An interview with Kimberly Collins of Collins Refresh Life Wellness.
What exactly is the main focus of your company, Collins Refresh Life Wellness?
At Collins Refresh Life Wellness, we put a strong focus on the health and wellness for men and women in need of hormone replacement or undergoing weight loss. We take the time to look into each aspect of our patients’ lifestyles and, after a series of in-depth lab tests and studies, determine the best course of action to aid them in living happier, healthier lifestyles. All in all, we are a clinic made to help people, and that is what we set out to do.
What inspired you to pursue this career?
I have always had a voice inside that would encouraged me to help. I remember growing up on the farm trying to take care of the animals and pretending to be a doctor. Upon graduating high school, I joined the Army and spent 5 years active duty. In 1996 I became a police officer with Metro Nashville Police Department in Nashville Tennessee. During my time as a police officer me and my training officer had received a call about a car that had wrecked. Once on the scene we had difficulty locating the wreck. Upon finding the vehicle it was wedged into a concrete culvert and all that could be heard was a voice of a child screaming help me. This accident occurred in the middle of winter and it was snowing and below freezing. This child had been trapped up to her waist in water with her legs pinned under the dashboard. Her father was in the driver’s seat unresponsive. I recall wanting to jump in and make everything better, but I had no medical training other than basic life support. All that I could do was to hold her hand and call for an ambulance. That incident, along with many others that I had seen throughout my career, really helped cement my desire to get medical training and pursue a career in medicine. My entire life has been serving my community from military to police to becoming a doctor. For me the changes in careers were a natural progression to my commitment to help people.
What is your goal for treating patients?
My goal is and always has been to help the community and to educate them of the different modalities that are available to help sustain or improve their quality of life. No matter who you are or where you come from, everyone can use help, and everyone deserves the opportunity to be treated. We should not have to go outside of the area in which we live to receive care. Bringing this into the community is opening an avenue that was not there before. I want my patients to know that preventive care is essential to an energetic, healthy life and that everyone is entitled to it, not just a select few. It is time you take control of your health and do things to try and prevent the onset of chronic disease. Medicine today has become treating existing conditions and not focused on prevention. That is my goal for my patients, prevention and guiding them in their journey to achieve a healthier and more vibrant quality of life as they mature.
What sort of treatments do you offer at the Wellness center?
First and foremost, one of our main focuses is on hormone replacement and wellness.
Can you tell us about your hormone replacement services and what exactly they entail?
Hormone replacement is not something most physicians generally subscribe to. This is a direct result of old studies that reported that hormones cause cancer, Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis. That study was using conjugated equine estrogen and medroxyprogesterone acetate. Newer studies show that treatment with estradiol can reduce the risk of osteoporosis, breast cancer, and dementia. People in their 20s rarely experience heart attacks or suffer from high cholesterol, dementia, or increased blood pressure unless it is genetic. This is mostly like due to our natural hormones being at there optimal levels. What’s more, instead of using synthetic hormones, which are produced from horse estrogen, Collins Refresh Life Wellness uses bioidentical hormones, which are plant-based hormones. Bio-identical hormones are plant-based hormones that are identical in there organic structure to the hormones that humans produce. This is the difference we are putting apples to apples and oranges to oranges. In essences we are not using hormones that are derived from a horse that has extra parts on its base organic structure than those produced by humans. Those extra parts don’t fit our body chemistry and therefore you get unwanted side effects. This service is perfect to help reduce symptoms related to peri-menopause and menopause. We also treat men who are suffering from andropause due to depletion of their testosterone. Hormone replacement is not limited to estradiol and testosterone our body is comprised of many more hormones and putting them in balance is our goal. Refresh Life Wellness is an alternative medicine wellness facility. We utilize natural therapies to try and reduce risk of chronic disease, relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for our patients.
What other areas do you focus on?
Aside from hormone therapy, we also help with weight loss. The more mature you become most seem to notice the unwanted belly budge and so-called love handles. While sometimes it’s due to a more sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise, it may also be hormonal. We take the time to do an in-depth interview on initial consult. During the consult we discuss eating habits and daily routines as well as how the patient is feeling during the day. A detailed body composition is performed to see your specific body make up. We can determine how much of your body is muscle compared to fat as well as intracellular vs extracellular water. We also analyze visceral fat. Visceral fat is the fat that surrounds your organs. The more visceral fat the higher risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In addition to the interview portion blood work is performed to see what else the body may be missing that may be interfering with your ability to lose weight.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) a syndrome that sometimes is overlooked but can pose a significant health risk not just physical but emotional. Patients with PCOS may or may not ovulate which will reduce their chance of becoming pregnant. For those that do become pregnant they have about a 50% chance of miscarriage. These patients also have an increased risk of endometrial cancer. They may present with morbid obesity and hirsutism (significant body and facial hair). These patients often get left untreated or treated with traditional metformin. Further research has given us additional options for treatment of these patients and has improved their ability to bare children to full term. These alternative treatment options have also shown some benefit to help them reduce their weight, improve their sleep and mood.
What are your hopes for the future of your practice?
Ultimately, to help people see that they have options. Educate not just my community but yours as well. I believe it is important for us to take control of our health and part of that is partnering with a physician that is willing to look at the research, understand how to interpret it and think outside of the box. With doing so we become a resource for our patients that we partner with to keep them informed and offer alternative treatments to help them live a healthier life that is bursting with energy and clarity. The goal is not just to live longer but have a vibrant quality of life. At Collins Refresh Life Wellness, we hope to aid our patients in bettering their emotional states, changing their daily habits, and just overall being able to help them become happier, both inside and out. The hormone replacement therapy, as well as our weight loss programs, can change what was once a “I used to do this and that” to I am still doing and looking forward to what is ahead.
