At Restore Health Collective, your initial virtual functional medicine consultation lasts approximately one hour. We use that time to understand your history, explore possible contributing factors, and begin outlining practical next steps.
My goal is for you to feel heard and understand why each recommendation may be worth considering.
A Focus on Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Your Daily Patterns
At Restore Health Collective, we dedicate time to exploring how your nutrition, daily habits, sleep, stress, and relevant exposures may relate to what you’re experiencing.
We look closely at patterns: whether digestive symptoms follow particular foods, whether concerns change throughout your menstrual cycle, and what has changed in your routines or environment. These details help us identify questions worth exploring, rather than assume a cause before we understand your history.
When appropriate, we discuss whether targeted testing could provide useful information. Some stool tests assess selected microorganisms and digestive markers, while certain hormone tests measure levels at specified times. We explain what a test can and cannot tell us, and whether its results could meaningfully guide next steps.
Our role centers on nutrition, lifestyle, and individualized wellness recommendations. We do not prescribe medications or replace your medical providers. If you take prescribed medication, we work alongside that care, with attention to potential supplement interactions and referral when medical evaluation is needed.
The goal is to help you understand the reasoning behind your recommendations and make practical changes with greater confidence.
We Begin With Your Full Story
The first consultation starts with a detailed conversation about what you’re experiencing and how it affects your life.
We discuss your current concerns, previous diagnoses, surgeries, medications, supplements, and care you’ve already received. We also explore nutrition, daily routines, sleep, stress, movement, and relevant exposures.
My areas of focus include digestive health, hormone-related concerns, and nutrition and lifestyle support for people living with autoimmune conditions.
Rather than assuming every symptom has one explanation, we look for patterns and questions that deserve further attention.
What Should You Have Ready?
If available, have copies of blood work and other relevant testing from the past year or two. This might include previous hormone or stool testing, along with diagnoses and visit summaries from your medical providers.
Also have a current list of medications and supplements, including doses.
You do not need to purchase new testing before the consultation. We start with your history and the information you already have.
For a virtual visit, choose a private, comfortable place where you can speak openly and review your questions.
What Will You Leave With?
The first appointment helps establish an initial framework: what we’ve learned, what may need a closer look, and which next steps make sense.
Depending on your circumstances, we may discuss initial diet and lifestyle recommendations or whether additional testing could provide useful information.
You should not expect every question to be answered in one hour. After the consultation, I take time to review your information, consider relevant research, and bring those pieces together before we meet again.
The aim is a thoughtful plan with an explanation behind it.
Is Additional Testing Required?
No. Testing is considered individually, rather than ordered as a standard package for everyone.
Before recommending a test, we discuss the question it is intended to help answer, its limitations, its cost, and whether the result could change our next steps.
Testing can provide useful information, but it does not necessarily identify a single cause or deliver an immediate diagnosis.
If you prefer to begin without additional testing, we can discuss appropriate nutrition and lifestyle steps using your history and existing results. If your concerns require medical evaluation, we will explain that rather than substitute wellness recommendations for needed care.
What Happens at the Follow-Up?
At the follow-up, we walk through the proposed wellness plan and the reasoning behind it.
This may include nutrition, sleep, movement, stress management, and other practical changes tailored to your circumstances. If testing is recommended and you choose to proceed, we review the results together when available and refine the plan as appropriate.
The goal is for you to understand what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what we’ll be watching for.
How Do Supplements Fit In?
Supplements are considered individually. Recommendations take into account your concerns, available results, medications, and products you already use.
We review ingredients, overlapping products, and potential interactions. When needed, medication-related questions should also be reviewed with your prescribing clinician or pharmacist.
Supplements are not a replacement for prescribed treatment. Their purpose and separate costs are discussed before you decide whether to proceed.
How Do We Track Progress?
I encourage you to track your main concerns alongside changes you make.
For example, you might note changes in energy, fatigue, bloating, or how you feel after dietary changes or starting a supplement. These observations help us discuss what is improving, what is difficult, and whether recommendations need to change.
You are encouraged to ask questions and schedule follow-up appointments when additional discussion is needed.
How Does This Fit With Your Medical Care?
These consultations provide nutrition, lifestyle, and general wellness support alongside your existing medical care. They do not diagnose, treat, or manage medical conditions.
Continue working with your primary care doctor and specialists. Symptoms or test findings that need medical attention warrant appropriate evaluation, and prescribed treatment should not be stopped or changed through this service.
Leave With Greater Understanding
You do not need to have everything figured out before your first appointment.
My goal is to help you organize your health story, understand possible contributing factors, and feel encouraged about realistic next steps. Sometimes that means recognizing a pattern you hadn’t considered. Sometimes it means starting with one manageable change.