If you find that you generally feel wired and tired, you have trouble losing excess weight, or you're experiencing unreasonable weight gain, you may be feeling incredibly frustrated. If you feel excessively fatigued and you would like to get your natural energy back, or you would like to revive your libido or gut health, you may be ready to look outside the box. Functional and metabolic medicine may be the way to go.
Dr. Jack G. Bertolino, MD, is a board-certified physician with a passion for functional medicine and the ability to be PRO-Aging. To learn more, contact us today at 716-633-6100!
What is Functional & Metabolic Medicine?
Functional and metabolic medicine offers a patient-centered approach to health and disease management. A doctor who specializes in functional and metabolic medicine will do more than review your symptoms and provide you with a prescription or treatment recommendation. In functional medicine, we take a team approach. You are an integral part of your healthcare because your health is yours to own and enjoy. We don't look only at how to make you better, but how to understand why you are ill in the first place. From that starting point, we can find how to most effectively care for your biological, aging, and physiological needs.
Functional and metabolic medicine looks at your lifestyle, your medical history, your current symptoms, your nutrition, your stress and exposure to toxins, and much more. The comprehensive intake portion of a functional medicine appointment helps you and your doctor develop the ideal guide for reclaiming optimal health. Your functional doctor helps you reach a state of optimal health by performing relevant screenings and lab tests that identify the chemical processes that are occurring in your body and how they can improve. Often, the path to restored, vibrant health is through natural remedies that work in concert with your physiology. Metabolically speaking, your doctor can help you treat disease by harnessing the healthy functions of your body's biochemistry. Essentially, functional and metabolic medicine helps you heal from the inside out.
Who is an Ideal Candidate for Functional & Metabolic Medicine?
You may be an ideal candidate for functional and metabolic medicine if you have a chronic health condition, even if that condition is currently managed with prescription medications. You may benefit from alternative care if you are interested in digging deeper into your health and wellness and understanding how and why your body works as it does. Your functional and metabolic doctor will go beyond addressing specific symptoms in separate areas of your biology, and will investigate the underlying issues that are affecting your body as a whole. Functional medicine is not focused on the quick resolution of symptoms. It is focused on the whole person and how to improve health through natural means.
What Conditions can Functional & Metabolic Medicine Treat?
Your functional and metabolic doctor has a wealth of experience in the treatment and management of a wide variety of conditions. These may be genetic, age-related, or associated with lifestyle factors. Some of the conditions that a functional and metabolic doctor can treat include chronic pain, chronic health conditions like diabetes and arthritis, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, Celiac disease, and much more. You do not need to have a chronic health condition to see a functional medicine specialist. Dr. Bertolino also provides preventative care!
What to Expect with Functional & Metabolic Medicine?
When you schedule a consultation with Dr. Bertolino, you can expect a consultation visit that is more thorough and lengthy than any doctor's visit you have had. That is unless you've seen a functional specialist before. The purpose of your consultation is not to only identify your symptoms and order additional lab tests or prescribe medication. THe purpose is to evaluate how your genetic makeup, age, and other factors are interacting with one another. Your initial consultation will help the doctor create a timeline of your health history. This basic timeline can then be expanded to include aspects that affect your health and wellness, including your environment, diet, exercise, stress, and other factors. You may discuss nutritional supplementation and diet with the doctor as it relates to your vitality and gut health. You may also discuss hormonal support if it is appropriate to your case. Diet, exercise, and environment influence your health but also relate to your genetics and hereditary factors. Working with a functional medicine doctor, you can get to know your body and your health better than you ever have!
How Safe is Functional & Metabolic Medicine?
The services that are offered by a functional and metabolic specialist are considered safe and effective. To benefit from our services, you need not completely turn your back on the conventional medical treatments your primary care doctor or specialist has prescribed. The purpose of functional and metabolic medicine is to dig deeper and identify the reasons why you continually struggle with certain health conditions. Every step of the process is approached with extraordinary care to ensure your safety and health. At any time in your treatment process, we welcome your questions!
Schedule your Consultation Today!
To schedule a consultation with a functional and metabolic specialist, contact our Williamsville office near Buffalo, NY at 716-633-6100.
