Restorative Health

After suffering a rare sternoclavicular joint subluxation/​dislocation from a rugby tackle, I thought I had lost all hope. Before turning to surgery, I decided to give prolotherapy a try and found Dr. Safayan. Of all the doctors I visited, Dr. Safayan was the only one who understood the problem and had a strategy to fix it.
From my first appointment, Dr. Safayan clearly explained how my shoulder muscles were overcompensating for the joint instability and worked with me to pinpoint the sources of pain. After a few sessions, the muscle tension in my shoulder and neck had dramatically subsided. I regained a full range of motion in my arm without the constant aches and pain from before.
I won’t hesitate to turn to Dr. Safayan should anything else come up in the future. Dr. Safayan and the Restorative Health team always treat me with the upmost care and professionalism. I cannot recommend Restorative Health enough, they truly changed my life for the better.

I really love this practice. Dr. Safayan and his team are very knowledgable and take my health very seriously. The office is super clean and well organized. I feel very welcome on every appointment, this practice goes beyond any other in that they have taken their time to coach me and my family to make some lifestyle changes that have made a huge difference in our health. Dr. Safayan has pinpointed some very serious health problems that no other doctor would have found, before it was too late. For that I owe him my life.

Dr. Safayan is a rare breed in today’s healthcare system. He actually pays attention, listens to everything you say, and gives you a lot of time. When was the last time you had a doctor sit and talk to you for more than 10 – 15 minutes? He’ll give you his time and has great bedside manner. I would highly recommend him and his team.

I was quite disappointed with my recent visit to Restorative Health. I had high hopes of finding some improvement and perhaps if I had an extra 600 dollars to spare, I might (or might not) have been able to see some results. Perhaps I am frustrated after already spending so much money trying to heal my IT band injury. Nevertheless, for the $ 120 dollars I paid, I would have expected more of a massage. I just had surgery and the operation cost me less than I would have had to pay for the myofacial «special discount» package. Sure, you could take the risk and spend hundreds hoping and praying that in a few more sessions, you will find relief but it may not happen. In my case, I have tried everything to cure this injury and I could no longer afford hundreds of dollars to risk if it did not work, especially since after one session where I felt no difference.

Dr. Safayan (MD) is fantastic. He spends more time with you than any other doctor and he is incredibly thorough. He looks at the big picture. I had been to various specialists for years with chronic health complaints and after only a few visits Dr. Safayan had discovered diagnoses, using conventional methods, that other doctors had neglected to even do the work to find. He is incredibly caring and compassionate. His integration of modern conventional medicine with the more holistic perspective of natural medicine is highly recommended. He also accepts some common insurance plans like Blue Cross. I will agree with some other reviewers that his timeliness isn’t always great, but I think it’s because he will spend the amount of time necessary with each patient instead of rushing them out the door.
Dr. Threlkel is also very good (most insurance doesn’t cover her, but she does provide thorough documentation for those who have the option for partial reimbursement, and I was able to save some money with a health savings account). She was able to discover further diagnoses that again, conventional specialists could not.
For over a decade I had a chronic cough, overactive bladder and digestive issues, all of which have gone away due to the docs’ diagnoses of food and environmental allergies and intestinal parasites. The integrative and naturopathic docs also discovered that my thyroid function was NOT normal despite what conventional docs had told me — all because they did multiple specific thyroid tests instead of just the one general test that is most commonly used in the conventional medical world.
Dr. Windsor (the health coach/​nutrition consultant) is good, too, and she was very helpful to me when I first started navigating all my new diagnoses. Her positive energy is a huge asset, for one thing, and she is flexible and very knowledgeable about food intolerances and nutrition for wellness. Some of her other information is not really evidence-​driven, unfortunately, but definitely her food advice is golden.
All three doctors were willing to tailor some of their recommendations and appointment frequency to my limited finances, to a certain degree, which was helpful. They also were willing to work with my primary care doctor and recommend I see conventional specialists when appropriate. The rest of the staff was always kind and helpful.
I highly recommend this place to anyone who has gone to conventional specialists for years without much improvement in their health, particularly if you keep hearing «oh, but your _​_​_​_​_​and _​_​_​_​are working fine, we don’t know why you feel the way you do…» VALIDATION is something they give wholeheartedly, and they will ask the questions that many conventional docs were never even trained to ask, and think about your whole body and mind instead of just isolating one body part or system from the other. I’m very glad I took the chance on integrative and naturopathic medicine.

It’s such a disappointment when you are really looking forward to something and your experience is, well, horrible. After researching this practice I showed up for my apoointment and waited an hour. Strange becasue the place wasn’t crowded at all. When I finally got to see Dr. Safayan he seemed cold, unattentive and curt. I had the initial check-​up, got the supplements recommended and some test he ordered. Thinking it was just me, I went back for a follow-​up. Only a 30 minute wait but the doctor just never warmed up. He just seemed bored during the whole appointment and I felt like I was keeping him from something more important. There’s just not a good energy in the place.

First of all, Dr. Safayan deserves 10 stars, not just 5! He is EXTREMELY knowledgeable, and really takes his time and spends a lot of time with the patient. you actually see and talk to a doctor the whole time. It’s not like seeing a medical assistant the whole time and the doc breezing in for 10 seconds and leaving!
His front desk on the other hand is a TOTAL DISSASTER!!! they don’t even deserve negative stars.
There were not just once or twice, but 10+ times that even though I took an afternoon off work to see him, they called me right before an appointment to cancel!
There is always a minimum of 1 hour wait at each appointment! seriously, what are appointments for then? after you wait in the waiting room for 45 minutes they call your name, and then another 45 min wait in the doctors room is just unreasonable.
despite the entire front desk mess, I would still trust dr. safayan 100% and I think he is def. worth the wait. and I am most def. willing to revise my review to a 5 star if his front desk staff put their $#% together!

