Abstract
Abstract
Background:
What if the Yellow Emperor were exposed to twenty-first–century medicine? Functional medicine uses a systems-oriented, patient-specific approach to diagnosis and patient care. It addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. The interactions of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors are taken into account, and the root cause of symptoms is determined. The ultimate purpose of this report is to explain why adding functional medicine concepts and diagnostic tests augment a client's medical acupuncture treatment and outcome. The author shows how the combination can lead to transformational healing—above and beyond what the individual disciplines can achieve. This article also focuses on steroid hormone and neurotransmitter assessment and interpretation.
Cases:
Three illustrative examples, using 3 sample symptomatic menopausal patients, are discussed. Each of the 3 patients presented with the same complaints of anxiety, fatigue, menopausal hot flashes, and decreased libido. The main outcome sought for these patients was subjective reductions in presenting complaints.
Results:
All 3 patients had successful treatment with a combination of functional medicine and medical acupuncture.
Conclusions:
The author shows that the combination of functional medicine concepts and diagnostic testing augments 3 patients' medical acupuncture treatment and outcomes.
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