Let’s start with your doctor…

Can you trust your doctor? I am going to assume your doctor is well-trained in their particular field and well-intentioned but can they provide you with the answers you are looking for? They might be excellent at diagnosing diseases of the body and matching these diseases with an appropriate drug. If this is what you are looking for, then you can probably trust your doctor.

However, if you want to gain a better understanding of your health issue and what has caused it, how to improve your health or reverse a disease process…you may not be able to trust your doctor’s knowledge base and recommendations. Why? The reason is simply because you are seeking knowledge and service that they are not trained to provide. You would not hire an architect to do your taxes nor would you hire an attorney to design your house. This may seem “obvious” but isn’t it just as obvious that you would not seek functional and natural health advice from a doctor that has absolutely no training or expertise in that area? When you see a doctor, you are “hiring” them to help you solve a problem. Is your doctor helping your solve your health issues? If not, why do continue pay them with your cash or your health insurance?

What about the author of a book?

Now this might seem like a more reliable and trustworthy source and the author might even be a doctor. This sounds promising doesn’t it? This might be a trustworthy source because you may be able to learn a great deal about the health issue you are struggling with. The main problem I find with this source of information is that the book has been written about a particular health condition but how do you know how much of the book’s content pertains to your unique situation. These books often outline all sorts of lifestyle changes to make, diets to follow and supplement to take. How do you know which diet is really best for you? How do you know which supplements to take or how much to take so that you have a positive health outcome?

The bottom line is that these books can be a good start for you to better understand your condition; but the whole concept of functional and integrative medicine is to tailor a treatment program to YOU…not create a program for thousands of people who also happened to have your health issue.

What about Google?

Ahhh….Google!  We all love Google….so much “information” at our fingertips! Is Google a good place to figure out how you can heal yourself? Sometimes you can find an answer to your health problems on Google, but more often than not I find it only makes people more confused. Let’s say you have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and you start Googling what causes IBS and how you can fix it. After a few hours of internet study, you may come to realization that you not only have IBS but you also have a gluten sensitivity, SIBO, leaky-gut syndrome, hormone imbalances, adrenal fatigue, neurotransmitter imbalances, candida overgrowth, low stomach acid and that you need to start taking more fiber, magnesium…or was that zinc?…definitely a good quality probiotic (but which one is good?)…and maybe some fish oil (or was that krill oil???)…etc. You get the idea! Sure you have imbalances in your body that are causing IBS but how do you know which of these problems you really have?

This is the problem with “Google self-treating” and is similar to the problem of using a book to fix your health problem. I’m not saying you won’t figure out how to solve our problem; it’s just that many people don’t.

Who Can You Trust?

The bottom line is that you are not like anyone else that also has your health problem. You don’t share the same genetics, age, lifestyle, diet, stress level and you have not lived and experienced the same life.

Good treatment plans are unique to the individual. Just like a good preparation of your taxes is based on your income, allowances and write-offs, etc. Would you want your accountant to just punch in numbers on your return that looked “similar” to someone else’s return? Of course not! You would expect your tax return to reflect YOUR SITUATION not someone else’s!

So why would you expect anything less when it comes to your health and your life?

If you want to improve your health and start reversing chronic disease and you if you don’t want to waste a lot of time, effort and money and a whole bunch of trial and error…then seek out a professional trained in and experienced in that field…a functional medicine physician.

Does this make sense?

If you would like more information about Hashimoto’s disease, autoimmunity, functional medicine or Dr. Sexton go to www.napervilleintegratedwelness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations.

This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. Why is this? The FDA enforces its position that these words can only be used with drugs. This approach does not use drugs.