Seeking Alternatives to the Status Quo

Dr. Shelley Cole

Integrative Medicine| HealthySuccessWorks

By JANNA ZEPP | Photo by SKEEBO

For nearly 30 years, Shelley Cole, M.D., has worked to help her Central Texas patients get and stay well. Her practice, HealthySuccessWorks, sees patients suffering from obesity, diabetes, thyroid conditions, hypertension, cancer, autoimmune disease and complicated gynecologic conditions. The difference for Cole’s patients is that the doctor practices integrative medicine rather than the traditional medicine with which most patients are familiar.

Formerly known as complementary and alternative medicine, integrative medicine involves health care practices not traditionally a part of conventional medicine. In many cases, as evidence of efficacy and safety grows, these therapies are being combined with conventional medicine. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is a good tool for researching considered therapies, as well as conversations with primary care providers before beginning any new treatment.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, where she also studied medicine, Cole says she did her residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

“After seven years in Minnesota, I could not wait to get to Texas and out of the cold,” Cole says, laughing. “I love it here. There is no better place to live than Texas.”

Speaking of the Mayo Clinic, with regard to integrative medicine, it says it can help people with cancer, persistent pain, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and many other conditions better manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life by reducing fatigue, pain and anxiety.

“I loved taking care of all of the patient’s needs throughout the decades,” Cole says. “We have had a comprehensive wellness program for 26 years to help people reach their health goals.”

Cole believes diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, can be reversed so patients do not have to be on medications for the rest of their lives.

“My practice focuses on getting and staying well. We help people get off medications, not on them,” she says. “We also provide early treatment for COVID care and vaccine exemption evaluations.”

Cole says fatigue and pain are sure signs that something is not quite right, and the culprit might be toxins in the body. “Once you remove some of the burden of toxins in the body, the body can naturally detox on its own,” she adds.

Cole lists among her mentors fellow physicians such as Dr. Peter McCullough, and her father, Dr. Vernon William Cole.

“He had a passion for learning that he instilled in me,” Cole says.