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Foundations & Functions

Foundations & Functions

Written by: Integrative Medicine
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 Dr. Amich and Dr. Pabla explore their philosophy on treating the root cause of illness. When looking for answers to your health problems, it can feel as if you're on your own. Your health and happiness are our top priorities. We're here to help you identify the source of your problems and get you back on track to feeling healthier and happier. Functional medicine, IV infusions, and functional aesthetics are just some of the methods we utilize to get to the bottom of your health issues and help you get back to feeling your best. Each week we dedicate a podcast to your health! Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The content is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you would like more detailed medical information, please contact Integrative Medicine through their website at https://integrativemla.com/2025 Hygiene & Healthy Living Physical Illness & Disease
Episodes
  • Ketamine Infusion Therapy - A Powerful Story With Micah Miller

    Ketamine Infusion Therapy - A Powerful Story With Micah Miller
    Dec 3 2025
    Show Description In this powerful episode of Foundations and Functions, Dr. Jason Amich sits down with paramedic and military veteran Micah Miller for an honest, deeply personal conversation about ketamine-assisted therapy. Dr. Amich opens the discussion by breaking down what ketamine is, how it works in the brain, and why it has become one of the most talked-about emerging treatments for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic trauma. Together, they explore the science behind dissociation, glutamate regulation, and neosynaptogenesis—offering listeners clear, accessible explanations of why ketamine therapy is dramatically improving lives across the country. Micah then shares his own emotional journey with ketamine infusion therapy, describing how years of trauma exposure as a young EMT and first responder led to anxiety, irritability, and a loss of joy that traditional therapy and medication never resolved. Through vulnerable storytelling, he walks listeners through his first infusion, the raw emotions he experienced, the transformative breakthroughs that followed, and how ketamine helped him reconnect with his family, regain patience, and rediscover a sense of presence and purpose. This episode offers science, hope, and firsthand experience—making it a must-listen for anyone curious about ketamine therapy or seeking new paths toward mental health and healing. Show Disclaimer The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The content is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you would like more detailed medical information, please contact Integrative Medicine through their website at https://integrativemla.com/ Show Transcript Welcome to Foundations and Functions Weekly Podcast, where we return to when medicine actually made you better. The information provided in this podcast is for educational and information purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice. The content is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Now, here's Dr. Jason Amick and Dr. C .J. Pabla. 17 0:36 Welcome 1 0:36 to Foundations and Functions. I'm Dr. Jason Amick and here with me today is Micah Miller. Today we're going to talk about ketamine and ketamine infusion therapy. Interesting things that are happening right now in the field of behavioral health is the use of ketamine assisted therapy for treatment of depression, anxiety, and even post -traumatic stress disorder. And some clinics are even using it for fibromyalgia and some chronic regional pain syndromes. So let's talk about briefly here, before we jump in, giving kind of some groundwork of what ketamine is. So ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic, and that's a little bit different than the benzodiazepines or some of the other narcotics that are out there. And one of the, you know, The best ways to describe it is it's a anesthetic that puts you in a state where your brain just kind of disconnects from reality. And one of the nice things about it from an emergency medicine and critical care, which Mike and I both have backgrounds in that, is it doesn't have a central nervous system or respiratory depression. So 1 1:44 we're not concerned about patients stopping breathing when they take this medication. And so what we know is ketamine gets converted into what's called norketamine and it acts on what's called an NMDA receptor in your brain. This is an important receptor. one of the main jobs of this receptor is to regulate glutamate. So everyone knows about dopamine and serotonin. We talk about depression specifically. But glutamate is actually the primary receptor. excitatory neurotransmitter. So again, a lot of fancy mumbo -jumbo words, what does it mean? It's a chemical that your brain uses to stimulate neurons and stimulate activity in the brain itself. So there's some theory behind the fact that things like anxiety and even post -traumatic stress disorder, that these things are a direct response to over stimulation or dysregulation of that glutamate molecule. So one of the things that the ketamine does is it actually blocks that receptor that manages the glutamate, and so what ultimately happens is initially you get a surge of glutamate, which sounds kind of counterintuitive, like why would you want more glutamate going into the neurons? 1 2:58 But over the next 24 hours, there's actually a down regulation of glutamate, and that's where some of the therapeutic effect comes from. So in the moment during the therapy itself, patients often have this pretty significant dissociation of reality, and even the ...
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    53 mins
  • Testosterone Replacement Therapy

