I just wondered if anyone has gone down the route of Functional medicine, i don’t know if it’s just a American term? Seams mostly based around what we eat. Like becoming gluten free, dairy free and vegan! According to them this approach has transformed their life.
Yes I went gluten free after "failing" a coeliac blood test. I felt so ill I figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, which I have. I started to feel better within days. Going gluten free raised a couple of interesting issues, I worked out I had lactose intolerance first of all, then I lost a stone without changing anything other than removing lactose and gluten. I also had improvements in my eyesight and hearing, which are more linked to thyroid than gluten I believe. I've not seen a functional medicine doctor, just worked this out for myself with help from the Internet and forums like this.
Firstly let me say that I am only attempting to improve my overall health.
Whilst having some similar issues to the patients on this forum I have not been labelled as a thyroid patient although I do have a host of other auto immune labels.
I also dont believe there is a set dose of any vit for anyone and that requirements are determined by individual health and conditions.
However, first through reading, and then self testing I have found vit d up to 5000iu a day to be beneficial. I take that alongside a zinc and magnesium supplement and I take k2-mk7.
I have also recently started to take high dose vit c. Its no good just taking a single high dose which may cause flatulence or loose bowel function
You have to repeatedly dose through the day as vit c is rapidly broken down by the body.
When you are ill your requirements for vit c may be increased 6 fold
As you improve your need/tolerance for it decreases.
Ie a large dose for one person that is seemingly well tolerated may be too much for another person
Personally i have found improvents in skin conditions as I was suffering a host of finger ulcer problems but also I feel I am in general feeling less effects from colds.
As I don't have a thyroid label as such, I encourage anyone to do lots of reading first, before embarking on any action, to determine whether you yourself feel it may be beneficial.
If I take something and get an adverse reaction I always stop and return to reading.
I am following my approach after reading numerous 'anecdotal' accounts of people's conditions being improved or set aside following nutrient therapy of one sort or another. And it seems to be ringing true for me
Even though I always considered myself to be following a healthy diet.
I have also reduced dairy consumption and sugar consumption and tried to ensure that I eat less processed foods
Thanks Poshpenny, I'm glad your having good results. I've started to add a few gluten free products to my diet. I was on high protein low carb diet, seen some results but craving bread and porridge so maybe go gluten free, but carbs are still high in these products! I would recommend that Deliciously Ella book good recipe's, like how to make your own almond milk.
I think functional medicine is a newly coined term for what used to be loosely covered by naturopathy's. But of course there is lots of research now that is uncomfortable for big pharma/food/industry which is noticed by the functional brigade.
I think most of our 'fringe' doctors here would fall under the functional banner. People like Sarah Myhill, Dr P, Dr David Owen. The trouble is that it is such a huge field they each occupy a relatively small corner.
I am seriously considering doing the Institute of Integrative Nutrition course when I retire.
Functional medicine is the approach of finding the underlying cause of the problem as opposed to just treating the symptoms with drugs which all have side effects and quite often cause other problems. Find and treat the problem, not the symptom. PR
From reading I see the Functional Medical Practitioners in the US are doing a great job. Most have trained in the conventional ways of medicine as they are today - and mostly become disillusioned with their experiences and feel their patients deserve better than a quick fix for symptoms. Dr Neil Nathan describes his book well as being - for those that have fallen through the cracks of current medical treatment
It is all indicative that there is a huge shift in medicine today - leaving out Big Pharma - and finding wellness through long forgotten methods. Western Medicine is just over a 100 years old and how long have we been on this planet ?
I think most of us on here practice our own functional medicine. We have learnt that just taking what the doctor prescribes without reference to our symptoms won't lead to feeling in the best of health. Most GP's and Endos haven't had any training in nutrition - what minerals and vitamins our bodies need to function properly. They may only be needed in very small amounts but they can have a massive impact on our treatment/wellness. So most on here would recognise that we need folate, ferritin, iron, Vit D and B12 all to be at good levels. Also our bodies need Iodine and Selenium to make/use thyroid hormones but I don't think anyone on here has managed to persuade NHS to test these minerals. I can tell you that by improving my vits and minerals I felt better and when my TPO antibody levels rose I went gluten free and then eventually lacto free and reduced my TPO significantly and felt better for it. I am still working on low Iodine levels. Our processed modern diets and modern farming methods have affected the mineral and vitamin content of our diets. Functional medicine in my view is an holistic approach to our health. Everything is taken into consideration, not just the useless TSH test!
I thought I had a pretty good diet til a year ago when I developed ME/CFS on top of Hypothiroid (125mcg levo). With fantastic advice and help from a nutritionist specialising in both conditions, I am now gluten free inc. oats, take full dose of Dr. Teitelbaum's energy supplement having built up from 1/2 level tsp very gradually so as not to shock the body. As far as possible I eat organic foods, have restricted dairy to yoghurt and cottage cheese, I eat meat if very good quality but only very occasionally, just perhaps once every few months, low sugar diet which also restricts friut intake, low carb, especially cut out refined carbs, high veg, moderate and regular amounts of high quality protein with every meal and snack, getting on top of stress and anxiety using yoga and meditation... I know it all sounds like hard work, but I got to a stage where I was so ill I could barely function. I feel so much better I can hardly believe. If proof needed, I am now on reduced dose levo - 125 mcg/100mcg on alternate days. In fact, it wasn't really so very hard to do, I just made a small change at a time, waited to see what works, and went from there.
I am a gardener, and know that all the sprays and chemicals in the world won't help a plant if the soil it grows in is impoverished, or if the plant is stressed. Why in the name of all that's holy would the human body be any different?
looks like Functional medicine is what we are trying to doing in our own way. Some good results from what you guys have said. I will try this all out just a step at a time.
I live in the U.S. Functional medicine doctors are a breath of fresh air but they are very few. I tried to get an appointment with one and had to wait four months. A month later they called and said they would have to postpone the appointment further. So it is a step in the right direction but there just aren't enough of them to go around.
Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual. - See more at: functionalmedicine.org/abou...
I've been using a naturopath doctor (ND) since mid-January in addition to my HMO doctor that is likely equivalent to those in the UK system.
Frankly I'm a little disappointed with mine. She put me on a vitamin D supplement and in a month it shot up from 45.6 (which wasn't really all that low) to 100, as measured by my HMO doc. NDs use slightly different ranges than conventional, so 100 was the very top of the range for my ND (30 - 100) but my HMO doc said it was way too high (range 20 - 79) and to quit taking supplements that contain vitamin D.
I also have pernicious anemia and my ND doesn't seem to be ordering any blood tests to monitor that.
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