Dr. Gillard's Coaching Service |
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Do you have back pain and/or radiating leg pain that just won't stop? Do you have neck pain and/or radiating arm pain that is driving you crazy? Are you confused about your diagnosis or that "treatment plan" that your doctor explained to you during a five-minute office visit?
Have you been told you need disc surgery but don't know which technique you should go for? Do you even know the difference between open discectomy, microdiscectomy, endoscopic discectomy, percutaneous discectomy, Nucleoplasty, SED, IDET, Disc Biacuplasty, PIRFT, and Prolotherapy?
Or if you need a fusion, do you know the difference between ALIF, PLIF, TLIF, PLF, 360° fusion, XLIF or the artificial disc replacement surgeries?
If you have answered "yes" to any of the above questions or you don't know the available treatment options for your condition, then perhaps you would like to spend 45 to 90 minutes with me on the phone or GoToMeeting, so I can help and educate you.
Typically, the interested party will send me an e-mail that briefly explains his or her situation with regard to pain and/or inability to function. If I think you are good candidate for my coaching service, then I will ask you to upload your latest MRI and/or CT images (or anything else you want me to look at), after which we can schedule our session. You may also send your imaging to me via US mail; however, if you want the material back, you must include a self-addressed postage-paid envelope, so I can put them in the mail for you. If you don't, the material will be destroyed a month or so after our coaching session, unless you instruct me otherwise.
Currently (November, 2016) there are three levels of Coaching that I offer:
#1) A PPREMIUM COACHING SESSION: recommended for patients with complex cases (especially failed spine surgery cases) and who have multiple images (MRIs, CTs, X-rays, Discography) that need to be looked at.
Details: You and I will spend up to 90 minutes together on the GoToMeeting program discussing your pain syndrome. With the GoToMeeting program, I can share my computer screen with you, or, if I need to, I can have you turn on your WebCam, so I can watch your gait (the way you walk) or the way you respond to classic neurological and/or orthopedic tests (it's always good to have your significant other or somebody around in case I need to use them to perform some of these tests).
I typically start the session by going over your past history (which is incredibly important), your medication history, the mechanism of injury and your past treatment history. Then we will go over the pre-coaching session questions and the Oswestry disability index test (or neck disability index test if your cervical client). Once I have a pretty good idea of what's going on, we will switch gears and start reviewing your images (this is the part where I start recording the session).
I typically like to start by looking at some of your past imaging (imaging = MRI, x-rays, CT) (especially pre-surgical imaging) which will gives me a idea of what your spine used to look like. Then we will switch to the latest imaging. By doing it this way, we can really see the effects of the surgery, including how much degenerative change has occurred.
Finally, we talk about what the heck to do about this problem! I will give you the "evidence-based" treatment paths as well as which ones to steer away from. We can also discuss how to pick out a good surgeon or pain management doctor; however, I did not typically give out specific names.
Session Recording: I don't mind if you record the session (video and audio) for your own personal use. However, you may not use this recording for any other purpose and uploading the material to any type of social media is strictly prohibited!
I always try to record the session with the GoToMeeting application. I typically start the recording at point where I begin to explain your imaging and go to the end of the session.
If you have purchased a premium session, then I will give you a copy of the recording for free – you don't have to worry about recording it yourself.
However, if you only purchase a standard session, I will not provide you a free copy of the recording. you do have an option to buy it for $30. Better yet, just recorded yourself then you don't have to worry. There's plenty of free software altered to do this.
#2) [NEW] A STANDARD COACHING SESSION: recommended for patients with straightforward and uncomplicated cases where I only have to look at one or two sets of images.
Details: I will spend up to 45 minutes with you during a GoToMeeting coaching session. During this time, we will go over your history and examination findings and then carefully go over your MRI imaging. It's just like premium session, only we won't have time for a lot of chit chat, and I won't have time to look at multiple sets of imaging.
I will still record the pertinent part of the coaching session with the GoToMeeting application; however, if you want a copy of it, you will have to pay extra (it can be fairly time-consuming rendering this down, which I don't particularly enjoy). Therefore, I encourage you to record the session yourself and save the money.
#2) Follow-Up Session: for those clients that I have already been through the initial coaching session, I am offering a up to 30 minute follow-up session. This is typically designed for a past client who has just got an updated MRI or CT and wants to see if this new information has affected my previous opinions. Or, it's for a previous client who has just had surgery or bad flare up and things have changed since our initial coaching session.
If you think you need a follow-up session, please email me, and I will make a judgment as to whether or not I can pull this off within 30 minutes. I will not go over the 30 minute time limit, however.
I can usually get your coaching session scheduled within few days, unless you decide to send me your MRI in the mail, which will delay the process. *My mailing address is as follows:
Dr. Douglas M. Gillard
8891 Acorn Way
Gilroy, CA 95020
Normal Lumbar Spine & Disc Anatomy & How to Read Your Lumbar MRI
Although I have done thousands of these coaching sessions over the years, I have never had a single legitimate complaint and still greatly enjoy solving the puzzle pain, as well as helping people avoid the pitfalls that can come with certain procedures. in other words, I want to make damn sure that people know the risks they are taking when they try certain procedures.
