22. Pharmaceuticals vs. Supplements: What Your Doctor Isn't Telling You

26. Chronic Illness, Mold & Relationships: What Helps, What Hurts, and What Nobody Talks About

If chronic illness has made you feel like a burden to the people you love, you are not alone, and you are not imagining how hard this is. Illness does not stay contained to the body. It moves through a household. It strains marriages, tests friendships, and quietly reshapes who you are in relationship to everyone around you. The fear that runs alongside it, the hypervigilance, the late-night symptom spirals, the feeling that you are asking too much, those things are just as real as any lab result. And most practitioners never make space to talk about them. In this episode, Dr. Mark Su sits down with Michael Schrantz, IEP, for one of the most personal conversations this show has produced. Mike is a certified indoor environmental professional who has worked with thousands of clients on mold and environmental illness, and he is someone who went through it himself. He knows what it feels like to be in that dark place, to watch your partner carry weight you wish you could take back, and to wonder whether you will ever feel like yourself again. This conversation covers the ground that most appointments never do. What you will hear in this episode: Mike talks about the moment he looked in the mirror and decided he was done living in fear, not denial of his illness, but a choice to stop letting fear run his days. He talks about his wife Jennifer, a flight instructor and realtor who held the household together when he could not, and what he learned about showing up for her even when he had very little left to give. He and Dr. Su get into what partners and caregivers tend to get wrong, including the way we dismiss ten concerns because eight of them seem emotional, when two of them are pointing at something important. And they talk about purpose, about why having something to get out of bed for matters in ways that go beyond motivation. If you are a partner or caregiver listening to this, Mike has something specific to say to you too. Key themes from this conversation: * How mold illness and chronic illness reshape relationships in predictable, understandable ways * What actually helps when someone you love is overwhelmed and scared, and what tends to make it worse * Why fear-driven thinking keeps patients stuck and what the path forward looks like * How Mike regulated his nervous system and found his footing during his own recovery * The role of purpose, faith, community, and presence in healing, the things that do not show up on a lab panel but matter enormously This is not a clinical episode. It is an honest one, and it may be exactly what someone in your life needs to hear. About Michael Schrantz, IEP Michael Schrantz is a certified indoor environmental professional (IEP) and the founder of Environmental Analytics. He has worked with thousands of clients navigating mold-related illness and environmentally complex cases, and he hosts the IEP Radio podcast. Michael is a recurring guest on the Functional Medicine Reality Podcast and brings the perspective of both a seasoned environmental professional and someone who has personally walked through chronic illness and come out the other side. Website: environmentalanalytics.net [https://environmentalanalytics.net/]  Podcast: IEPradio.com [https://iepradio.com/] Ready to stop guessing and finally get a clear plan? Join Dr. Su for the Ask Dr. Mark Clinical Q&A Call, a small-group call limited to about five people each month where you can bring your real questions and get real direction. Book your spot: https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark [https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark] Or download the free Lab Results Guide if you have ever been told your labs are normal while still feeling terrible:  https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/ [https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/] Connect with Dr. Su: IG | @rootseekhealth Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only.  Information discussed is not intended for diagnosis, curing, or prevention of any disease and is not intended to replace advice given by a licensed healthcare practitioner. This podcast and its guests may have direct or indirect financial interests associated with products mentioned.

25. What Your Hospital Bill Isn't Telling You (A Nurse Explains)

You went to the hospital. You got care. You came home. And then the bills started arriving, one after another, for amounts that didn't add up. And somewhere in your online patient portal was a diagnosis you had never been told about, for a condition nobody mentioned while you were lying in that bed. If that has happened to you or someone you love, you are not alone. And you are not missing something obvious. The hospital system was simply never designed to explain itself to the people moving through it. In this episode, Dr. Mark Su sits down with Amy Baut, a registered nurse with 28 years of experience across some of Boston's most demanding ICUs and critical care units, including Stanford Medical Center and a Level One trauma center in Boston. For the last three years, Amy has worked in clinical documentation integrity, the behind-the-scenes role that sits between your provider's notes, your diagnostic codes, and what gets submitted to your insurance company. It is a role most patients have never heard of. And what Amy sees from that seat changes how you understand everything that happened during your hospital stay. In this episode, you will learn: Why your medical chart may include diagnoses that surprised you after discharge, and what those diagnoses actually mean for your care and your bill. How hospital billing codes connect to the real resources used during your stay, and why capturing them accurately matters more than most people realize. Why your doctor seemed rushed, why documentation sometimes falls short, and why that is not a sign that anyone stopped caring about you. What happens behind the scenes when your insurance company pushes back on a claim, and why patients receive confusing bills while that dispute is still being resolved. How to advocate more effectively for yourself or a loved one during a hospital stay, including one practical shift in how you bring your questions to the care team. Dr. Su's perspective: The healthcare system is not broken on purpose. But there are forces at play between your provider, your chart, and your insurer that nobody is walking patients through. This conversation with Amy is about closing that gap, so that the next time you or someone you love is in the hospital, you feel less like a bystander and more like someone who understands the terrain. Providers went into medicine because they care. The system around them got complicated. Knowing that changes how you experience the care you receive. Ready to stop guessing and finally get a clear plan? Join Dr. Su for the Ask Dr. Mark Clinical Q&A Call, a small-group call limited to about five people each month where you can bring your real questions and get real direction. Book your spot: https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark [https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark] Or download the free Lab Results Guide if you have ever been told your labs are normal while still feeling terrible:  https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/ [https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/] Connect with Dr. Su: IG | @rootseekhealth About Amy Baut, RN: Amy Baut is a registered nurse with 28 years of clinical experience, including critical care and ICU nursing at Level One trauma centers in Boston and at Stanford Medical Center. For the last three years she has worked in clinical documentation integrity, helping hospitals ensure that patient charts accurately reflect the care provided and the resources used. Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only.  Information discussed is not intended for diagnosis, curing, or prevention of any disease and is not intended to replace advice given by a licensed healthcare practitioner. This podcast and its guests may have direct or indirect financial interests associated with products mentioned.

