Theri Raby, MD / Chicago, IL

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NancyM
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Theri Raby, MD / Chicago, IL

Post by NancyM »

Dr. Raby is an MD who practices integrative/functional medicine, and is affiliated with Northwestern University Hospital. She is the founder of The Raby Institute for Integrative Medicine and has a number of physicians and other practitioners on her staff. I started seeing her almost 3 years ago when I was at a place personally where I knew I wanted to optimize my health but didn't really know how to go about it. My Dad had died the year before from AD and I wanted to know what my risks were and what I could do about it. I had read Dr. Perlmutter's Grain Brain so I was beginning to get an idea that there were indeed measures that could be taken to prevent cognitive decline. During my first visit, Dr. Raby asked extensively about all aspect of my health/history/life/lifestyle. We simply talked for about 45 minutes. She indicated that she knew Dr. Perlmutter from earlier in her medical career. She then ran a number of tests on me including the Boston Heart test, which is how I found out my 2/4 status, and the Spectracell test. I have also since done heavy metals testing. She went on to give me a list of inflammatory foods to avoid and some supplements to take. When I returned a few weeks later to get my test results, she spent a good deal of time reviewing them for me and recommending further measures I should take to address issues that popped up. My numbers have improved pretty much across the board since I started seeing her. Although she is not Bredesen trained, she obviously is very knowledgeable about cognitive health, heart health and MTHFR and has told me she works with many people suffering from cognitive decline and AD. I have also seen her gynecologist and her naturopath, and have participated in one of the two annual detox programs her staff runs. My visits with Dr. Raby are covered by my insurance as are most of the tests she has run (Spectracell cost me $150 out of pocket and I paid for the heavy metals testing but don't remember what that cost). My visits with her naturopath were not covered by insurance. On the downside, I believe she is booked out about 6 months for new patients. Her office is beautiful and she has a lab and a store on premises. The store sells many supplements but she apparently doesn't make a profit from these as I've found most on Amazon at the same price. The store also sells books, essential oils and other natural products for personal care. Because I liked her so much, my husband and 3 of 4 kids (adults) have started seeing her as well. I highly recommend Dr. Raby and she did give me permission to post about her here.
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Julie G
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Re: Dr. Theri Raby/Chicago, IL

Post by Julie G »

Terrific information, NancyM. Do you have her contact information? A website, address, or phone number would be helpful so that I can add her to our Wiki.
NancyM
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Re: Dr. Theri Raby/Chicago, IL

Post by NancyM »

Of course Julie!

The Raby Institute for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern
500 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2100
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 276-1212
rabyintegrativemedicine.com
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Julie G
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Re: Dr. Theri Raby/Chicago, IL

Post by Julie G »

Perfect, I've added her to the wiki list of practitioners! Thank you for taking the time to write a review. Your effort is helping us to create an important resource for all members. Anyone who's found a helpful (or even unhelpful provider) is welcome to share here. By banding our experiences together, we have the opportunity to create a helpful database.
NancyM
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Re: Dr. Theri Raby/Chicago, IL

Post by NancyM »

Glad I could help!
lamb chops
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Re: Theri Raby, MD / Chicago, IL

Post by lamb chops »

I mentioned on another site that Dr. Raby is NO longer taking new patients. I am seeing a colleague of hers, Dr. Buchanen at the Raby Institute in June and will let you all know if she seems on board.
Plumster
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Re: Theri Raby, MD / Chicago, IL

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I was just about to write that Dr. Raby no longer takes patients, and I see you beat me to it! :D

Dr. Buchanen is my current doctor and she knows about Dr. Bredesen's book. I'm not sure if she read it, but she knows about it. I'm sticking with her for now, but I don't feel that she is so knowledgeable in this area. As with any dr., though, she's strong in some areas and not so much in others. She understand the e4 gene pretty well and she will help you, so it's a good place to start.

A word of caution: if you order labs, she may also send you labs to Boston Heart Diagnostics without telling you. This seems to be a Raby Institute "tradition" (look up their Yelp reviews). The lab results will come back with your genetic tests, noting your e4 status and any MTHFR mutations. I had already told her about my genes, so there was no surprise and I didn't mind too much that this happened. There was lots of good info in there and it appears I didn't pay for it? (Time will tell.) But I guess for several patients this genetic info was unwanted knowledge. There's something a little odd about this mutual relationship between the Raby Institute and the Boston Heart Diagnostics.
e3/4 MTHFR C677T/A1298C COMT V158M++ COMT H62H++ MTRR A66G ++ HLA DR
lamb chops
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Re: Theri Raby, MD / Chicago, IL

Post by lamb chops »

Hmm. thanks for the heads up. I am disappointed that she isn't knowledgeable about the Bredesen protocol. Of course, as I said before I am not happy with my current (thought very nice MD). My thyroid is still not functioning properly despite several dose changes so she has finally given up and wants me to see an endocrinologist. I have known I had Hashimoto's for 25 years and it only started going up and down the last 2 years. However, it has never been so bad as these last 3-4 months. My TSH has plunged so low even though she keeps decreasing the synthroid. Fortunately, I had lost faith after my 2nd set of blood tests and made an appt. with a well known one with a 2 month wait and that appt is just around the corner about 2 weeks before my Buchanen appt. Keepin' the faith!
NancyM
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Re: Theri Raby, MD / Chicago, IL

Post by NancyM »

Plumster wrote:I was just about to write that Dr. Raby no longer takes patients, and I see you beat me to it! :D

Dr. Buchanen is my current doctor and she knows about Dr. Bredesen's book. I'm not sure if she read it, but she knows about it. I'm sticking with her for now, but I don't feel that she is so knowledgeable in this area. As with any dr., though, she's strong in some areas and not so much in others. She understand the e4 gene pretty well and she will help you, so it's a good place to start.

A word of caution: if you order labs, she may also send you labs to Boston Heart Diagnostics without telling you. This seems to be a Raby Institute "tradition" (look up their Yelp reviews). The lab results will come back with your genetic tests, noting your e4 status and any MTHFR mutations. I had already told her about my genes, so there was no surprise and I didn't mind too much that this happened. There was lots of good info in there and it appears I didn't pay for it? (Time will tell.) But I guess for several patients this genetic info was unwanted knowledge. There's something a little odd about this mutual relationship between the Raby Institute and the Boston Heart Diagnostics.
I just had my annual work up and they have replaced the Boston Heart test with the Cleveland Clinic report which, as far as I could tell, does not include the genetic information.
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