Digestive Disorder Treatment in Branford, CT

If you've been living with bloating, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or food sensitivities that seem to multiply no matter what you eliminate from your diet — and your doctor has told you it's "just IBS" or handed you an acid blocker and sent you on your way — I want you to know that a different approach exists.

I'm Dr. Tavernier, and in my practice I treat digestive symptoms as what they usually are: a signal that something deeper is out of balance. A diagnosis of IBS, in my view, is not an explanation — it's a description. It tells you what is happening but nothing about why. And the why is where real improvement begins.

What I Treat

I work with patients experiencing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), intestinal permeability — often called leaky gut, food sensitivities and intolerances that seem to keep expanding, chronic bloating, gas, and abdominal distension, acid reflux and GERD, chronic constipation or diarrhea, and gut-related symptoms that show up outside the gut entirely — skin conditions, brain fog, joint pain, mood instability, and autoimmune flares.

That last point is one that surprises many of my patients. They come to me for fatigue or anxiety or joint pain, and we discover that gut dysfunction is a central piece of the puzzle.

Why Your Gut Matters More Than You Think

Your gut is far more than a digestive organ. It houses roughly 70 percent of your immune system. It produces a significant portion of your serotonin. It plays a central role in detoxification. And it communicates directly with your brain through the vagus nerve in what we call the gut-brain axis.

When gut function is compromised, the effects don't stay in the gut. They show up as fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, skin problems, anxiety, hormonal imbalance, and chronic inflammation. This is why I evaluate gut health in nearly every patient I see, even when digestive symptoms aren't their primary complaint.

How I Investigate Digestive Issues

My 90-minute initial consultation gives me the time to trace your digestive symptoms back to their origins. I want to know when they started, what was happening in your life at that time, what makes them better or worse, what medications you've been on — including antibiotics, which can profoundly alter gut ecology — and what you've already tried.

Your evaluation may include advanced stool testing to assess your microbiome composition, digestive enzyme function, and inflammatory markers. SIBO breath testing. Comprehensive food sensitivity assessment. Evaluation for intestinal permeability. Genomic testing through 3x4 Genetics to understand how your body manages inflammation, detoxification, and nutrient absorption at the genetic level. And evaluation for contributing factors including chronic stress, medication history, and environmental exposures.

Your Treatment Plan

I don't prescribe a generic elimination diet. Your plan is built around what your testing reveals and what your body specifically needs. It may include targeted dietary modifications based on your individual triggers and your genomic profile, gut restoration protocols to rebalance your microbiome and support intestinal lining repair, antimicrobial or biofilm-disrupting protocols when testing shows they're needed, targeted supplementation for digestive enzyme support, inflammation reduction, and nutrient repletion, stress management and nervous system regulation — because the gut cannot heal in a body that's stuck in a chronic stress response, and coordination with your gastroenterologist or primary care doctor.

This last point matters. If you need a colonoscopy, I'm going to tell you to get a colonoscopy. My job is to add the investigative depth and therapeutic breadth that conventional gastroenterology doesn't typically offer — not to replace the tools that are genuinely necessary.

About My Practice

I am a medical doctor with 34 years of clinical experience and fellowship training from the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Tantien Integrative Medicine is a cash-pay practice in Branford, CT, serving patients throughout the Connecticut Shoreline and Greater New Haven area. Our model allows me to give your digestive health the time and attention it requires.

If you've been told to "manage your symptoms" and you're ready for someone to figure out what's causing them, I'm here for that conversation.