Why should you listen to me? Getting to know the doctor.

Who am I and why should you listen to me? 

Those who read my blog or have bought my book may wonder why they should listen to me? You may be asking yourself, “Is she some kind of expert in this field?”, “What is her success rate?”, “How can her information help me?”.  Once people hear my “areas of specialties”, they wonder why I am all over the place, because I don’t have just one area I focus on. I have found that it is all connected somehow, so I kept learning. 

Although I am more than happy to introduce myself and give a list of educational accomplishments, I must say that what is more important is you trusting the answers you find within yourself. Each and everyone of us has the innate ability to heal ourselves, we just have to trust it. When searching the internet, you can come across some crazy information. Some of it helpful, some just silly, and some down right dangerous. When addressing health blog information, I advise my patients to follow their intuition and consult their doctor if it’s at all questionable. 

In general, if anyone says you can heal your chronic condition with one magic bullet… just move on. If they promote one herb or nutrient but never address lifestyle changes, they are lacking knowledge of what true health is. But you know this already. Even if you want to believe there is an easy way to fix all your problems, I think deep down you know you need to keep searching for the answers. The answers are there, I promise. It may take going from one “expert” site to another, going to multiple doctor’s visits or trial and error… but the answers are most definitely there. You just have to trust your instincts when they lead you to one place over the other. 

There is a reason you ended up on my site today. I don’t believe it to be chance. I think everything happens for a reason, whether we can identify the reason or not. There is a force that pulls us down our chosen path- if we are willing to let it guide us. Me, I know it as God. Others may refer to it as mother nature or the Universe. Whether it is a cosmic force or not, it cannot be denied. Something somewhere led you here, or any other reference you read today. As long as you keep an open mind and follow your intuition, you can find answers almost anywhere you look. Hopefully, you can find some of the answers here with me. 

So who am I?

I am a licensed naturopathic doctor. I received my doctorate degree of medicine from Bastyr University, California. Prior to studying to become a naturopathic doctor, I was a registered nurse for four years, working in medical surgical, antepartum and mother-baby care. I accrued certification as a lactation consultant, which was something I truly enjoyed.   

I am also married and the mother of two beautiful, healthy boys. My first son was born during my first year of medical school. That was challenging to say the least, but it opened up a new perspective and whole new world of medicine. After the birth of my first son, I became known around school as the expert on pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation, because I just couldn’t stop talking about everything surrounding birth and babies. I realized the short-comings of our medical system surrounding the health of women and their babies, as well as those suffering from infertility, and it became a passion of mine to spread this knowledge. Hence, the birth of “Autonomous healthcare for empowered women” on drsarahduhon.com. 

To also add to my plate during school, I attended courses and conferences to supplement my learning. I completed over 200 hours of functional neurology education under the instruction of Dr. Robert Melillo, DC and Dr. Datis Kharrazian, DC through International association of Functional Neurology (IAFNR). During this time, I was privileged enough to earn the IAFNR 2016 student of the year award. Sometimes I wondered why I was given that award, because I know I was not the smartest student there. But now I understand that sometimes you are acknowledged for the time and effort you put in. I was so eager to learn, and they saw how I busted my butt to do it. The information I learned in functional neurology stemmed the passion of working with children with developmental disorders and adults with neurodegenerative diseases.

During this time, my family just so happened to move into a house with water damage and mold growth. To say the least, my son and I became very ill. I had one crazy symptom after another. Doctors were stumped. I was spending thousands of dollars on testing, with no answers. I finally felt and understood what my patients were feeling. Having those moments of feeling lost and crazy opened up new possibilities for me in medicine. Insert here, the birth of my local practice, Illuminate Natural Medicine. I researched and followed my intuition, illuminating may own path to wellness, because no other doctor could help me. Once I identified what the triggering factor was, our family left the home. My son was instantly better, but I continued to be sick. This is when I discovered the environmental connection of mold and infectious disease. WOW! My life was forever changed! I was able to take my health back with the knowledge I gained. As hard as that time was for me to be sick, I know it happened for a reason… to better serve my patients. 

In addition to my own mysterious symptoms, I also began seeing an increasing number of chronically ill patients in clinic. That led to me complete a series on multi-system autoimmune diseases instructed by Dr. Shikhman through IFSMED and attended multiple functional medicine seminars by Apex and Dr. Kharrazian, DC. This additional training allowed me to understand the connection of infection environmental components and autoimmune disease, among other mysterious conditions. 

Slowly, but surely, preconception care began to show up in each area of my studies. Everything from autoimmune to neurology, from gut health to Ayurvedic medicine. The defining question for me became: what if I was able to decrease the chances of a child being born with autism or develop autoimmunity by simply helping a mother make the right choices before and during her pregnancy? This theory was enough to motivate me to write my first book, Preparing for Pregnancy.

You see, once I studied one area of medicine, I found the connection to another. I quickly understood that there is an amazing web within our bodies and there is no way to focus on just one area. If you do, you will miss the opportunity to help the majority of cases. I also noticed that the treatment for all of these conditions started in the same area: The foundations of health. So I continue to learn as much as I can about diet, lifestyle, sleep, stress reduction, spiritual life, and love for self and others. Because if you don’t have these areas in order, the other treatments simply won’t work for chronic disease. 

So eventually, after five long years, I graduated. After passing part I and II of the Naturopathic Physician Board Licensing Examination, I pursued licensure in the state of Kansas, even though my primary practice is in Louisiana. Louisiana is an unlicensed state and limits my ability to use all my training, but it also allows the focus on the foundations of health . I believe, this is what has saved me from falling into the trap of becoming a “green allopath”. Instead of only ordering tests and throwing supplements at my patients, I actually take the time to find the root cause and teach them their physiology… then teach them lifestyle approaches that can make a lasting positive impact on their health. I see patients in office and via telemedicine, because I hope to help as many people as I possibly can. 

My passion is to bring an abundance of education to help empower the community to take control of their health, so they may learn to “doctor themselves”. My passions in natural medicine encompass Ayurvedic, Functional neurology, and Naturopathic approaches to treat infertility, preconception, pregnancy and postpartum wellness, autoimmune disease, pediatric neurological developmental disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, lyme disease, and mold toxicity among other environmental toxicity conditions. I have the knowledge of and ability to apply healing modalities such as nutrition, lifestyle counseling, botanical medicine, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, craniosacral therapy, aromatherapy, and functional neurology, among others to assist in the most appropriate, individualized healing path for my patient’s optimal well-being.

I hope that answers some questions you may have about me and my practice. But please reach out to join our mailing list, or call my practice at Illuminate Natural Health.