Functional Medicine
Why Functional Medicine?
When a person begins to develop signs or symptoms of illness in some aspect of their health, very often, some part of their greater body system is not functioning properly because there is a fundamental issue undermining the function of the very building blocks of our health...our cells.
There are certain “fundamental” things that are essential to the health and wellbeing of EVERY of the 30-40 TRILLION cells in our bodies. Not to mention ANOTHER 30-40 trillion microscopic “critters”, our microbiome, that live in harmony with our cells, within our own systems. These 70 some odd trillion tiny individual building blocks are systems within themselves, and to be healthy they need proper food, enough oxygen, and adequate exercise and recovery.
The health of our cells shapes not only how we feel physically, but also how we feel mentally and emotionally. Our cellular health impacts how clearly we think, how well we learn, how we see the world and, ultimately, how much we enjoy and participate in our own lives.
Good health habits help to keep both your cells and your microbiome healthy, and in turn they keep you healthy. They ARE you!
What to Expect?
Even when you are trying to do everything right, sometimes things still go wrong and you just don’t feel good or perform the way that you would like. With functional medicine, we look at the factors that affect the health of every cell in your body. We assess things like immune function, the health of your blood cells, how well you are digesting and utilizing your nutrition, and the health of your microbiome.
Together we will review your health history, perform a thorough examination, and typically order some bloodwork, or other diagnostic testing when appropriate. We will then correlate those findings with your complaints and figure out the best plan to address your concerns.
Functional medicine treatment protocols typically involve a combination of diet modification/ nutritional counseling, supplementation, and lifestyle modification.
Many patients get complete relief of their symptoms following our initial recommendations and the course of their care is simple and straightforward. Sometimes our initial intervention does not resolve all of the symptoms completely and additional investigation is needed. In those cases additional testing may be necessary. Testing options may involve assessing cellular metabolism, hormone profiles, stool assessment, looking for undetected infections, heavy metal toxicity, food sensitivity testing, antibody testing, genetic testing, advanced imaging, etc.
One of my favorite things about functional medicine is not only is it based on the most current global research, but also that it’s so straightforward, that even when it doesn’t work - it does. You see because Functional Medicine addresses the most fundamental essentials of human health, in the process of going through your work up as a patient, even if we ultimately cannot find the solution to your complaints, we definitely will have learned a LOT about you and your health. If we have worked through the layers of my abilities and interventions and still have not resolved your complaints, we should at least discover your NEXT best course of action or type of care to seek. We will be happy to assist you in taking any next step by communicating with your doctor what we’ve learned, what we’ve tried, what worked, and what didn’t.
Another great thing about our approach is that if we do get good or great results, thankfully this is most often, we do so in a specific, timely, cost effective manner. We make regular follow ups, every 30 days, which is plenty of time for you to tell me whether what we are doing is working for you. If it’s working, we keep going till you are satisfied, and then we figure out what it will take to keep you feeling that way.
