Sherrie Koenigseder, MSN, APRN, NP-C

09/01/2026

🩷 My Experience with HerScan Breast Ultrasound

I know several women have asked me about HerScan and breast ultrasound, so today I decided to try it myself!

HerScan offers bilateral breast ultrasound screening. The images are sent to a board-certified radiologist for interpretation, and you receive your report—along with access to your breast ultrasound images—typically within 7–10 business days.

My experience today was incredibly easy. I made my appointment, arrived, and was taken back almost immediately. I changed out of my shirt and bra into a cover-up, and the technician performed an ultrasound of both breasts and the axillary areas (underarms), looking at the breast tissue and lymph node areas.

There was no radiation, no compression, and absolutely no pain. The entire process was comfortable and didn't take long at all.

One reason I was particularly interested in this service is for women with breast implants. Ultrasound can provide additional information about the breast tissue and may also identify findings concerning for implant integrity. That is information a standard screening mammogram is not primarily designed to evaluate.

An important clarification: breast ultrasound is not considered a replacement for mammography, which remains a standard breast cancer screening test for most women. Ultrasound may be used as an additional tool, particularly in certain women with dense breasts, implants, or specific breast concerns. Some women who choose not to undergo mammography may also elect ultrasound after discussing the limitations and benefits with their healthcare provider.

The cost for my HerScan appointment was $295 self-pay. Before I left, I received information explaining what to expect and how to access the portal where my results will be available.

Overall, it was a very pleasant, simple experience, and since so many women have asked me about breast ultrasound, I wanted to share what the process was actually like.

I'll update everyone when I receive my report so you can see what that part of the process looks like too. 🩷

Personal experience shared for educational purposes. Breast screening recommendations should be individualized based on your age, breast density, family history, personal history, genetics, implants, and other risk factors.

09/01/2026

🧬 LET’S TALK PEPTIDES…

You may have been hearing the word “peptides” a lot lately—but what exactly are they?

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the same building blocks that make up proteins. Many peptides occur naturally in our bodies and act like tiny biological messengers, helping cells communicate and directing different processes throughout the body.

Think of peptides as little “instructions” your body uses to tell certain cells what to do.

Depending on the peptide, those signals may be involved in things like:

✨ Metabolism and body composition
💪 Muscle growth, recovery & repair
🔥 Inflammation and immune signaling
😴 Sleep and circadian rhythms
🧠 Brain function and cognitive signaling
🦴 Tissue, tendon and joint repair
❤️ Cardiovascular and metabolic function
🌿 Skin, collagen and healthy aging
⚡ Energy and cellular function
🧬 Hormone signaling and regulation

And here’s the important part: “peptides” aren’t one treatment. There are many different peptides, and they have very different functions in the body.

Some peptides are already used in FDA-approved medications, while others are being studied for potential therapeutic uses. The science is evolving quickly, which makes this an exciting area of medicine—but also one where appropriate medical guidance matters.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to start breaking down some of the peptides you may be hearing about—what they are, how they work, what the research actually says, and who may (or may not) be a good candidate.

And we may have a little something new coming to Navarre Primary Care… 👀🧬

Stay tuned. Peptide education is coming.

08/28/2026

💙 Exciting News — Hannah Villatoro, APRN, is Joining Navarre Primary Care!

Many of our patients already know Hannah! For the past year and a half, Hannah has been Sherrie’s nurse practitioner student, completing much of her clinical training right here at Navarre Primary Care.

We are so excited to officially announce that Hannah has graduated, passed her national board certification, received her APRN license, and accepted a position with NPC! 🎉🩺

Over the last year and a half, Hannah has had the opportunity to learn our patients, our practice, and—most importantly—the philosophy of care we believe in at NPC: listen to the patient, ask the right questions, look at the whole picture, practice evidence-based medicine, and help patients understand and improve their health.

Hannah will initially practice under the supervision of a physician while she works toward meeting Florida’s requirements for autonomous practice. She will also have something we believe is incredibly valuable: the support and experience of Sherrie, Connie, and Michelle, who will be available for collaboration and guidance whenever needed.

Hannah has already been working through the insurance credentialing process for the past several months (unfortunately, this part takes time!). We anticipate that she will begin seeing patients in October, initially with UnitedHealthcare, VA Community Care, and self-pay patients, with additional insurance plans expected to be added as credentialing is completed.

Adding another provider isn't just about creating more appointments. We want to grow NPC with providers who share the same mission, values, and approach to patient care.

