During your initial 15 minute phone assessment we will assess which clinical route would be most appropriate for you and answer any questions you might have about our process. Once we have decided on the best route for you, you will then be sent our online forms to complete before your initial appointment. These encompass a full health history, neurotransmitter and brain health assessments, a pre-consult thyroid assessment and may include a genetic expression questionnaire. Completing these forms will help you to clarify your health goals and often makes you remember things you might have forgotten about. It also helps us to understand your health objectives, medical history, your family history, other antecedents, triggers and mediators of your health concerns.
There is a food diary to complete (you can either upload pictures, or write descriptions), and we will ask you to upload, email or bring in any medical test results you may have, along with details of any supplements or pharmaceutical medication you’re taking so we can ensure you are taking these safely and that potentially dangerous depletions or interactions may be mitigated.
Depending on the route you take, your initial appointment may take up to 2 hours, which is often a lot longer than you’ll spend with your GP. We will discuss all aspects of your health to try and determine the root causes of any health issues you may be having.We focus on letting you tell us your story, physical observations and assessment, and we may perform diagnostic techniques such as a neurological exam, endobiogenic assessment, nutritional physical assessment, diagnostic iridology, pulse and tongue diagnosis (Ayurveda and TCM), blood pressure, bio-electrical impedance analysis and any other relevant physical examinations. We can do a lot of these things online as most of our patients are based internationally.
We will then undertake a personalised health evaluation and you’ll receive a comprehensive initial strategy via our encrypted patient communication system. This will include tailored nutritional advice or meal plans, functional testing, informational handouts, meal ideas and recipes where relevant to best suit your needs and budget, along with lifestyle and other naturopathic recommendations, including nutritional supplements and a herbal medicine prescription. We may recommend other therapeutic modalities we think you would benefit from.
We work with new patients either via our Comprehensive Health Assessment structure, Foundational Strategy or our Bredesen year-long programme for cognitive decline. With a health assessment, we will give you the tools to implement a strategy yourself. You will likely need follow up appointments, even with a health assessment if you would like to do some testing, so if you do go down that route, or decide you want more structured implementation support, you can work with me on a monthly rolling structure, either book a review bundle, or work with me on an ad-hoc basis.
Our rolling monthly package involves appointments which are spaced out in accordance with a strategy for implementation. Messaging support on our patient system allows us together to brainstorm and tackle any challenges you may come up against so you are well prepared. This helps to ensure success of the programme. We offer support via the client management messaging system, whatsapp, and phone or video calls can be booked where necessary where these are incorporated in your package.
If any testing is required, we will discuss this during your initial consultation or further down the line. We use The Doctor’s Laboratory, Vibrant Wellness, Functional Dx, Precision Analytical for DUTCH, Spectracell, Great Plains, Maintrac, Armin Labs and other blood testing providers which involve not just bloodwork, but other less-invasive at home tests such as dried blood spot panels, urine for organic acids or toxin testing, stool testing or dried urine panels. We will refer you to a private laboratory for bloodwork and other tests involving urine, saliva or stool samples can be done at home with the testing kits sent to you.Many of these tests can be done at home. If you are in the US we can use Direct Labs, Rupa which covers many labs and Vibrant.
Unlike traditional testing which focuses on pathology, functional testing offers comprehensive panels which combine standard and innovative biomarkers to offer a more complete snapshot of the health picture of an individual. Specialised panels such as Maintrac are also offered for cancer patients, Armin Labs for stealth pathogens, Mould panels, and we use Vibrant testing to assess autoimmune activity. Our endobiogenic Biology of Functions is an extremely in-depth mathematical analysis of blood labs which measures function, identifies drivers and imbalances within the neuroendocrine system which are driving health concerns.
Functional testing, including genetic testing, may also help to identify problems before chronic disease and conditions have a chance to develop. Functional testing can also help when you are on specific medications and you need to find out how well they are working and what impact they are having on your body. We can often use herbal medicine to balance out any unwanted changes (e.g. when patients are on aromatase inhibitors or anti-depressants, it’s important to be able to see how well they are working and if they are even helpful for the patient).
Nutrigenomic and epigenetic tests are useful for identifying current state of health, genetic factors which impact your ideal diet and optimum exercise duration and intensity, endurance, sport recovery and genetic factors which affect cholesterol metabolism, B vitamin and antioxidant status and oestrogen metabolism, which is important information for those with a family history of cancer and fertility issues.
Tests we regularly recommend include:
- Endobiogeny Biology of Functions
- Functional Dx and TDL blood testing panels
- Vibrant Wellness panels including those which assess neurological autoimmunity and nutrient status
- Circulating epithelial tumour cell testing and cancer stem cell testing with Maintrac
- Comprehensive stool analysis
- Microbiome analysis and Organic Acids Testing
- Female and male dried hormone urine testing looking at sex and stress hormones and their metabolites
- Comprehensive and specialist cardiovascular assessment
- Comprehensive food allergy and intolerance profiles
- Testing for Lyme and co-infections
- Mycotoxin assays including MARCoNs testing
- Nutrigenomic testing
- Viral Screens
NB: All personal information shared with me is held in the strictest confidence; we are on the Data Protection Register and strictly follow GDPR and HIPAA guidelines.