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Dr. Lori von der Heydt, ND

Hello!

I am Dr. von der Heydt, and I invite you to call me Lori or Dr. Lori.

I graduated in 1994 from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, which is now called National University of Natural Medicine, in Portland, OR, and I have completed advanced studies in Western Herbal Medicine and Bowen Therapy. I am a senior vitalist of the Naturopathic Medicine Institute. I founded the Beaumont Health Care Clinic in 1995 and continue to manage this multidisciplinary clinic today. 

Appointments

About Me.

I am a nature lover.  As a kid I would climb into my willow tree and sit high up, swaying in the breeze, watching people below who either paid no attention to me or didn't even know I was there.  I studied biology at Northern Arizona University, taking an interest in plants just a bit more than animals.  After graduation, I worked for a plant ecologist and his graduate students.  Unaware then, but no surprise now, that experience shaped the way I see the world.  

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As a naturopathic doc, I am not much different than an ecologist.  I work with a natural system.  The human.  There are myriad bacterial, viral and fungal organisms living in and on us humans, hopefully in symbiosis and health.  The outer environment affects the inner.  The inner environment speaks to the resiliency of the organism and its resistance to ill health, or lack thereof.  

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Working with individuals, over time, teaching them about health and healing, has brought  a lot of joy and meaning to my life.  It is a privilege to work with my patients.  They share with me things that they may not share with anyone else.  I am grateful to them for teaching me, maybe as much as I teach them, about health and healing.  It is my belief, there must exist, in the patient-doctor relationship, trust and confidence in order for healing to occur.  

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More recently, I have noticed it is harder for my patients to heal.  I think it is because of increased amounts of toxic chemicals in our food, water and air; the lack of safety so many feel in our cities and neighborhoods; the addiction to our screen devices, to name a few.  Always thinking about the cause of ill health, I have become more interested in the quality of our food, specifically in the health of our soils.  I took a deep dive into learning about the complete soil food web, the importance of no till farming and avoiding pesticides and herbicides on our farmlands.  Labels like 'organic' and 'natural' are meaning less and less today.  I am a big proponent of buying your veggies at the farmers market (or better yet, growing your own!) and talking to your farmers about their farm practices.  It's not only fun but it's healthier for you, them and our planet. 

My Services

Humans are part of nature, not separate from it. We have myriad bacteria, fungi and viruses living within us and on us, collaborating with our vastly smaller number of human cells, in support of life. There is intelligence in this biology, this mutualism; some of which we know and some we do not yet understand. I acknowledge, trust and respect all of it when I work with you to support your health and healing. My role as doctor is first, to do no harm; then to educate you so you can make informed choices to prevent disease and promote health; and finally, to address the underlying cause of your ill health whether it be physical, emotional, spiritual or a combination of all.

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My toolbox is diverse and is tailored to the individual patient. I regularly use careful history-taking, physical exam, lab work, diet changes, exercise, relaxation, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, spiritual practice, Western botanicals, Bowen Therapy, nutritional supplements, and infrequently, pharmaceuticals.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

People ask me how is naturopathic medicine different from conventional medicine. I could watch their eyes glaze over as I tell them the six principles of naturopathic medicine listed on our state organization’s website, www.oanp.org. But probably more helpful is to say, naturopathic medicine is an art and a science that focuses on promoting health and healing rather than on diagnosing and treating symptoms or disease. It is a science because we know from observation and from lab research that the body heals, on its own if the conditions are supportive for healing. Consider what happens when you cut yourself. You put pressure on the wound and maybe a band aid to stop the bleeding. You keep it clean and dry. In a day you notice a scab forms and within a week the superficial wound is virtually healed up. You did nothing, really. It was the natural tendency of the body to take care of the wound. Naturopaths trust and know well this innate ability of the body to heal.


But using this science, this knowledge, is an art. Sometimes the body needs support in this process, if a fever is not present when infection ensues, for example. Or if a nutrient is deficient as in a weakened patient who is anemic post surgery, we may need to supplement iron. It could be the obstacle to healing is emotional or spiritual in nature instead of physical. Naturopaths are detectives, trying to uncover the underlying cause of the imbalance and therefore ill health. The focus is on the individual’s presentation and the treatment is always specific to the patient. There are no formulas. Instead, we follow a philosophy, a way of thinking. It looks something like this: Take a good history, do a good physical exam, consider the whole person and their tendencies, reduce or remove obstacles to healing, support deficiencies, educate and empower self-healing, offer best treatments and repeat as needed.

HYDROTHERAPY

Hydrotherapy is the use of water for the purpose of health and healing. It’s been around for a long time beginning perhaps most notably with John Floyer, an English physician, who wrote a book and advocated cold bathing in 1697. Perhaps Wim Hof, is the modern day John Floyer!  It was Sebastian Kneipp, an Austrian, who had great influence on bringing hydrotherapy to the United States in the late 19th century. He healed Benedict Lust of tuberculosis and Henry Lindlahr of diabetes, who are both responsible for establishing naturopathic medicine in this country.


Constitutional hydrotherapy is the treatment I do most often for patients. It involves the use of hot and cold wet towels applied to the chest and back in a specific pattern with specific timing. Electric sine wave therapy is used during part of the treatment. The effectiveness of the treatment lies in its ability to increase circulation of both blood and lymph helping to oxygenate and detoxify all tissues. It promotes better digestion and increased elimination of toxins. The autonomic nervous system is balanced in favor of the parasympathetic (rest and digest) aspect. The immune system is stimulated gently to increase white blood count and activity which helps to clear inflammation and infection.


