.png)
Our nutrition ethos
Nutrition has an immense impact on how we feel in our bodies and minds. We believe a good diet is simple - taking out the drama and going 'back-to-basics' focussing on a range of quality foods cooked in ways that are achievable and sustainable when you're pressed for time, and that you look forward to eating!
​
We support a scientific evidence-based and integrative-holistic approach. By understanding the factors contributing to your health, the biochemical processes underlying these and drilling down into nutrition & gut-related factors, we can tailor our strategies to address what's holding you back. We work with you to help determine what changes will be of most value given your story, circumstances and preferences - helping you feel confident being in the driving seat for your own nutrition.
​
For our Hypermobile humans, we often prioritise comprehensive symptom management strategies over sweeping or restrictive dietary changes. For most people with these conditions, when we are able to manage gastrointestinal symptoms well and work on stabilising factors like POTS and MCAS, our ability to eat in a way that feels good to us becomes more achievable. From here, only fine tuning support around diet is often needed, such as practical meal planning ideas. Where indicated, we do offer elimination diets, however we do not take the risks of these lightly so usually take multiple sessions before we offer these.
​​​
​
What can we help you with?
As Accredited Practicing Dietitians, we have a broad range of training covering many acute and chronic health conditions as well as nutrition for various stages of life.
Our interests include:
​
Digestive health and gastroenterology: gut symptoms (including bloating, nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, poor appetite, reflux, fecal loading), gastroparesis, IBS & IBD, coeliac disease, food allergies & intolerances, food chemical sensitivities, elimination diets (including low histamine), gut support after antibiotics, managing medication side effects.
Women's and AFAB health: menopause and peri-menopause, PCOS, endometriosis, hypothalamic amenorrhoea, irregular or painful periods, PMS & PMDD, pre-conception nutrition.
Neurodiversity affirming healthcare: Autism, ADHD, OCD, ARFID, burnout & more.
Mental health: chronic stress and burnout, anxiety, depression, relationship with food, food fears related to gut reactions, disordered eating, ARFID & more.
​
Hypermobility & Co: HSD/hEDS, MCAS, POTS, ME/CFS, chronic pain, Vascular Compression Syndromes (e.g. MALS/SMAS), advocacy for diagnosis and building your healthcare team.
​
Autoimmunity: connective tissue disorders (inc Lupus, Sjogrens), Multiple Sclerosis, Coeliac disease and more.
​
Chronic disease: high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, liver disease, pre-diabetes & diabetes.
​
General healthy eating, weight-neutral & HAES informed care, Long COVID, meal planning and preparation, advocating for NDIS.​
​
Savita's special interests: Hypermobility & Co (including complex cases and abdominal vascular compressions), AuDHD, NDIS advocacy, nutrition for pole dancers.
​​
Romy's special interests: Hypermobility & Co, all things metabolic/endocrine heath and diabetes inc. Type 1, 2 & gestational diabetes, PCOS, metabolic syndrome), coeliac disease and gluten intolerance, women's & AFAB health, neurodivergent-affirming care.
​
Aleisha's special interests: Hypermobility & Co, gut symptom, SIBO & IBD management, microbiome optimisation, relationship with food and disordered eating, meal planning for complex dietary needs (inc. histamine intolerance), abdominal vascular compressions, nutrition for running.​
​
We cannot currently assist with:
-
Home enteral nutrition (e.g. feeding via nasal or surgical tube). If this is a factor you will need another dietitian helping in this area.
-
Counselling focussed on eating disorder recovery - we do not have our ANZAED Eating Disorder Credentials. If you have a dietitian and/or psychologist supporting you in this area, Aleisha on our team is happy to assist.
-
Specific nutritional protocols for mould illness (we can assist with MCAS management in the context of mould illness).
-
Paediatric Dietetics for children under 12 years old. We can assist with fecal loading management for children 6-12 years old.
The process
What can I expect from an Initial Consult?
Duration: Initial consults at Savvy Dietetics can take up to 60 minutes.
