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Hey, I'm Maggie.
My name is Margaret Jahries, although most know me by Maggie. I am an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN for short). I am also a Pediatric Primary Care Mental Health Specialist. I provide complementary and integrative options as a health care provider.
It’s not all in your head
Just imagine if your provider said that your labs came back normal, but you still feel “off”. Not only is this frustrating but it also affects relationships and work. With about 20 years of family practice experience, I have seen countless similar cases. So now what?
Not only is it further from the truth, but it is also misleading. There are patients with mental illness, chronic fatigue, and unbalanced hormones caused by nutrition, sleep, or even stress. This affects the ability to maintain good relationships, finish daily tasks, focus on school or work.
Some patients feel daytime sleepiness and fatigue, caused by hormones and neurotransmitters imbalanced. They’re also many of us with decreased libido, lack of drive and motivation, aging too fast who need a metabolic analysis to guide their bodies to correct pathways. The bottom line is you have to treat the whole person not just a system.
What is common here is that the main problem tends to affect different or multiple parts of the body. That’s why it’s key to listen to the whole body.
Clues to fit a bigger picture
There are patients with mental illness caused by nutrition, sleep, or even stress. This affects the ability to focus on school or work. There are patients like mothers who are exhausted even after a good sleep, caused by menopause, brain or triglycerides interacting with plaque, inside blood vessels. There are also spouses with decreased libido, caused by low testosterone, stress or depression.
What is common here is that the main problem tends to affect different or multiple parts of the body. That’s why it’s key to listen to the whole body. Most providers use these clues to fit a bigger picture. It’s also true that some don’t.
Treat the patient, not the disease
Providers typically see patients for broken bones or even providing life support. These providers rarely treat illnesses they are not familiar with. Those who are familiar tend to see those specific illnesses more often. A good example is hormones, my types of cases. And this matters.
When a provider is more familiar with a disease, they will be more aware of its patterns. And these patterns vary from age, sex, and location.
Lab Testing
Routinely I order blood, saliva or urine testing. Labs matter too, some specialize in specific diseases. As an example, one test I find helpful for mental illness uses genetics to rank the best antidepressants, stimulants or pain meds for that specific patient. This test helps choose the best medication from day one without placing patients at risk.
Pretty cool right?
One other test screens an array of tests to determine autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or even lupus. Another important test uses saliva to test hormones, like cortisol throughout the day or even hormone levels for an entire month for pregnancies. These types of test profiles and panels are very useful in treating and screening diseases.
About
I see patients of all ages and genders. for psychical exams, meds, mental health to illnesses such as chronic fatigue, Lyme disease, thyroid disease, menopause, and methylation problems to name a few.
It’s never a bad idea to trust your instincts, intuition or gut.
20 years ago, a pediatric psychologist miss-diagnosed my son with schizophrenia. My mind flooded with questions, being five years old it only made sense to blame my parenting. This was the norm at that time. But my gut told me otherwise, and this drove me to research his condition and to become a nurse practitioner. After different opinions from a psychologist, they correctly diagnosed him with Asperger’s Autism.
Later I obtained my APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse). Throughout the years, it has been my mission to improve my son and patients health-wise, to become happier beings.
Lastly, it’s important to keep learning. My experience with my son has sparked my continuation of healthcare education. The progression of technology helps to discover new treatment options. And personally, this helps me find better treatment options for my patients. This is one of the reasons I devote myself to learn integrative medicine.
Currently, I am a licensed pediatric primary care mental health specialist, a member of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M).