Heartburn Testing in Jacksonville, NC
Root-cause heartburn care for Jacksonville and Onslow County — kits at your door, visits on your schedule.
Jacksonville, NC patients get complete root-cause heartburn testing without leaving Onslow County. We ship advanced lab kits to your home, you collect samples at your kitchen table, and every visit happens by telehealth. HeartburnReliefNC is a service of Wilmington Functional Medicine, and distance is not a barrier — not for military families, shift schedules, or anyone east of the Cape Fear.
Heartburn care that fits Jacksonville life
Life here runs on schedules most clinics never think about: deployments, shift work, field days, family moves. Heartburn does not wait for a convenient appointment slot, and neither should the testing that explains it.
Our model is built for exactly that. The discovery call is 15 minutes and free. The testing happens at home. The results review works around your calendar. You never have to take a half day to sit in a waiting room across the county line just to be handed another prescription refill.
How the 3-step protocol works from Jacksonville
Step 1: A free discovery call
Tell us your history — the burning after meals, the medications you have cycled through, the scope that came back "fine." We tell you honestly whether we can help and what testing fits your situation.
Step 2: Advanced testing at home
Kits ship to your Jacksonville address. Depending on your history, testing may include the Comprehensive Stool Analysis, the Alletess 184 food sensitivity panel, an Adrenocortex Stress Profile or HU-Map, and H. pylori testing. Samples are collected at home and mailed to the lab. Results typically return within 7 business days.
Step 3: Your personalized plan
Your results review is a dedicated visit — video or phone — where we walk through what the lab found and write your plan: triggers to remove, gut healing to start, and, when appropriate, a gradual medication step-down built with your prescribing doctor. We never advise stopping medication on your own.
What the testing actually finds
Heartburn is a symptom, and in our practice the drivers behind it are usually specific and findable:
- H. pylori — the infection behind a large share of stubborn reflux and ulcers. We use stool antigen and functional panels; in our clinical experience, conventional breath tests can miss strains when biofilm is present.
- Hidden food sensitivities — the Alletess 184 panel measures IgG and IgE immune responses to 184 common foods. Not a standard allergy test, and often where the answer hides.
- Low stomach acid (hypochlorhydria) — poor digestion and reflux share this root more often than people expect.
- Stress hormone dysregulation — cortisol rhythms from the Adrenocortex Stress Profile show how stress is affecting gut motility, acid production, and the lower esophageal sphincter. Deployment tempo, shift work, and family stress all show up here.
- Gut microbiome imbalances — SIBO, dysbiosis, parasites, and low digestive markers like elastase, all measured by the Comprehensive Stool Analysis.
- Mechanical issues — hiatal hernia, which testing can point toward and imaging confirms.
The Comprehensive Stool Analysis page covers the most common test in detail, and our GERD guide explains how reflux actually develops.
Ready for real answers?
Your first step is a free 15-minute discovery call.
Book Free Discovery CallNo cost. No commitment. Just answers.Built for military and veteran families
Camp Lejeune shapes life in Jacksonville, and we see many service members, veterans, and military spouses whose symptoms have been managed rather than explained. Telehealth works well for this: appointments by video, kits shipped to wherever you are stationed or living, and records you can take with you.
If you move during care — PCS orders do not stop reflux — nothing has to restart. As long as you are in North Carolina, telehealth continues and kits ship to your new address. Our remote testing page explains how mail-in testing works across the state.
Who is behind your care
HeartburnReliefNC is a service of Wilmington Functional Medicine, run by Dr. Mathew Bradshaw, DC, AFMCP, and Dr. Hilary Rutledge, DC, DABCI. Dr. Bradshaw trained through the Institute for Functional Medicine. Dr. Rutledge has four years of advanced functional medicine training and more than 20 years in practice. Together, that is hundreds of patients helped and thousands of lab results interpreted.
You will not be handed off. The practitioner who reviews your history is the one who walks through your results and writes your plan.
What happens after the results
Testing is where the answers come from. Your personalized plan is where they get used. We map out which foods to remove based on your immune reactions, how to heal the gut lining, what to do about any infection or overgrowth, and how stress patterns are feeding the problem.
If you take a PPI, we handle that carefully. Stopping acid suppression abruptly causes rebound that can feel worse than the original heartburn, so any step-down is gradual and coordinated with your prescribing doctor. You stay in control of every decision. Common questions are answered on our FAQ page, and the full process is laid out on how it works.
Can I do everything remotely from Jacksonville?
Yes. The discovery call, kit collection, results review, and follow-ups all happen without a drive to Wilmington. Kits ship to your door with prepaid return packaging, and visits are by video or phone. Most of our patients complete the entire process from home.
I am active duty. Does that complicate anything?
It should not. Visits are telehealth and flexible around duty schedules, and kits ship to your address. If you receive orders to move within North Carolina, your care continues and kits ship to your new location. You keep copies of every result and plan, so nothing depends on a single clinic's records.
What if my symptoms started after a course of antibiotics?
That history matters, and we look closely at it. Antibiotics can shift the gut microbiome in ways that contribute to reflux and digestive problems. The Comprehensive Stool Analysis measures bacterial balance, overgrowth, and digestive markers, which helps us see whether that is part of your picture before we build your plan.
How long until I feel different?
It depends on what the testing finds and how long it has been going on. After results — typically within 7 business days of the lab receiving your samples — we set a plan with clear milestones so you know what to expect and when. Healing is gradual and steady, not a quick fix, and we track it with you.
Ready for real answers?
Your first step is a free 15-minute discovery call.
Book Free Discovery CallNo cost. No commitment. Just answers.Wilmington Functional Medicine · 5046 Wrightsville Ave., Suite 200, Wilmington, NC 28403 · (910) 444-9438
HeartburnReliefNC is a service of Wilmington Functional Medicine.