Functional Medicine

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE

RESTORING foundationS of HEALTH & HEALTH CARE

Think of functional medicine as a bridge that is uniting allopathic (western) medicine and alternative (holistic) medicine as we move into the future of health care. Advancing technology and the expansion of laboratory testing over the last few decades has caused a deeper awakening in many practitioners of all walks and inspired many patients to restore health and balance through more natural ways that God and nature has provided to us all.

Functional medicine views symptoms as an indicator or “warning light” that there is imbalance within the body. When these indicators are properly understood, they can be a guiding light at restoring the proper function and health to the patient. Functional medicine practitioners call this type of approach a “root cause” approach. Instead of merely trying to “turn off” the indicator symptom, we dive deep into evaluating all systems of the body … because they are all connected in one way or another.

It wouldn’t be truly personalized care either if we didn’t investigate and seek to incorporate better lifestyle choices like diet and exercise habits and, of course, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Health is truly more than the absence of disease.

Functional Testing

offers deeper insight

This is where it gets really interesting and quite different in assessing your health and evaluating how your body is functioning beyond the symptoms you may or may not have. Let me be clear, symptoms are important and can absolutely be a guiding light … and testing is not always necessary to correct a problem. But more often than not, resolving health problems and restoring true health and vitality can be more complicated than you might think.

This is why viewing high blood pressure as a deficiency in blood pressure medication is so incredibly dangerous. There can be a number of reasons why blood pressure has gone up. It could be something as simple as an acute stressful situation that has triggered your body’s natural “fight or flight” response, or it could be something as serious as an un-diagnosed cancer.

There are so many amazing testing options available these days that offer deeper insight into the health and function of your gut and digestive system, that evaluate the crucial microbiome and checks for inflammatory markers that a colonoscopy simply cannot see.

We can learn more about your genetic make-up and possibly make sense of you’ve never been able to take birth control and potentially save you from making the choice to ever go on synthetic hormone replacement before menopause strikes.

If you have a family history of heart disease or diabetes, different testing options and a practitioner that understands more than medication can very easily add quality years to your precious life.

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FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FOR all ages

discover more about

I was personally introduced to functional medicine after the birth of my first child. Due to some issues at birth, he spent 6 weeks at the NICU and Pediatric ICU. While I am extremely grateful for the care we received from the hospital to “put out the fire”, I knew we needed different tools to “rebuild the home”.

Some answers were found from testing myself and knowing both of our medical histories and lifestyle choices intimately. Others came from functional testing and evaluations on my child directly.

I want parents to know that there are options when it comes to their child’s health care.

Some kids and adults are offered a “clean bill of health” from their doctor and conventional testing and diagnostic procedures … but they still know they don’t feel well and something is not right.

This is the perfect time to seek a second opinion or consider different kinds of treatment and find a new practitioner that can offer you care that you and your child feel more comfortable with.

There are so many options these days that we often don’t need a blood sample and can gather information from completely gentle and non-invasive methods that is perfect for children, the elderly and people of any age!

Get on the Books

What to Expect

While we view functional medicine as a bridge between traditional and alternative medicine, the structure of the practice and picture of the visits looks significantly different. In order to properly interpret the “warning indicators” and be able to personalize a treatment plan to you specifically, much more time is spent connecting with you and your habits and choices, your family and personal history, and gathering information from previous and current labs, test results, and diagnoses.

With that being said, the most noticeable difference to our patients is the amount of time spent with the doctor. Appointments can be done in-office or over the phone (or Skype, Zoom, etc) … but for the first visit, please expect anywhere between 1 to 3 hours of time together.

Approximate costs for new patient visits typically range from $200 – $600, sometimes up to $1,000 and are considered self-pay. Paid “superbill” receipts can be provided for patients wishing to submit for reimbursement from their insurance provider.

Insurance may be used for participating lab partners and all expected costs associated with any testing or laboratory fees will be discussed prior to ordering and ordered only with your agreement.

If you have lab results, past medical history and medications, current supplements, or any other information that can be helpful in reviewing your journey prior to us meeting, please be prepared to bring copies and leave them with us to keep in your personal medical file.

The first visit is spent discussing your concerns, your current and past health status, lifestyle choices, rituals and habits and physically evaluating the homeostasis and balance of your body on a physical level. We discuss the different testing and/or “trial” options that would be most beneficial to you and how these choices may impact our recommendations for you.

We might also offer changes to your immediate lifestyle and discuss different resources, tools and opportunities that are available to assist in your journey as we await results or get started on your personalized plan to wellness.

FOLLOW-UP VISITS

Depending on the results from testing, your goals for your health, and the level of care that is recommended … you choose what’s best for you moving forward.

We strongly recommend setting a preliminary schedule for follow-up visits (in-office or virtual) so we can follow-up with progress and continue with recommended testing or treatment based on your goals and health status.

We will make a proposal for your recommend treatment plan complete with lifestyle modifications like diet and exercise, resources to further assist in your well-being, supplementation, herbal remedies and/or testing when clinically indicated, and/or referral to specialized practitioners if and when necessary.

We will discuss financial expectations and options for payment plans at the first follow-up visit so you can make the best decision for you and/or your family.

Dr Lauren's

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About DR LAUREN

Holistic chiropractor specializing in pediatrics and pregnancy offering functional medicine services and speaking engagements across the nation on natural remedies, health, quantum physics and conscious living …