​
What do I need to prepare for an initial consult?
​
-
Please complete your intake forms (emailed with your booking confirmation, and in a reminder email four days prior to your consult) at least 48hr prior to your consult, to allow your Dietitian enough time to prepare.
-
If you have any recent (last 1 year) test results, such as blood/stool tests, endoscopy and colonoscopy results, abdominal x-rays, CGM trial or similar.
-
We don't require you to complete a food diary prior to your consult
​
What will be discussed during an initial?
-
Your Dietitian will take a thorough history, which involves asking a lot of questions about your medical conditions, medications/supplements, symptoms (especially gastrointestinal symptoms), previous test results, diet, priorities and more. If there are any areas you'd rather not discuss just yet, there are spaces to indicate this in the intake form.
-
After this, your Dietitian will run you through their initial thoughts on your case - explaining what they think is happening, and why this could be. We truly believe that when you understand how your body works, finding solutions that fit becomes much easier!
-
Your Dietitian will run you through 2-5 key areas to focus on over the next 1-2 months. This can look different for everyone, but we often start with symptoms management strategies, condition screener tools and tests to organise via your GP.
​
What happens after an initial consult?
-
Your Dietitian will send you a full emailed 'Nutrition Care Plan' via email, within 7 business days of your consult. This will detail their overall thoughts on your case so far (it can take a few sessions to unpack complex symptoms and conditions!), as well as specific instructions on strategies to implements, often accompanied by our clinic resources which provide further background (if you're interested in this).
-
If you have minor questions about your plan, feel free to email these to your Dietitian. We do not usually answer complex questions via email - so if you have major questions or would like a more guided approach, consider checking in after 2-3 weeks with a 15min or 30min review consult.
​
What do initial consults not usually cover?
​
-
Custom meal plans - in general, our clinic is not a huge fan of providing custom meal plans, as we often find these can be too prescriptive and difficult to implement safely - and often take our Dietitians 2-7+ hours to create. We are certainly open to creating custom meal planning resources for you, however this make take 2-5 sessions for us to start to create these, as it does take a while to unpack your symptoms, dietary preferences, intolerances, capacity and more.
-
Elimination diet guidance - we understand that elimination diets are a common topic in the invisible illness space, however in the context of complex chronic disability they can hold significant risks - including malnutrition, disordered eating, burnout and more. To provide guidance around these safely, we first prefer to take 2-3 sessions to get to know you and your symptoms, to assess whether an elimination diet is necessary, and to provide tailored guidance around this. In extenuating circumstances, we may provide elimination diet guidance in an initial consult, however we will usually book you in for a review consult 1-3 weeks later to check in and troubleshoot proactively.
-
A complete roadmap for the path ahead - complex chronic disability is complex for a reason! Dietetic consults in this space are a dynamic process, and we often adapt our strategies along the way depending on your response and fluctuating capacity.
​
If you have any other questions about Initial Consults at Savvy Dietetics, feel free to email us.
-
What's the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist?The International Confederation of Dietetic Associations defines a dietitian as "a professional that applies the science of food and nutrition to promote health, prevent and treat disease to optimise the health of individuals, groups, communities and populations." University-qualified dietitians and nutritionists are both considered experts in evidence-based healthy eating. Nutritionists focus on nutrition in a broader context, such as public health, policy, research and community health, rather than a in one-on-one settings. It's important to note that the term 'Nutritionist' isn't regulated, so anyone can promote themselves as this regardless of qualifications. Dietitians are also Nutritionists, and can provide all of this and more. We undergo specialised training and are qualified to work with individuals one-on-one to provide additional therapy for complex medical conditions. We maintain professional standards and are required to keep up to date with ongoing learning which is monitored by our regulatory body, Dietitians Australia. So if you're seeking specific nutrition advice, it's likely a dietitian will suit your needs best.
