Services

lyme disease

Progressive, integrated, and personalized healthcare.

Practice Modalities

Naturopathic Medicine

We practice the Five Fundamental Principles of Naturopathic Medicine:

1) The Healing Power of Nature is an inherent self-organizing and nurturing process of all living systems.

2) Find the Cause. Every illness has an underlying cause, often in aspects of lifestyle, diet, or habits of the individual. A Naturopathic doctor is trained to identify and help remove the underlying causes of disease.

3) First Do No Harm. Naturopathic doctors utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful effects and apply the least possible force or intervention necessary to diagnose illness and restore health. Whenever possible, the suppression of symptoms is avoided as suppression is generally thought to interfere with the healing process.

4) Treat the Whole Person. Health or disease is initiated from a complex interaction between mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, dietary, genetic, environmental, lifestyle, structural, and other factors. Naturopathic doctors treat the whole person by taking all of these factors into account.

5) Preventive Medicine. The naturopathic approach to healthcare is known for preventing minor illnesses from developing into more serious chronic diseases. Patients are educated about the principles with which to live a healthy life, and by following these guidelines, the prevention of significant illnesses is encouraged.

Botanical Medicine

Botanical Medicine is the use of plants as medicine. Many plant substances are powerful, safe, and effective medicine when used properly. 

botanical medicine

Homeopathic Medicine

Homeopathic Medicine uses highly diluted substances to cure illness. Homeopathic remedies enhance the body’s innate immune response and rarely have side effects.

Peptide Therapy

Peptide therapy is an old treatment therapy used in Russia and Europe for a variety of different ailments and has risen to popularity largely because they are naturally occurring have few side effects.

Peptides are a string of amino acids, the building blocks of life, form proteins, enzymes, hormones, engage in cellular transport, and function as the “scaffolding” which holds the structural foundation of our biochemistry and physiology.  They are the master regulators and signaling molecules for many bodily functions. Each peptide has a very specific cellular target (ie. receptor), unlike hormones that have receptors everywhere and therefore affect more than one function.

Peptides are extremely safe and can be used as a nasal spray, oral capsules, or sub-Q (Subcutaneous) injection which have minimal side effects. The oral form of some peptides can be purchased through my office, but the nasal sprays, creams, and sub-Q injections of peptides must be dispensed with a licensed medical provider, and obtained through a compounding pharmacy, such as Promise Pharmacy, Tailor Made Pharmacy, or Wellness Pharmacy Network.

Peptides can be used in chronic illness alongside more traditional therapies, like antibiotics or herbal preparations to repair, regenerate and heal tissues that have been damaged by infection, toxins, inflammation, poor detox, and EMF exposure.

naturpath

Functional Medicine

Functional Medicine is a movement in 21st-century medicine that Dr. Jeffrey Bland started. The Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) educates healthcare providers to discover the underlying factors that influence disease development. An IFM practitioner concentrates mainly on the importance of high-quality whole foods in the diet, appropriate nutritional balance and interventions where necessary, and lifestyle modifications that allow for optimal human health and growth potential.  As a member of IFM, Dr. Marra regularly attends conferences to keep abreast of new scientific knowledge, especially in personalized medicine, to deliver state-of-the-art clinical care to all of her patients.  She also has a network of colleagues who also practice Functional Medicine techniques and can shed different perspectives on complex cases.  Genomic and nutrigenomic sciences are gaining momentum in the clinical setting, and IFM is perfectly positioned to be at the forefront of this movement.

Prescription Medicine / Antibiotics

In the 22 years that Dr. Marra has been practicing tick-borne disease illness, there has been great controversy over the use of antibiotics in the treatment of these stealth and persistent infections. In her experience, she has not found patients to become affected by long-term antibiotic use, if they are used properly. Frequent rotation of antibiotics, pulsing techniques, timing, and dosing changes, with multiple probiotic sources, has proved time and again, to be the quickest way out of the Lyme Disease maze of symptoms.

Nutritional Medicine

Nutritional Medicine is a cornerstone of naturopathic medicine. It refers to both the practice of using food to maintain health and the therapeutic use of food to treat illness. Dr. Marra recommends various diets to improve health including an Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Alkalizing Foods, Intermittent Fasting, Ketogenic Diet, Fermented Foods, and the importance of Hydration.

Practice Emphasis

Anti-Aging + Preventative Medicine

Anti-Aging Medicine is designed as preventative medicine for a target population of over 50 years old. Hormone levels begin to wane with menopause and andropause, and the skin begins to change and thin. Abdominal weight gain, changes in hearing and vision, and minor cognitive changes in memory begin to occur.