Interesting holistic view of healthcare. A good diagnostician for sure. Not a fuzzy person. He gives you the information you need and you have to adhere to it. In his great favor, he takes insurance. This speaks to him extremely well. He is not just about the almighty dollar as he could be making much more money being a boutique doc. For this I respect him greatly.

I had been looking for an acupuncturist since I moved to DC. Since I lived close, I decided to try Restorative health. BAD CHOICE. I have never in my life experienced such bad service– I have never had a doctor be so rude, insulting, or so mean to me. I will never, ever go back. After ordering thousands of dollars of useless tests (he is a perfect example of what is wrong with our health care system), he insisted on several visits before even thinking about acupuncture and acted as if everything was my fault.
I have no idea why he decided to be a doctor if he dislikes people so much.

What a bummer. I’d been looking for a naturopathic doctor since I moved to DC. I finally found a seemingly good one and they turn out to be sketchy as all hell. Yikes.
Dr. Safayan seemed really nice at first. He listened to my health concerns and recommended some bloodwork which he quoted me $ 3000 for. I told him I didn’t think my insurance would pay for it. He said they could send it to their «discount lab» which would only be $ 1300 but that I’d have to pay it out of pocket without sending it to my insurance company. I naively and happily did so, only to find out months later that the lab only charged them a tiny fraction of that $ 1300 and it was the same lab they normally use (Quest Diagnostics).
At this point, standard (legal) procedure for a doctor’s office is to send you/​your insurance company the difference between quoted and actual charges. Restorative Health didn’t even tell me there was a difference! I had to call the lab myself to find out, and if I hadn’t, I would never have known. I feel bad for every other one of Dr. Safayan’s patients because I doubt they think to do this. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind if my mom hadn’t smelled something fishy with the whole «discount lab» story.
So at first they refused to credit me the difference, then all of a sudden they «received a check from the lab» and were eager to credit me. Seriously?
This is just a horrible practice. The guy should have his license revoked.
Icing on the cake: I went in to pick up my medical records the other day so I could bring them to a specialist I was seeing. They said they couldn’t email them and then they charged me $ 20 to print them out. (Hi. I’ve seen a printer before. You’re not fooling anybody. A whole ream of paper doesn’t even cost $ 20.)
I’ll get over it. I just can’t help but worry that there might be patients with serious medical conditions who are blindly forking money over to this guy, only to be completely exploited.
What a scam.

I was scheduled for a 12 PM appointment and arrived 15 minutes early to complete my new patient paperwork. Staff was friendly. After about 25 minutes PAST my appointment time, I inquired as to whether I would be seen today. I was told, the doctor is running late and will be with you shortly. Ten minutes after that discussion, I was still in the patient waiting area. After an hour of waiting with no follow-​up I decided that was enough. I attempted to reschedule my appointment at the front desk then realized that «THIS» my happen again. The young lady at the front desk apologized. The doctor came into the area while I was having a discussion and didn’t say anything to me. I can’t really «rate» this practice because I didn’t get seen. What I am rating them on is the lack of professionalism showed to me. Would I attempt to g back? No, I think I’ll take my chances else where. I understand things happens, all I ask is the same courtesy I show by arriving early for my appointment be extended to me.

I went back for my annual visit and I still feel the same satisfaction I felt with both Dr. Safayan and Dr. Threlkel. Their sincere, honest care is just what I needed. And to think that I live all the way in Los Angeles. I couldn’t be more bummed. But even from afar, both doctors are very attentive and sensitive towards all of my medical and naturopathic needs. I highly recommend them. Their friendship and professionalism is the best I have seen.

Completely spontaneous, unsolicited feedback:
Dr. Safayan is an ideal combination of intelligent M.D. (general practitioner/​internal medicine) and holistic-​natural medicine wisdom (also an accupuncturist). Because of that combination, you get the best of both worlds (aka: a ‘well-​balanced’, «wise» M.D. that will truly «do no harm» in the investigation and treatment of whatever is the patient’s medical conundrum). It also comes across that he genuinely actually cares about your well-​being, as opposed to viewing a patient as just a number on a list or just another cow in the cattle herd or just seeing dollar signs. Some doctors come across as very «calculating» or on the «close-​minded» side or on a bit of an ego-​tripped highhorse, or woefully clueless as to the roots of why the body gets into a state of illness and what symptoms reflect and how its all interconnected (along with the mind), instead they just treat symptoms with a temporary band-​aid of the latest prescription drugs. Dr. Safayan, on the other hand, is low key, down to earth, has a sense of humor, is in earnest, and understands how everything interconnects – recognizes how the pieces fit into the overall picture. If you’re looking for a well-​balanced, sensible doctor to be your general practitioner, definitely a thumbs up on Dr. Safayan.
One last observation: I really like the front desk /​administrative staff here. They’re like really together, really nice, kind and down to earth and professional at the same time– a great reflection on the office.

Dr. Ali Safayon and Dr. Karen Threkel are terrific. Their practice is built on the idea of sustaining health or returning one to health. «Restorative Health the practice of integrative medicine involves the collaboration of practitioners trained in specific therapeutic methods while recognizing the synergistic benefit of multiple techniques. (website)»
What I like about these doctors is that they work in collaboration. They do not overbook appointments so you don’t wait and you get the attention you may need given your situation.
Rarely do you find doctors who work with the whole system in mind and that will try many different modalities to restore you to health. Restorative Health doctors do that.
Give them a try.