Claudia Dogan-Coles, PA-C

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE, WOMEN’S HEALTH, PRIMARY CARE – WORKS AT BOTH 6035 SE MILWAUKIE AVE & 5736 NE GLISAN CLINICS

PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER LOCATED IN PORTLAND, OR
Claudia Dogan-Coles works at both the MHW 6035 SE Milwaukie location (Tues, Wed, Fri) AND the 5736 NE Glisan St location.
Claudia Dogan-Coles is a board certified Physician Assistant (Associate). Ms Dogan-Coles received both her Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant Studies and Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences. Claudia graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. Claudia Dogan-Coles’ first position after graduating was in Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgery. She became proficient in orthopedic examination as well as joint injection which is helpful is primary care.
Claudia Dogan-Coles recently moved to Oregon at the end of 2014 and enjoys the countless outdoor activities Oregon has to offer. Outside of work, Claudia enjoys hiking, biking, cooking, yoga, horseback riding, pottery and salsa/Latin dancing. And staying true to her Wisconsin roots, she also loves the Green Bay Packers–go Pack go!

In Functional Medicine we look for the causes of disease rather than just treating the symptoms. Functional Medicine revolves around our patient. Using DIG IN style to gather health history, we work as a team to hear your story. We attempt to fine the true cause of your illness. We can use state of the art lab tests and theory to help you achieve optimum health.
Functional Medicine includes a nutrition plan, supplements, health coaching to get to the root of your issue. Functional Medicine will assess Food, Detox, Hormones, Energy, Cardio, Metabolic, and above all Gut Health. To learn more click here.
Many natural treatments can be hard to follow due to so many options. We match the treatment with the patient. We will meet the patient where they are. This helps the patient step to success rather than feeling overwhelmed with the treatment plan.</p

Western medicine might only use prescriptions to treat symptoms. Although, symptoms are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to chronic disease. However, these meds don’t fix the problem, and they often they create other problems.
In functional medicine we take a different approach. Rather than covering up symptoms, we look for each person’s causes of inflammation and disease. We use the most up to date research.
Once we know your triggers, we remove the things that are causing strife in your body. We replace the things that your body is missing. We remove hidden infections, allergens, toxic chemicals, and foods that you are sensitive to. And, we replace digestive enzymes, vitamins and nutrients, and healthy bacteria. We also balance hormones and brain health.
In functional medicine we help find the real cause of disease, so that you can truly heal.

The women’s health care patient we see were not sure they were making the right women’s health care choices. Now patients get women’s health care from us as they had a sense there must be a better way. We feel we can help find a better way to perform women’s health care.

Many have disdain with normal women’s health care, but leery of alternative medicine. Also many are seeking alternative health care but don’t feel like telling their doctor about it.
Hence, a lot of women feel lost in normal health care. But the truth is that the health care system is going through a period of change. This is called functional medicine or integrative medicine. Hence, you can be an agent of that change.

Practice being still. As little as ten minutes a day spent in quiet time can give you physical, mental, and emotional health. Focus on deep breathing, which allows oxygen to reach the tissues and quiet the mind. Also it allows space for your inner voice to emerge and guide you in your life.

It is what most of us grew up with. If you get sick, feel a lump or have an accident, you go to the doctor. The physician treats that particular problem. And usually through prescription drugs or surgery — and you go home.
This has been a remarkably successful system that has rid the world of diseases and infections. Preventative medicine is now a buzzword with the insurance companies. Hence meaning eat less, exercise more and take an aspirin or other “safe” drug every day.
Scientific advances like the mapping of DNA may change this approach in the future. Also traditional doctors are rigorously trained to address trauma or disease. But not the complexities of how the patient got that way.

Generally speaking, its practitioners look at the “whole” person — mind, body and spirit — to identify underlying imbalances that cause disease.
Treatment occurs in the least invasive, most natural way. Also this fosters a well-balanced, well-nourished body that will resist disease. Also fight infection, heal faster, age gracefully and rarely if ever need more radical intervention.
Many leading hospitals now offer what they term complementary and alternative medicine.

We feel Integrative medicine conveys that Western medicine and alternative therapies must be integrated. We can say with confidence that integrative medicine is the future of healthcare. Integrative medicine is now a part of the curriculum at 28 major medical schools around the United States.
A branch of integrative medicine, called functional medicine, is the guiding principle of our practice at Merritt Health and Wellness.

The main reason to bring integrative medicine into your life is simple – you’ll be healthier. Both traditional and alternative practices have their benefits and their limitations. But together they provide a synergy that can transform your health. Also they can fill you with vitality, naturally, for the rest of your life.
And that’s important. A recent eight-year study on U.S. adult health-related quality of life reports that we are living longer but feeling worse. And drugs have side effects that often diminish our quality of life, as well as shorten it.

At our practice we see this everyday. Women come in whose tests are “normal” by current standards but know that something is wrong. Often they have or are on the verge of a serious health issue. But they just haven’t reached the disease threshold yet. Simply adding daily food supplements and making changes in diet and lifestyle have helped our patients.
Conventional medicine is very good at disease screening, and often effective in treatment of disease or acute conditions. But if you stay with the conventional approach exclusively, in our view, you make it more likely you’ll get sick.

For many years now there have been more visits to complementary and alternative practitioners.
At Merritt Health and Wellness we integrate these methods seamlessly.
Whether or not you’ve tried alternative health care, the way to get results from integrative medicine are:

Maybe you have one. If not, ask your friends for references. Our info on talking about bioidentical hormones with your doctor provides advice about talking to a practitioner. Some physicians will feel threatened by a patient’s need to bring other practitioners onto their team. Proceed with the notion that knowledge is power and what matters here is your health, not your doctor’s feelings.

You must not ignore the value of health check-ups for disease screening; you must not self-diagnose.

When it comes to your health your are the expert. If you have a health issue but the plan of treatment sounds worse to you, discuss options. If you know something doesn’t feel right but your tests are normal, don’t ignore your body’s wisdom. This is a perfect time to begin looking into alternative medicine.
People are simply too unique. You have to find what works for you. Sometimes what’s best is to use the normal approach but sometimes it is not. Hence giving time for natural methods (food changes and food supplement) have time to get traction.