Is a functional doctor right for you?
Functional medicine is a holistic approach to medicine aiming to assess all functions of the body to heal the root cause of illness. Functional medicine can be a great alternative to traditional doctors when complex chronic medical issues involve multiple systems in the body.
What are the benefits of functional medicine?
Our traditional western medical system tends to focus on the body’s anatomy and treating specific systems individually. This can become arduous when you have an unknown illness, often being sent to numerous specialists that are restricted to their area of study. Functional medicine helps supplement and fill in the gaps when traditional western medicine can’t connect the dots. Finding the right functional medicine doctor can open your eyes to alternative treatments, provide testing beyond what is available at a traditional doctors office, provide longer appointments that go further in depth of your history and lifestyle, test for environmental toxin exposure, and check on alternative gut health.
Are functional doctors real doctors?
Yes, functional doctors are fully licensed doctors (MDs, DOs, etc.) that have gone through traditional medical school training. However, most functional doctors are not covered by insurance.
Why aren’t most functional doctors covered by insurance?
Most visits to functional doctors are not covered by insurance.
This functional doctors prefer working outside of insurance companies oversight. The profit-driven nature of insurance companies has a powerful hand in dictating how doctors must operate. Insurance can stipulate the length of appointment times, approve prescriptions, and would not cover any testing or treatments that are not extensively proven and tested by government regulations.
Are functional doctors able to prescribe medicine?
Yes. Functional doctors can prescribe traditional medicine. They also encourage supplements, vitamins, herbal medicine, diet and lifestyle changes, as well as experimental treatments.
What are the risks associated with functional medicine?
There are some risks associated with functional medicine. Functional doctors are allowed to try treatments outside of FDA regulation. This can be a positive thing when there are plenty of studies to support a treatment, but FDA approval is slow or nonexistent. It is always best to throughly understand a treatment before trying it. A functional doctor usually works very closely with you and will not often prescribe something that you are not interested in.
Do I just go to any functional doctor?
It is best to go to all the traditional doctors you can and get all the testing done they feel is necessary so you have more information to work with before going to a functional doctor. It is worth it to do your proper research and find a doctor with a great reputation that has the best chance of helping you. Functional doctors can also be specific to your heaviest issues (for example a functional gastroenterologist). Functional doctors may be more creative with their approach and treatments, which can allow for alternative healing, but also alternative complications. It is important to chose your functional doctor wisely, as thorough questions and do your own research.
What lab testing can functional doctors do?
BPA Exposure
Mold Exposure
Environmental Toxin Exposures
Digestive Bacterial Microbial Panels
Food Sensitivities
SIBO Testing
Genetic Testing
Tick-borne Exposure Panel (wider depth than CDC testing)
Endoscopies/Colonoscopies etc.
Routine procedures
My personal take
I believe seeing a functional doctor was the key to understanding my health and recovering quickly. After going to endless standard medical appointments, bouncing around the system between neurologists, cardiologists, ophthalmologists, three different GI’s - my experience with a functional doctor was a saving grace. I felt lucky to find a doctor that was a Fundamental GI doctor focused on integrative nutrition. I had to dig deep into my pockets (and those of family) for the visit and all of the blood work and tests he prescribed. He was very thorough and took his time to explain and discuss his ideas by sharing studies he found, drawing me diagrams on exam room tissue paper, recommended books, and explained my issues in a way that finally made sense to me for the first time!
Ultimately the testing and conversation opened my eyes to more going on in our bodies than standard medicine will test for. The standard system will treat you for cancer, but not Glyphosate exposure. They’ll treat you for migraines, but not toxic mold exposure. They’ll treat you for hypothyroidism, but not look into whether you are being exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals or radiation. Preventative tests and environmental exposures are not part of the standard system. In this day and age, it is becoming clear that everyone’s bodies can handle a different toxic load, but there is more and more proof that it can cause harm to delicate endocrine functions in the body.