After having her second child, Erin noticed that something was wrong with her health—namely, her hormones and digestion.
“I was having terrible gastrointestinal (GI) issues every four to six weeks. It was so bad that I would have to miss work. Being that the issue was cyclical, I had a hunch it was related to my hormones. Plus, I knew my hormones were off because my menstrual cycles weren’t regular, and I had bad acne.”
Having worked for years in a hospital setting and surrounded by conventional medical care, Erin’s first steps took her to her gynecologist.
“My gynecologist ran a TSH lab and said things were fine… then suggested a Mirena IUD for my hormones. But that seemed like a band-aid approach, and I knew there was a deeper issue! So, I went to my primary care doctor, and he did some liver labs that also came back normal. There was no more investigating. My conventional care team was at a loss for how to help me.”
Making Her Way to Functional Medicine
Erin admitted that her experience at Valeo was her first in the realm of holistic care.
“One of my coworkers at the hospital had left to pursue functional medicine. That’s how I initially heard about the concept. After that, I did a Google search to find the closest functional medicine clinic near me… and that’s how I found Valeo!”
The Functional Medicine Experience
Once starting functional medicine care, Erin quickly learned how different it was from conventional care.
“I was impressed at the functional medicine approach and how it considers ALL information, not just medical history. In the intake paperwork and at my first visit with Dr. Kassie, we explored stress, environment, diet, sleep, toxins, etc. I loved how thorough it was.”
Many patients who are new to functional medicine are surprised at the depth and breadth of details collected. This is a necessary step, as we know that health can be impacted by all aspects of life.
Another aspect of functional medicine is the ability to explore how the brain is working by watching patients perform simple tasks.
“Dr. Kassie did an excellent job digging into my overall health history, and she also had me do little ‘exercises’ or movements with my eyes and various parts of my body to assess the neurological side of things. I really enjoyed that. She was very personable, approachable, and easy to talk to. I valued that she brainstormed with me what sort of approach to take, making sure to consider financial investment and what would work for me.”
Although functional medicine practitioners can tell a lot about a patient’s potential root cause from their health history and in-office exercises, they also have access to blood labs and other diagnostic testing. Often, they will utilize more thorough testing than typical doctor’s offices and compare the results to tighter ranges—’optimal ranges’ rather than ‘normal’ ranges.
“Dr. Kassie had me do an extensive blood and urine test which pointed to the root cause of the imbalance that I had (I don’t remember the specifics now). Based on my results, we uncovered areas to improve on with dietary recommendations and several supplements. We could have done more testing right away, but Dr. Kassie said we could try these changes first, and only turn to additional testing if needed.”
By implementing a few supplements and very minor dietary changes, Erin saw huge improvements, and it only took a couple months.
“I haven’t had any big GI flares since! I can’t believe how minor it felt for me to feel so much better. I haven’t missed a day of work! That’s a huge success.”
Making Functional Medicine a Family Affair
Erin’s daughter was also dealing with digestive issues around that time. So, after Erin saw so much success with her own case, she started bringing her daughter in to see Dr. Kassie.
“Because of my daughter’s symptoms, she was unable to go to daycare. But, every time I took her to her pediatrician, they said she wasn’t sick. But the poor girl was having terrible gas pain and digestive issues every day, multiple times per day. She was not happy! When we saw Dr. Kassie, she recommended a couple of different powders to mix into my daughter’s drinks to help balance out her gut bacteria. Long story short, she got much better. She still has a bit of a sensitive stomach, but we limit certain foods and that seems to help.”
The changes that Erin saw in her own health and the health of her daughter were a big relief to her family.
“Our health had been affecting our schedule… it was so frustrating to have to figure out childcare and be paying for daycare when we couldn’t even go. Luckily, we are back to our normal routine now!”
Thoughts About Valeo
Although Erin’s education and most of her healthcare experience was in the typical medical field, she’s been happy with her first taste of functional medicine.
“I love Valeo. Everybody is so kind… I’ve received emails from Dr. Kassie checking in to see how things are going, which I find amazing… I can’t say enough good things! I’m very impressed. It is so interesting the results these holistic approaches can produce. I also see Dr. Jon for chiropractic care, and he has fixed some issues in just a matter of a few visits. It was nice to get results with a non-invasive approach and without a ton of referrals.”
When we asked what Erin thought of functional medicine, she said, “I wish more of my patients knew about it! I think there’s a time and a place for both fields [both conventional care and functional care] but I wish people would start with functional medicine rather than going straight to a ‘regular’ doctor.”
We couldn’t agree more. If you’re ready to take a deep dive into your health and get to the root cause of your health concerns, give us a call at 952-949-0676.
