the person in front of me, and yet most of this information can be deemed from a lab test.

Q: What are the changes you see in your patients?

The most rewarding change I have seen in the people I work with is a feeling of some control over their health and their life. Many people just thought they were getting older and had to accept the deterioration in their health. When you work with them preventatively to optimize their health and they feel better, it gives them a whole new view of health. They feel empowered! That then has them wondering “what else can I do” and “how good can I feel at 40, 50 or even 70”?

I have been blessed to work with hard working, dedicated patients. These people are willing to do what it takes to be healthy but just never had the tools. Many people today are not going to the doctor just to get another prescription to deal with some symptom they are now faced with. They realize that this body is the one vessel they will go through life with and they are willing to do whatever it takes to take care of it.

Q: Why would you recommend anti-aging medicine to your peers?

I would recommend anti-aging to my peers because I believe it is why most (if not all) of them went into the field of medicine. To work closely with patients, get to know them and be able to really help them. Help them to not just avoid getting sick but to feel better at any age! We always tell patients at thriveMD that their body is like a Ferrari that they have spent years putting dirty gasoline in and never changing the oil. They really have no idea how their body is capable of functioning and how well it will function with a little help. With anti-aging medicine doctors are able to give these people this help. It is extremely rewarding.

Q: Where do you see the future of anti-aging medicine 20 years from now?

I think the future of anti-aging medicine is extremely bright. I think the more aware people are of the possibilities the more interest there will be and this will, in turn, lead to more possibilities. Traditionally medicine has been reactive in this country. People are now starting to approach medicine proactively and this is fueling the anti-aging boom. I do not see this slowing anytime soon. I hope in 20 years that anti-aging services and preventive medicine are mainstream and considered standard of care. As our country continues to age there will be a greater and greater demand to feel better longer. I envision anti-aging medicine rising to meet this demand.

A4M valued member Angela Aslami, MD shares insight from her professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature.

Dr. Aslami grew up in Massachusetts and earned a degree in Political Science from The American University in Washington, D.C., and a degree in Chemistry from North Carolina State University. She graduated from Wake Forest University Medical School in 1999, and completed her training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Aslami has been practicing Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2003. She opened her own medical practice (Horizons Health and Wellness) in 2016 and continues to practice Obstetrics and Gynecology, with additional focus on Nutritional Medicine and Medical Weight Loss. Dr. Aslami is married with five children between the ages 6-12, and she enjoys biking, skiing, and spending time with her family.

Q: Before joining A4M, what was your medical background?

My formal medical training is in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Q: What anti-aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice? How did you so?

I have incorporated bioidentical hormone replacement, medical weight loss, nutritional medicine, sexual dysfunction treatment, gynecologic laser therapy, facial wrinkle reduction, and skincare into my Obstetrics and Gynecology practice. I first attended a weekend bioidentical hormone replacement symposium in Boston in 2012, which is where I first learned about a4m. I was immediately cautiously optimistic that this type of hormone therapy could help many of my patients, but I wanted to learn more before implementing it. Over the next 5 years, I attended many courses through a4m regarding sexual dysfunction, hormone balancing, metabolism, nutrition and weight management, inflammation, and toxicology. During this time, I gradually added bioidentical hormone replacement, nutritional medicine, sexual dysfunction treatment, group health classes, and weight loss strategies to my practice. It soon became clear that many patients needed significant help and formal structured weight loss programs to attain their health goals, so in 2017, we launched a formal weight loss program grounded in educating patients on healthy eating habits and coaching them through lifestyle changes. We also partnered with Beauty Counter to offer toxin free skincare products to our clients. We are proud to be one of the few healthcare providers in the country offering the MonaLisa Touch Gynecologic Laser therapy for the treatment of vaginal atrophy due to natural aging or breast cancer treatments, and vulvar lichen sclerosus (a common, painful, gynecologic autoimmune condition).

Q: What are the benefits of practicing anti-aging medicine (as a professional, and for your practice)? 

My passion for healing has been reawakened using anti-aging strategies like natural herbs, nutritional products, lasers, radio-frequency, bioidentical hormones, successful weight loss programs and lifestyle coaching. My practice is thriving, and the diversity of our offerings keeps our staff, clients, community and peers engaged.

Q: What are the changes you see in your patients?

My patients are feeling better, are taking charge of their own health, and are making positive lifestyle changes which are leading to fewer and fewer prescription medications and unwanted side effects.

Q: Why would you recommend Anti-Aging Medicine to your peers?

Anti-aging medicine offers many more tools to help people feel better and enjoy their lives, with significantly fewer side effects than prescription medication. The results speak for themselves, and the happy faces of people transforming their own lives provides joyful motivation to continue down this pathway.

Q: Where do you see the future of Anti-Aging medicine 20 years from now?

I think the field of genomic medicine will expand exponentially, and we will be able to pick best treatments options for patients on an individual basis by understanding each individual’s genetic makeup.

A4M valued member Wallace Brucker, MD, FAARFM, ABAARM shares insight from his professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature.

Q: Before joining A4M, what was your medical background?

I am a practicing orthopedic surgeon offering community based, general orthopedic services to 2 hospitals in central Wisconsin as well as an army reserve surgeon providing orthopedic trauma services throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

Q: What Anti-Aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice? How did you do so?

I began discussing anti-aging approaches to our Special Forces soldiers that were chronically stressed and plagued with abnormal cortisol levels and diminished testosterone levels. It was my hope that when they returned home, they would have a better understanding of how to maintain their health and what kind of Integrative physicians to seek out to get that care. The patients we take care of in Wisconsin and our newly opened practice in Breckenridge, Colorado have access to our 4 product lines: BHRT for men and women, IV therapies, Stem Cell and PRP therapy and limited aesthetic services.

Q: What are the benefits of practicing Anti-Aging Medicine (as a professional, and for your practice)?

Professionally, integrative medicine allows me to “see” the patient as a whole. Modern, state of the art testing now allows us to anticipate and direct trends thus giving me the opportunity to really affect change. This allows our practice to be more proactive than reactive. This is the part of anti-aging medicine that is most rewarding for me personally.

Q: What are the changes you see in your patients?

The biggest changes come when you balance the hormones, stress and cortisol, diet and lifestyle. The link between low hormone levels and abnormal lipids and sugars is profound. Getting those lab values down and restoring optimal function really impacts our patients long term. Thru education, our patients become interested in this new approach to wellness…thru results, they become committed.

Q: Why would you recommend Anti-Aging Medicine to your peers?

Many of my patients are physicians. My professional colleagues frequently contact me with questions about the “anti-aging” approach to wellness and I simply tell them it is the future! Knowledge of the Integrative approach to medicine is another tool and in Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine, we love tools!

Q: Where do you see the future of Anti-Aging Medicine 20 years from now?

The future is now with A4M and its global reach and scope. I see customized medicine growing larger with continued expansion of genetic testing and, of course, nanotechnology. The anti-aging pill? Perhaps not too far behind.