A functional medicine practitioner will create a specialized treatment plan for you once they identify the root cause of your health issues. This will consider your dietary habits, unique genetic makeup, and lifestyle factors.
They can connect the dots between symptoms that traditional medical doctors cannot. This approach allows you to overcome a host of chronic illnesses without the residual side effects of medication.
Personalized Care
Functional medicine specialists like Trivida Functional Medicine often spend at least 1 hour on their initial consultations, which means they get to know you and your health concerns. This is much longer than the typical 7 minutes you might get to discuss your symptoms with a rushed doctor, leaving you feeling like just another number.
These professionals also pay attention to environmental and lifestyle factors, recognizing how these may be contributing to the disease you’re suffering from. They can prescribe dietary changes, supplements, and herbs that support your body’s natural healing abilities.
They take the time to listen carefully to your voice and uncover the root causes of illness instead of merely treating symptoms. This holistic and individualized approach is well-suited to treating stealth pathogens, which cause symptoms that ebb and flow: One day, fatigue might be your dominant symptom, while the next, depression might dominate. When treated by a conventional medical physician who only treats the symptoms you’re experiencing, these nuances are often missed.
Preventive Care
Many functional doctors spend a lot of time helping patients prevent health issues. They might suggest a patient make lifestyle adjustments like exercising, reducing stress, or incorporating meditation into their daily routine. They might also give recommendations for certain types of nutritional supplements.
Unlike conventional practitioners, functional medicine doctors often look at the whole picture when diagnosing a condition. For example, they might see a link between a person’s high blood pressure and how they handle stress. They suggest that patients reduce their stress levels to lower their high blood pressure and improve their overall wellness.
As a result of their in-depth examinations and specialized lab tests, functional medicine practitioners can see how different aspects of a person’s life, including diet, genetics, medical history, and environment, all interact with each other. They can then create a customized treatment plan to help address each person’s unique needs.
Treating Chronic Illnesses
When dealing with chronic illnesses, functional medicine practitioners recognize that our bodies are complex systems that must work together. Unlike traditional doctors who focus only on your physical health, available practitioners will consider your chemical, emotional, and social health to treat you holistically.
They will ask you various questions and perform state-of-the-art lab testing to understand your health comprehensively. In addition, they will look for connections between seemingly unrelated symptoms to find the root cause of your condition.
They will also encourage you to exercise and get a good night’s sleep. This is because they understand that a physically fit and rested body can better heal itself from the damage caused by chronic illness. They will recommend supplements, therapeutic diets, detoxification programs, and stress-management techniques to help you achieve this. Many health insurance companies will cover Functional Medicine Practitioners.
Treating Stealth Pathogens
Many germs, like the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, Babesia, Bartonella, Epstein Barr virus, and cytomegalovirus, can be tough to see under the microscope or detect clinically. They are referred to as stealth pathogens. These microorganisms can wreak havoc in the body, causing extreme fatigue, migrating joint and muscle pain, brain fog, strange sensory issues like electric shock or vibrating sensations, and mood changes.
Stealth pathogens have adapted to hide from our immune systems by forming protective biofilm layers and mimicking the cells they infect through molecular mimicry. If these infections are not correctly diagnosed and treated, they can become the core of many chronic health conditions, including autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, and depression.
Functional medicine practitioners are trained to recognize and treat these hidden infections using a holistic approach to care that includes dietary and lifestyle changes, mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques, integrative therapies, and occasionally medication. These doctors are uniquely able to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated symptoms.