Hey everyone! 🌟 I remember how I transformed from a conventional nurse into an entirely different Nightingale! It all began in a regenerative clinic in Bangkok—can you believe it was 10 years ago?! 🤯 

Each day spent in that environment profoundly altered my approach to wellness. I engaged with various treatments, including stem cell therapies, intravenous nutrition, peptides, and a comprehensive array of regenerative therapies. These treatments were not solely focused on addressing specific conditions but also on promoting overall health and prevention.

It was a concept and management that also helped me with my autoimmune condition. I can remember that I had to create my own laboratory results tracker files, tracking all the lab tests I do every 3 months, making my own protocol on how I would be able to avoid the symptoms of flare-ups and inflammation through my diet, lifestyle, and supplementation. Thank God, I have never taken any medicine since then.

The whole fiasco of checking and reading every label of everything I eat, all the stuff I use on my body (skincare, makeup, perfume, etc.), and even up to the laundry detergent was the freakiest phase I have ever been in. I had a food diary and technically eliminated the foods I knew my body reacted to.

Did it pay off?

Well, definitely it did. The reading, the research, and just trying holistic and alternative methods to suppress my symptoms.

Going back to where this post is heading, all of the above is a Functional Medicine approach. It is basically finding the root cause rather than giving it a quick fix. A migraine or a headache does not necessarily mean you must take medicine immediately. There are a whole lot of reasons why you are experiencing one: dehydration, lack of sleep, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), anemia, fatigue, stress, eye problems, hormone imbalance, something you have eaten a while ago or yesterday that your body is reacting to, or the environment where you are is too hot or too cold for you.

What exactly is Functional Medicine?

“Functional medicine provides a framework to systematically identify and address the underlying processes and dysfunctions that are causing imbalance and disease in each individual. By understanding a patient’s genetic, environmental, and lifestyle influences, functional medicine clinicians create personalized interventions that restore balance, health, and well-being. ” –IFM (Institute of Functional Medicine)

In functional medicine, the entirety of the person and even their environment is considered. The medical investigation is taken into a different aspect to develop a holistic approach and management, which does not fall into a single and generic treatment. Genetics, hereditary or familial disease history and condition, diet, lifestyle, home and working environment, mental, social, sexual health, gender, and age are factors considered and investigated in a functional medicine approach.

It is unique like an art; practitioners design on a blank canvas, drawing treatments and approaches personally delivered to you. The beauty of it is teamwork; you are welcome to join and create the design because, at the end of the day, it is your life, your health.

Nothing is given in a one-size-fits-all treatment; rather, it is personalized and tailored to your own symptoms and wellness goals. It encourages personal awareness and self-motivation in improving responsibility to oneself. Having the autonomy to make health decisions is a powerful act.

Does Functional Medicine ask you to stay away from your conventional doctor?

That is a big NO, which is not how the practice and concept work. We integrate traditional treatments with the patient’s consent and choice. It is integrative and collaborative work, and the patient can decide whether exploring a different treatment modality will benefit them hospital-based in the first place.

So the next time you go to the doctor and ask for some prescription medicine for your headache or stomach, or simply because you cannot fall asleep, try practicing asking yourself why. If it is not a medical emergency, take a step back and assess the situation; your body will thank you for that, especially your liver and kidneys. 😀

Let’s begin normalizing the exercise of our rights as patients and as individuals taking charge of our future and health. It’s the best investment anyone can make.

Lastly, have you ever had an experience or situation where you sat down and Googled your symptoms? I think all of us have. There is nothing wrong with such a call to action; those are daily choices and decisions we make every day. However, we can do better if we educate ourselves by reading, listening, watching, and following reliable sources and professionals. Fact-checking is important.