As defined by the Institute for Functional Medicine, this approach to health is based in systems biology and focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease — from inflammation to vitamin deficiencies. It takes into account one’s genes, environment, and lifestyle (including stress management, nutrition, and movement), but it also blends conventional medicine with more “traditional” or complementary practices and approaches.
In the most simplistic terms, functional medicine treats a patient as a whole person as opposed to dissecting one’s health organ by organ, symptom by symptom.
I’m about to see a functional medicine doctor for the first time after my rheumatologist “dismissed” me from her care after diagnosing me with lupus less than a year ago. (To be clear: I absolutely love her, but her hands are a bit “tied” when it comes to insurance approving the next tier of meds, and I have a dangerous history of medication side effects.)
And like many of you in this community, I’ve had a lot of triggering experiences across the spectrum of holistic practitioners (I once saw someone who wanted me to stop all of my medications cold turkey with absolutely no tapering plan). One of the biggest cons to seeing a functional medicine provider is cost, as it’s entirely out-of-pocket and not covered by my insurance. On the other hand, they’ve been incredibly thorough, validating, kind, and responsive. I still can’t get over the fact that when I call their office, they always answer and help me immediately. (No voicemail? No repeated attempts to communicate via the patient portal?) I’m cautiously hopeful that they’ll help me move in a better direction — I don’t have a ton to lose at this point.
I’d love to hear any tips, advice, or general experiences with functional medicine. What have you tried? What’s worked? What happened?
🤓 P.S. I have found this website to be super helpful when doing my research: www.ifm.org
#Spoonie #Lupus #Migraine #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #RareDisease #CheckInWithMe #Fibromyalgia #AutoimmuneDisease #Undiagnosed #Caregiving #Cancer