Functional Medicine recognizes that there are base causes for disease that do not necessarily need strong prescription medications or invasive treatments. It focuses on the interaction between the environment and the gastrointestinal, endocrine and immune systems, the entire body and mind and looks for the root causes of a condition or disease. This school of thought recognizes the biochemical individuality of each person--a mouthful of a term for saying that you were born and remain a one-of-a-kind precious human being with specific, individual need that deserve individualized care not cookie cutter medicine. I like promote a patient-centered approach to care, rather than a disease-centered approach. Functional medicine appointments are generous in time during which we will talk about your lifestyle including sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress levels, relationships, and genetics. Traditional lab tests along with state-of-the-art diagnostic testing may be recommended to help determine causes of disease, dysfunction and dyregulation. I like to consider myself a sleuth when working with patients from a functional medicine perspective because I investigate and study the reasons for problems such as chronic disease and pain.