Virtual care for women in Saratoga
Functional Medicine & Menopause Doctor in Saratoga, CA
Who is a functional medicine and menopause doctor serving Saratoga?
Through telehealth, Dr. Christine Maren, D.O., brings functional medicine and menopause care to women in Saratoga and Monte Sereno. The ABFM certifies her in family medicine, the Institute for Functional Medicine certifies her as an FMCP-M, and she holds The Menopause Society's MSCP. She treats hot flashes and night sweats, poor sleep, thyroid and gut problems, and the loss of muscle and strength that can come with midlife, prescribing hormone therapy when appropriate.
Highway 9 climbs out of Saratoga Village into the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the trails off it, from Sanborn County Park up toward Skyline, ask a lot of your legs and lungs. Midlife can make that harder: slower recovery, nights of broken sleep, strength that fades even though you have not stopped training. Build Resilience is one of Dr. Maren's three pillars for a reason. Your plan puts strength, sleep and protein at the center, alongside hormone therapy when appropriate. Care happens by video, so appointments do not eat into time you would rather spend outside. The goal is a body that keeps up with the life you want.
Read how she approaches perimenopause and menopause, hormone replacement therapy and thyroid care, or start with Christine's journey.
What does Dr. Maren treat for women in Saratoga?
Hormones, thyroid, gut, metabolism and the immune system all influence one another, so she treats them as one connected picture.
Sleep, mood, hot flashes, cycles and weight, treated as one connected picture.
Bioidentical estrogen, progesterone and testosterone when appropriate, prescribed and monitored by a physician.
A full thyroid panel with antibodies, not just TSH, and medication tuned to how you feel.
Testing for SIBO, dysbiosis and infections, then a plan to remove, repair and rebuild.
Insulin resistance, muscle and body composition, with GLP-1 therapy when appropriate.
Irregular cycles, androgen excess and estrogen dominance, traced to the root cause.
Finding the triggers that keep inflammation going, alongside the care you already have.
How is Dr. Maren's care different from a typical visit?
She combines the power to prescribe with the precision of functional medicine, and she looks for the root cause instead of treating one symptom at a time.
| What you get | Dr. Maren | Typical general visit |
|---|---|---|
| Training | Board-certified physician, IFM certified (FMCP-M) and MSCP | Varies, and menopause training is often limited |
| Hormone therapy | Prescribes bioidentical HRT when appropriate | May avoid it or offer one option |
| Testing | Hormones, a full thyroid panel, insulin, nutrients and gut health | Often one hormone level or TSH alone |
| The big picture | Sleep, mood, weight, gut, libido and energy together | Symptoms treated one at a time |
| Time with you | A 90-minute initial case review | Often a brief appointment |
| Follow-up | Regular follow-ups and portal messaging between visits | Often a one-time prescription |
When should women in Saratoga see a hormone or menopause specialist?
- Hot flashes and night sweats
- Irregular, heavier or closer-together periods
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Anxiety, irritability or low mood
- Brain fog and forgetfulness
- Weight gain around the middle
- Bloating, reflux or a gut that will not settle
- Exhausted, but told your labs are normal
These symptoms are common, but they are not something you simply have to live with. See the early signs of perimenopause.
How does virtual care work if you live in Saratoga?
Apply online
Share your symptoms and goals in a brief application. The team confirms you are located in California and that the practice is the right fit.
Talk it through
If it looks like a fit, you will be invited to a complimentary discovery call with the team.
Meet from home
Your 90-minute initial case review and initial nutrition consultation happen by video, from home in Saratoga or wherever you are in California.
Test and personalize
A lab near Saratoga or Monte Sereno handles your conventional blood work, and Dr. Maren's team then connects each result to how you actually feel. Your step-by-step plan follows, with regular follow-ups and secure portal messaging between visits.
What is Dr. Maren's approach?
Her signature three-pillar approach: address root causes, optimize hormones and build resilience. We don't guess. We test.
Address the root cause
We go deeper to uncover and treat what is driving your symptoms, starting with gut health and its links to the immune system, hormones, metabolism and nutrients.
Optimize hormones
With comprehensive labs and clinical expertise, we dial in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, thyroid medications and innovative therapies like peptides and GLP-1s, when appropriate.
Build resilience
By integrating individualized nutrition, movement, lifestyle and mindset strategies, we help you strengthen your foundation for long-term health, energy and vitality.
Serving Saratoga and nearby communities
Care is virtual, so where you live in California does not limit your options. Dr. Maren sees women in Saratoga and Monte Sereno, and throughout the West Valley foothills of Silicon Valley.
Nearby communities
Helpful reading
Functional medicine and menopause care in Saratoga: FAQs
Night sweats keep waking me up. Can Dr. Maren help?
Yes. Night sweats are a core menopause symptom, and broken sleep makes everything harder, from mood to weight to training. Dr. Maren looks at hormones, thyroid, blood sugar and stress, and discusses whether bioidentical hormone therapy is right for you, weighing risk against benefit. When hormones are not a fit, she talks through other options with you. Night sweats that come with fever, unexplained weight loss or swollen lymph nodes need a prompt check with your local doctor.
Can a functional medicine doctor prescribe hormone therapy?
It depends on the doctor's license. Dr. Maren is a board-certified family physician as well as a certified functional medicine practitioner, so she can prescribe bioidentical estrogen, progesterone and testosterone when appropriate, along with thyroid medication and other treatments, and adjust them as your labs and symptoms change.
Should I keep lifting heavy as I go through menopause?
Yes, for most women. Strength training helps preserve muscle and supports insulin sensitivity, and both matter more as estrogen falls. Dr. Maren lifts heavy herself and builds training, protein and recovery into your plan, adjusting for injuries, joint pain or other conditions and coordinating with your local care team when needed.
Do I need to be in California during my visits?
Yes. State licensing laws require you to be physically located in California, or in another state where Dr. Maren is licensed (California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Texas), at the time of each video visit.
I feel mostly fine at 47. Is it worth seeing Dr. Maren anyway?
Yes. Feeling mostly fine is a perfectly good time to start. Some women begin because they want to keep their strength, sleep and energy as hormones shift. Getting baseline hormones, thyroid, metabolic markers and nutrients now gives you and the team a clear starting point, so small changes can happen early instead of after symptoms pile up.
How do I become a patient in Saratoga?
Start with the brief online application. If it looks like a good fit, you will get an email inviting you to book a complimentary discovery call with the team. If it is a match, you will be scheduled for a 90-minute initial case review and an initial nutrition consultation, all by video from home in Saratoga.
Do you accept insurance?
We do not contract with insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. This allows us to provide personalized, unhurried care without the limitations of insurance-based models. However, the vast majority of patients use their insurance to cover conventional lab work, and many also use HSA or FSA funds to pay for our services.
Can Dr. Maren be my primary care doctor?
No. The practice functions as a specialty consulting service. You will still need a primary care provider near Saratoga for general medical needs, physical exams and urgent issues like infections or injuries.
Ready to feel like yourself again, only better?
Dr. Maren and her team see women in Saratoga and across California by telehealth. Start with a brief application so we can understand your goals.