I’m sure I’m not the only one. I have many friends who deal with chronic health conditions, but can’t seem to find a real solution. These conditions may not be completely debilitating, but they’re certainly an annoyance. Perhaps you deal with occasional bloating. Maybe it’s that reoccurring rash or skin problem that doesn’t seem to ever really go away. Or it’s that migraine that you get every fortnight. We go from doctor to doctor, practise to practise, only to be given a some drugs or an ointment, before we’re ushered off to continue with our daily grind.
But do these symptoms go away? Not really. They do temporarily, but they never truly disappear. This is what happens when we just mask our symptoms with band-aid fixes instead of addressing the ROOT CAUSE of the problem. And honestly, it’s not so easy to find a doctor who does that.
I spent years going to various doctors to address some of my health issues. I went to see multiple gastroenterologists (bloating and bowel problems), dermatologists (skin concerns) and even an endocrinologist (hormonal issues) in a quest to improve my health, but was often disappointed, or should I say exasperated, when a few diagnostics were run and it was determined that there was nothing that wrong with me. But, I didn’t FEEL fine. Don’t get me wrong, I could function. I could go and do my every day errands. I was, and still am, incredibly active and consider myself fit. But I knew that I wasn’t at peak health. I knew that I could feel better, and I refused to accept that this was just part of life, and I had to live with my symptoms forever. “Your blood test shows that your hormones are normal”, I was told. “You’ve got some symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndrome), but there’s no cure for that”, one doctor pronounced. “You can just use this steroid cream when you break out in a rash”, said my dermatologist.
So when doctors can’t help, what do most people do? Well, I started doing my own research. Frustrated with the lack of understanding, vainly searching for ways to improve my health, I spent hours and hours devouring information available on the internet, as well as watching documentaries to figure out what was going on with me. After some time, I came to the conclusion that my symptoms were all related in one way or another. The problem is, the doctors that I’ve been seeing only specialise in their respective fields, and don’t communicate with each other.
Enter functional medicine. This is what I was looking for. Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, and addresses the whole person, instead of an isolated set of symptoms. Practitioners actually spend time with their patients and look at their whole medical history and other lifestyle factors which could potentially influence their long term health. This approach considers each patient as UNIQUE, instead of applying text book answers to every symptom that comes up. Jackpot. This is what I needed.
I can’t quite explain to you the excitement and relief I felt when I had my first consultation with Dr Eca at LifeScience. Prior to my appointment, I had to fill out a comprehensive document which covered my entire medical history (from birth)! It asked questions about my mental health and state of mind. When I finally sat down with Dr Eca, we looked through the document together, to pin point when certain symptoms came up, and possible reasons for it. For example, I had a knee reconstruction when I was 16 as a result of a ACL tear whilst playing soccer. I had never thought about how an operation could have been the catalyst to some of my stomach problems. Well, turns out that when you have a major operation, you’re often given strong antibiotics to prevent infection after surgery. Antibiotics can be life saving, but they can also upset the balance of the bacteria in the gut, which can lead to a host of problems… say whaaat?!
So right now, I’m at the beginning of my journey with functional medicine, and I’m so excited and curious to see how this can help me navigate onto a path of wellness and peak health. I’ll be taking a few diagnostic tests, and I’ll be sharing with you my experience in the hope that it will help others on their journey too. Upwards and onwards!
Life Science: 8th Floor, ACCRA Law Tower, 2nd Avenue corner 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, 1634, Metro Manila, Philippines // +63 917 573 5433
Very good post Mari.. need to start as well..
Wow..your IG post made me go through & visit your recent blog. Talk about health & wellness – who doesn’t want this, right?!? I just turned 30 & feel that I am beyond that age due to health concerns. I always have paracetamol, ponstan, motrin, immodium, avamigran & even flanax on my bag. One question though – I know your consultation was so worth it, but was it expensive?
Sorry for the double comment – was driving & yeah-typing hence the incorrect grammar & misspelled words 🙂
Thanks!
P
Mari! so happy to hear this from you. 🙂 Yeah, it’s absolutely true. Antibiotics has a strong side effects, even pain relievers will only make you dependent and even addicted on it.. will just cover up the symptoms but doesn’t really address and cure the root cause of it. And that scares me!This blog (and the series of it) will actually help others understand that there’s more. So it is actually called functional medicine. Enjoy your journey! Praying that every single cell of your body is goin to be well and amazing. God bless! Be and stay healthy in every areas of your life!
Hi Mari,
I myself am going through a similar journey as yours. Although my tipping point came from various sports injuries that eventually awakened my curiosity on how our body is very well connected from experiences we’ve had from birth. All fueled to perform better in surfing, boxing and soccer. The more we do the more we are at risk to acquire symptoms that can eventually stay and increase as we get older. I agree that the approach starts from understanding ones history. I even started a star-up called Medifi just to be able to bridge doctors so that patients can avoid experiences like yours. I admit it’s not as easy as it sounds. People and doctors have different outlooks. I’m happy to see your outlook on this and the steps you’re taking. I’m hoping you get better as time goes by. If there’s any
way I can help, I’d be happy to do so. Cheers!
This is very helpful. I have undergone thyroidectomy because of goiter but still I feel palpitations and bloated stomach everyday. I always complain this to my endocrinologist but she just relays on the lab results. I even went to a gastroenterologist for my bloating and lab results were all good too. I slowly lose faith on the conventional way and will surely consider your post. Looking forward for the update, thanks for sharing this!
Hi Cheyang, I understand your frustration. Please try to see someone who practises functional medicine. If you’re in Manila, I highly recommend Life Science in BGC.