    Testosterone Replacement Therapy
    Jun 13 2025
    Show Description In this week's Foundations and Functions quick-tip episode, Dr. Amich dives into the essentials of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). They discuss the importance of proper lab timing—understanding peak versus trough levels—and how those numbers can impact symptoms and treatment outcomes. Whether you're currently on TRT or considering it, this brief overview offers practical insights to help you make more informed decisions about your hormone health. Then, Dr. Amich shifts focus to an often-overlooked but critical topic: sleep health. In a passionate segment, he breaks down why snoring is never normal and how it often signals underlying issues like obstructive sleep apnea. He highlights the connection between poor sleep and chronic health problems like hypertension, weight gain, and even dementia—urging listeners to seek testing and treatment. It's a powerful reminder that better sleep could be the foundation to better health. Show Disclaimer The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The content is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you would like more detailed medical information, please contact Integrative Medicine through their website at https://integrativemla.com/ Show Transcript 4 0:00 Welcome to Foundations and Functions weekly podcast, where we return to when medicine actually made you better. Now, here's Dr. Jason Amick and Dr. C.J. Pabla. 1 0:16 Welcome back to Foundations and Functions. This is gonna be your quick tip of the week. We wanna do a quick overview of testosterone therapy and just things to think about if you are either on a testosterone replacement therapy or if you're considering testosterone replacement therapy. So, Dr. Pabla, what's something, let's talk about testing and knowing what to look for 1 0:39 or what to think about with testing with testosterone. 3 0:41 Dr. Pabla Pabla So, testosterone comes in many forms that guys can take. There's the shot, there is the cream, there is implants, and then there's also ways to internally boost it via using a mechanism called GnRH agonists. But anyway, during the shot, when you test testosterone, you want to check free and total testosterone, it's important to know when to draw your labs based on the shot, okay? 3 1:13 If you want to do what is called a peak level, when you do a testosterone shot, that usually peaks about 24 to 48 hours after. And so if you drew your labs then, you're going to get the highest value you probably will have, okay? And typically testosterone is injected every seven days. So your trough level is going to be essentially right before you inject again on day seven, right? 1 1:36 Darrell Bock And that's going to be your lowest level. 3 1:37 Dr. Peter Marks That's going to be your lowest level. So it's important to talk to your provider when they say, get your labs done, you need to, you know, kind of verify, because a lot of times that gets missed, is like, should I get a peak level or should I get a trough level? That's really important, because the peak level could get so high that maybe you could get some complications. If the trough level is too low, then you're going to become symptomatic again. So that's the kind of the quick and dirty. There's so much more to talk about testosterone and some of the internal ways we actually use in our office to help boost it. 3 2:11 We can get into that in another podcast. So yeah, that's the quick tip of the day for the testosterone. 1 2:18 Darrell Bock Sounds great. Thanks so much, everybody. We'll see you again on Foundations in Function. Hello and welcome back to Foundations in Functions. I wanted to jump on here and talk about sleep and sleep health. And frankly, really, I just wanted to fuss for a minute. 1 2:34 So give me a minute to hear me fuss. And here's the number one thing that I think you should know about sleep health. First and foremost, snoring is not normal. Snoring is not normal. I'm going to say that one more time in case you're driving and you got distracted by the yellow light that you just blew through. Snoring is not normal. It is absolutely an indication of some form of airway obstruction. So, again, we can do a whole other podcast about what is obstructive sleep apnea versus 1 3:07 central sleep apnea and what all those big terms mean and how that works. But if you suffer from fatigue, headaches, brain fog, hypertension, if you have cardiovascular disease history for yourself or your family, If you're unable to lose weight despite changing your diet, working out, any of those...
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    6 mins
  • GLP-1 & Fertility

