How many doctors might one patient see? Let’s count the possibilities …maybe (1) the gastroenterologist for GERD and bloating problems, (2) the ENT for recurrent sinusitis, (3) the internist for asthma, hyperlipidemia, depression, (4) the urologist for recurrent bladder infections, (5) the dermatologist for prior melanoma, (6) the eye doctor for cataracts and macular degeneration, and possibly more!
This is not an impossible list, and was not rare for an older adult in my previous practice to have. I remember how as the primary care physician, I would have to put together all the recent consults and review all the recent tests done elsewhere and recent medications added, just so I am updated. I also know that some of us doctors would not concern ourselves much with whatever else is going on in the organ systems that were not in our specialty. And our poor patients, despite being given the best new drugs (frequently too many) and treated using evidence-based mainstream medicine guidelines, would continue to have unpleasant symptoms, and worse, disease progression.
Such is one of the limitations of conventional medicine. Body organs are treated separately by different doctors as if they were unrelated, and the overall result is not always optimal for the patient.
On the other hand, Functional Medicine connects the dots and puts the story of the patients’ medical problems together. It is holistic, takes into consideration all your symptoms and does NOT say: “Oh that’s eczema, just talk to your dermatologist about it.” Functional Medicine digs deep and far into your history, experiences and exposures, from while you were in the womb and during childhood (if known), all the way to the present. Using this detailed history, targeted physical examination, and both conventional and special laboratory tests, it finds the layers of insults that led to your current state of health. The functional medicine doctor then puts together a very personalized plan for your recovery. That may include changes in nutrition, lifestyle, the use of specific nutritional supplements and prescription drugs, and the use of other non-conventional modalities to alleviate pain and other difficulties. Depending on the patients’ commitment and effort, the result can be an amazing improvement in many organ systems, reduction in need for more medications and procedures, and improved quality of life! For example, in the one patient example given above, after eliminating certain foods in the diet, he or she may eventually get off the acid-blocker drug for heartburns and experience much less bloating, have resolution of recurrent sinus infections and asthma, need less or no blood pressure drugs, get off anti-depressant medications and feel good, have less bladder infections, and have more energy and vitality! In other words, a functional medicine doctor is not a subspecialist, but a “superspecialist”, treating the whole person and crossing many specialties! By focusing on creating health and less on disease care, a functional medicine doctor can give a patient renewed hope for a better quality of life!