24. ADHD, Stimulants, and Real Results with Dr. Mark Su

Once a month I open up one hour to five people only. Real questions, real answers, real direction.  Grab your spot at go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark [https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark]. You've probably been told the story about stimulant medication goes one way. You take it, you focus better, maybe you sleep less, maybe you lose your appetite. That's the whole conversation. But what if the real story is bigger than that, and most people never get to hear it because nobody in the exam room takes the time to tell it? In this episode, Dr. Mark Su breaks down what 22 years of treating ADD has actually taught him, including the secondary benefits of getting ADD under control that almost never come up in a standard prescribing visit. From sleep to relationships to anxiety relief, this one might reframe everything you thought you knew. What You'll Learn in This Episode: * Why Dr. Su believes environmental toxicity is one of the primary drivers behind the rise in ADD and brain dysfunction across all age groups. * Why stimulant medication is absolutely on the table as a root-cause medicine tool, and what it means to use it thoughtfully rather than reflexively. * How getting ADD under control can dramatically reduce secondary anxiety, the kind that builds up around everything you forgot to do, didn't finish, or couldn't organize. * Why some patients report sleeping better on stimulants, not worse, and the brain-based reason Dr. Su believes explains it. * How treatment can improve presence, listening, and emotional availability in relationships in ways that patients and their partners often notice before the patient does. Key Insights: There is a version of this conversation that never happens in a five-minute prescribing visit. Dr. Su has watched patients go from struggling academically, relationally, and emotionally to experiencing what many of them describe as feeling normal for the first time. Not just more productive. Actually comfortable in their own skin. That distinction matters, and it is one he has never heard discussed in a standard clinical handoff. The secondary cognitive capacity piece is worth sitting with. Dr. Su uses Maslow's hierarchy as a lens here. When your brain is stuck in the noise of what you forgot, what you didn't finish, and what you're dreading tomorrow, there is simply no bandwidth left for the deeper questions, your goals, your relationships, your sense of self. Getting ADD under control does not just clear the task list. It creates the mental space to actually live. Dr. Su is clear that he is not dogma-driven in either direction. Stimulants are a tool, not a mandate, and not a cure. But he has seen enough life-changing outcomes, in students, adults, long-term patients, and even family members, to say plainly that dismissing them without a real conversation does patients a disservice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Su and the RootSeek team work with patients across the country who are navigating exactly this: unexplained symptoms, labs that don't add up, and a conventional system that keeps telling them everything looks fine. Ready to stop guessing and finally get a clear plan? Join Dr. Su for the Ask Dr. Mark Clinical Q&A Call, a small-group call limited to about five people each month where you can bring your real questions and get real direction. Book your spot: https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark [https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark] Or download the free Lab Results Guide if you have ever been told your labs are normal while still feeling terrible:  https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/ [https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/] Connect with Dr. Su: IG | @rootseekhealth Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only.  Information discussed is not intended for diagnosis, curing, or prevention of any disease and is not intended to replace advice given by a licensed healthcare practitioner. This podcast and its guests may have direct or indirect financial interests associated with products mentioned.

