Full Circle Natural Medical Clinic

08/23/2021

"Food sensitivities don’t always mean a lifetime of avoiding the offending foods. Actually, in a majority of cases, you can heal from food sensitivities.
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Food allergies and food sensitivities are NOT the same thing. A food allergy is a type of immune response that involves IgE (immunoglobulin E). Symptoms related to allergies are often itching, anaphylaxis, rashes, congestion, etc. A food sensitivity is a type of immune response that involves IgG or IgA (immunoglobulins G & A). Food sensitivities often develop as a result of imbalance and/or inflammation in the digestive tract, and may be resolved when the underlying digestive issue is corrected. Food sensitivities can cause a myriad of symptoms - some common ones include congestion, headaches, bloating, diarrhea, IBS, nausea, reflux, and weight gain. When our digestive lining is damaged, it allows proteins from foods - which should stay in our gut - to escape to the rest of the body (you may have heard of this process as “Leaky Gut”). The immune system sees these proteins as foreign, and attacks them with the above-mentioned immunoglobulins.
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To heal from food sensitivities, I usually counsel patients to remove the offending foods and treat their underlying digestive complaints. Sometimes this involves using antimicrobial herbs, however, the treatment always has a strong focus on herbs & supplements to restore healthy tissue integrity and rebalance the gut microbiome (i.e. promote the growth of bacteria and yeast that typically live in a healthy gut). I’ve found that often, when the root cause is properly addressed, patients can reintroduce foods without experiencing a relapse in symptoms. There are times when foods continue to create issues or should remain removed for other reasons. However, more often than not, we can reintroduce foods successfully! My goal is to avoid restrictive dieting long term and enable patients to enjoy their food again.
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Not sure if you have food sensitivities? There are ways to test for this. My opinion is that a classic Elimination-Challenge Diet gives us the best information. In some instances, I also utilize blood labs to determine food sensitivities.
- Dr. Raven"

06/08/2021

We are delighted to announce our first wellness workshop of 2021!!!
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What does sexual health look like? This is different for every person.
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In essence, it’s being able to connect intimately with your partner(s) in a way that is pain-free and pleasurable.
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Like all forms of pleasure, sexual pleasure should bring you joy. It should not be something that creates stress or discomfort in your life.
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Join our class as Dr. Stephanie Raven discusses the importance of sexual health and how to improve intimate connections in a pain-free and pleasurable way.
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Our Sexual Health Class will be on Wednesday, June 30th from 6-7pm
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Located in the backyard garden at Full Circle Natural Medical Clinic.
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We’ll be making a homemade lubricant with Dr. Raven’s recipe of herbs and oils. Supplies provided by Full Circle Natural Medical Clinic.
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The cost is $15 (bring a friend for free if they are NOT already an existing patient).
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Seating is limited so book (in the link below⤵️) to reserve your spot today! We look forward to seeing you there!
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We are delighted to announce our first wellness workshop of 2021!!!

01/22/2021

We’re making some changes in the New Year! Dr. Stephanie Raven is now billing insurance. She is currently in-network with the following insurance providers:
✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield
✓ Aetna
✓ First Choice Health Network
✓ Cigna
✓ Allegiance
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Dr. Raven will be expanding upon this list, so we will keep you informed as she does so. If you are one of Dr. Raven’s patients, and would like to switch to insurance billing, please call our office to let us know. If you are unsure as to whether you have coverage for naturopathic doctors, you can call your insurance company to verify eligibility. Ask our office for a Verifying Insurance Benefits questionnaire to help guide you through this process!
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We ARE currently accepting new patients. If you’d like to establish care with Dr. Raven, give our office a call: 406-721-2147. You can learn more about Dr. Raven and some of the services that she offers by visiting our website: FullCircleMedicalClinic.com
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We’re excited about this new change, and hope that it helps make the medicine that we love more accessible to our local community.