-
Do I need a GP referral?You do not need a GP referral! You can book in directly with me via the enquiry link below. To take advantage of Medicare rebates for dietetic consults, eligible individuals can be referred by a GP for the management an ongoing condition, under a Chronic Disease Management 'CDM' plan which covers up to 5 sessions, or an Eating Disorder Plan 'EDP' which covers up to 20 sessions per year. Under my current fee structure, this will leave an out-of-pocket payment for all dietetic appointments.
-
Can I organise my blood tests through you?Unfortunatley I cannot order pathology tests for you (including blood, stool and functional testing). I reccomend working with a GP you trust, which is handy as they can also oversee your care. Through GPs, many routine pathology tests can be bulk billed, with no out-of-pocket cost to you. Always ask for a copy of your results, and remember to bring these along. They're an important piece of the puzzle and can provide valuable insight to inform our nutrition strategies.
-
What rebates are available?There are a few! Head to our 'Bookings' page to learn more. Tip: if your GP is writing a Care Plan referral to a dietitian at our clinic, make sure they put the clinic name 'SAVVY DIETETICS' rather than the name of the specific dietitian. If Savita is named on this and she cannot see you (closed to new clients), you will need to contact the clinic again to have this changed to our clinic name or the name of a dietitian at our practice who has availability.
-
Do you bulk bill?I am committed to providing a high quality service, and have undergone additional training to ensure you get the best possible support. Given this, it is not viable to provide this quality with the rebates currently available by Medicare or Australian Private Health Funds, so there will be an out-of-pocket cost for most consults. See FAQ 'What rebates are available?'.
-
I'd like to hear about your results from other clients! Do you have any testimonials?Everybody is different, and the results someone else's experiences will not be the same as yours. As part of Dietitians Australia's Code of Professional Conduct and Statement of Ethical Practice (as well as our overseeing regulatory body, APHRA), Dietitians are not allowed to promote testimonials. If you need reassurance about whether I'd be a valuable health professional to you, you're more than welcome to ask about my experience treating people with similar conditions to you, or any additional queries inclduing about financial commitments and potential lifestyle changes.
-
I'm not 100% sure that I'm ready to change my diet, but I know improving this would help my health and I want to learn more. Can you help?"Definitely! I understand that the prospect of making dietary changes can seem totally daunting and out of reach for a number of reasons. I work with you and your goals - if you're just seeking some individualised advice from a professional and help with finding solutions to overcome obstacles, I'll support you with this. Knowledgeable patients are empowered patients.
-
Can I email my dietitian questions between consults?You are welcome to send questions to your Dietitian between session. Reply times can depend on their clinic days, pacing, and the urgency of your question. We aim to answer simple questions (clarifying minor details of plan, Vital.ly supplement re-prescriptions) and urgent requests (malnutrition & vascular compression, hospital/medical questions where dietetic input is required, etc) within 7 working days. Documentation and other matters may take up to 14 days. If you have a more detailed, non-urgent clinical question (e.g. asking about modifications to your nutrition plan, symptom management, starting a new supplement etc), we will often ask for this to be saved for our next consult. If you would like to check in sooner, you are more than welcome to either book a 15min Phone Consult on our calendar or ask to be put on the cancellation list for an earlier consult.
Appointment pricing
Initial consult (60 mins)
+45 mins admin time
Review consult (30 mins)
+20 mins admin time
+35 mins admin time
Long review consult (60 mins)​​
Supporting activities outside the scope of admin time allocated to consults (NDIS reports, meal plans non-Medicare letters, specialist letters)
$230
$115
$175
$175 per hour
Consult prices effective from Oct 1st 2024. Applies to all Dietitians at our practice.
​
The current (as of July 2023, confirm this with your GP or Medicare) Medicare Chronic Disease Management plan rebate is $58.00 per consult (or more if you have reached the Safety Net), using the following item numbers:
​
10954 Dietetic Consultation - Face to Face
93000 Dietetic Consultation - Telehealth
82350 Dietetic Consult, Eating Disorder Plan - Face to Face
93074 Dietetic Consult, Eating Disorder Plan - Telehealth
​
Rebates for Australian Private Health Funds are also available. Please check with your individual provider as to your level of cover.
​