You have not felt well in ages. You have been to doctors and specialists, who order tests and prescribe medicines. But nothing seems to help. In fact, you feel worse than when you sought out help. You are discouraged and feel defeated.
Can anything help you feel like yourself again?
A friend suggests you see her functional medicine practitioner. What is functional medicine, you wonder? How can it help you when none of the doctors could? What exactly could you expect to happen when you visit a functional medicine practitioner?
What is Functional Medicine?
According to the Institute of Functional Medicine, Functional Medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness.
Many call Functional Medicine: root cause medicine.Functional medicine practitioners learn about the biochemical uniqueness of each individual, utilize a mind/body/soul approach to care and healing, and create a customized, evidenced based healing plan.
How is that different from a traditional doctor’s method of treating your ailments?
A traditional doctor treats your symptoms. As an example, a 45 year old woman feels fat, fatigued and foggy and has felt that way for the last 10 years. She has tried the traditional medicine route to help her find out what is wrong with her. She has seen four or five doctors, who have prescribed a number of different medications: antidepressants, stimulants and antibiotics to address her complaints. None of these doctors nor the medicines prescribed have helped. In fact, she feels worse. She is concerned that her malaise is negatively affecting her job and relationships. She does not have the energy to do anything. Her self-esteem is at its lowest.
How does a Functional Medicine Practitioner help you?
A Functional Medicine Practitioner finds out the physiological needs in your body and what in your body is preventing it from working optimally. Functional Medicine works on replacing what is missing and eliminating, in a natural way, what is harmful.
In our example above, the 45 year old woman turns to Calmglow, the functional medicine clinic in Modesto, California her friend suggested to her. Working together, within months, not years, of being with Calmglow and successfully following her unique health and healing protocol, she is better and back to her best self.
What is the typical process and procedure for Functional Medicine?
The typical process for most patients involves starting with simple labs. Mind you, not the same test requested by traditional doctors. Can’t expect to achieve different results from the same information acquired before. These lab results will reveal what is happening at your biochemical level. Armed with the knowledge gained from the test results and the information gathered from your paperwork and discussions, a fix can be found to address your underlying health issues, the root cause of your problems.
At Calmglow, helping our patients achieve their optimal health is the cornerstone of our mission statement.
Our Mission Statement:
Calmglow is a lifestyle/Functional Medicine clinic. It is our purpose to offer a multilayered – mind/body approach to health care. We seek to bridge the gap between traditional allopathic medicine with modern science based Integrative therapies. Calmglow provides customized Functional Medicine care through an in depth personalized method of testing each individuals biochemistry then providing “natural” treatment options for chronic medical conditions. We honor the diversity of all communities and provide the means to guide patients onto their individualized paths of wellbeing and balance.
Returning you to your best self is what motivates us
Dianne has been caring for patients for over 30 years, as a nurse practitioner and physician’s assistant in the traditional medicine and functional medicine field. In fact, her desire to be able to provide better care for her patients is what drove her to become a Functional Medicine practitioner. Many of Dianne’s patients have complex, multi-system ailments and are tired of feeling poorly when they seek her help. After a thorough investigation, Dianne prescribes natural treatments customized for each patient, who typically respond with an overall sense of well-being and energy that helps slow the aging process, moving from fat, foggy and fatigued to fit, energetic, and sharp.
Jessica Santos traveled a similar road as Dianne’s. During her first decade as a nurse practitioner, Jessica was frustrated by the limits to the care she could provide. While stitches and casting broken bones helped people, she felt her hands were tied when it came to health promotion and disease prevention. She knew there had to be a better way to take care of her patients. As a Functional Medicine practitioner, Jessica can focus on the whole person and the root causes of ailments, not just the symptoms. She can help her patients achieve whole person balance and wellness.
What is Functional Medicine? An individualized, patient and science based, get to the root of the issues, best way to care for our patients, approach to health care. We look forward to helping you recover your healthy, best self.
To your health,
Dianne Hinton NP, PA, IFM-C
