At Elite Personalized Medicine we prioritize each patient’s health and wellness, and want to share with you the most common reasons that someone chooses functional medicine – and more specifically, to come see us.
The Most Common Reasons Someone Visits a Functional Medicine Doctor
1. Receive Personalized Wellness and Health Care
Functional medicine realizes that everyone is different, so everyone’s treatment should be different. We all have different genetics, we all were raised in different environments, eat different foods, have differing amounts of stress, have different nationalities, etc. As functional medicine providers we want to get to know the patient, know their life story from as far back as birth, and create a plan that is unique to that person. You might say that conversation would take a long time… and you are correct.
Functional medicine providers often see a patient for at least 1 hour on their initial consult. That 1 hour is one-on-one, undivided attention with a medical provider. Quite a bit different than the 7 minutes you get with a conventional medical provider, while feeling like you are a “number.” It’s hard to have a personal, in-depth conversation with someone in 7 minutes, then provide them a hopeful solution to their concern. That model is WAY too rushed. Functional medicine providers see far fewer patients per day, while spending far MORE time with their individual patients per day.
2. More Treatment Options Are Available With Functional Medicine
The treatment options can be considered endless in a functional medicine office. When a patient comes in with complaints of depression, we do not just look at which prescription medication to provide. We look at omega 3 levels, vitamin D levels, hormones, thyroid imbalances, gut issues and inflammatory markers. We are looking for the root cause of what is causing depression. We want to know the WHY. Why is this happening in your body?
Common Functional Medicine Treatments
- Lifestyle and diet adjustments to assist in managing stress and inflammation
- Health coaching
- Natural herbs and supplements
- Compounded personalized medications
- Prescription medications ONLY when needed
3. Educational Care That Empowers the Patient
The goal of functional medicine is to educate and empower the patient to help improve their health and quality of life. You can only see the doctor so often, so we want the healing process to be happening every day for you, based on the recommendations given from your functional medicine provider. The education given will be on topics such as diet, lifestyle, exercise, stress management, natural herbs and supplements, lab test findings, potential diagnosis, and medication management. Of course, that’s a lot to take in at one or two meetings with a provider, so we often recommend a few health coaching sessions to assist with implementing that education into your daily life.
4. Get to the Root Cause of Your Health and Wellness Issue
So many people struggle to find answers to their medical conditions because they get passed around from doctor to specialist to doctor to specialist. We see this all the time. Many patients have informed us that they were told “it’s all in your head” and “your labs look normal,” but the patients still had severe symptoms like something was wrong. There are so many reasons for this that this page is just not long enough to explain. When you see a functional medicine provider you will get someone that is a detective. Someone that thrives on difficult cases. You will get someone that won’t stop until they find an answer and find a solution for you.
5. Systems-Based Approach
Functional medicine believes in treating the person… not just the disease or the symptoms. Most of the conventional medicine has prescription medications that match up to specific symptoms. In our opinion that is a short-sided view of medicine. The title of this section is “systems-based approach” for a reason… each system in your body speaks to each other. You may have heard of the gut-brain connection? Some call the gut your second brain.
When you come to see a functional medicine provider for stress… we want to know if it is your adrenals malfunctioning, G.I. issues, excessive inflammation, or hormone imbalance – just to name a few. We like to check the function of your gut, heart, liver, kidneys, thyroid, hormones, inflammatory markers and vitamin D levels… all on your first visit. The more we know… the better understanding we have of what “systems” we need to correct.
6. Cost-Effective Health and Wellness
Functional medicine has many names. Integrative, Holistic, Personalized, and Preventative (or Preventive). Preventative medicine is the most cost-effective medicine there is. When you can slow down or prevent disease from happening, this will save future health care dollars that you would have to spend had you not taken a preventative approach.
For example: Type II Diabetes. Patients who see a functional medicine provider are very proactive, and start addressing blood sugar concerns WAY before conventional medicine does. Functional medicine providers look at blood sugar even before conventional pre-diabetes levels.
When you inform patients and educate them on diet and lifestyle prior to disease we find much better results on disease prevention. Once someone has a diagnosis or disease… it is much harder and more expensive to correct. Please stay proactive with your preventative health measures as it will save you money in the long run!
Start Your Wellness Journey With Elite Personalized Medicine
If you are ready to try functional medicine for yourself, our team at Elite Personalized Medicine will empower you to reach your wellness goals. To schedule an appointment, call our functional medicine center at (770) 416-1070 or request a consult now.
