Long Covid, MCAS & HIT Clinics - what to expect

Before your initial consultation

Prior to your appointment, we'll send you a Patient Questionnaire and
Quality of Life Form to complete. These forms allow you to outline
your medical concerns and treatment goals, making sure we maximise our
time together during your consultation.

About Testing: You don't need to arrange any tests before your first
appointment. However, if you've had recent blood work or other
investigations, please bring a brief summary of any abnormal results.
Following your initial consultation, your doctor will discuss whether
additional testing would be beneficial and can arrange private blood
tests if needed.

Any information you send will be added to your file. Please bear in mind however, that it is not clinic policy for our doctors to review extensive tests ordered by other health care professionals.

Step 1. Your Initial Consultation

This comprehensive 60-minute appointment is dedicated to understanding you completely. We'll focus on your full health history, your current concerns, and your health goals.

During your visit, your doctor will:

• Take a detailed medical history.

• Discuss your current symptoms in depth.

• Introduce the first principles of treatment.

• Give you ample time to ask questions about your health concerns.

What You’ll Receive

Following your consultation, you will receive a complete package to start your health journey:

• Clinical Assessment based on your symptoms and health history.

• Diagnosis of MCAS and Histamine Intolerance: Our doctors are able to provide you with a clinical diagnosis (based on your symptoms rather than on tests) and offer an appropriate trial of individualised treatment to confirm the diagnosis and improve your symptoms and quality of life. The main rationale for an appointment with our team is for this clinical approach rather than for a confirmed diagnosis purely for your records.

• A Personalised Treatment Plan designed to guide you over the next 3–4 months.

• A Prescription with sufficient repeats for your first six months of treatment.

• A comprehensive Follow-up Letter detailing your treatment plan step-by-step, which you can share with your GP if desired.

• Resource Links including product recommendations and available discounts when relevant.

Our Treatment Approach: ‘Low and Slow’

The initial appointment is crucial for establishing your history and current problems. However, please note that treatment is a step-by-step process and more than one appointment will be necessary. To ensure your safety and effectiveness, treatment has to be done in a stepwise fashion—we refer to this careful approach as 'low and slow.'

Prescription Refills Between Appointments

If you need prescription refills between your scheduled follow-ups, you can book a Prescription Appointment.

These focused 15-minute consultations are designed for:

• Medication queries and refill requests.

• Brief health updates related to your current treatment.

• Ensuring safe, ongoing prescribing.

Please note: These appointments are strictly limited to 15 minutes and focus solely on medication management to ensure all patients receive timely access to prescription services.

A further follow up appointment is then recommended 3/4 months later.

Step 2: The Complimentary Continuation Appointment

This short, focused follow-up appointment takes place within the first few weeks after your initial consultation.

During this appointment, the doctor will:

• Address any questions that have come up since you started your treatment.

• Make any necessary minor adjustments to your prescription to ensure you're on the right track.

Step 3: Follow up Appointments

This is your first scheduled follow-up, approximately 3 to 4 months after your initial consultation, and is crucial for assessing your progress.

During this 45-minute appointment:

• The doctor will assess your progress, review your treatment plan, and discuss any changes.

• Before the appointment, you will be sent a new Quality of Life Form to complete.

What you receive:

• A new or additional prescription to continue your treatment for the next 3 to 4 months.

• The next steps in your treatment plan for the following 3 to 4 months.

• A written letter outlining the outcomes of this appointment, which you can share with your own GP if you wish.

Ongoing Follow-ups

Subsequent follow-up appointments are usually scheduled 8 to 12 weeks after your previous consultation. These serve as the springboard to the next stage of your treatment program.

During these check-ins, we will:

• Review your current symptoms in detail.

• Discuss what has and hasn't worked for you so far.

• Discuss and introduce any new medication to continue your progress.
  

Delving Deeper

If you need to extend your treatment beyond our Consultancy, there are several things we can do:

• Discuss ordering genetic reports.

• Recommend other healthcare professionals who will work closely with you, helping you with your diet, lifestyle and living at your best with a chronic condition.

• Discuss mycotherapy with you - a relatively new and innovative tool being used in healthcare practice.

• Recommend other resources and trusted suppliers.
  We have a list of ethical suppliers, and we can provide useful hints and tips on resources that we have successfully used previously.