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How to Find a Trusted Functional Medicine Practitioner
The first time I fired my Doctor, it felt so weird. I trusted them with my health completely…
After all they work FOR us. So why did it feel so wrong?
In everything but my health, if someone doesn’t do a good job, I have no problem firing them…
Like if I hired someone to mow the lawn and they killed my grass… FIRED.
Or if I hired someone to change my oil and the engine blew up… FIRED.
Or if I hired someone to do my taxes and I ended up in trouble with the IRS… FIRED.
But firing a Doctor is something I never thought I had to do, until they just shrugged their shoulders and wrote another prescription that didn’t work.
The 2nd and 3rd time I fired a Doctor, things went a little easier, but it sure was depressing. I honestly didn’t think there was anyone out there who could figure out what was wrong with me.
Finding a skilled Functional Medicine practitioner was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life… EVER.
Not only was I sick, but working with terrible practitioners literally stole every ounce of my hope.
After years of this, I FINALLY found a truly Skilled Functional Practitioner that put a lot of the pieces together for me and did some amazing work on my body. For the first time, I had hope I could get healthy…
When you’re trying to recover your health, there’s a lot going on inside your body…
How do you find someone who can help?
What questions should you ask?
Are there things you should be looking for in a good practitioner?
Here Are Three Signs a Practitioner Can Help Turn the Tide in Your Favor…
Before we begin, the disclaimer in me has to share: please always make sure they have the standard certifications and training. In general, I’m going to dive into signs of skilled practitioners that go beyond the standard schooling and additional Functional Medicine programs that are out there. These are more “intangible” signs that we’ve found to be good indications of skilled practitioners beyond the standard checks that make them credible as a professional.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in…
1. They test the three body systems
A Functional Medicine approach to chronic illness involving testing, at a minimum, the three main body systems:
- Your hormonal system produces your sex and stress hormones.
- Your digestive system breaks down food for use by the body.
- And your detoxification system protects you from free radicals and chemical toxicity, both from your environment and from your diet.
Through targeted lab testing you can do in the privacy of your own home for each of these systems, a skilled practitioner can help you assess how each system is working and what areas need to be corrected to rebalance your body. Tests like stool testing, saliva testing, and organic acid profiles should be common tools in their toolbox.
Not only that, but they will also be looking at advanced autoimmune panels and blood serum testing to check for deeper root cause problems that are common in those of us with complex health problems.
2. They fix the area that is your ‘limiting factor’
There is always one area of the body that is your ‘limiting factor’ and needs to be corrected first.
For example, if you went through an extremely stressful period of your life, like the death of a spouse or child, and your illness was triggered within 6 – 24 months of that… your hormonal system could be crashed and keeping you stuck.
Like in 2005 after my Mom died of Cancer I started suffering from diarrhea 10X a day. A few years later, doctors finally figured out I had Celiac Disease. I couldn’t believe how fast my health fell apart. It can happen to anyone like that.
And it can even be a slow burn out where you hardly notice how bad you feel until one day you wake up and realize, “Hey, this isn’t right!”
Say you’re dealing with Ulcerative Colitis in your GI Tract, but your hormonal system crashed after an ugly divorce and custody battle. If you want to get rid of the digestive problems, a skilled practitioner can help you address the hormone problems that are holding you back from healing your gut. If you don’t support the hormonal system, it’s likely your digestive system will never completely heal, no matter what you do.
Great practitioners know how to find the limiting factors that are holding you back at each level of health you are seeking.
3. They understand what it’s like to be sick (and got better)
This is the most important thing you can do to get better. Find a skilled practitioner trained in Functional Medicine that has overcome chronic illness themselves. Some of the best practitioners we know were people who were sick as hell just like us and they understand what it’s like to crawl back from the brink of death.
Don’t be ashamed to ask your practitioner if they’ve also struggled with chronic illness or digestive problems. If they have, they’ll be happy to share all that they have overcome.
From that place, they understand there are several ingredients to getting better such as: diet, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
Now… that’s not to say that someone isn’t a good practitioner just because they haven’t been sick… that’s not true at all. There are great practitioners out there that haven’t been sick, but what I do know is that most all practitioners who’ve overcome some kind of personal health struggle just relate better… they know what it’s like.
But the bottom line is this: Skilled Functional Medicine Practitioners can really help…
They can also answer questions like: which one of your body systems are crashed? Do you have Adrenal fatigue? Parasites? Detox problems?
All these things need to be understood before you recover from chronic illness plagued with inflammation, leaky gut, and gut dysbiosis.
And only a skilled guide knows the right tests and therapeutic program to restore your three body systems. And I can’t caution you enough, ordering the WRONG tests is not only expensive, but a false test result can send your treatment plan on a wild goose chase and make you want to give up.
