Hi, I’m Dr. Rachel!
I chose a career in Naturopathic Medicine because I truly believe that you deserve top of the line care that breaks the standard of care we are used to and instead guides you to feeling your best, no longer normalizing living with your symptoms and in control of your health journey without having to be wildly restricted. I have endured my fair share of health hurdles and although I was repetitively told “you are so healthy”, probably because I ate a lot of veggies, I really didn’t have a clue what I needed to do that was specific to my IBS to get to a place where I wasn’t desperately managing symptoms but instead, felt in control and at ease. This is where my love of Naturopathic Medicine sparked.
I absolutely adore working within the corner of health care that honors both your lived experience & the science. What I do leverages both to get you to that lean back moment where you understand your body and you feel in control of your journey.
I call this recovery, where you are brought back to a state where you can live your life to the fullest, unimpeded by whatever you are recovering from or transitioning through!
My area of expertise, or zone of genius if you will, is in menopause (a moment of silence for all the dry vaginas), hormone health and gastrointestinal health.
I have undergone extensive education to bring specialized care to both my areas of expertise, because specialized care is what you deserve!
You deserve advice and a treatment plan that is targeted to what you are dealing with. Generalized gut advice is not going to help someone with chronic constipation, and generalized hormone advice is not going to provide a high standard of care to someone transitioning through the menopause period.
My treatment plans strongly emphasize nutrition and lifestyle coaching, as well as nutraceutical prescribing. In addition, I have completed the necessary requirements to prescribe hormone replacement therapy, which is the gold standard support throughout menopause, and dessicated thyroid within Ontario.
Here is a short list of some of the conditions and concerns I have helped patients with over the years
GASTROINTESTINAL:
- any irregular pooping patterns (constipation, diarrhea, both)
- IBS
- Bloating
- Excessive, smelly or painful gas
- excessive belching
- GERD
- trouble getting off proton pump inhibitors
- heartburn, indigestion
- fatty liver
- ulcerative colitis
- SIBO and dysbiosis
MENOPAUSE & PERIMENOPAUSE (your cycle begins to change or you get some of these symptoms listed)
- hot flashes
- night sweats and insomnia
- Easier to irritate/on a hair trigger
- feeling itchier than usual
- unpredictable periods
- low libido
- vaginal dryness
- vaginal atrophy
- anxiety & depression
- brain fog
HORMONE:
- PMS
- PCOS
- Endometriosis
- Burnout (yes cortisol is a hormone too)
- Insulin resistance & metabolism support (insulin is also a hormone)
- Painful Periods
- Post oral contraceptive recovery (3-6 months after discontinuation)
Working with me looks like…
Above all else, I promise, I am human, and I will show up to your appointment that way. This means I am not perfect, and so I will never expect perfection from you!
My goal is always to ensure you understand that I may be your doctor, but we work as a team!
Everything that goes into your treatment plan, we will mutually agree upon, and we implement that plan at a pace that works for you, and is within your comfort level.
One last thing …
I do have a not so secret, secret to share with you … I live in Kelowna, BC!! It is a complete dream that I am here (temporarily). Moby, my dog and I, are spending winters in the mountains and summers hiking and exploring British Columbia.
What this means for us, is that working with me will always be virtual, but your quality of care will be no different than if I was sitting across a desk from you! You still received 100% access to all of the clinic’s services, no different than if you came into the clinic for your appointments.
As a little girl, I always dreamt of a day I would live here, and I am so proud to say I’ve made it happen!
Some fun things I am working on this year
Getting better at loving time alone
Holding a handstand for 10 seconds, I’ve been aiming for this one for a while. Will this be the year I achieve it?
Continuing to educate myself so I can bring the most state of the art care to my patients. As nerdy as this sounds, I really do love to learn and translate all that I know into great health care!
Gain strength! I’m working hard towards getting boulder shoulders. Fun fact, muscle mass is also a huge predictor of longevity and autonomy as we age!!