Dr. Kat Lopez Sankey

A California native, I studied cognitive neuroscience at UC Berkeley, then lived abroad in South America for a year learning about rural jungle medicine. I attended the University of Michigan Medical School and spent an extra year doing integrative cancer research. After entering my family medicine residency at Providence Milwaukie Hospital, I realized that pushing pills and training to see over 20 patients per day in 15 ­minute visits, did not fulfill my deep passion for healing and top­-notch training. So I followed my heart, completed only the first year of my family medicine residency in 2013, and obtained my general medical license.

From 2014 to 2020 I worked very closely with a renowned leader and educator in natural medicine, Dr. Satya Ambrose ND, LAc. It is her great wisdom that has informed my clinical approach; she taught me a great deal of what I know today. Not only did we work side by side in the same clinic, but I reviewed thousands of patient cases with her to learn her approaches. We also taught a number of seminars together over the years. I have attended a variety of naturopathic continuing education seminars, including Dr. Tori Hudson’s Women’s Health Institute, as well as the Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s professional training program (basic and advanced) and Food as Medicine seminars. In 2017 I completed the Osteopathic Cranial Academy's 40-hour course in cranial osteopathy and I am honored to incorporate this approach in my work. 

WELCOME HOME

Experience the joy of working with an independent physician who takes her time to deliver an unprecedented level of individualized care.  Feel comfortable in a cozy office, and feel truly listened to.  My mission is to champion the movement of doctors leaving "assembly-line" medicine to work in small neighborhood clinics where they can focus on a client's needs unrestrained by corporate regulations. Welcome home! 

a natural approach to wellness and illness: 

• Search for underlying issues: chronic infections, food allergies, nutrient deficiencies, intestinal dysfunction, environmental toxicity, overgrowth of the wrong bugs in the gut, trauma stored in the body

• Put the good stuff in: nourish the body and spirit, replenish healthy gut microbes

• Get the bad stuff out: detox the toxins, kill bad bugs, unpack stuck emotions

The body knows how to do the rest.

Between 2014 to 2020, I practiced alongside my natural medicine mentor Dr. Satya Ambrose, ND, LAc, a longtime naturopath and acupuncturist who is senior faculty at both natural medicine universities in Portland.

Conditions Treated

Check-­ups

Women’s health

Family planning, Pap Smears, Chronic Vaginal Infections, Planning for a Healthy Pregnancy, Breast Health, Pelvic Pain

Men’s health

Advanced Cardiovascular Health Assessment, Longevity, Prostate problems, Testosterone Replacement

Mental health

Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD (I do not prescribe psychostimulants like Adderall).  These conditions respond well to brain-nutrition protocols, detox protocols, and mind-body medicine healing techniques. I am also well-versed in the emerging use of psychedelics and other plant and animal medicines for mental health.

Persistent pain

The body can heal from persistent pain with a number of simple and advanced approaches. Heal underlying inflammation, balance the nervous system, detox the toxins, and get off pain pills (I do not prescribe chronic opioids)

Fibromyalgia

Diagnose underlying infections and inflammation, identify and correct nutrient deficiencies, identify and remove environmental toxins, learn to balance blood sugar and eat a nourishing and healthful diet

Gastrointestinal health

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. I start with a comprehensive evaluation of the "microbiome," or community of microbes living in the gut, using Genova Diagnostics "GI Effects panel" 

Migraines

Did you know that migraines can be caused by food sensitivities, blood sugar issues, nutrient deficiencies, hormone imbalances, chronic jaw and scalp tension, eye strain/artificial light/screen overuse, vascular inflammation, emotional stress, toxins in the environment, and other treatable causes? 

Autoimmune disease

Many eminent physicians know that autoimmune disease begins in the gut. I follow the work of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a revolutionary neurologist who pioneered the "Gut and Psychology Syndrome," in healing the gut lining and balancing the flora to re-boot the immune system. A simple anti-inflammatory diet can also work wonders in many cases. Often people will auto-immune disease will need to work with repressed emotions and anger, as described by the expert in the stress-disease connection, Dr. Gabor Mate (Author of the best-selling book When the Body Says No). Our mind-body skills groups, plus private counseling, can help address this.

Weight Loss

I have found that intermittent fasting techniques are the most effective way to re-boot hormones, including insulin, lower appetite, and thus achieve a sustained calorie deficit long-term. In general, the body is wired to NOT lose weight - to NOT eat fewer calories. Dieting (eating fewer calories) has been proven not to work, since the body just adjusts its metabolism to use fewer calories, and bumps up your appetite, making it impossible to continue. It's trying to save you from famine. At the same time, the body is also wired to benefit from fasting! Humans have fasted frequently since forever - famine, winter lean times, illness, etc. Fasting turns on some amazing self-healing capacities and forces the body to source calories from your stored fat. I can gently help you into fasting using state-of-the art techniques. I teach how to use these techniques in a way that can sustain the benefits while allowing normal eating in between. I also run intermittent fasting virtual groups (free) for people who want ongoing support with these methods.

Thyroid disease

Autoimmune thyroid disease, or Hashimoto’s, responds to the autoimmune approaches listed above. Some cases of low thyroid require more specialized testing and treatment.

Procedures

IUD Removal, in-office tests (urinalysis, pregnancy tests, strep throat test), Vitamin B12 Injections

Cancer

In concert with your oncologist, we can maximize your chance of recovery and minimize symptoms using an integrative approach of proven anti-cancer foods and herbs, nutrition, and mind­-body medicine.

I use a Functional Medicine approach to find the underlying causes of difficult­-to-­treat illnesses like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, migraines, and autoimmune conditions. Learn more from the Institute of Functional Medicine. 

Health begins in the gut – our largest organ of assimilation and detoxification. The bugs in our gut appear to rule our lives, with lots of research showing gut bacteria directly influences the brain and its neurotransmitters, mental health, your body's fat content, skin health, autoimmune conditions, and cancer. Learn more about the far-reaching consequences of imbalanced gut flora from Dr. Perlmutter, an eminent neurologist who successfully treats "untreatable" neurological illnesses by correcting gut flora and proper nutrition.  

I perform cranial osteopathy, a gentle hands-on technique of activating the body's healing mechanism. It is the original form of craniosacral therapy. 

I help people get off dangerous medications with my integrative approach, and suggest safer alternatives. Many people come to me with a long list of pills and the realization that they don’t want to spend the rest of their life this way.

Weight loss: ultimately we all want to feel happy and well, regardless of our body size. An emphasis on numerical weight undermines the ability to be happy and to achieve better overall health. imagine experiencing inner peace while eating, free from incessant worry about what to eat. Only you can be the expert on your body, which requires inner attunement, not well-meaning instructions from experts.  I follow the “intuitive eating” approach in people wishing to lose weight. This approach addresses the core issue of shame in people who are tired of the diet roller coaster, as well as emphasizing adequate nourishment to calm the primal drive to overeat.  In addition, there is growing evidence that certain imbalances in gut bacteria cause obesity.  Learn more from this interesting video. Thus for overall health, my approach to overweight involves correcting imbalanced gut flora.  

I have experience in using medical cannabis, in particular high­-CBD sublingual oils, in a variety of conditions including persistent pain, seizures, post-­traumatic stress disorder, cancer, and end­-of ­life care. Read more about my approach to medical cannabis.

Let that from which you were wounded become your cure. – Migne