Dr. Sharon Borkowski
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Hello, I am Dr. Sharon Borkowski, and I am a naturopathic physician and functional medicine practitioner. The journey that led me here began as I watched my mother suffer for many years with health problems from which she never recovered. She saw doctor after doctor and was prescribed an ever-increasing list of medications, none of which led to better health or a better quality of life.
Beginning in my teenage years I suffered from chronic digestive system problems. By the time I reached my mid 20s I was also suffering from severe seasonal allergies for which I was given various antihistamines and decongestants. Soon those drugs no longer worked for me, and my seasonal allergies turned into chronic sinusitis. For this, my doctor prescribed multiple rounds of antibiotics. Each time the problem returned, it was worse than previous infection. At its worst, I could not breathe through my nose all year round.
Solutions With Functional Medicine
At this point it was clear to me that I needed to look elsewhere for a solution to my health concerns. After a decade long suffering, I finally found the help and support I needed. I owe my restored health to the education and guidance I received from my functional medicine provider. My desire to understand the root causes of poor health and chronic illness grew from these early experiences and led me to pursue my degree in naturopathic medicine. With over 21 years of patient care experience, I am excited to be a part of the amazing team here at Naperville Integrated Wellness.
Initially I began my career in medicine seeking to support and guide patients who suffered from conditions I knew well, those of which I had personal experience. Over time, the health conditions of my family members became of great interest. This guided me to a deeper study of those conditions. Now, after years of experience treating many patients with a number of conditions, I have an even deeper desire to know and support others in what it means to be healthy.
GI Conditions:
Due in part to my own history of digestive issues, including bloating, gas, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), I achieve great satisfaction in supporting gut health with my patients. The health and integrity of the immune system is at the root of many digestive system symptoms. Diving in to explore the driving force behind gastrointestinal conditions using functional diagnostic testing allows me to be a human body detective to help my patients reach their health goals.
Autoimmune Disease:
Some time ago I diagnosed a member of my family with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune condition that, when left untreated can result in destruction of the thyroid gland and subsequent necessity of taking thyroid hormone medication. This created a drive in me to understand autoimmunity and learn how to most effectively support those suffering with this kind of disease. Although autoimmunity is not curable, there are many ways to guide the body to a remission state and purposefully work toward maintaining that state.
Cardiovascular Disease:
When my father died after a massive heart attack at the age of 68 years, I began to dig deeper into the underlying cause of the cardiovascular disease, a condition that can creep up and take our lives and the lives of our loved ones. This is a largely preventative condition and in its early stages can be treated successfully with functional medicine. Functional medicine is the answer to this and many chronic health conditions. Providing education on early treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease has become a significant part of my practice in medicine.
Allergies:
Chronic debilitation allergies are another area I have suffered with personally and I feel it puts me in a unique position to understand the impact this has on one’s life. Allergies and sensitivities may be environmental, food or chemical based, but the bottom line is that they are all conditions whereby the body has an inappropriate or overactive immune response. Getting to the root cause and addressing immune reactions and symptoms burdens is one of the primary areas of treatment with my patients.
Anxiety & Depression
My mother passed as a result of a mental illness and so this area of medicine is near and dear to my heart. I watched closely as my mother struggled, unsuccessfully, to get the help she needed to overcome her illness. Not every condition of anxiety and depression can be solved with functional medicine but as I look back on her life, I truly believe that she could have benefited from what this approach has to offer. In many cases, healing mental health conditions involves a multifaceted approach. Often, functional medicine provides a foundation for healing, one that cannot be achieved solely with a prescription drug.
Diabetes Mellitus II
My paternal grandmother suffered from Diabetes in her later years. Closely connected with cardiovascular disease, this is a condition that is largely preventable with dietary and lifestyle choices. It is truly a silent killer of which many people suffer without knowledge. The advanced stages are well known, slow wound healing, neuropathy, kidney failure, heart failure and stroke to name a few. The most exciting aspect of practicing functional medicine is that I can identify this disease before it develops obvious symptoms. What’s more is that I am confident that the treatment options I provide can arrest this terrible disease and help patients live a long and healthy life.
Contact Our Functional Medicine Doctor Today
So, in summary, my passion for health and for guiding people to better health stems from my own health as well as my family members. It brings me great joy and pleasure to be able to provide a form of medicine that can help people restore health and maintain it for the rest of their lives. If you would like to learn more about how functional medicine can help you and the one’s you love, reach out to us by emailing us via our contact form on our website or call us at (630) 210-8391 to schedule an introductory consultation.