The first quote in my book, from an excited patient, thanks me for not being a specialist. She says, “These days, with everyone being a specialist, no one seems to be connecting the dots. Thanks for caring for the whole person…”
In a medical world where a doctors greatest success and acknowledgement is having a disease named after them, we have a shortage on treating the basics. No, I really haven’t had a disease named after me, and I think it would be a dubious honor.
In my world, I actually find more joy and satisfaction in finding solutions, than new problems to name.
And this…is my second solution to America’s health care crises. Find solutions, not problems.
In my book, in chapter 2, I discuss the concept of functional diagnostics versus pathology diagnosis. I bet the majority of people reading this recognize the term pathology… “take this down to pathology…” “here is the pathology report…” and probably have no idea what I am talking about when I say functional.
Functional Diagnostics is the quest for the solution…Medical Diagnosis is the quest for pathology (the problem). Pathology is merely a tissue change associated with a disease…bone spurs, degenerated disc, tumor, clot, bleed, fatty deposits in arteries, tissue death (called necrosis), broken bone, abnormal cells that can be identified visually…if I light a match and hold it to your skin, do you want to identify the scorched flesh, or the idiot holding a match to your arm?
Identification of pathology is quite effective in acute care… “the femur is protruding from the thigh, several arteries are severed…scalpel…” but is of little use in chronic disease.
In fact, many, if not most, chronic diseases lack pathological findings. What is the pathology report for fibromyalgia, neuropathy, dizziness, Raynaud’s disease (Hi Dr. Raynaud!), diabetes, fatigue…often there is nothing. “We don’t know why this condition exists, it is most probably genetic.”
While I love to blame my parents for all my problems, it doesn’t do me any good. And, I am kidding if you didn’t catch that. It is true, that parents love to pass on their flaws, and they all have them, so we all have flaws. I like to look at "our flaws" as our weakest link, and what should we do with the weakest link…I would say, either support it, or don’t stress it.
So if your mom and grandmother both had breast cancer, don’t take synthetic hormones. If your family has diabetes, watch the sugar, and support the process of sugar metabolism (which is completely nutritional...no drugs required).
Functional Diagnostics not only reveals the process for healing, but also the process for wellness. So, we’ve talked enough about what it isn’t…what is it??
We said it is the search for solutions. It considers pathology, but asks why is there pathology. This concept, although foreign, is actually less complex than pathology.
Let’s say you are constipated…that’s always fun to talk about. It could be a massive tumor in your colon, you swallowed a tennis ball, stuck a baseball bat up your bottom…and what does the medical doctor do…barium study and colonoscopy. “Nope, no tumor, no tennis ball, no baseball bat, why don’t you drink some water, if that doesn’t work, try this laxative.”
A functional diagnostician would begin with big picture…how does one poop? Do you eat food? Ok, then... the next consideration is nervous system tone. If you have ever been driving, looking desperately for the next gas station to relieve yourself…and suddenly someone cuts you off, narrowly missing your bumper…hmmm, no more poop! The urge is gone…and unless it was tooooo close, the poop is NOT gone. Where did it go? The nervous system, in stress, decreases bowel movement…literally shuts it down, eliminating the urge, stopping traffic wherever it happens to be (even knocking on the door).
What would cause stress that would affect your intestines in that fashion, without the near miss or near death? This is functional diagnosis! It could be inflammation in the intestines, which could be infection, or food sensitivity, or nutrient deficiency, or over acidity, or over alkalinity (the opposite of acidity), or toxicity, or hormone imbalance, or, on the odd chance, it could be a tumor. We don’t miss that by diagnosing functionally, because it disrupts function!
You are now one step closer to health, simply, by focusing on the solution, not the problem!
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