Naturopath
Our Naturopath treats a wide range of conditions, both acute and chronic, including:
- Digestive System
- Food Intolerances / Allergies
- Diarrhoea/ constipation
- Indigestion (bad breath, bloating, pain, burping, flatulence)
- Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease (GORD) / heart burn
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Respiratory System
- Allergies (hay fever/sinusitis)
- Cold/flu
- Nervous System
- Stress and adrenal fatigue
- Insomnia
- Headache/migraine
- Anxiety
- Mild depression / low mood
- Reproductive System
- Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
- Endometriosis
- Menopause
- Preconception/pregnancy
- Endocrine System
- Thyroid including Hashimotos and Graves
- Autoimmune conditions
Your first consultation will take up to 1 hour and will include a comprehensive assessment of your health. Prior to coming to your consultation you will be asked to fill in a health evaluation questionnaire covering your current symptoms and concerns, as well as a 3 day food diary. During your consultation this health assessment will be discussed in detail and issues expanded upon in order for Caroline to gain a clear understanding of your health concern/s. Other diagnostic tests or referral to a medical practitioner may be required to further assess what is causing your health complaint/s.
At the end of the consultation Caroline will provide you with an initial treatment plan including preventative and restorative lifestyle and nutritional measures, together with herbal and supplement therapy as required.
Tests
Sometimes tests are required to identify at a biochemical level what is causing or compounding your current or ongoing health complaint/s. Key tests used include:
Comprehensive Thyroid Testing – A comprehensive thyroid serum blood test that examines all areas of thyroid function including the thyroid hormones, thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroid antibodies, and the conversion of thyroid hormones.
Food Intolerance & Allergy – IgE, IgG and IgA: Used to determine food intolerances and allergies that may be causing or exacerbating your health complaint/s. Your body has a highly sophisticated immune system used to recognise things as harmful. Food intolerances or allergies occur when antibodies (IgE, IgG, IgA) produced by your immune system recognise certain food proteins as harmful to you. If this occurs the antibodies initiate a defence mechanism which involves inflammation. While this system of defence is actually very important and vital to our survival, for some people it produces very uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating and flatulence, through to eczema, asthma, arthritis and migraines. The symptoms can develop into chronic conditions if the offending foods are not identified and removed from the diet. Usually you only need to avoid the food for a short period of time and rotate your diet. However, sometimes it may be necessary to avoid certain foods forever if the allergy is severe.
Hormone Profile: D.U.T.C.H Test - Used to measure steroid hormones in your urine. Hormones, such as testosterone, oestrogen, progesterone and cortisol, act as ‘chemical messengers’ in your body. They are vital to the proper functioning of multiple processes in your body. This test can be very useful in uncovering hormonal imbalances in conditions such as unexplained weight gain, low libido, infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), excessive hair growth or loss, and adrenal fatigue.
Complete Microbiome Mapping / Stool Tests: This assesses a patient's microbiome from a single stool sample, with particular attention to microbes that cause disease or that disrupt normal microbial balance and contribute to digestive issues or illness. It screens for bacteria, pathogens, fungi, virus's and parasites as well as immune and digestive markers.
Allergenics Hair Tests: To test for food and environmental sensitivities and intolerances through hair analysis. Vitamin and Mineral Assessment and Hormone Assessment is also available
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA): Used to detect heavy metal and mineral levels. HMTA is extremely useful in cases where no single cause for nutritional effects can be determined. It measures imbalances in most of the essential minerals found in the body including Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Copper, Zinc, Iron, Selenium, Chromium, Manganese, Molybdenum, phosphorus, Cobalt and Boron. It also detects heavy metals such as Lead, Mercury and Cadmium. HTMA is considered to be much more sensitive than a blood test because the blood is just a transport system, delivering minerals to tissues (such as hair) for storage.