Hopefully you haven’t already spent years using misleading test results like some people in this community.
Can a I really find someone who can help?
If you’re reading this right now, you’re probably not feeling as good as you could.
And you’re most likely frustrated trying to find a ‘skilled practitioner’ that can meet the three signs we just showed you.
When you’ve already spent years being sick and not getting the help you need, and many of us have been there – it can make you just want to completely give up.
That’s why we’ve created this practitioner resource page for you… so you can finally get the help you’ve been looking for from practitioners who ‘get it.’
Get Help From a Skilled Functional Practitioner Today
Here’s what we know after helping people over the last 7 years:
Skilled Functional Practitioners seem impossible to find.
And when you find them, word spreads fast, and they get so booked up their waiting list is months out. These type of people are just flat out RARE!
I’m talking about people who are skilled in Functional Medicine with years of experience… but also have overcome chronic illness themselves. Even better? People who have trained with Dr. Kalish and have years of experience using his protocols.
One of the hardest things for us was to tell someone to “find a skilled practitioner” when they are desperate for someone to help them get better. We honestly didn’t know that many skilled people who will listen to them, know what tests to order and use time tested protocols, and understand what it’s like to see a toilet full of blood and scared to leave the house.
And the absolute worst case is when someone emails us after spending $1,000’s on worthless tests and supplements… or even $20,000 at a special Clinic and didn’t get better.
So we’ve gone out and built relationships with those people for you.
These are practitioners who have been sick and know what it’s like. They also appreciate our approach to diet and as well as trained with our friend Dr. Kalish, who’s one of the best Functional Medicine Practitioners we know… and his protocols have been working for over 8,000 patients in the last 20 years.
These are practitioners who can help you get the testing and protocols you need, but also support you in the diet, supplement, and lifestyle changes that your body is asking you for.
The first trusted resources are ready to work with you right now…
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Julie Sands Donaldson, CMTA
Julie Donaldson has over 36 years of experience in the healing arts, dedicated to the discovery of the whole person in the healing journey, and helping clients through a unique blend of functional medicine and nutrition. She originally entered the holistic health field after losing 3 people close to her through sudden death and having to overcome her own struggles with depression, poor sleep, digestive problems, and low energy.
Her approach focuses on addressing biochemistry naturally and allowing the whole mind/body to heal organically and completely. Deemed a “curious investigator,” she brings the compassion of a person who has been significantly ill to the table in the most meaningful way. Julie is passionate about working with children on the spectrum and their families, cases of chronic latent viral activity such as Epstein-Barr, CMV, and Herpes Family Viruses, methylation imbalances and those with the related digestive and emotional symptoms that accompany those conditions.
Dr. Steve Hyjek, DC
Dr. Steve is a Functional Medicine Practitioner, Licensed Doctor of Chiropractic, and Director of The Functional Medicine Center, a clinic where he and his team utilize cutting edge solutions to provide real results. As a pioneer in the field of modern healthcare, Dr. Steve is actively sought out by clients who crave custom care and full recovery. He’s been trained by the best, including Dr. Dan Kalish, The Institute for Functional Medicine, Dr. Datis Kharrazian, and many others.
Dr. Steve’s obsessive drive to create a systems approach to healthcare by identifying and correcting the root causes is something we love about him. Over the years, he’s honed a unique skill in helping his patients regain total body wellness. He’s narrowed his focus to women struggling with autoimmune disease, especially Hashimoto’s disease. If you’re exhausted and have increasing symptoms like digestive problems, brain fog, weight gain, and chronic pain, Dr. Steve’s ready to bring his life’s work to your case.
Brie Wieselman, L.Ac
Brie is a Functional Medicine practitioner and acupuncturist, who’s been studying and practicing Functional Medicine for 15 years. She’s trained with some of the best including training with Dr. Dan Kalish, Dr Datis Kharrazian, The Institute for Functional Medicine, and many others.
Brie’s own struggles with PCOS, multiple digestive parasites, Candida Overgrowth, and Hypothyroidism have driven her to seek the root causes of chronic illness. Over the years, she’s honed a unique skill of solving tough chronic illness puzzles in her clinic. If you want help with digestive problems like gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation, or you’re struggling with female hormone challenges (like PMS, painful or missing periods, PCOS, Fibroids or endometriosis), Brie’s excited to start unraveling your case.
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What to Do Next:
If you’d like to start working with a trusted, skilled functional practitioner right now, these practitioners are waiting and excited to help you get at the root cause of your issues.
–> Click here to book an appointment with one of these trusted practitioners
Please know that you are the fuel that keeps us going. You are the inspiration. Hearing your stories of transformation and empowerment is what fills us up. Thank you for being a part of this awesome community.
In good health,
– Jordan and Steve
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