Welcome to the Northwest Center for Environmental Medicine

What we treat

Complex medical problems, allergies, mast cell activation syndrome, mycotoxin illness, multiple chemical sensitivity, Post-Covid Syndrome, fatigue conditions, fibromyalgia, autoimmune conditions, chronic stress, angina, heart failure, vascular conditions, poor circulation, healthy aging.  We offer many effective solutions to help make you feel better again.

Providing answers for your illness

There are underlying causes for all illnesses; the challenge is finding the cause and how best to treat it.  Could it be something in your diet, your environment or maybe a nutritional deficiency?  Many modern-day chronic medical conditions are the direct result of what we eat and what we are exposed to in our environment.  My goal is to help you identify and treat the causes of your condition by offering a broad range of testing and treatment options.  Our decisions will be based on integrative, functional and environmental medicine concepts.

  • New Treatment for Long Haulers Syndrome (Post-COVID Syndrome)- An investigation for the use of External Enhanced Counterpulsation (EECP) in patients with long COVID was presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting February 2022.  Patients who had a variety of persistent symptoms after having a COVID infection, such as fatigue, brain fog, breathing difficulties and chest discomfort, muscle and joint pain, pounding heart, palpitations, anxiety and depression had significant improvement after undergoing 15-35 hours of EECP therapy.

  • Vascular health- The gradual deterioration and narrowing of our microscopic blood vessels lead to reduced blood flow and lack of oxygen and nutrients for our cells. We are only as old as our blood vessels and so it goes with our body-reduced blood flow results in reduced living and life. External Enhanced Counterpulsation is an FDA approved treatment for angina and heart failure.  It heals and restores our entire microcirculation system improving blood flow throughout our body and brain and strengthens the heart.  In addition, it increases stem cell production, which regenerates, which regenerates our vascular system.

  • Comprehensive in-house allergy testing including patients with complex allergies and sensitivities as well as seasonal hay fever allergies. Our testing includes pollens, foods, mold, dust, animal dander and chemicals.

  • Desensitization-optimal dose immunotherapy using injection or sublingual methods. We also do Low-Dose Antigen therapy (LDA)

  • Mast cell activation-testing and treatments

  • Nutritional status-vitamin, mineral, amino acid and antioxidant levels.

  • Adrenal stress-blood, urine, saliva tests available

  • Mold/mycotoxin illness-urinary mycotoxins, comprehensive treatment/detoxification

  • Counseling and emotional support for individuals, couples and families.  Molly Jensen is a Medical Marriage and Family Therapist with 5 post graduate degrees.  She is very experienced with individual counseling, guiding people to better manage stress and conflict and especially helping troubled marriages.  She will work with you to provide emotional support, encouragement and wisdom.  We recommend you have at least one or two sessions with Molly. You might discover some underlying emotional factors that are blocking your road to good health or just might need some encouragement.

 

“I have been a long time patient of Dr. Buscher. He is very knowledgeable and personal, I feel like he really takes the time to understand my problems. It is great to have a doctor I feel that I can trust to fix the root of the problem, instead the generic advice that I have received from other doctors.”

— Paitent Review

Providing Answers for Your Illness

microscope

What is Environmental Medicine?

Simply stated, Environmental Medicine is the study of the interaction between mankind and the environment. More specifically, environmental medicine focuses on the adverse reactions experienced by an individual upon exposure to something in their diet or environment. The substances to which an individual may react are typically found in our air, food, and water and commonly found in our homes, workplace and school environments. Exposures to these substances may adversely affect one or more organ systems of susceptible individuals and have a negative cumulative effect over one's lifetime. In the earlier stages of disease these subtle symptoms are usually overlooked or ignored by the individual and their physicians until they become more serious and "talk louder".

What is different about Environmental Medicine?

Environmental Medicine offers a sweeping reinterpretation of medical thinking, especially its approach to many previously unexplained and ineffectively treated chronic diseases. The basis of this view is the simple concept that there are causes for all illnesses and the obvious, but not well accepted fact, that what we eat or are exposed to in our environment may have a direct and profound effect upon our health. The goal of Environmental Medicine is to identify the cause of a health problem and eliminate or reduce the level of exposure as much as possible. This usually requires changes in one's diet and/or environment along with desensitization. By eliminating the cause of the condition successfully, there is much less need for medication.

On the other hand, some patients may be experiencing health problems due to lack of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants or amino acids. These deficiencies often need to be corrected in order to bring about better health. To put it simply, as environmental physicians, we strive to remove the cause of the condition and replace what is missing.

