Are your hormones screaming at you, or making you crazy? Are you having hot flashes, night sweats, PMS, insomnia, fatigue? Are you irritable or bitchy? You may not think so but maybe others in your life do!
Yes, hormone imbalances can be uncomfortable. They can be mild or not so mild. In my practice I see many women who suffer needlessly and here are some reasons why:
- They may have been to their primary care doctor who offered them a prescription of synthetic hormones, with no hormone testing (I see this one all the time, pretty surprising, medicating with no baseline for comparison), and they don’t feel any better
- They don’t want to take synthetic hormones because they have heard they are toxic, so they do nothing and tough it out
- They would like to try natural methods but don’t know where to turn to for information
- Are given other drugs for menopause symptoms, such as antidepressants, when they aren’t depressed
As I said above, I am surprised when women come into my practice and are denied hormone testing by their doctors, BUT, there is good news! for most women it’s just a matter of taking your health into your own hands and directing your care.
So today I wanted to talk about Functional Medicine and how it can help your hormones…………
What is Functional Medicine? It’s a cutting edge way of evaluating and treating you to create optimum health and wellness, and to treat chronic disease and illness naturally with diet, lifestyle and specialized nutritional supplements. And yes, it can help you balance your hormones!
What kind of doctors do this? You can find many types of doctors using FM, such as medical doctors, chiropractors (like myself), naturopathic doctors, and osteopathic doctors. Of course you should find a doctor who is specially trained and certified in functional medicine.
What are the benefits of using Functional Medicine?
- It is all about getting to the cause of your health problems and not covering it up with drugs.
- It’s also about helping you not waste money, or time, by self diagnosing and taking supplements or treatment that may not be right for your body!
- The process is about finding out what your individual body needs by doing the appropriate testing. These tests can tell the nutritional status of your body. By re-testing at a later time you can see results and positive changes in your health.
- Functional Medicine not only treats illness or diseases that you currently have, but with the testing you can know where you are headed and can help you prevent disease!
What is the process?
- To start, you should have a comprehensive health history, examination and medical records review taken by which ever doctor you see
- Then testing is usually recommended, and this could include blood testing, saliva testing, stool testing or urine testing, all individualized to you
- You should receive a (preferably) written report with the results of your testing, and then the recommendations for diet or lifestyle changes, supplements, and any appropriate referrals to other doctors. As a chiropractor I do not prescribe medication, however if I feel you need certain types of hormones that can only be prescribed I will refer you to the right doctor
I hope this helps you sort out a bit about what Functional Medicine is, the benefits and how it may help you. I love that I can offer natural women’s healthcare and help my women patients feel so much better. Know that there is hope, to live a vibrant healthy life at any age!
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