Hannah has spent the last year and a half learning alongside us, caring for many of you, and becoming part of the NPC family—and we couldn't be happier that she has chosen to begin her career as a nurse practitioner with us. 💙

Please help us officially welcome Hannah Villatoro, APRN, to the Navarre Primary Care team! 🎉

08/28/2026

❤️❤️❤️

08/28/2026

🧠 Not All Headaches Are the Same

Where your head hurts—and how it hurts—can give us important clues about what may be causing it.

Here are some of the most common headache patterns:

🔨 Tension Headache
Often described as pressure, tightness, or a “band” squeezing around the head.
• Usually affects both sides
• Forehead, temples, or back of the head/neck
• Often associated with stress, muscle tension, poor posture, or lack of sleep
• Usually not accompanied by nausea or vomiting

⚡ Migraine
Often described as throbbing, pounding, or pulsating pain.
• Frequently one-sided, but can affect both sides
• Moderate to severe pain
• May cause nausea or vomiting
• Sensitivity to light, sound, smells, or movement
• Some people experience an aura beforehand—flashing lights, visual changes, tingling, or difficulty finding words

👁️ Cluster Headache
Often described as extremely severe, piercing, burning, or “drilling” pain.
• Usually centered around or behind ONE eye
• Eye may become red, watery, or swollen
• Runny or stuffy nose can occur on the same side
• Often occurs in repeated attacks around the same time each day for weeks or months
• People are often restless or unable to sit still during an attack

🌿 Sinus-Related Headache
Usually feels like pressure or fullness in the face.
• Forehead, cheeks, around the eyes, or bridge of the nose
• Often worse when bending forward
• A true sinus headache is usually associated with other signs of sinus inflammation or infection, such as nasal congestion or drainage
⚠️ Many headaches people call “sinus headaches” are actually migraines.

💊 Medication-Overuse/Rebound Headache
Often feels like a frequent or nearly daily headache.
• Can be dull, pressure-like, or migraine-like
• May temporarily improve with medication and then return
• Can occur when certain headache medications are used too frequently

☕ Dehydration, Hunger & Caffeine Headaches
These are often described as dull, aching, or pressure-like and may occur with fatigue, dizziness, irritability, or difficulty concentrating. Even changes in your usual caffeine intake can trigger a headache.

🩸 Hormonal Headaches
Changes in estrogen can trigger migraines or headaches in some women, particularly around menstruation, perimenopause, menopause, or changes in hormone therapy.

🦷 Jaw/TMJ & Neck-Related Headaches
Pain may begin in the jaw, temples, base of the skull, or neck and travel upward. Clenching, grinding, muscle tension, arthritis, posture, and cervical spine problems can all contribute.

🚨 When is a headache an emergency?

Seek immediate medical evaluation for a headache that is suddenly explosive or the “worst headache of your life,” or a headache associated with weakness/numbness, facial drooping, confusion, fainting, seizure, difficulty speaking, significant vision loss, high fever with a stiff neck, or a significant head injury.

A new or significantly different headache, especially after age 50, or a headache that is becoming progressively more frequent or severe should also be evaluated.

Headaches are incredibly common—but the details matter. Where is the pain? What does it feel like? How long does it last? What makes it better or worse? What other symptoms occur with it?

Those clues can help your healthcare provider determine the next step.

Don’t just treat the headache—figure out why your head hurts. 🧠

This post is for education only and is not intended to diagnose or replace individualized medical care.

08/26/2026

😴 Sleep Isn’t “Doing Nothing” — It’s When Your Body Does Some of Its Most Important Work

We often think of sleep as simply giving our brain and body a break. But while you’re sleeping, your body is actually incredibly busy repairing, restoring, regulating, and cleaning up.

🧠 Your brain has a nighttime cleaning system.
During sleep—especially deep sleep—the brain’s glymphatic system becomes more active. Cerebrospinal fluid moves through brain tissue and helps clear metabolic waste products that accumulate while we’re awake. Think of it as the brain taking out the cellular trash.

🔧 Your body goes into repair mode.
Sleep supports cellular repair, protein synthesis, tissue recovery, and the removal or recycling of damaged cellular components. Growth hormone released during deep sleep also plays an important role in tissue repair and recovery.

🛡️ Your immune system needs sleep.
Sleep helps coordinate immune activity and inflammatory signaling. Consistently inadequate sleep can disrupt immune function and is associated with increased inflammation.

🧬 Your hormones and metabolism reset.
Sleep influences cortisol, insulin sensitivity, appetite hormones such as leptin and ghrelin, and reproductive hormones. Poor sleep can increase hunger and cravings and make blood-sugar and weight management more difficult.

❤️ Your cardiovascular system gets a break.
During healthy sleep, heart rate and blood pressure normally decrease, reducing the workload on your cardiovascular system.