I am confident that I can ferret out the cause(s) of your pain and then put forth some treatment options that are based on science and the available medical literature.
And if you don't want to take my word, then simply read what some of my clients are saying, many of whom have allowed me to post their e-mail addresses, so you can contact them: TESTIMONIALS
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me, and I will be happy to answer them.
As already mentioned above, I strongly recommend that you review these two YouTube tutorials before your schedule coaching session. Other than that, you don't need to prepare.
Normal Lumbar Spine & Disc Anatomy
I am currently charging $290 for each premium (up to 90 minute) coaching session.
I am currently charging $160 for each standard (up to 45 minutes) coaching session.
I am currently charging $125 for each follow up (up to 30 minutes) coaching session.
If you decide at the last minute that you want a premium session but have already paid for a standard, then there is a button to upgrade your standard session to a premium session. This fee is $130. (160 + 130 = 290).
Although you certainly may mail me a check or money order, the fastest way to get your coaching session set up is to make payment directly through PayPal. I have been using this system for over 10 years and have never had a single complaint or problem with it. It seems completely safe; however, please take the time to read about their policies here: PayPal Policy.
I am not currently accepting BitCoin, but this may change in the not too distant future.will
In order to get your coaching session scheduled, please click the "Buy Now" button below which allows you to make payment with a credit card, debit card, or PayPal account. I look forward to speaking with you soon!
If you are in severe pain and/or develop/have bowel or bladder control problems, then go to the nearest emergency department or call 911 – such a problem is a medical emergency. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please call 911 immediately or go to your local emergency department!
Also know that my review of your MRI/CAT scan is not totally comprehensive and focuses upon looking for phenomena that may be related to your pain. I am not reading your MRI for rare disease, cancer, infection, tumors, aneurysms or anything similar. Reading for such pathology is the job of the radiologist; therefore, I defer the diagnosis of such conditions to him or her.
Refund Policy: as long as the coaching session is canceled within 24 hours of its scheduled time, you will be given a full refund less any minimal PayPal fees.
No-Shows: as already mentioned above, it is the client's responsibility to be available to speak during the designated time. If you don't show up for the coaching session, I will reduce my findings and suggestions about care to writing and send them to you via e-mail (which some clients prefer anyway) and then give you an opportunity to ask some follow-up questions by e-mail. I will not reschedule the coaching session if you miss your designated time. If you need to reschedule, please do so 24 hours in advance of your scheduled time.
MRI Uploads: although I offer a tutorial on how to upload your MRI images to me, I will not be responsible if some "hacker" gets a hold of your MRI images and steals your name and birthday. Although I've never had this happen to one of my clients or even heard about it happening, nothing is impossible on the Internet (hackers even broke into the White House computer system once). So if you're worried, please send me the disks via UPS or Federal Express. If you do send me your images via mail, UPS, or Federal Express and you want them back, you must include a self-addressed postage-paid envelope so I can easily put them back in the mail. If you do not, they will be destroyed a month or two after our session unless you want me to burn a copy onto my server for possible future coaching sessions.
If I don't like the quality of your MRI or other imaging, I will certainly say so during our session and may even advise that the MRI be repeated. However, this does not entitle you to a refund. As silly as this sounds, I recently had a person try this approach in hopes of getting a refund after 90 minutes worth of coaching; therefore, as silly as it sounds, I have been forced to cover that scenario here. on the other hand, if your MRI images are completely nondiagnostic (so bad, I just can't read them), then I will not accept you as a client until you get a proper study.
I also reserve the right not to take you on as a client. I may or may not give a reason for my decision.
Pre-payment has become a problem. It is perfectly fine to make payment within a week or two of your coaching session. However, I am not a bank or a place to park your money, and I am now charging, at a minimum, a 40% refund fee for those of you who pay me and then decide months or even years down the road that you don't want the coaching session. I always look over your images before deciding whether or not I will take you on as a client. This takes up my time, just as communicating with you via email does. I certainly don't mind doing this if you are going to become a client, but if you don't, I need to recover that time; hence, the refund fee. Furthermore, if you leave your money with me for more than 12 months, it will be considered the domination! So please don't pay for the session, until you are ready to use it! :-)
Disclaimer: the information and suggestions I make during the coaching session are for educational purposes only. Please discuss any plans I create with your primary treating physician.
1) Corenman DS, Gillard DM, et al. Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2-augmented transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for the treatment of chronic low back pain secondary to the homogeneous diagnosis of discogenic pain syndrome: two-year outcomes. Spine 2013;38:1269-1277.
2) Lurie JD, Doman DM, Spratt KF, et al. Magnetic resonance imaging interpretation in patients with symptomatic lumbar disc herniations: comparison of clinical and radiologist readings. Spine 2009;34:701-705.
