Functional Medicine Journey

My Functional Medicine journey started few years ago when my personal health problems became quite debilitating.

I always used to be very lively, energetic, positive, never used to have problems with sleep, racing heart, hormonal imbalances, allergies and eczema. I’ve always used to be into healthy habits and eating home-cooked meals. 

So it was a mystery when my health started slowly but surely slip away despite the fact that my lifestyle choices and habits have always been quite excellent. 

My symptoms were mild at first, however they continued to worsen.

What started out as hair loss, trouble sleeping morphed into fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, and even memory loss. It took all the mental and physical energy I had just to survive each day.

I went to see my primary care doctor. She ran different lab tests but didn’t notice anything abnormal. This is the point where I expected to be offered guidance for recovering my health. Instead she offered me to take anti-depressants as a quick fix. Really?? I left that appointment feeling defeated and frustrated. This kind of healthcare approach seemed outrageous to me. And I knew that it would not provide a long-term, sustained health benefits.

I felt helpless. I was asking myself WHY this was happening to me, what was triggering all those imbalances and dysfunctions. Eventually, I had enough. I decided to take my health into my own hands. And this is when Functional Medicine came into my life. Not only it saved my health but I believe my life by improving the quality of my life.

TAKE HEALING INTO YOUR OWN HANDS

Through the functional medicine approach I was able to get to the root causes of my symptoms. At the Functional Medicine school I’ve learned how to review lab work. Through this education, I discovered that I had heavy metal toxicity. Hmmm, and my primary care doctor said that my lab tests didn’t show anything abnormal. The truth is that the lab markers represent 95% of population. As you can imagine in that 95% range there are many people who are under diagnosed or misdiagnosed, so conventional lab markers don’t represent the optimal healthy ranges at all.

Mercury can deplete the body from most powerful anti-oxidant, called Glutathione. Glutathione synthesis requires vitamin B6 which is also needed for serotonin and melatonin production. We need to produce melatonin at night to sleep soundly. I had a Hallelujah moment after all of these discoveries!

Discoveries

Now you can see how the functional medicine helps to put the puzzle pieces together and get to the root causes through interconnectedness. And this is just one example of interconnectedness what was at play behind my imbalances and dysfunctions.

Because my body wasn’t able to to excrete mercury properly, it triggered further downstream imbalances. The higher our toxic load, the more likely toxins will interfere with our immune system and endocrine function.

My food allergies were caused by a leaky gut. I discovered that my gut was a mess which lead to the problems with digestion, absorption, bloating and belching. Although I was eating organic, whole foods, I wasn’t getting any nutrients into my system needed to heal my body and promote good deep sleep. You can see how this on its own creates a vicious cycle.

I was aware I was missing key nutrients and those deficiencies I was able to address with the nutraceutical grade supplements. I put into my body missing nutrients which helped to improve and optimize my sleep and other imbalances. If you don’t sleep, you don’t heal. Sleep effects everything – thyroid function, hormones, memory, mood, energy, vitality, skin, hair (just to name few).

I got rid of allergies, fixed the gut, improved detoxification. I was able to address hormonal imbalances and improve thyroid function.

I’m passionately in love with the functional medicine.

My health challenges have led me to the path of intense learning. I want to share the hope with others that our bodies can heal and find the balance. And that there are answers when we seek them.

I would be honored to be your guide in supporting you in your health challenges through the functional medicine journey and lens.

At the Functional Medicine school I have completed a rigorous program which covered the following:

• Autoimmune
• Hormones
• Adrenal & Thyroid function
• Disease begins in the gut
• Cellular metabolism – “low energy”… sluggishness, fatigue, low stamina, achy or weak muscles…just not enough “get up’n’go!
• Metabolic dysfunction
• Toxicity, Detoxification & Heavy Metals
• Bone Health
• Asthma, Allergy & Immune Intolerance
• Headache & Migraine
• Labwork
• Nutrients
• Supplements