Long Covid, MCAS & HIT Clinics - what to expect

Before a consultation

You will be sent a questionnaire to complete. This is your chance to tell your doctor about your current symptoms and medication.

You may send us additional information relating to your recent medical history if you wish, including copies of tests you have had done that you would like to refer to during your consultation. A brief summary of any abnormal tests can be especially helpful.

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.

Your first consultation

The first appointment is to establish your history and current problems, and to introduce the first principles of treatment. Treatment is a step by step process and more than one appointment will be necessary, as treatment has to be done in a stepwise fashion - we refer to this approach as ‘low and slow.’

Our doctors are able to provide a clinical diagnosis. This will be based on your symptoms, and not on any test results since these can vary day to day and tests for MCAS and Histamine Intolerance are not always conclusive. A trial of individualised treatment can inform and refine a working diagnosis, and may quickly improve your symptoms and quality of life.

Diagnostic tests
If you want to discuss how to manage MCAS and Long Covid then no tests are necessary. However if you want a to confirm a diagnosis with testing, then ordering such tests can be discussed during your consultation. If you would like tests to be ordered by us and the results to be reviewed by our doctors, this would not form part of a regular consultation and additional fees would apply.

There is a £10 admin fee for ordering tests and a £50 fee for the doctors to review your test results. (If the test results are extensive and complex there may be a fee of up to £80 for a review.)

If your test results suggest to your doctor that a follow up appointment is needed then this will be offered to you as an option, rather than charging you the test review fee.

Genetic Testing

If your doctor suggests LifecodeGX genetic testing during your appointment for Long Covid, MCAS, or Histamine Intolerance and you choose to proceed, you are likely to need help to interpret them.

We are delighted to be able to refer our clients to Rachel Jessey of BeNourished, who is trained in Nutrigenomics and is now working alongside us to support our clients.

Rachel can offer you a 1hr e-consult appointment to go through your results.  She will provide you with an easy to understand written report, along with some basic interventions, and will email your doctor to update them on any recommendations that have been made.  Rachel charges £150 for this service.

To book a test interpretation with Rachel Jessey, please use this link:  www.benourished.co.uk-test-interpretation

If you would like a full consultation with a personalised nutrition and lifestyle intervention protocol alongside your test interpretation, please book the Comprehensive NutriHealth option (£300) on Rachel’s website.

Follow up advice after your first consultation

In between your initial consultation and your follow up appointment, our doctors offer email advice on a sliding price scale, which is dependent on the complexity of the question and the time taken in preparing their response.

Email advice is charged at £50, £75 or £100.

You may be offered a 30 minute appointment by your doctor after your initial consultation if you require a change to the treatment plan and new medication needs to be discussed.

A 30 minute appointment is £250.

Follow up Appointments

Normally between 8 and 12 weeks after initial consultation

Follow up appointments are intended as a spring board to the next steps in your treatment programme.

It will include a review of your current symptoms, including what has worked and what has not worked for you, before discussing and introducing any new medication.

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.