With proper nutrition, exercise, and a few supplements, you can easily support the body through the aging process to prevent disease onset. Bloodwork and biomarkers can detect disease before illness occurs so that you can maintain a healthy body for as long as possible.

Dr. Marra is board certified in Anti-Aging Medicine because she wanted to ensure that she aged with grace and did everything possible to delay the “gray”. She can do the same for you as well!

Anti-Aging and preventative medicine will ensure that your road to 100 years old is smooth and disease and illness-free so that you can maximally enjoy your golden years pain-free and with the greatest degree of mobility and flexibility.

anti-aging medicine

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is called “the great imitator,” because it is complex to diagnose and treat. It’s caused by a type of bacteria called Borrelia Burgdoferi and it’s the fastest-growing epidemic in the world. Lyme disease symptoms include fatigue, muscle, and joint pain, fever, flu symptoms, headaches, immune-system dysfunction, nervous system disorders, cognitive disorders, chronic sleep troubles, cardiac problems, and even personality and mood swings. Dr. Marra works closely with each patient’s symptoms and does lab testing through Igenex to create a personalized treatment plan. In addition, she recommends supplements and prescriptions to correct sleep, lower inflammation, clear detox pathways, correct hormonal imbalances, restore nutrition, fix mitochondria energy factories, boost the immune system and treat the variety of infections that can occur with Lyme disease.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome results in extreme exhaustion, poor stamina coupled with difficulty concentrating, and poor memory that render patients nearly completely disabled.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is considered the most serious tick-borne illness and is caused by the bacteria, Rickettsia Rickettsii.  It was identified in the Rocky Mountains in the 1800s but is also found in Western Canada and parts of Central and South America. It is primarily carried by the American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick, and the brown dog ticks. Symptoms of RMSF include lacy rash, headaches, high fever, nausea, muscle pain, poor appetite, abdominal pain, joint pain, and conjunctivitis.

Typically, the rash starts at the extremities and moves to the trunk as small, flat, pink non-itchy macules.  The rash can involve the palms and soles of the feet. Complications from the infection can occur, including cognitive deficits, ataxia, hemiparesis, blindness, deafness, or amputation. Treatment for RMSF can include doxycycline, tetracycline, rifampin, and possibly fluoroquinolones. The treatment may last many months to avoid complications.

Bartonella

Bartonella, also known as “Cat Scratch Fever”, is an emerging bacterial zoonotic disease found all over the world.  Bartonella species are blood-loving, oxygen avoidant bacteria that are typically transmitted by biting insects such as fleas, sand flies, mosquitoes, and ticks, or cat scratches.

Mold Illness

Indoor mold exposure is common, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Many people who have been exposed to mold toxins are unable to properly detox. These toxins lead to a health state that looks a lot like Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.

Babesia

Babesia infection is transmitted through a tick bite or contaminated blood products, where sporozoites directly enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells.  Babesia interferes with red blood cell function, giving rise to common symptoms of night sweats, air hunger, shortness of breath, severe headaches, and often anemia of chronic disease.

Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever

Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is a spirochetal infection caused by Borrelia hermseii, Borrelia miyamotoi, and several other less well-known bacterial species. Tick-borne relapsing fever is found in Africa, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Asia, Canada, and the western United States. Rodents are the primary reservoir and ticks are the likely vector for this disease. TBRF is best diagnosed by PCR testing. Symptoms of Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever include fatigue, fever, malaise, cognitive dysfunction, and body aches.

Brucellosis

Brucellosis is a zoonotic and tick-borne disease caused by the bacteria Brucella melitensis, and is an ancient disease, dating back to the 5th plague of Egypt around 1600 BC. Symptoms of Brucellosis include fever, night sweats with a strange odor, chills, weakness, malaise, insomnia, anorexia, headache, joint pain, constipation, nervousness, depression, and impotence.  Many organ systems can be affected by Brucella infection including the: brain (encephalitis), heart (endocarditis), joints (arthritis), testes (orchitis), and prostate gland (prostatitis). Diagnosis of Brucellosis is confirmed using antibody titer tests, IgM, and IgG. Integrated treatment for Brucellosis includes herbal and nutrient immune support coupled with antimicrobial herbs and antibiotics generally yields very positive outcomes.

Louse-Borne Relapsing Fever

Louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF) is caused by the spirochete, Borrelia recurrentis, and is largely transmitted from person to person by lice. This bacteria is unique because it can alter the proteins expressed on its surface which causes the “relapsing” characteristic symptoms. It initially infects the mucus membranes and then moves into the bloodstream. Symptoms can include fever, malaise, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, prolonged QT interval on EKG, and Jaundice.

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Learn more about Tick-borne Illness, Anti-Aging, and Environmental Medicine