Functional Medicine means taking the extra time to figure out, “Why?”
At Georgia Hormones, we practice Functional Medicine and it means taking the extra time and effort to figure out why a problem is happening to you — we don’t just treat the symptoms.
Is Functional Medicine really different from seeing my regular doctor? Yes!
Your regular doctor most likely practices what is called “standard Allopathic medicine.” “Allo” means against; “pathic” means disease. Allopathic medicine attempts to just stop whatever disease the patient has. If you tell your regular Allopathic doctor you have migraines, you will be given drugs that only treat the pain of migraines. Allopathic medicine will then send you out the door. It’s known as, “Got an ill? Take a pill.” For many patients, a pill is not enough. A pill can cover up a problem, rather than fix it. That’s where Functional Medicine is different — we keep digging. American Allopathic doctors are simply taught how to paper over the problems, mainly with pharmaceuticals, surgery and radiation. They are not taught to dig down to discover the cause of the problem.
How does standard American Allopathic medicine work?
Allopathic means against disease. If someone has high blood pressure, doctors are taught to just prescribe an anti-high blood pressure drug. If they have a migraine headache, they are given an anti-migraine medication. An osteoporosis diagnosis will usually have the physician prescribing an anti-osteoporosis drug. And on and on and on.
Why? Functional Medicine
At Georgia Hormones we take the time to figure out “why?” Why? is the key word because it makes a difference! With Functional Medicine we don’t send you out the door. We talk it out. We dig down. We individualize. Why is this symptom happening in the first place? Let’s fix the cause, not just patch the damage. American doctors are taught how to treat problems. For every ill there is a pill. Jeffrey Bland, PhD, is one of the founders of Functional Medicine. In his book, The Disease Delusion, Dr. Bland explains that we must investigate and treat the underlying cause of disease, not just paper over the symptoms with a pharmaceutical drug.
How do engineers approach problems or failures?
I have a patient who is a network engineer. His job is to investigate failures in the system, fix them, and reduce the chance that this failure will occur again. He told me that the key is to ask Why five times. Why was there a failure? What were the conditions leading to and allowing the problem? Why did they occur? What allowed that to happen and Why did it happen?
To truly fix the issue and ensure robust health of the system we have to keep asking Why? until we get down to the basis for the failure.
OK, but what really changes for me, the patient?
Fixing an underlying problem is often harder than just taking a pill, but it works better and longer. We are not against pills, but we work along with the whole body and lifestyle. This means we may work with a personalized approach to change diet or exercise patterns. We may guide you to specific supplements, to furnish what a patient individually needs. We may reduce or eliminate certain toxins (which your body may be poorly reacting to). It’s about working with a patient to figure out why the symptoms are happening and to change your life and medicine to fix the cause.
In Functional Medicine, We Ask Why?
Why is this person gaining weight?
Why does this person have high blood pressure or high blood sugar?
Why does menopause cause hot flashes?
Why does menopause cause osteoporosis?
Why does this man have erectile difficulties?
Why do people get Alzheimer’s disease?
How does this change the treatment?
When we shift from asking How? to asking Why? we treat the underlying problem, not just the symptoms of the problem. This often involves changing diet or exercise patterns. A patient may need additional supplements or might need to reduce or eliminate toxins (including environmental), excess sugar, salt, alcohol, or even pharmaceutical drugs.
Functional Medicine is about fixing the underlying problem. We must keep asking, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why.
Additional Resources
Read Dr. Goldman’s review of Dr. Bland’s book: http://bit.ly/2920wZh
Watch video of Dr. Bland's book presentation: http://bit.ly/298j4sw
Buy the book, The Disease Delusion: http://amzn.to/295j10c
For an appointment, just call 770.475.0077.
At Georgia Hormones, we practice Functional Medicine and it means taking the extra time and effort to figure out why a problem is happening to you — we don’t just treat the symptoms.
Is Functional Medicine really different from seeing my regular doctor? Yes!
Your regular doctor most likely practices what is called “standard Allopathic medicine.” “Allo” means against; “pathic” means disease. Allopathic medicine attempts to just stop whatever disease the patient has. If you tell your regular Allopathic doctor you have migraines, you will be given drugs that only treat the pain of migraines. Allopathic medicine will then send you out the door. It’s known as, “Got an ill? Take a pill.” For many patients, a pill is not enough. A pill can cover up a problem, rather than fix it. That’s where Functional Medicine is different — we keep digging. American Allopathic doctors are simply taught how to paper over the problems, mainly with pharmaceuticals, surgery and radiation. They are not taught to dig down to discover the cause of the problem.
How does standard American Allopathic medicine work?
Allopathic means against disease. If someone has high blood pressure, doctors are taught to just prescribe an anti-high blood pressure drug. If they have a migraine headache, they are given an anti-migraine medication. An osteoporosis diagnosis will usually have the physician prescribing an anti-osteoporosis drug. And on and on and on.
Why? Functional Medicine
At Georgia Hormones we take the time to figure out “why?” Why? is the key word because it makes a difference! With Functional Medicine we don’t send you out the door. We talk it out. We dig down. We individualize. Why is this symptom happening in the first place? Let’s fix the cause, not just patch the damage. American doctors are taught how to treat problems. For every ill there is a pill. Jeffrey Bland, PhD, is one of the founders of Functional Medicine. In his book, The Disease Delusion, Dr. Bland explains that we must investigate and treat the underlying cause of disease, not just paper over the symptoms with a pharmaceutical drug.
How do engineers approach problems or failures?
I have a patient who is a network engineer. His job is to investigate failures in the system, fix them, and reduce the chance that this failure will occur again. He told me that the key is to ask Why five times. Why was there a failure? What were the conditions leading to and allowing the problem? Why did they occur? What allowed that to happen and Why did it happen?
To truly fix the issue and ensure robust health of the system we have to keep asking Why? until we get down to the basis for the failure.
OK, but what really changes for me, the patient?
Fixing an underlying problem is often harder than just taking a pill, but it works better and longer. We are not against pills, but we work along with the whole body and lifestyle. This means we may work with a personalized approach to change diet or exercise patterns. We may guide you to specific supplements, to furnish what a patient individually needs. We may reduce or eliminate certain toxins (which your body may be poorly reacting to). It’s about working with a patient to figure out why the symptoms are happening and to change your life and medicine to fix the cause.
In Functional Medicine, We Ask Why?
Why is this person gaining weight?
Why does this person have high blood pressure or high blood sugar?
Why does menopause cause hot flashes?
Why does menopause cause osteoporosis?
Why does this man have erectile difficulties?
Why do people get Alzheimer’s disease?
How does this change the treatment?
When we shift from asking How? to asking Why? we treat the underlying problem, not just the symptoms of the problem. This often involves changing diet or exercise patterns. A patient may need additional supplements or might need to reduce or eliminate toxins (including environmental), excess sugar, salt, alcohol, or even pharmaceutical drugs.
Functional Medicine is about fixing the underlying problem. We must keep asking, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why.
Additional Resources
Read Dr. Goldman’s review of Dr. Bland’s book: http://bit.ly/2920wZh
Watch video of Dr. Bland's book presentation: http://bit.ly/298j4sw
Buy the book, The Disease Delusion: http://amzn.to/295j10c
For an appointment, just call 770.475.0077.
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