Functional Medicine

Editorial Team / Admin · Jul 8, 2022

I have no direct experience. A friend who is doing a Preventive Medicine Residency, had a rotation with Functional Medicine as part of the Residency. She was very impressed. It seems it is not mainstream (I.e., not billable thru most insurance -- so patients pay out of pocket for visits). She was impressed that, apart from the first 2-3 hour visit/interview, there are brief encounters afterwards, after the plan of care is enacted. Seems to encompass Eastern as well as Western medicine, and relies as well on diet adjustments, according to the need to decrease inflammation.

Here is a brief description from the web: "A doctor in functional medicine works holistically, considering the full picture of your physical, mental, emotional, and sometimes even spiritual health. They consider factors like diet, genetics, hormonal changes, prescription and over the counter medications, and other lifestyle components."

Theresa Lohman, DNP, APRN, CNM · Jul 8, 2022

Thank you for your reply.

The goal of functional medicine is to get to the root cause. For instance, you get headaches. In the conventional world, a prescription is given. In the Functional/Integrative world the question "Why?" is asked. It could be food intolerance (frequently), stress, eyes, neuro, high blood pressure and the list goes on.

The problem I see with conventional medicine, while it has its place, the answer to a symptom is not a pill, at least not in the long term.

Jen L · Mar 7, 2023

Yes, I work in the functional medicine space!