23. Hype or Hope? How to Spot Mold Misinformation with Mike Schrantz

If you've ever Googled "mold illness treatment" at midnight, desperate for answers, you already know how overwhelming it gets. The supplements, the sprays, the lab reports with pages of frightening health warnings, it can feel like you're drowning in information and still no closer to knowing what to actually do. This conversation is for you. Dr. Mark Su sits down again with Mike Schrantz, IEP, the environmental professional he trusts most when it comes to what's actually happening inside the buildings where his patients live. Together they walk through real examples of mold-related products, lab reports, and remediation methods, and call it straight: hype or hope. What You'll Learn in This Episode: * Why some popular "mold and mycotoxin cleanse" supplements don't contain the one thing that actually matters for mycotoxin removal, and what to look for instead. * How mycotoxin lab reports can overwhelm and even harm patients when the data is delivered without context, and what responsible interpretation actually looks like. * The critical difference between killing mold and physically removing it, and why one of those approaches is widely accepted by the EPA and the other is not. * Why AI-generated health information about mold illness may be making things worse, not better, and what to do instead of relying on it alone. * How to slow down, ask better questions, and find a trusted professional before spending money on something that won't move the needle. Key Insights: One of the most important things Dr. Mark and Mike cover in this episode is the gap between a product's name and what it actually does. When a supplement calls itself a "mold and mycotoxin cleanse" but contains no binding agents, which are the compounds clinicians actually use to help the body clear fungal toxins, that name is doing a lot of work it hasn't earned. Neither Dr. Mark nor Mike dismiss these companies as bad actors. They simply ask the question every patient deserves to ask: where is the data, and does the ingredient list match the claim? The mycotoxin lab report conversation is one of the most important in this episode. Mike describes working with clients who receive pages of alarming health information alongside their results, things like carcinogenic effects, developmental risks, organ concerns, without any framing around what those findings mean for them specifically.  Resources & People Mentioned * Michael Schrantz, IEP | Environmental Analytics Website: environmentalanalytics.net Podcast: IEPradio.com * ISEAI (International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness) Free remediation resources and one-on-one guidance documents available at iseai.org under "Get Help" > "Resources" * Aerosolver — A non-toxic, DIY-friendly small particle cleaning product mentioned as an option for whole-home surface cleaning after mold remediation Dr. Su and the RootSeek team work with patients across the country who are navigating exactly this: unexplained symptoms, labs that don't add up, and a conventional system that keeps telling them everything looks fine. Ready to stop guessing and finally get a clear plan? Join Dr. Su for the Ask Dr. Mark Clinical Q&A Call, a small-group call limited to about five people each month where you can bring your real questions and get real direction. Book your spot: https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark [https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark] Or download the free Lab Results Guide if you have ever been told your labs are normal while still feeling terrible:  https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/ [https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/] Connect with Dr. Su: IG | @rootseekhealth Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only.  Information discussed is not intended for diagnosis, curing, or prevention of any disease and is not intended to replace advice given by a licensed healthcare practitioner. This podcast and its guests may have direct or indirect financial interests associated with products mentioned.

22. Pharmaceuticals vs. Supplements: What Your Doctor Isn't Telling You

If you've ever stood in the supplement aisle wondering whether any of it actually works, or sat across from a doctor who handed you a prescription without explaining why, this conversation is for you. The question of pharmaceuticals versus supplements comes up constantly in functional medicine, and the honest answer is more nuanced than most people expect. In this episode, Dr. Mark Su breaks down the real-world comparison between prescription medications and natural supplements, not from a place of dogma, but from years of clinical experience working with patients who are navigating both worlds at the same time. What You'll Learn in This Episode: * Why pharmaceuticals often offer more predictability in the short term, and what that actually means for your treatment plan. * Why treating a single condition with supplements frequently requires multiple products and higher pill counts than most people anticipate. * How the cost and practicality of a supplement protocol can quietly become its own barrier to healing. * What "polypharmacy" means, why it applies to supplement stacks just as much as prescriptions, and why it matters for chronic illness patients. * How Dr. Mark approaches the pharma versus non-pharma decision for individual patients, and why there is no one-size-fits-all answer. About Dr. Mark Su: Dr. Mark Su is an integrative and functional medicine physician and the founder of RootSeek Health. He works with patients who have spent years searching for answers to complex chronic illness, and he built his practice around the belief that real healing starts with finding the root cause, not just managing symptoms. His approach draws from both conventional and natural medicine, using whatever tools best serve each patient. Key Insights: One of the most practical realities Dr. Mark addresses in this episode is pill burden. When a patient chooses a supplement-based approach for a condition like high blood pressure, they may need two or three different products, often at multiple doses per day, to match the effect of a single pharmaceutical. That's not a reason to dismiss supplements. It's simply information that helps patients make informed, realistic decisions about their own care. What makes this episode stand out is Dr. Mark's refusal to take sides. He genuinely believes in the best of both worlds, and he walks through the real clinical reasoning behind how he helps patients choose, adjust, and consolidate their treatment plans over time. Ready to stop guessing and finally get a clear plan? Join Dr. Su for the Ask Dr. Mark Clinical Q&A Call, a small-group call limited to about five people each month where you can bring your real questions and get real direction. Book your spot: https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark [https://go.rootseekhealth.com/askdrmark] Or download the free Lab Results Guide if you have ever been told your labs are normal while still feeling terrible:  https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/ [https://labsoptin.rootseekhealth.com/labs/] Connect with Dr. Su: IG | @rootseekhealth Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only.  Information discussed is not intended for diagnosis, curing, or prevention of any disease and is not intended to replace advice given by a licensed healthcare practitioner. This podcast and its guests may have direct or indirect financial interests associated with products mentioned.