Function Medicine
The functional medicine model of care offers a patient-centered approach to chronic health management. It seeks to answer the question, “Why are you ill?” so you can receive personalized, effective care for your needs.
Functional medicine providers spend time listening to you and gathering your medical history. We use this information to identify the root cause(s) of the illness, including triggers such as poor nutrition, stress, toxins, allergens, genetics and your microbiome, as well as spinal subluxations.
Once we identify the triggers, we can customize a healthy living plan for you. Your plan will address many aspects of your life, from physical needs, including nutrition, exercise and sleep, to mental and emotional stressors related to social, work and community life.
What to Expect
Before your first visit, you complete an extensive medical history questionnaire. The information you provide lays the groundwork for our investigation into the root cause(s) of your current chronic condition. The extensive medical history questionnaire will ask you about your:
- Lifestyle: Including your diet, activity level, work life, hobbies and stressors and negative emotions
- Genetics: Including your family history of physical and mental conditions. Genetic testing with suggestion to prevent manifestations of inherited weakness.
- Environment: Including your exposure to toxins, dental fillings and root canal problems and a referral to a holistic dentist, heavy metals, allergies, infections, household chemical, environmental toxins
During your first appointment, you’ll have a one-on-one visit with the doctor. Your first visit lasts a couple of hours. This gives us time to:
- Review your health history.
- Perform a physical exam.
- Order lab tests and perform specialized blood tests as needed.
- Introduce you to our “food as medicine” philosophy.
- Identify your health goals.
- Discuss treatments and follow-up care.
- Taking necessary x-rays
Functional medicine doctors use specialized training and techniques to find the root causes of complex illnesses. They may investigate multiple factors causing a condition, or they may look into multiple conditions causing one symptom.
A doctor in functional medicine works holistically, considering the full picture of your physical, mental, emotional, and sometimes even spiritual health.
They consider factors like diet, genetics, hormonal changes, prescription and over the counter medications, and other lifestyle components. This type of doctor may be ideal for people with chronic illnesses that aren’t easily managed by conventional medical techniques.
Functional medicine doctors decide to specialize in functional medicine after completing primary health care training. Many types of health practitioners—including chiropractors and naturopaths—may focus on functional medicine.
What Does a Functional Medicine Doctor Do?
Functional medicine doctors look at your full history to identify the root causes of an illness. They usually spend more time with you than conventional doctors. They collect detailed information about the disease and your overall lifestyle.
A functional medicine doctor may ask about:
- A timeline of symptoms
- Sleep patterns
- Exercise habits
- Nutrition
- Stressors
- Personal relationships
- Emotional wellbeing
Then, they come up with a treatment plan to manage multiple factors that may be contributing to chronic conditions. It may include referring to a specialist for further testing, supplements, or other therapies.
Finally, they track the progress of treatment and make changes as needed. The functional medicine approach is different for each person since each treatment is tailored to that person’s specific illness.
Your relationship with a functional medicine doctor may also be different than with your primary care doctor. It’s a more collaborative partnership: the doctor considers your input while still keeping you responsible for your choices as they relate to your condition and treatment.
With functional medicine, the care given is based on the system affected, not the condition diagnosed. For example, a diagnosis of depression may have multiple causes. A functional medicine doctor will research and treat each cause, leading to a personalized treatment approach.
You may treat me like a doctor in your family and call me with any questions or concerns about health, and I will call you back at no charge usually within 24 hours.