10/05/2020

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We are excited to announce that we are now be offering Constitutional Hydrotherapy Treatments at Full Circle Natural Medical Clinic.
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Constitutional Hydrotherapy uses hot and cold water applications to stimulate healing and strengthen the general defenses of the body. This treatment is good for all manner of digestive complaints, including diarrhea, constipation, bloating, indigestion, and poor assimilation of foods. It can also reduce chronic inflammation, increase circulation, and balance the nervous system. In addition, this is an excellent treatment for promoting detoxification and also boosting the immune system.
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Constitutional Hydrotherapy can be a great adjunct to most treatment plans. Call our office if you're interested in trying this treatment! For doctors in Missoula and surrounding areas, we are also accepting referrals from outside clinics.

08/06/2020

A special thank you to everyone that came out to our Herb Walk and Medicine Making Workshop! We had such a blast with all of you! It was wonderful to educate, learn, create and grow as a community to create awareness and over all wellness. We look forward to doing more workshops with you and Montana Herb Gathers in the future. 💚
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05/28/2020

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A lot of people come into our office with chronic sinus infections. This seems to be an especially common issue in our area - Montana. We often see patients who have been put on a series of antibiotics for sinus infections, but they just keep coming back!
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If a patient comes in with this history we will often recommend a nasal culture. With this culture we can see if there is any Staphylococci bacteria, Antibiotic Resistant bacteria, or Fungus growing in your nasal passages. Correctly identifying the cause of chronic sinus infections, and properly treating that cause, is essential for proper and thorough healing.
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If you’d like to find out more about this test, and whether it’s an appropriate lab for you, visit our website www.FullCircleMedicalClinic.com

05/26/2020

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**Modern Medicine knows exactly what causes most chronic diseases today!!!**
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The bottom line with Chronic Disease, like Diabetes, Cancer, Arthritis, is** inflammation**
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What causes inflammation? Well, diet for one. Trans fats (yes they SHOULD be outlawed because they are NOT food), High fructose corn syrup (yes they SHOULD be outlawed because they are NOT food and highly addictive), a sick microbiome (more on that later), and Toxic poisoning!
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Toxic poisoning could be from mold, chemicals or toxic metals, like lead, mercury, and aluminum. Toxic metal poisoning is not always obvious but can create symptoms such as brain fog, memory issues, nutritional deficiencies, hormone imbalances, gastrointestinal issues, liver or kidney problems.
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If you’re high in toxic metals, it will have a serious impact on how well you heal. Sometimes you can be eating well, exercising, drinking plenty of water, taking all the right herbs & supplements, and still be sick.
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We can check some toxic metals from blood, but blood is only accurate within 72 hours after exposure. Often the exposure happened years ago and the toxin has been stored in your tissues. The best way to measure your toxicity is with a urine test. Measuring what’s in the urine is like going through the trash.
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If you think the Urinary Toxic Metal Test may be an appropriate lab for you, call our office to talk to one of our doctors on staff or check our website www.FullCircleMedicalClinic.com

05/21/2020

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The most common lab work ordered today is blood work. You can measure thousands of blood components through large labs. The blood is compartmentalized (blood stays in the vascular system) and prioritized (a level just a hundredth off can be fatal). So, our body will do anything it can to maintain normal levels. We call these levels reference ranges. Just because your level is in reference range, doesn’t necessarily mean you're ok.
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Sometimes we want to measure the throw-away fluid, like urine. One of the outstanding lab tests that can give us a better picture of what is happening to you metabolically, is the Organic Acid Test-OATs test.
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Some of the questions this test can answer are:
➖How well are my cells producing energy? (When thyroid and adrenal labs show normal.)
➖How well is my body using Vitamins, Mineral, Antioxidants, Ketones, and Amino Acids?
➖Do I have microorganisms in my guts that are making me sick?
➖Do I have Candida or Small Intestinal Microbial Overgrowth?
➖Do I have enough of the right neurotransmitters to keep my brain functioning well?
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If you’d like to find out more about this test, and whether it’s an appropriate lab for you, call our office to schedule an appointment or check our website FullCircleMedicalClinic.com