Dr. Andrea Hilborn, ND
Dr. Andrea is a board-certified Naturopathic Doctor serving the Kingston area. Through further training and personal interest, she has developed her approach to the treatment of conditions that are important to women: infertility, hormone imbalance, menopause, anxiety and depression.
Dr. Andrea Hilborn, ND
Working With Dr. Andrea
What drives me as a practitioner is my belief in healthcare that makes you more truly yourself. To provide that, I get to know my patients and I get invested in their outcomes.
When patients sit down across from me, they are not feeling like themselves. They feel tired all the time. They can’t get a handle on their emotions. They constantly feel five months pregnant from bloating. For one reason or another, their health is getting in the way.
Between work, kids, household, and self-care, you have things to do – lots of them. Some of my patients are on the front lines of nursing or education. Some are sandwiched between taking care of children and parents. Some have excelled in complex leadership positions. Some are students striving to stand out from the crowd. Whatever the details of your to-do list are, you need your health to be there for you.
You may already have been frustrated for a while. You need someone to listen, understand you as a person, and put the pieces together to come up with a solution.
I believe that good health allows people to live their lives. If that sounds good to you, let’s talk.
At Your First Appointment
An intake interview with a holistic outlook
Dr. Andrea will ask about many areas of your health in order to find clues as to what may be contributing to your symptoms. For example, increased premenstrual breast tenderness indicates that the influence of estrogen is too high, which may mean that ovulation is not occurring with every menstrual cycle.
Lab tests to help understand what is happening
Naturopathic doctors are able to order and interpret lab tests. This includes tests related to sex hormone balance, thyroid function, nutrient status and more. Specialized tests may also be used, including time-lapse hormone level testing or food sensitivity testing.
Comprehensive physical exam
Physical exams can reveal information about the underlying cause of your symptoms. For example, breast underdevelopment, indicated by the circumference of the areola, can reveal a longstanding deficiency of progesterone.
The information gathered determines your individualized treatment plan
Naturopathic treatment includes nutrition advice, lifestyle changes, nutritional supplements and herbal medicine. These treatments are supported by scientific evidence. Here are some examples.
Nutrition advice
Following a diet high in vegetables and low in snacks increases the likelihood of pregnancy with in vitro fertilization.
Lifestyle changes
Timing intercourse to happen during the couple’s fertile window can resolve some cases of infertility. This can be accomplished by basal body temperature monitoring, use of LH test strips or monitoring changes in cervical fluid.
Nutritional supplements
Taking supplements can impact the quality of egg and sperm cells. Taking fish oil supplements can improve sperm quantity and quality. This may be because of the high concentration of polyunsaturated fats within sperm cells.
Herbal medicine
Ovulatory disturbance is a common cause of infertility. The herb black cohosh has been found to improve the likelihood of ovulation occurring.
Bio-identical Hormone Supplementation
Taking estrogen and progesterone can help with hormone imbalance, mental health and infertility.
More Information
Remembering to Take Your Supplements
It can be surprisingly difficult to stick to taking your supplements every day. Here are a some ideas to try to make it easier. Pair taking your supplements with another habit you already do each day, such as brushing your teeth. If you drink coffee every morning,...
What Causes Infertility?
First of all, a couple's level of fertility isn't always black and white- fertile or infertile. It's more like a spectrum, excepting cases of true sterility, such as having had a hysterectomy. If both the woman and the man of the couple move far enough along the...
How Do Naturopaths Treat Infertility?
In case you haven't come across us before, let me tell you a little but about naturopathic doctors. Naturopathic medicine is a licensed profession. Naturopaths must complete an undergraduate degree, complete the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine program at an accredited...
“There’s a seed in each of us we were born to see to fruition.”
Regena Thomashauer
Dr. Andrea Hilborn, ND
Dedicated to filling the gap in healthcare by helping patients use diet, lifestyle changes, herbs and nutritional supplements to restore their bodies' natural state.