If you’re struggling with a chronic illness and can’t find the help you need with allopathic medicine, it could be time to find a functional medicine doctor. Read below for tips to find a functional medicine doctor, what to expect, and the ten symptoms that disappeared as I began healing my thyroid naturally.
My Journey to Healing My Thyroid Naturally
Back in June, I started working with a functional medicine doctor. I had wanted to see one for quite a while as I tried to recover and heal from my thyroid issues. (You can read how this all started right here.)
Find a Good Doc who Gets Me
I ran across a list of good thyroid doctors and found one that was located just a couple of miles from my house! His bio hooked me right in–a former ER doc, who started having thyroid symptoms, who quit his work as an ER doc to take a deep dive into getting better personally, and becoming a functional medicine doctor. Finally! A doctor who believed healing was possible.
Goal One: Get Off My Meds!
I had a couple of goals in my own mind. One: get off my thyroid medicine. I’ve been on Armour Thyroid for five years now, after a really big crash postpartum led to almost completely tanking my milk supply. I had tried a lot of things in the previous three years, and really had made some good progress on my own, but I had needed some help…fast!
It was a really good bandaid for several years, and I have absolutely no regrets about getting some help from medicine. That’s what it’s there for. Still, I really believed I could heal my thyroid completely and get off of the meds. I didn’t dare try that on my own…medicine is not something to play around with willy nilly by yourself.
Goal Two: Make Hypothyroidism a Thing of the Past!
Two: completely heal my thyroid. I still experienced some thyroid swings even while on medicine. I’d still have bouts where I’d feel very tired or where my hair would fall out again for a few weeks (and this was not baby related!). I wanted to feel completely level, not swinging from levels of boundless energy to crashing right after the kids go to bed. I got a lot better in the past few years by trying supplements and diets on my own (particularly, avoiding dairy and gluten), but I needed extra help.
Hence, I found my doctor. Our first meeting confirmed a good match, and I committed 100 percent. I would do what he asked me to do for the next two months and see how it went. I had nothing to lose!
Before I jump into the ten symptoms that improved within the first two months, I want to answer a few commonly asked questions…
Functional Medicine Doctor FAQs…
How expensive is this option?
It’s important to know that functional medicine is not generally covered by health insurance. Sad, but true. However, I was able to use my health savings account to cover appointments and supplements. Lab work was billed to insurance, so that was helpful.
Expect to pay a few hundred dollars per hour to see a functional medicine doctor. Mine charges $450 for the initial exam and consultation and then $225 for each hour-long appointment thereafter. Typically, he sees his patients every six months, so it’s a little bit more financially calming to know he won’t want to see you every week!
What’s my part?
Prepare yourself to have some “homework.” Your functional medicine doctor will expect you to do your part to get better. If allopathic medicine has not met your needs (particularly related to chronic illness), it may be because medicine alone may not solve the problem.
Prepare and be willing to change your diet and take supplements. I went paleo (grain/legume/soy/corn/dairy free) and took a small litany of supplements daily (gastrointestinal healing herbs, B vitamins, magnesium, a probiotic, omega 3’s, etc.). I filled up a weekly pill box like an old person to make it easy. Actually, compared to some other supplements I used to take, I found my supplement protocol fairly easy. Prepare to take supplements on a daily basis if you don’t already do that. If you’re not willing to change some things about your diet, I would not waste your money.
(Side note: I thought it would be harder to make changes to my diet than it was! Turns out, I feel SO nourished eating paleo, that I don’t even miss the things I used to eat. Yes, I have non-paleo treats sometimes, but often they make me feel so lousy now that it’s not even worth it. And if it sounds really, really good, I just go for it anyway. It just doesn’t happen very often.)
How do I even find a functional medicine doctor?
I always love a referral from a friend, but the only friend I knew who goes to a functional medicine doctor lives in another state. I was very happy to find my doctor on the list of good thyroid doctors. However, you can find a list of functional medicine doctors from their website. I also like this blog post about finding a functional medicine doctor.
Functional Medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual. –ifm.org
So why am I sold on functional medicine? Let me count the reasons. There are TEN already, and it’s only been TWO MONTHS!
10 Benefits to Working with a Functional Medicine Doctor
The 10 signs of healing that I noticed within the first two months of working with my functional medicine doctor.
1. Improved Sleep
Back in the day, I could have written the book on sleeping...probably because I was so tired all.the.time. Now that my thyroid is improved, I don't fall asleep anywhere and everywhere anymore (which is great), but my hormones seemed out of whack. I would often wake up in the middle of the night--sometimes in a sweat. However, I sleep like a baby all night now, and it is lovely.
2. Regular Period with Mild Symptoms
I had a very short cycle in the past few years (sometimes just 23 or 24 days long). Any girl can tell you this is highway robbery. I'm happily back to 28 days on the dot, and it lasts just three days! Additionally, I have no PMS or period symptoms!
3. My Hair is Happy
I'm finally going to try growing my hair long again now that it doesn't fall out like crazy. I don't like long, thin hair, but I do want long, thick hair. The texture of it is much improved also. It's bouncier, doesn't fray at the ends as much, and holds a nice style.
4. More (Stable) Energy
My energy is up (but I'm not hyper!). I just feel more stable in general. No big dips (unless I stray from the paleo diet for too long) and no major highs. In general, I just feel really good.
5. Clear Skin
I always had nice skin as a teenager and early in my twenties. I didn't know it at the time, but the reason my skin suddenly started breaking out right about the time I had my original thyroid diagnosis was indeed a symptom. I think going completely grain-free (removing non-gluten grains, too!) has had a dramatic effect on my skin. I'm comfortable with far less makeup than before because my skin is really clear and glowing!
6. More Energy for People
This might seem like a weird "symptom," but when I'm "off," I don't have a lot of energy for hosting friends for dinner. I need a lot more time to myself to recharge (probably because I can be more tired in general). Now that I'm feeling better, I'm realizing that we've opened our home to more get togethers lately, and it's been really fun (not draining) for me.
7. No More "Car Anxiety"
This is also a rather weird "symptom" that I have experienced in the past several years, but I used to get very anxious on long car trips. I was very fearful of getting into an accident, and sometimes it was just a lot easier if my husband drove for an entire road trip (we travel somewhat frequently and it takes us 8 hours to drive to see family out of state). This summer, when we made the trip, I drove more than half of the trip, and I was completely calm and happy!
8. A big boost in libido!
I'm pretty sure my husband said, "whatever you're doing, um, keep doing it," because I feel much more normal again when it comes to libido. After birth control pills ten years ago nearly killed my sex drive, and then thyroid issues exacerbated the same problem, it feels nice to be back again.
9. Less Body Odor
Apparently, a sign of a healthy gut is that you don't have much body odor. This makes total sense to me now and would explain why my natural deodorant works so much better for me now than it did before. I'm not completely deodorant-free, but my natural stuff holds up much better than it used to, and I don't worry about it "failing" if I'm with people and happen to get really sweaty.
10. A VERY happy digestive system
This is, hands down, the most remarkable symptom that I've noticed this summer. My digestion is the best it's ever been in my whole life. No gas, bloating, or constipation. I can "go" easily every day (at least once) and eliminate fully. I don't need to take digestive enzymes if I have a little gluten or dairy, and I don't need to eat a prescribed amount of salad to ensure that I "go" the next day. It's just working, every day. After years and years and years of digestive difficulties, this is just a very happy thing!
Drop me a line!