He is very conscientious about focusing on your health: mentally, physically, and spiritually, since all three work together to promote good health. He has provided me with titles of suggested reading material, which helped me tremendously in reaching closure with extremely difficult issues I was dealing with.

He spends a lot of time with his patients and makes you feel that you are the only person in the world when he is with you. He is very perceptive and very intuitive and has a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge at his fingertips. The clinic also offers IV’s with various combinations of things which are tailor-made to your own body’s needs. I try to get several of the IV’s when I am in San Francisco to boost my immune system and give me added energy and strength. The IV clinic is very busy all the time, as many people take advantage of this service also. In addition to all of the above, Dr. Lopez has also prescribed medications which are specially made for me by a pharmacy in Southern California. This is part of their Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy program.

Susan Kepfer

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As we head into the new year, 2007, which brings us near our one year anniversary as doctor and patient, I thought this a good time to say, Thank YOU!
As you know, I came to you as a patient struggling against the standard mainstream, western medical concepts. My body was already chemically injured — something I track back to a refinery problem in 1943, when I was age five. What had been manageable chemical-induced asthma attacks since then, went into full-fledged MCS (undiagnosed), starting in the late 1970s and throughout the ’80s and 90′s, as I encountered increasing numbers of fragrance and pesticide toxins in my former workplace. By March 1992, I was diagnosed: MCS. Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. The disability that cannot say its name out loud.
Despite chemical injury, I’ve done well through the years. I had all three babies via natural childbirth, and I nursed them. I avoided pharmaceuticals and most “modern” products as much as possible in my earlier years.
But, I returned to work in the late 1970s. While I tried to claim a right to breathe cleaner air, I was overshadowed by fragrance-wearing and using management. Then in the 1990s, during the worst of my MCS, my body had decided adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals. I soon learned such products were also petrochemically derived. I retired in fall 1998 and began trying to heal through continuing chiropractic and acupuncture. I was actually much improved by January 2005.
The end of July 2005, I was told I’d be on dialysis or dead by end of July 2006. A routine blood test, requested by my internist — ever watchful over my body — detected stage four kidney disease. I’ve since moved into stage five. Supposedly the final chapter.
Last February, I met you. You gave me the encouragement to try maintaining what little kidney function I had left. You suggested methods to perhaps improve my kidney function while not further poisoning my kidneys. December 2006 showed some improvement in kidney and blood numbers. What will January bring?
Nephrologists, on the other hand, had made sure that I understood that one only got worse. Every question I tried to ask was responded to with a NO! NO! NO! PROGRESSION! PROGRESSION! PROGRESSION! Maybe he felt that if he said it often enough, strongly enough, I’d “get it.”
And, for my money, he and the three other nephrologists I’ve seen don’t “get it” about MCS.
I was told flat out that there was no other way than to give me drugs . . . and dialysis and transplants. In fact, one told me he couldn’t help me if I wouldn’t take his prescribed drugs. That’s how he was trained. I’m sure that is how he was trained, but that also might explain why it was so clearly felt that by now I’d be on dialysis or dead. Neither of which has yet to happen.
Why give drugs to a body that already has had adverse reactions to drugs? Why give drugs to be processed by kidneys that are already suffering from excessive toxins? Their answers were: Drugs, whether my body really needed them or not.
Drugs like those for high blood pressure medication, despite the fact that I tend to have spikes in BP only when inhaling the perfumes and fragrances used by others. Drugs such as diuretics, even though I do not yet have edema. Drugs like steroids, despite the fact that that was already tried back in the days of severe lung impairments from fragrance products used by others . . . and I suffered adverse reactions to the steroids on top of my already having had adverse reactions to petrochemically derived fragrances.
Dr. Lopez to the rescue. Rescue of mind over matter. Rescue from matter over mind . . . and body. And, you’ve supported me in my quest for other complementary care. That of acupuncturists, chiropractor and a Taoist healer who rolls jade balls along acupuncture meridians and points.
Now how did you begin working your magic? For that’s how my health seems to be viewed: Magical.
Well, for the assist needed in controlling blood pressure — because it is part of kidney disease, but also for me, impossible to avoid all the scented products used by all the other people around me — you suggested Fish Peptides, a natural ace inhibitor. No adverse reactions and blood pressure most often not above the 140s over 80s. True, lower blood pressure is the ideal, but frankly, I’m happy with the highs generally of 140 and my new lows from time to time being as low as 117/67 — or more often 130 something over 70 or 80 something.
My research indicates that standard BP medicines often have 140 as a goal. What’s more, speaking of BP drugs, you showed me that a particular drug recommended for me by a nephrologist was one that was to be avoided for a person diagnosed with possible kidney stenosis — my diagnosis. Who knows what harm your vigilance saved me??
Diuretics? Still don’t need them. I am so pleased you do not just simply prescribe them because that’s the prescribed way of treating kidney disease. The nephrologists did.
Then there’s the check of the growth hormone level, and the Young Living Ultra spray that has improved those numbers. Also you gave me the prescription for glutahione, specially compounded, to assist liver and kidneys. Further, you not only gave me the suggestion for getting a far infrared sauna, but then found and recommended one affordable for us.
The icing on the cake is the twice-weekly hyperbaric oxygen therapy. While I don’t come out of those sessions feeling as though I’m bursting with energy, as others report, I still have far more energy overall than anyone can imagine, considering my numbers for age, kidney disease, anemia. Anemia is a partner of kidney disease, just as is high blood pressure, but so far, I’ve not felt the effects of anemia.
To me, thanks to your help, it’s all just a bunch of bad lab values, but life rolls on. Merrily.
As of January 15, 2007, the facts are that 1) I’m still alive, 2) I’m not yet on dialysis, 3) no one can believe that I can do as much as I do with the numbers I’ve got, 4) I’ve had a wonderful holiday with 2/3 of my family, and 5) my husband and I are looking forward to our 50th anniversary this coming spring.
I’ve been making a diary for others to view, which is available through the website of the Environmental Health Network — www.ehnca.org. Hopefully, other chemically injured people who have been diagnosed with renal disease will be able to gather some hope from it.
I’m not saying my way is the only way . . . but I do say my way proves that mainstream nephrologists’ ways are also not the “only way.” But, so far, with you taking this journey with my husband and me, “my way” has proved to be THE way for my family and me.
You are all about complementary medicine. My compliments to you.