    GLP-1 & Fertility
    May 31 2025
    Show Description In this episode of Foundations and Functions, Dr. Amick dives into a crucial and timely topic: how GLP-1 medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro—originally developed for diabetes and now widely used for weight loss—may affect fertility and pregnancy. As use among women has skyrocketed in recent years, the discussion highlights potential risks related to birth control absorption, pregnancy safety, and even IVF timing. If you're using or considering GLP-1s and fertility is part of your journey, this episode is essential listening. Plus, Rachel from the Integrative Medicine team shares how GLP-1 therapies may go beyond weight loss to support energy, inflammation reduction, and cardiovascular wellness. Whether you're exploring metabolic health options or have questions about GLP-1 safety during reproductive stages, this quick but informative conversation offers practical insights to help guide your next steps. Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The content is not a substitute for professional medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you would like more detailed medical information, please contact Integrative Medicine through their website at https://integrativemla.com/ Show Transcript 3 0:00 Welcome to Foundations and Functions weekly podcast, where we return to when medicine actually made you better. Now here's Dr. Jason Amick and Dr. C.J. 4 0:14 Pabla. 1 0:16 Welcome to Foundations and Functions. This is going to be a short talk today. I read a recent article that really caught my attention about GLP-1 medications and fertility. And those are definitely two things that we see quite a bit at our practice at Integrative Medicine Laser and Aesthetics. 1 0:33 Dr. Pava and I feel like we talk about this quite a bit every day. So, just kind of some background, these GLP-1 medications are pretty popular. You've heard of the brand names Wigovi, Monjaro, these sort of things. The generic names tend to be the sub-muglutide, the terzapatides that are out there. These are glucagon-like peptides. GLP1s mimic these hormones that are naturally occurring in our body. And what they do is they help regulate your blood sugar, they stimulate your pancreas to increase insulin when your blood sugar gets high to help regulate that blood sugar, get the sugar actually into the cells for metabolism. 1 1:16 They help control your digestion, they help control your appetite. These are naturally occurring things that our body already makes. We actually produce them in our gut. But we found a lot of benefit from using these GLP-1 agonists, these synthetic hormones that actually help regulate blood sugar. So people who are diabetics are getting a lot of benefit from that. In addition to regulating blood sugar, they're seeing some weight loss. 1 1:40 So it's kind of evolved into this, definitely this weight loss adjunct that people are getting some good benefit. And so, according to the article I read, the use among women for GLP1s from 2020 to 2023 in three short years, that number rose by 594%. So it's a pretty popular thing out there right now. And one of the things I wanted to talk to you today about is 1 2:09 how does GLP-1 agonist affect fertility? You know, there's a lot of concern with patients in our practice about fertility. And so I wanted to touch base on this with more and more women using this. 1 2:26 So the key here, there are a couple of things about this. First of all, I want to make sure that we share that because of the action of the GLP-1 actually slowing down your peristalsis, the kind of the way food moves through your stomach and your GI tract, it can actually affect your birth control. So if you're someone who isn't necessarily concerned about getting pregnant, you're actually trying to do the opposite. 1 2:47 You're trying to avoid pregnancy by taking birth control pills, but you're on the GLP-1, it can actually affect the absorption of that birth control pill. So that's a cautionary tale, things to think about out there. The other side of that is what's the risk for women taking a GLP-1 who become pregnant or during pregnancy. And this is one of those really important things in healthcare and medicine that we focus on for safety for our patients. And that is this. There's no evidence of safety. 1 3:18 The big reason is because it's hard to get pregnant women to show up to studies to see if something bad will happen to your baby. So in light of that, the general recommendation would be if you are actively trying to get pregnant, if you become pregnant or think that that may be a possibility...
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    6 mins
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