When you struggle with chronic illness or a complex medical condition, it’s easy to feel frustrated. A functional medicine doctor in the Sutter Health network partners with you to explore all the factors that impact your well-being. We expand the traditional focus on disease to take a holistic view of your health.
A science-based approach to holistic medical care, functional medicine is effective for a wide variety of conditions and concerns, including:
- Digestive issues — including irritable bowel, food and gluten sensitivities and allergies, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and intestinal yeast (candida).
- Autoimmune conditions — including hypo- and hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel, diabetes and celiac disease.
- Women’s health issues — such as hormone and thyroid imbalances, menopause, PMS, fertility and preconception nutrition.
- Mental health concerns — such as anxiety, depression, insomnia and coping with life transitions.
- Stress-related issues — including fatigue, poor concentration or memory, frequent colds, constant worry and nervous habits.
The Functional Medicine Process
Expect to work closely with your functional medicine doctor, beginning with an in-depth look at your genetic makeup, medical history, environment and lifestyle. Specialized laboratory testing helps identify the complex interactions between these factors and forms a picture of your unique health characteristics.
Using the information provided by discussions with you, personalized testing, and, if appropriate, targeted nutritional consultations, your functional medicine doctor creates a personalized treatment plan to address dysfunction in different organ systems (sometimes before symptoms show), incorporating the traditional, complementary and cutting-edge therapies that you both consider important to your healing.
Personalized recommendations may include therapeutic diets, exercises, prescription drugs or botanical medicines, supplements, detoxification programs and stress-management techniques. Depending on your preferences and needs, your functional medicine doctor may also integrate ancient traditions such as acupuncture, Chinese medicine or Ayurveda into your health plan, along with modern approaches such as osteopathy and chiropractic services, massage and bodywork therapies, and integrative psychotherapy and behavioral counseling.
