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Functional medicine
Does anyone know how I can find a functional medicine doctor. I have 2 autoimmune diseases , migraines and anxiety. I do not agree with the way my symptoms are being treated by my current primary care doctor and rheumatologist. All these doctors advice is to continue taking medications which in my opinion do more harm than good and do not help with the root of the symptoms. My conditions are getting worst with time. As I am typing now I have really bad pain on my elbows and it’s been now 3 weeks. I told my PCP to order X-rays and told her I am not interested in taking pain medication before she even was going to offer because this is all they do. Now the X-ray of my joints including the elbows that hurt tremendously came back normal and I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t feel I get any help from these other than prescription meds. Then when I message the PCP about what could my pain be due to if there is any other testing she can order , she sends me back yo my rheumatologist. Please if anyone can direct me to a doctor that does not just prescribe medicine but actually gets to the bottom reason on how to control my pain and inflammation. Thank you!
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That is so encouraging! Crohn's is very serious. One of my aunts died from her battle with Crohn's disease. It is amazing that you were able to come back into balance without damaging surgeries and medications. Great work!
I have just started with a functional medicine practice and hope to bring my immune system into more normal functioning through dietary changes, moving more, losing weight, working on incorporating stress reduction/spirituality, and avoiding allergens/toxins as much as I can/want to. Example: I can switch to organics as much as possible. I am willing to find alternatives to gluten. I am willing to lower my dairy intake to occasional cheese, like once weekly. I am NOT giving up coffee! LOL I'll make it organic. I'll switch my creamer to some weird coconut concoction. But coffee is not going anywhere. Fortunately, I don't sweeten it. So that's one thing, I guess.
I did have surgery. I had a bowel reception 2 years ago that's how I found out about Crohn's. I asymptomatic.
It doesn't make since that I have no control over my triggers. Holistic doctors agree. I'm about fed up with medical doctors. My primary is only there should I need a referral. My true primary doctor is my holistic doctor. He is also a licensed medical doctor and not affiliated with a medical hospital or specialist
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1 ReactionOh, shoot. I'm sorry you found out the hard way. Those surgeries are rough.
My new functional medicine NP wants me to try low-dose naltrexone, to see if we can turn down my hyper-reactivity to everything on the planet. I also got a food allergens panel done. Still have a bunch of other tests, but they are pretty costly as self-pay. I'm going to space them out a bit.
i am having similar issues with my primary care physician
re Functional Medicine Dr. They have a website. Google Functional Medicine doctor.
I’ve been treated with prednisone for 16 months for Giant Cell Arteritis. I am off as of 2 weeks ago, so I do not know my long term outcome yet.
I found a Functional Medicine doctor, not near me, but she’s written book which I bought. Dr. Terry Wahls. She has protocols which use diet along with exercise, meditation and some supplements. She developed her protocols to help herself. She has MS but believes her protocols work for people with other autoimmune diseases like me. And like many of you on this list.
She tells her story better than I could but 2 things struck me about it. 1. She decided that she wanted to treat the root cause of her disease which she says were poorly functioning mitochondria. She experimented on herself.
2. There was nothing in her protocol that could hurt me. (Of course if you are allergic to any food you would just not eat it)
She has several protocols. She advocates a lot of meat, organ meat, etc. but I don’t eat that so I just chose other options. She has a vegetarian option.
Her protocol at its most basic is adequate protein and 9 cups of fruits and vegetables per day. The 9 cups need to evenly split into 3 groups of foods— sulphur containing foods like asparagus or broccoli; colorful veg and fruit with polyphenols like berries or purple cabbage (purple anything!); and leafy greens like Swiss chard or spinach.
Her website is terrywahls.com and she has a lot more there. I decided to buy her book from Amazon since it was cheaper than some of the more personalized offerings. She’s on lots of podcasts and YouTube offerings.
Oh and for me the most encouraging thing about her story is that she went from being confined to a tilt wheelchair to riding her bicycle again. Following her healthy diet and protocol during my time on prednisone made me feel empowered!
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2 ReactionsDenise I manage my gut issues (on my own) with limited but healthy food. And when you say "doctors" it sounds like you go to a regular MD that practices functional medicine?
The Walh Protocol was one of the first books I read on food, nutrition and health It seemed so extreme during my first read. I started seeing a holistic doctor before my cancer diagnosis. After my diagnosis he prescribed a metibolic syndrome diet. It's pretty much the Walh Protocol. I've been eating this way for 6 months. I like it and I love the way I feel in my body now. Who knew food matters?
Denise
yes my doctor is a medical doctor who practices holistic medicine. I wasn't comfortable with another type of practitioner. If I could not find a medical doctor my second chose would be Nurse Practitioner. The reason for this is because i have serious illnesses. I want to look at things I can do to return that around. I wanted to make sure my holistic doctor was some one who could speak on equal terms as my specialist.