If you don’t see progress within 1 year, we will work with you for FREE until you do! Read More >

Blog Favicon

What It’s Like Working With a Functional Medicine Doctor

Oct 28, 2021

If you’re confused about functional medicine certifications, look no further.

Do you have unresolved health issues? Have you been feeling off in your body, and unable to find answers?

If you’ve been to a conventional doctor, you’ve likely been rushed through quick appointments, given medication, and told: “there’s nothing else you can do.” 

Nothing is more frustrating than feeling ignored or dismissed by your doctor.

If you’ve been through this, we deeply feel for you. We know how challenging it is to feel pain and discomfort and feel like there’s no answers. There are millions of people just like you who go through this every day.  Fortunately, working with a  functional medicine doctor could not be more different than this. It’s like a new universe of healthcare altogether.

Healthcare Designed For Chronic Conditions

Traditional healthcare is not designed to treat chronic health conditions. Doctors will see you for 15-20 minutes and rarely ask questions about your underlying health. And the only tool in their toolkit is medication. The truth is, treating complex underlying health issues takes much more time and attention. 

Working with a functional medicine doctor is different for many reasons:

  1. Functional medicine doctors will typically see patients for 60-75 minutes each appointment, 3-4x the length of a traditional doctor’s appointment
  2. They use medication as a last resort. They’ll first educate and train you to change underlying lifestyle habits that lead to diseases in the first place. 
  3. Functional medicine doctors will create a healing plan that will guide you throughout the entire year, not just a single appointment. You’ll have significantly more time with them, as functional doctors usually take on ⅓ the number of patients of a conventional doctor. 

What It’s Like Working With a Functional Doctor

Working with a functional doctor looks something like this:

  1. Your functional doctor will do a complete health history and analysis before seeing you. They’ll send you a detailed health history form to complete before you see them. These are incredibly extensive and cover every detail of your health history, and even your genetic history. 
  2. In your first appointment, you’ll have a 60-75 minutes where you dive into this health history together. You’ll uncover anything that might be affecting your health. You’ll talk about how you were raised, how you eat, previous illnesses, medications you’ve taken throughout your life, and your mental health.
  3. Your doctor will order a set of advanced functional lab tests for you. Functional doctors can now test for almost anything, including nutrient deficiencies, gut biome health, mold or heavy metal poisoning, hormone levels, and much more. 
  4. After receiving your test results, you’ll do 1-2 follow-up appointments where your doctor will help you design a personalized, holistic health protocol for the entire year. This will focus on improving all aspects of your health, and be personalized to your condition.
  5. You’ll have regular appointments throughout the year as you continue to dive deeper into your personalized plan. With health, the devil is in the details, and there’s so, so much to learn. For example, simply learning to properly hydrate your body can take months. Having these regular appointments is essential to continue your progress and deeper learning.

Finding The Right Doctor For You

Needless to say, functional medicine is a godsend. It addresses many of the flaws of conventional medicine and gives patients a real chance to heal underlying conditions. However, it’s also typically very expensive. The average price for a functional medicine appointment in the US is $460, and it’s very rare that they accept insurance.

That’s where Wisdom comes in. We help match you with a doctor who gives you specializes in your condition and gives you the best chance for insurance reimbursement. When working with a functional doctor through Wisdom, you’ll get an entire year of care with regular doctors appointments, and full support from a nutritionist or health coach for just $149 / month. We also help you create a strategy to maximize your health insurance reimbursement. Many of our members get as much as 70% of their monthly fee reimbursed from insurance. 

If you’re looking for a true partner in your health to develop a relationship with you and support you as you learn to transform your life and health, you’re in the right place. 

SCHEDULE AN INFO CALL WITH A CARE COORDINATOR

Have questions? Schedule a free info call today with one of our care coordinators.