Marino Center?

[evinza.livejournal.com]

I am in the market for a new doctor in the area, and wondered if anyone has had any experience with the Marino Center for Progressive Health.  I want a doctor who is open to prevention, natural/alternative health remedies, etc., not someone who is just going to hand me a prescription after talking to me for 2 minutes.  Any input would be great.  Thanks!

Comments

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Regardless of where you go, I would recommend looking for a doctor who's a DO, not an MD. DOs are trained to treat the body as a whole unit more than MDs are, and would likely be more actively encouraging of the approaches you mention.

[denonymous.livejournal.com]

My fiancée and I both see Dr. John Bordiuk at the Marino Center in Wellesley. I'd have a hard time seeing anyone else at this point, he's great. He hasn't done a whole lot for me, persay, but when my fiancée discovered him after being battered by hardcore antibiotics for a year for something she'd picked up in Mexico he evaluated the whole picture, did his research, found out what it was, and not only treated it effectively but also fixed her system from the nuclear winter the more traditional MDs had left.

I can't necessarily speak for anyone else at the Center, but if Dr. B is any indication of his colleagues, I'd have to recommend it as a whole.

[mud-puppy.livejournal.com]

I've been going to the Marino Center for about 3 years now for allergies. I see Dr. Alex Bingham, who I now refer to as the Allergy Guru :)

I highly, highly, highly recommend him for anyone with allergies, both food and pollen. I believe he also sees people as a primary care doc, but that scheduling appointments with him can be a bear. He has a very full schedule, so he might not take any new patients. It's worth an ask though.

I know that's probably not that helpful, sorry. I would recommend the Marino Center in general though. Good luck!

[keshwyn]

I've been to three different doctors at the Merino Center, two as my PCP (one of them left to start a practice in western MA, so I just transitioned to a different doctor) and a third when my PCP was on vacation. All of them have been professional, and all of of them have been very much of the "Well, I could write you a scrip if you want, but from you describe, that would be overkill. Here's a list of homeopathic and herbal remedies you can try first, and if that doesn't work, come talk to me again."

So yes, they are definitely about prevention and natural remedies.

[mattdm.livejournal.com]

Note that homeopathic has nothing to do with natural. There's a widespread perception that homeopathic medicine is an ancient, time tested healing art. Not really -- instead, it was invented in Europe in the early 19th century, based on a competing theory to the idea of germs. The whole-body part is all well and good, but the remedies are, quite simply, fraudulent.

I don't have anything against anyone who wants to take the stuff and feels like it makes you feel better. But, since most of it is quite literally sugar pills (by definition, homeopathic products contain none of their alleged active ingredients), I *do* have a problem with people selling the claimed "remedies" for anything over the cost of sugar pills or water.

Likewise, I'd be a little skeptical about a doctor whose first line is "try this placebo, and come back if that doesn't work". I'd rather they'd just be honest and tell me that they don't think I need medicine for whatever the problem is.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That was a very well-written response, and much less flame-tastic than I would've been.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I have seen an increasing tendency in advertisement and printed discussion to use the word "homeopathic" when the actual intent is "naturopathic".

Including bottles of things at CVS that have listed active ingredients.

So I have made the complaint of yours many time, but now I add this caveat. Herbal remedies does not equal homeopathic.

I think people just like the sound of the word, honestly.

[evinza.livejournal.com]

Agreed! I do think there is a lot of vocabulary confusion around this topic. I personally have had much success with natural remedies in the past (as well as much harm with prescription drugs) and want a doctor who is at least open to the discussion of the different options available to me.

In any event, I thank everyone who replied, and welcome more replies.

[beezy515.livejournal.com]

I agree. There seems to be some general confusion in the public between the terms "naturopathy" and "homeopathy." I went to the Marino Center for several years for allergy treatment and found them to be very good. I saw a dietitian and a nurse practitioner, both of whom were very open to alternative treatments.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I see Dr. Trapasso and I think she's great. She was open to discussing ways to address allergies other than lots of medications, and has been open to more natural/alternative ways to treat minor ailments. I've never had a problem making an appointment.

[inthatoneway.livejournal.com]

I've had problems with them. I had problems with fainting which were difficult to diagnose, and I feel they handled it poorly. There was poor comunication between the doctors, no one seemed to be responsible for coordinating things, and they seemed to be willing to send me out for test after test with no end in sight. They may be ok for day to day stuff, but I don't think they're very good at handling more complicated issues.

[tober.livejournal.com]

I believe (and I would love to have either corroborating evidence or to be set straight, either way) that the Marino Center as well as Marino's Restaurant and a handful of other businesses are owned by Modern Continental - and given the considerable suspected shenanigans involved with their Big Dig-related contracts, I would not want to support them in any manner.

[ron_newman]

Marino's restaurant has been closed for months, and I think Modern Continental is also now out of business.

[rainbow-spork.livejournal.com]

I went to the marino center a couple years ago, and left ultimately because my doctor moved away, but also because they were just a bit too natural/holistic/touchy-feely for me, so they may be just what you're looking for. But I really felt like none of my problems ever got fixed/solved/dealt with. I realise that a doctor is not a mechanic, and that not everything gets fixed neatly, but I can't think of too many times when I walked in there and said, "I'd like to start taking control of this problem", and then came away with anything useful.

Just my $0.02

[attackpenguin.livejournal.com]

I've only gone once for my initial physical (I'm new to the area as well) but they struck me as competent, caring, and interested in me as a whole patient and not just a chart or a set of symptoms. High cholesterol runs in my family and they were quick to point out alternatives to statins which have a sordid history as well as knowledgeable about the latest interpretations of cholesterol numbers. Over all I'm quite pleased.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Late to this party, but I can recommend Drs. Emsbo, Trapasso, and McCaffrey at the Marino Center. Dr. Bingham is teh awesome, but I don't think he's taking new patients at all forever, because he is, indeed, the Allergy Guru. All of the above-mentioned docs are quite awesome.