Barbara Wilkie

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I was really interested in preventative cardiovascular health and was seeking alternatives to a life of taking pills.

Dr. Lopez provided education and a better understanding of the alternatives available. During the screening process, I found that I have a hormonal imbalance and was deficient in certain vitamin and minerals. I started treatments including supplements and a dietary plan. I feel great so far, with a good increase in energy and a new fond remembrance of what I used to feel like 20 years ago. What’s really great is that he is my personal physician and treats me with respect, which I found sometimes lacking in my old health plan. I love the education and the vast amount of alternatives that are available to us “CLIENTS” through Dr. Lopez’s services.

Mark White

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When I came to see Dr. Lopez almost 2 years ago, I couldn’t walk for more than 7 blocks without experiencing pain and cramping in my legs.

Dr. Lopez spent an hour with me during the initial visit and put me on a nutritional program which included I.V. vitamins and minerals as well as chelation therapy for heavy metals. Everything began to improve especially the ability to walk for up to 30 blocks a day without any problems. This is great considering that I’m 73 years old and not on any prescription medications!

Robert Hughes

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When I began to lose my hair a few years ago, I made appointments with my regular doctor and with a dermatologist. They had no idea how to help me. When I lost enough hair that I could see my scalp, a friend from Los Angeles suggested that I see an integrative medicine doctor. Any docotr can say he’s an integrative medicine doctor, but that doesn’t mean he has had any special training or knows any more than a regular doctor, so I called World Health in Chicago (I think that was the name). Without even having to look up his name, they referred me to Joel Lopez as if everyone knows about Joel Lopez. At the first appointment, I told Dr. Lopez that I was losing hair by the handful and asked if he could help me. He told me that there are a number of causes that contribute to hair loss, and he has addressed them all. Not only have I stopped losing hair, but the hair I had already lost came back! Even better, other health issues I hadn’t even mentioned to Dr. Lopez cleared up. I had a fungal infection on a toenail that refused to respond to treatment, even oral Lamisil. Nothing worked. I also had an unusual from of rosacea on my face that I controlled with steroid cream. At the same time, my hair stopped falling out, my toenail healed and so did the rosacea. I would guess that my organs look better, but I can’t see them. I highly recommend Dr. Lopez, especially to women who suffer from hair loss like I used to.

Janet Locke

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Finally, we have a doctor who not only works with you but hears our concerns and helps guide us to a healthier life naturally. Thank you.

S. and F. Herrera

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I first visited Dr. Lopez three years ago because I wanted to optimize my health and because I was in my late forties, I wanted to get a good hormone assessment and learn more about bio-identical hormone options for perimenopause. When I complained about some symptoms to my gynecologist, she threw a birth control prescription at me. Not helpful! Dr. Lopez’s evaluations are very thorough; if you’re used to an internist spending 60 seconds asking the most cursory questions about how you are, you’ll be blown away by what it’s like when a doctor asks a lot of questions and really listens to the answers. One of the best things about my “journey to wellness” is that it has, indeed, been a “journey”, Dr. Lopez understands the practicalities of our daily lives and encourages making healthful changes in “baby steps” so that these changes can be sustained. For me, this has resulted in taking positive steps for my health that I have never abandoned. He is open-minded, keeps up on the latest studies, and totally gets the mind-body connection.

B. Cassidy

Posted in Testimonials

Dr. Lopez and his staff are the most caring people I know of working in the medical field. I looked for a doctor that cared about how I felt and did not just say “Oh well, you are a 50 year old woman, you know”. Together, Dr. Lopez and I worked on my “out of balance” issues and have solved them all. He is even supporting me in losing weight. He did not say “you are fat, lose weight”, but instead gave me ideas and possibilities to try and we found one that suited me. Now, I am finally losing weight quite easily. I think everyone should go see him. He treats my whole family and what a difference he has made!

Wendy Arnold

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I first went to Dr. Lopez to get “cleaned” of my mercury buildup. As a result of those initial screenings, I then became aware of hormonal, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies. I’m therefore taking better care of myself. Dr. Lopez is articulate, compassionate, and cutting-edge when it comes to the knowledge of the body, it’s inter-workings and how one might “adjust” to better provide for oneself. With him, I feel that “we” are on a path of enlightenment, opening and discovering, and then allowing me to take appropriate actions. Quick fix is not a part of his lexicon. Everything is done for the “long haul”. I always get good explanations to my questions and particularly appreciate the depth that he goes to in explaining/interpreting the results of my periodic screenings. His staff is delightful, energized, engaging, and supporting.

Toby Meyer

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