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Functional Medicine Testing

Functional medicine testing is an important part of medical care, and helps us to make a diagnosis. We believe strongly in testing, rather than just guessing about what’s going on with your health. Lab tests are important resources; like all resources we try to utilize only those that will help us better care for you rather than just running every test under the sun in hopes that it will shed some light. In other words, we are judicious about which tests we run.

Functional medicine tests involve testing samples of blood, urine, saliva, and other substances in the body.

Why We Use Functional Medicine Testing

· To diagnose a condition, before symptoms appear.

· “Predict” future health conditions, before you have symptoms.

· Plan your treatment for a condition.

· Evaluate your response to treatment.

How Are Lab Tests Analyzed?

After samples are collected, they are sent to a laboratory. The lab does the testing and then sends us the results, typically by mail or electronically. The laboratories we use are highly specialized and maintain the required FDA certifications.

We utilize several different laboratories depending on the test ordered.

How Are Samples Collected?

Standard blood tests: we’ll send you to have your blood drawn at a lab facility.

Other blood tests: You will be given a kit at the clinic. You will then take this kit to a facility that will draw your blood, and then they will send the blood to the testing lab. Once your results are available, the lab sends them to us.

Food sensitivity test: We’ll collect a small amount of blood from your finger, in our office. Then we send this sample to the laboratory.

Saliva Testing: You will be sent home with a kit and collect the sample at home, then mail to the laboratory.

Stool Testing; you will be given a collection kit to take home, then mail the sample to the lab.

What Do Lab Tests Show?

Functional medicine testing results will provide us with a variety of information.

Blood tests will show your information, and then provide accepted ‘normal’ ranges that have been established by the lab. In some cases, we may interpret what is ‘normal’ for you, rather than what the labs shows.

Saliva tests show us how your body is making hormones. These are very informative and guide us in making clinical decisions about the degree of hormonal balance in your body.

Food sensitivity tests reveal your immune system’s reaction to food proteins. A positive reaction tells us that your body is reacting against a food, and therefore may be a problem for your health.

Stool testing reveal insights into your digestive health. They can show if you are properly digesting, absorbing, and eliminating food. They can also show us the state of your bacterial balance, if you have parasites or an inflammatory disease. These test results are very detailed, and provide us with a lot of useful information.

Results Interpretation

Once we have your results, we will contact you and schedule a follow up appointment. We will then sit down with you and explain our findings – we want you to understand what the tests say, what we are thinking, and why we are treating you! The better you understand our thinking, the better your health outcomes will be!

Treating The Patient, Not The Numbers

While labs can reveal a lot of information, and we rely on them to better inform us about your health, we do believe in treating you, rather than the numbers on the paper. Sometimes a person’s symptoms don’t correlate with the information we get from a lab, and vice versa.

Regardless, lab results need to be interpreted within the context of your overall health. This is why it’s important for us to gather as much information about how you’re feeling, so we can make the best decisions about guiding you back to health.

Some lab results are very precise and can reveal definitive facts about your health. Others provide more general information that provides us with clues to possible health conditions. Some test results will indicate that we need to do additional testing in order to make a final diagnosis, or to help devise a more detailed treatment plan for you.