Whole-body health is integral to Haendiges’ gynecology practice

Tipton , IN - Patients who see gynecologist Michelle Haendiges, MD, may be surprised to get advice about their health habits along with conventional forms of treatment. But spend even a few minutes with Haendiges, and you’ll quickly see how it all fits together. She should know—she was her own first patient.

Five years and 86 pounds ago, Haendiges was scrubbing for a delivery when she realized how exhausted and ill she felt. She had all but lost her voice, which had been written off as a gastric reflux problem. That didn’t make sense to her, so she started researching her situation. What evolved from that was an entirely new focus to her practice.

Today Haendiges’ goal is to treat the cause of a problem, not just the disease. And, ideally, she wants to prevent the problem to begin with.

So, if someone comes into her office complaining of heavy monthly bleeding, she’ll gladly discuss the ablative surgery she can do—as well as health strategies (including weight reduction, when appropriate) to ameliorate the problem.

“I don’t care what a person’s weight is per se, Haendiges explains. “But I do care deeply that obesity greatly increases a person’s risk of infertility, breast and uterine cancers, fibroids, heavy bleeding and endometriosis.”

Haendiges quit the obstetrics portion of her practice to become board certified in bariatric medicine, then completed further training to learn best practices for risk reduction. “Mammograms and PAP smears are early detection tools for problems that already exist,” she notes. “But taking vitamin D, for example, can reduce one’s risk of developing those problems in the first place.”

And that’s the key.

Haendiges, a skilled surgeon, is proficient in the latest minimally invasive surgical techniques, including laparoscopic hysterectomies, which can get patients back to work a week after surgery. But she’d rather keep her patients so well that they don’t need her surgical skills to begin with. Her holistic approach to women’s health blends the best of technology with individualized regimens that may include prescriptions for bio-identical hormones and pharmaceutical-grade vitamins, as well as coaching on behavior modification, food choices and painless ways to sneak exercise into one’s day.

Haendiges clicks off the downward spiral of events that can affect our health before we’re even aware of it. Bad food choices contribute to our body storing toxins. Weight gain enables fat cells to store more toxins. That creates a pro-inflammatory environment—the predecessor of many diseases, including most of today’s leading causes of death. Haendiges’ mission is to help patients understand this so they can take better care of their bodies.

Haendiges practices surgery at Indiana University Health Tipton Hospital two days per week and maintains offices in Tipton, Cicero and Kokomo . She also devotes one day a week to weight-loss coaching.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Haendiges, call 765.459.8000

Additional Information for Scheduling an Appointment with Dr. Michelle Haendiges

Indiana University Health Medical Offices at Tipton

1060 South Main Street, Suite 5

Tipton, IN 46072

Office Hours: Monday Mornings

Indiana University Health Medical Offices at Cicero

1160 S. Peru St. S.R. 19
Cicero , IN   46034
Office Hours: Wednesday Afternoons