There are many ways to use water for therapeutic effects. Sometimes I teach people how to do warming socks which is a derivative treatment, pulling congestion from the head, down to the feet, often for pain relief and better sleep. Sometimes I teach alternating hot and cold treatments to decrease pain or increase healing of wounded tissue. Sometimes I need to make a fever and teach how to increase your temperature using a bath. Water is a very helpful tool to know how to use when I get a call on the weekend from a patient in need.


Hydrotherapy is a beneficial therapy for many conditions, both acute and chronic. Some of the conditions treated with success by varying methods of hydrotherapy include ear and eye infections, headaches, pneumonia, bronchitis, constipation, inflammatory bowel syndrome, sinusitis, colds, sore throats, coughs, asthma, heart disease, rheumatic arthritis and adjunct cancer care.

BOWEN THERAPY

Bowen Therapy was developed by Tom Bowen in Australia in the 1960’s. The Bowen Technique (or, more simply as I call it, Bowen) is a gentle, soft-tissue manipulation modality which stimulates and balances energy flow to allow the body to heal.

Bowen moves consist of sensing and challenging a group of muscle fibers or a tendon with my hands and then rolling over the tissue in a specific fashion, thus stimulating the underlying fascia. Many of the moves are located along acupuncture meridians or on specific acupuncture points which are known to stimulate and balance the body's energy. These gentle, yet powerful moves, send a neurologic impulse to the muscles, joints and nerves allowing them to relax. This is why I think of Bowen as needleless acupuncture.


It is used to treat a wide range of musculoskeletal problems and sports
injuries like trigger finger, sprains and strains, sciatica, sacral or pelvic pain, as well as other conditions including hayfever, sore throats, headache, incontinence, sinusitis and urinary tract problems.


Bowen can be done with clothes on and is relatively quick, taking usually 30 minutes or less. I typically do follow up treatments in 7-10 days. After treatment, most patients feel a slight improvement and go on to notice more improvement the next day. Very few patients notice a worsening of symptoms after treatment and then a marked improvement the next day.

BIOTHERAPEUTICDRAINAGE

Using UNDA numbers for intracellular detoxification (biotherapeutic drainage), I have found to be one of my most important tools in helping someone heal from illness.  All of the other therapeutic modalities work better when your tissues and organ systems are less burdened with toxic elements.  Fasting and hydrotherapy can help get the toxins out of the extracellular (outside the cell) space but it is my belief you need an energetic medicine like UNDA remedies to remove the toxins from the intracellular (inside the cell) space.  

 

When toxins lodge themselves inside the cell they can damage DNA, change protein synthesis, change the life and function of the cell.  These toxins can come in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the medications we take, the stress we feel, and inadequate elimination (constipation).  To heal illness, we must remove these toxic accumulations inside the cell.  UNDA remedies are one way to accomplish this.

 

The UNDA system of remedies was developed by George Discri, Dr. Louis Reuter and Dr. Anthoine Nebel in Switzerland during the 1920's and 1930's.  They were formulated using anthroposophical principles, metallurgy knowledge from the old alchemists, the principles of Classical Chinese medicine and homeopathy.  These formulations are still working today to remove toxic cellular accumulations.

 

I choose UNDA remedies based upon what organ system I want to treat whereas single homeopathic remedies are chosen based upon the suite of symptoms shown by the patient. These energetic remedies are a combination of diluted plants and metals that have the ability to clear and purify the cell.  They are gentle in their action and if dosed appropriately, rarely cause worsening of symptoms.

Am I the right doctor for you?

If you want to partner with your physician, ask questions, understand why certain tests are indicated and why various treatments are prescribed, make necessary changes to your lifestyle in order to really heal instead of putting a bandaid on your symptoms, and, ultimately phase out your visits with me because you know what you need to do to stay healthy, I might be a good doctor for you.  I am not the best doctor for you if you want a quick fix with a medication or supplement to mask your symptoms of 10yrs or more.  

 

I see mostly women (but increasingly more men), children and elderly, helping them with standard diagnoses including allergies, anemia, anxiety, arrhythmia, bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, colds, constipation, diarrhea, diabetes, ear infections, flu, gas/bloating, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux, hemorrhoids, hypertension, hormonal imbalances, irritable bowel, pneumonia, pre-diabetes, sinusitis, sleep issues, sore throats and weight issues.  

 

Prevention is the best health insurance.  Teaching patients how to live a life of health that includes support to discourage their individual predispositions to illness is my favorite thing to do.  I look forward to meeting and working with you. 

 

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You may email (vonderheydt@beaumonthealthcare.com) or call (503-708-5742)

to make an appointment,

which can be in person or via video.

Fees

  • Initial visit lasts 90-120min and costs $248-330

  • Follow-up visits last 30-60min and cost $80-165

  • Hydrotherapy $75

  • Bowen Therapy $75

  • Labs and Pharmacy extra.

 

Payment is taken at time of service via cash, check or credit card.

If you have Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, I will take your co-pay at time of service and bill insurance for you. For all other insurances, if you'd like to submit for reimbursement, I can provide an invoice with necessary codes.

I am a member of the Patient Physician Co-op (PPC).

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