🧠 And your brain processes the day.
Sleep is essential for learning, memory consolidation, emotional regulation, attention, and decision-making. Your brain isn't simply switching off—it is reorganizing and processing information.

Most adults should aim for approximately 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night, preferably with a consistent bedtime and wake time.

Sleep isn't wasted time.

It is maintenance time. Repair time. Cleanup time.

We spend so much time talking about nutrition, supplements, exercise, and medications—but sleep may be one of the most powerful health tools we have. ❤️

08/24/2026

08/22/2026

GLP-1 Medications: This Is About So Much More Than Weight Loss

When most people hear GLP-1, they think “weight-loss medication.”

But the science surrounding GLP-1 medications is becoming much bigger than the number on the scale.

We now know that, in appropriately selected patients, GLP-1–based medications can have benefits throughout the body—and researchers are continuing to investigate entirely new therapeutic uses.

CARDIOVASCULAR PROTECTION

Certain GLP-1 medications have been shown to reduce major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke in high-risk patients.

DIABETES & INSULIN RESISTANC

GLP-1 medications improve glucose regulation, decrease insulin resistance and can significantly lower A1C in people with type 2 diabetes.

OBESITY & METABOLIC HEALTH

These medications work on the biology of appetite and satiety, helping reduce hunger, cravings and what many patients describe as constant “food noise.”

And meaningful weight loss can improve blood pressure, triglycerides, glucose regulation and many other metabolic risk factors.

INFLAMMATION

This is an especially interesting area of research.

Clinical trials have demonstrated significant reductions in inflammatory markers such as CRP with semaglutide. Researchers are investigating how much of this comes from weight loss and improved metabolic health—and whether GLP-1 signaling itself has additional anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects.

FATTY LIVER DISEASE / MASH

This is no longer just theoretical.

GLP-1–based therapy has demonstrated improvements in metabolic liver disease, including MASH and liver fibrosis.

Semaglutide is now FDA-approved for adults with MASH and moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis.

Tirzepatide has also produced impressive results in clinical trials studying MASH, although its role in treating liver disease continues to be investigated.

PCOS

This is another exciting area.

Because insulin resistance is a major driver of PCOS in many women, GLP-1 medications may improve several of the metabolic abnormalities associated with the condition.

Studies have reported improvements in:
• insulin resistance
• body weight and abdominal adiposity
• menstrual regularity
• some androgen/hormonal markers

Some studies have even reported improvements in spontaneous pregnancy rates, although GLP-1 medications are not fertility medications and should not be used during pregnancy.

ALCOHOL CRAVINGS & ALCOHOL USE DISORDER

One of the most fascinating areas of current research involves the brain's reward pathways.

Researchers have noticed that some patients taking GLP-1 medications report significantly less desire for alcohol.

Randomized clinical trials are now supporting that observation, with semaglutide showing reductions in alcohol craving, alcohol consumption and/or heavy drinking.

GLP-1 medications are not currently an FDA-approved treatment for alcohol use disorder, but this is an important area of ongoing research.

CANCER RESEARCH

This area needs to be discussed carefully—but the early research is intriguing.

Large observational studies have found associations between GLP-1 use and lower incidence of some obesity-associated cancers.

Even more recently, research presented in 2026 found an association between GLP-1 use and a lower risk of progression to metastatic disease in patients with several obesity-related cancers, including breast, colorectal, lung and liver cancer.

This does NOT mean GLP-1 medications prevent or treat cancer.

It means researchers have identified a potential relationship important enough to study prospectively—and possible mechanisms involving insulin resistance, obesity, inflammation and immune signaling are being investigated.

OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA

Tirzepatide has demonstrated significant improvement in moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity and is now FDA-approved for this indication.

MOBILITY & QUALITY OF LIFE

Losing excess weight can decrease mechanical stress on the knees, hips, feet and spine and can make physical activity significantly easier.

So maybe we need to change the conversation.

GLP-1 medications aren't simply “skinny shots.”

They are powerful metabolic medications that affect signaling between the gut, brain, pancreas, liver, cardiovascular system and potentially other tissues throughout the body.

We're still learning just how extensive their effects may be.

The goal isn't simply to make someone smaller.

The goal is to make them metabolically healthier.

And as the research continues, we may discover that GLP-1 medications have therapeutic applications that we never anticipated when they were first developed.

GLP-1 medications are not appropriate for everyone and benefits vary by medication and individual health history. Some uses discussed above remain investigational and are not FDA-approved indications. This information is for education only and does not replace individualized medical care.

08/18/2026

Color isn’t the whole story. Green or yellow mucus can happen with viral illnesses too.