Spotlight: Dr. Gael Wheeler: Your Guide on the Journey to Optimal Wellness

Dr. Gael Wheeler: Your Guide on the Journey to Optimal Wellness

written by cindy mcdermott  |  photographs by lauren frisch pusateri

There’s a concert inside your body and every aspect of your physiology, mind and spirit are the percussion, brass and strings that combine to create the beautiful music we call good health. But the changes of aging, combined with the challenges of living in modern society may have a negative impact on the body and our moods, creating dissonance instead of harmony.

Philosophy and Credentials

Gael Wheeler, DO, has been applying that same logic to her medical practice. “I want to empower my patients to understand how their bodies work and how the choices they make affect their health and well-being,” stated Dr. Wheeler. “Together, we create a wellness plan that’s focused on understanding and respecting our physiology and how it’s influenced to create our picture of health. It’s a real world approach to optimal wellness.” Her guiding principle is to assist her patients on their journey to their best health, regardless of age or previous diagnosis.

Dr. Wheeler is board certified in osteopathic medicine, family practice and holistic medicine and sees patients at Rock Creek Wellness in Leawood, Kansas. She draws from a diverse set of tools to customize a care plan as unique as each patient. Dr. Wheeler seeks to prevent and treat imbalances in health by identifying and addressing the contributing factors on all levels–physical, mental and emotional.

Balance of Body, Mind and Spirit

“Because each person is unique, I deliver a personalized approach in creating a course of action to achieve optimal wellness,” she stressed. “For instance, if a patient has diabetes, it may or may not be completely reversed, but we can certainly optimize their functioning and often reduce prescriptions and have them feeling better.”

For nearly two decades, Dr. Wheeler has embraced the concept that health is a dynamic balance among internal and external factors in a person’s mind, body and spirit. “Rather than just treating the symptoms, it’s essential to consider the entire puzzle of our physiology and our environment and how these influence each other, creating a unique picture of health for each person,” she stated.

Dr. Wheeler recalls one patient who had visited many physicians in an attempt to solve her issues with fatigue and swelling in her joints. After a comprehensive history and appropriate tests were conducted, Dr. Wheeler found her patient was suffering from both a hormonal imbalance and elevated levels of mercury. “We addressed these problems and she has done well since,” shared Dr. Wheeler. “This is an example of addressing the root cause with investigational medicine. I don’t just treat the symptoms, I focus on being well.”

Therapeutic Hormone Treatment

Many patients come to Dr. Wheeler for help with hormonal imbalance. She has worked for more than 15 years with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. This physiologically appropriate therapy is helpful for addressing menopausal symptoms and post-menopausal problems such as depression, bone loss and insomnia. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can also be used to address PMS, post-natal depression and polycystic ovarian syndrome in younger women. Men experiencing erectile dysfunction or other symptoms due to testosterone loss can also benefit from this therapy.

“Personalized bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can be used by men and women from teenage to old age, where indicated,” she stated. “Many health complaints stem from hormonal imbalance, and the treatment is unique to each person because each person’s needs are unique. That’s true for men and women; in fact, we’re seeing a lot of younger men suffering with low testosterone.”

Synergy for Health

With her treatment focused on the entire person, Dr. Wheeler’s holistic approach encourages her patients to understand how everything in the body works synergistically and how our larger environment affects our health. “Remember, our health depends on the health of our natural world. We can’t be considered apart from its influence,” she remarked.

Together with her patients, Dr. Wheeler creates a solid, realistic treatment program. Her ultimate goal is to have patients fall in love with their physiology and discover what is right for them on their journey to optimal wellness. HLM

Visit Dr. Wheeler’s website at rockcreekwellness.com, or her office at 5401 College Blvd, Suite 203, Leawood, Kansas, or call 913-727-7700.