Virtual care for women in Birmingham
Functional Medicine & Menopause Doctor in Birmingham, MI
Who is a functional medicine and menopause doctor serving Birmingham?
For women in Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin, Dr. Christine Maren, D.O., offers physician-led care entirely by telehealth. Her credentials include ABFM board certification in family medicine, the FMCP-M from the Institute for Functional Medicine and the MSCP from The Menopause Society. She helps women through perimenopause and menopause, uses bioidentical HRT when appropriate, and treats PCOS, insulin resistance and thyroid conditions by testing first and tailoring the plan to you.
In her early 40s, with three kids at home and a growing practice, Dr. Maren found herself deep in perimenopause. Her sleep unraveled, her cycles turned irregular, her gut acted up, anxiety arrived and the scale climbed without explanation. Functional medicine, careful testing, gut treatment and hormone optimization brought her back, and that experience shapes how she practices. If your weeks in Birmingham already run from early meetings to evening activities, with a walk around Quarton Lake as the only quiet hour, you deserve more than a suggestion to slow down. You deserve real data and a plan built around your life, and the brief online application is the place to begin.
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 Birmingham?
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 Birmingham 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 Birmingham?
Apply online
Share your symptoms and goals in a brief application. The team confirms you are located in Michigan 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 Birmingham or wherever you are in Michigan.
Test and personalize
Your conventional blood work is drawn at a lab in south Oakland County, close to home, and the team then walks through every result with you. 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 Birmingham and nearby communities
Care is virtual, so where you live in Michigan does not limit your options. Dr. Maren sees women in Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin, and throughout Oakland County in Metro Detroit.
Nearby communities
Helpful reading
Functional medicine and menopause care in Birmingham: FAQs
Does Dr. Maren see women in Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin?
Yes. Dr. Maren is licensed in Michigan and cares for women throughout Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin by telehealth. Every appointment is a video visit, so which of these neighboring communities you call home makes no difference to your care, and your conventional labs are drawn at a lab near you.
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.
I'm 43 and my body suddenly feels unfamiliar. Could this be perimenopause?
Yes. It very well could be. Perimenopause commonly begins in the 40s and can bring broken sleep, anxiety, irregular or heavier periods, brain fog and weight gain while you are still having cycles. Because thyroid, gut and metabolic problems can feel much the same, Dr. Maren tests across all of them before deciding what is driving your symptoms.
Do I need to be in Michigan during my visits?
Yes. State licensing laws require you to be physically located in Michigan, or in another state where Dr. Maren is licensed (California, Colorado, Illinois and Texas), at the time of each video visit.
Will I get a plan I can actually follow?
Yes. There are no generic protocols. Your plan is built from advanced labs and your own story, then laid out step by step to fit your physiology, your goals and the schedule you really have. The guiding idea is progress over perfection, and you can message the care team through the secure portal between visits whenever something comes up.
How do I become a patient in Birmingham?
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 Birmingham.
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 Birmingham 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 Birmingham and across Michigan by telehealth. Start with a brief application so we can understand your goals.