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tional medicine decided you were crazy if you complained of these symptoms,” advises Teitelbaum. “Then some expen- sive medications came out—promoted by $210 million a year in advertising; so now, patients are instead being told to take medications with lots of side effects.” The most common conventionally prescribed drugs for fibromyalgia target symptoms of insomnia, depression, nerve pain and inflammation. Accord- ing to Teitelbaum, the vast majority of people treating with these medications continue to experience the same symp- toms over a five-year period; only 25 to 35 percent report some improvement. It’s difficult to determine how many Americans suffer from fibromyalgia be- cause many go undiagnosed (the average time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis is five years). Cure4Fibromyalgia.com estimates that 5 million Americans, or approximately 2 percent of the popula- tion, suffer from this disease.


Functional Medicine Alternative


“Functional medicine practitioners recognize that fibromyalgia represents an energy crisis in the body and use simple, appropriate and effective treat- ments with no harmful side effects,” says Teitelbaum. “Most often I use a SHINE protocol that I developed, based on 30 years of treating patients with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, with a 90 percent success rate.” His is just one example of the way functional medicine would treat a difficult-to-diagnose and to treat disease. Cass uses functional medicine very effectively against depression, ad- diction and a host of women’s health issues. Hyman specializes in managing diabetes and obesity with the tools of functional medicine.


“If other medicines worked as well as treatments used in functional medicine, I’d use them, but they don’t,” concludes Hyman. “My Hippocratic Oath says I must help relieve suffering. I can do that with the tools that func- tional medicine gives me.”


Kathleen Barnes is a natural health advocate, author and publisher. Eight Weeks to Vibrant Health: A Take Charge Plan for Women is among her many books. Visit KathleenBarnes.com.


30 Collier/Lee Counties


Whole Person Health Care Local Functional Medicine Practitioners


Use a Complete Toolbox Approach by Linda Sechrist


“Illness is never simply one discrete process or dysfunction. It is a bundle—a patient’s whole life, from genetics to beliefs and how those influences are layered to create the thing we call disease.” ~ Dr. Mark Hyman, chairman, Institute of Functional Medicine


R


unning parallel to a universe of conventional medical specialties and sub- specialties focused on treating body parts and symptoms, is the world of functional medicine (FM). This science-based approach of whole person health care has drawn the attention of traditionally trained doctors, chiropractors, nurse practitioners and doctors of Oriental medicine, in addition to capturing the interest of individuals that have arrived at an important conclusion about chronic illnesses: Relationships between multiple health problems are as important as the influences of diet, environment and the uniqueness of the person in pursuit of optimal wellness. This conclusion is correct, according to the Academy of Functional Medicine, Dentistry and Psychology; Functional Medicine University (FMU); and the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). Also in agreement are local FM practitioners Dr. David Perlmutter, a board-certified neurologist and medical director of the Perlmut- ter Health Center, in Naples; Dr. Carol Roberts, a medical doctor who also practices at the center; Dr. Robert Gilliland, a chiropractor and founder of Southwest Florida Natural Health Center; Terri Evans, an acupuncturist, doctor of Oriental medicine and owner of Tae Healthy Aging Center; and Deborah Post, a board-certified ad- vanced nurse practitioner (ARNP) and owner of Well Bridges, Inc. Based upon their experience, these FM practitioners concur that isolated di- agnoses and medications that target particular symptoms are not the best solution for complex, chronic problems such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, arthritis and cancer, which reflect underlying imbalances in the physiology and chemistry of the body’s finely orchestrated network of interconnected systems.


David Perlmutter, M.D.


Perlmutter, who recently appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, is an adjunct instructor at IFM, which is considered the leading brain trust of the natural medicine movement. Initially introduced to the earliest concepts of FM in 1990 while attending a meeting of the American Holistic Medical Association, Perlmutter later learned more about the subject from Bernie Siegel, M.D., an author and internationally recognized expert on the relationship between the patient and the healing process.


“I was so interested that I flew to Washington and sat in on a roundtable discussion facilitated by Jeffrey S. Bland, Ph.D., who co-founded IFM in 1991 with his wife, Susan,” says Perlmutter, who writes and lectures on functional medicine as it relates to the brain. Perlmutter’s books, Power Up Your Brain and The Better Brain Book, reflect his cutting-edge research and the FM whole-systems approach to brain health. “Be-


swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com


David Perlmutter


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