Functional medicine is an approach that aims to discover the underlying cause of your health issues rather than simply treating the symptoms. This is done by taking a thorough medical history as well as using results from advanced laboratory tests such as blood, saliva, urine, and stool. Once this root cause is known, we can create and implement a personalized strategy to address it. (For example: using proper nutrition, herbal medicine, supplements, lifestyle changes, and detoxification.)
Since we take the time to know your health history in-depth and use more tests than your standard general practitioner might, we often find things they missed or would have addressed only symptomatically.
Imagine this common scenario: You are always tired and have been suffering from sleep issues, anxiety attacks, and digestive issues. You go to your primary doctor, who runs some basic tests and reports he found nothing wrong with you. He may say it’s all in your head or may put you on a prescription, but your symptoms still linger or only get somewhat better. Even worse, you begin to experience unwanted side effects from the medication you were prescribed.
You then decide to go to an integrative medicine practitioner, who spends well over an hour diving into your health history. He or she runs tests that your doctor doesn’t use at all. It turns out you have an extreme case of adrenal fatigue as well as bowel dysbiosis! Without running the right tests, your doctor missed this diagnosis. Your holistic health coach and nutritionist advises you to make some dietary changes, take daily herbs and/or supplements, and make adjustments to your lifestyle. Within 2 to 3 months, your symptoms start to disappear and you are feeling like your old self again!
