Whether you have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease or chronic health condition, or you are experiencing symptoms or signs that may be indicative of an underlying health problem, this is for you!
Our goal is to create a safe, trauma-informed space where you don’t feel overwhelmed and rather, empowered to begin your journey to healing. We strongly believe that the human body is meant to heal and that is exactly what we are doing; helping you facilitate your body’s own healing. Our approach to functional medicine in Downingtown, PA incorporates all aspects of your unique lifestyle and condition.
We specialize in a functional medicine approach that evaluates you as a whole person based on a number of factors that may contribute to health conditions, such as nutritional deficiencies, dietary intolerance, toxicity, abnormal gut microbiome (the healthy bacteria we all carry), hormonal dysfunction, and inflammation.
What to expect:
- Prior to your appointment
Fill out extensive paperwork including a complete medical, environmental, dietary, lifestyle, environmental, and social history, and send prior to your appointment including labs, previous testing, and any other pertinent medical records for our review so we can be prepared for you.
- Your first appointment
Your first appointment will include reviewing your current concerns, detailed history, pertinent testing/labwork, reviewing your timeline, modifiable lifestyle factors, and organizing your clinical information. A physical exam may also be performed. We also map your signs, symptoms, and diagnoses to the functional medicine matrix. This matrix is the overarching framework that allows us together to identify the root causes of your health concerns and develop your personalized health roadmap.
You will be given a clear summary of your clinical presentation and more importantly, how to move forward towards healing. This may include but is not limited to: suggestions for modifiable lifestyle factors (sleep, nutrition, movement, stress, relationships), labwork/further testing, supplementation, referrals, and collaboration with your medical team.
Regarding testing, our goal is to be very intentional about our recommendations. So, we may wait for a few sessions to see how your body responds to basic lifestyle changes before suggesting specific tests (stool, heavy metal, hormone, micronutrient, etc). We can easily provide specific testing and lab work recommendations when appropriate.
- Follow-up visits
Initially, every 2 weeks and transitioning to every 3 to 4 weeks seems to ensure the greatest success among patients with multiple health concerns. However, we can determine that together. At each follow-up, we will review your current concerns and improvements, what is working and not working, evaluate supplements and new testing as needed, and provide the next steps towards your healing. We expect that each session, you will feel better if you have committed to some or all of our suggestions.
We appreciate the whole-person approach to healing, including the emotional and spiritual aspects of healing, too. We will emphasize the role of lifestyle, phytonutrients (nutrients from plants), movement, sleep, mindfulness, and more to help you achieve wellness and healing. To get started with our functional medicine in Downingtown, PA, give us a call today.