Achieving Internal Strength and Vitality

You Are Only As Healthy As Your Blood Vessels

Throughout our lifespan the aging process unfolds as a gradual deterioration of our bodily functions.  The effects of aging include loss of muscle mass and strength, impaired immunity, reduced skin elasticity and decline in memory and other aspects of cognition. This aging process quietly manifests as a subtle and undetectable decline in our biological function year-to-year, month to month and day to day. This incremental loss of vitality is unrecognized in our younger years, but inevitably shows up.

Perhaps the most important and overlooked factor in staying healthy is the blood supply to our brain and organs. Aging of blood vessels involves the gradual narrowing, deterioration and loss of blood vessels at the microscopic level.  These are the capillary beds; the microvascular system, which is of crucial importance; since it provides the interface for delivery of oxygen and nutrients and, equally important, the removal of waste products at the cellular level.  Every organ, every cell is totally dependent on the adequate and the life-sustaining perfusion of blood through our 60,000 miles of microvessels.

As our blood vessels age so do, we. It is this steady reduction in microvessel function with aging that has profound life and death consequences for our overall health and brain function. Consider for a moment the importance of oxygen in maintaining life. At one end of the spectrum-high levels of oxygen can result in "top of your game" radiant health. At the other end of the spectrum with lack of oxygen, we get heart attacks, strokes or simply sputter out and gradually die. Think of this process as a continuum over your lifetime-this incremental progressive reduction in blood flow results in gradual subtle deterioration of bodily and mental function as our microvessels gradually shut down. The point is-we are only as old as our blood vessels and it is essential that we make it a priority to protect them.

Cardiac output-the amount of blood that leaves the heart and pumped through the body is known as the cardiac index, a measure of heart health.  A recent study found that individuals with low cardiac index had significantly lower brain volume and brain aging, which means the brain actually shrinks.  (Circulation 2010, June 4).  Another study indicated that low cardiac index is associated with increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's.  (CirculationAHA, January 2016).  What this means is that we need to have a strong and healthy heart in order to pump the blood through our blood vessels

The message here is that in order to prevent, treat and slow the progression of aging and brain shrinking it is essential that we keep our heart pumping strongly, our microvessels open and our blood flowing. " For the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11).  It is there anything else besides exercise that can strengthen our cardiovascular system?  Yes, there is.

External Enhanced Counterpulsation (EECP) has been available for over 30 years and its effectiveness has been documented in over 300 peer reviewed medical publications.  Most cardiologists think it's only used for cardiac patients when surgery doesn't work anymore.  Up to now it hasn't been the right time for it to be used as a health enhancing wellness choice.

The widespread positive effects on EECP are extraordinary.  EECP has been shown to strengthen the heart, open up blood vessels, create new blood vessels and prevent plaque buildup.  In addition to improved blood flow to the brain, EECP reverses unsuspected heart disease and type 2 diabetes while it generally slows the aging process.  EECP increases production of nitric oxide, lowers the level of oxidative byproducts, reduces inflammation, detoxifies the body, reduces stress and improves sleep.  It stimulates the bone marrow to produce endothelial precursor cells, which are stem cells that regenerate the systemic and cerebral vascular system.  You get all this plus the benefits of one hour of aerobic exercise with no risk of injury to your joints.  And you don't need to increase your heart rate to get these benefits, in fact, the heart rate decreases because it doesn't have to work as hard while doing EECP. Since EECP has so many positive effects we can use it to make ourselves stronger internally and less susceptible to disease of all kinds.

Our heart does an incredible job pumping blood throughout our body 24 hours a day.  Eventually the pump gets tired and gradually begins to fail.  At the same time the microvessels deteriorate resulting in reduced blood flow and accumulation of toxic cellular waste.  We gradually become weaker and more susceptible to a whole spectrum of diseases, which are, at least in part, due to insufficient blood flow.  EECP reverses all these effects as it strengthens the heart and pumps blood back into the core of the body, opens the blood vessels and detoxifies the body. 

Fundamental to maintaining good health is a strong heart and good circulation. If you think you are already healthy, why not get healthier, better, stronger?  Set your goals higher.  Getting and staying healthy takes being proactive. EECP can offer tremendous benefit and help delay the onset of illness.  EECP makes perfect sense, it is logical-"a no-brainer".  Check it out, try it a few times.  You will feel better and know that it would be good for you.