What Is Wrong With Me? A Very Common Question That Needs An Answer

My patient told me,  "I need your help. I have gained so much weight, I feel so tired all the time, I feel like I can't think straight.” 

My patient is a 55 year old woman with type 2 diabetes. Three years ago she had a “minor” heart attack and has two stents in her coronary arteries. She works 40 hours a week sitting in front of a computer. 

She went on to say, “I know I have to lose weight and exercise, but I am so tired and just don’t have the time! My mom had Alzheimer’s and I’m terrified of getting it. It’s not like I have children or anyone to take care of me.” What is wrong with me? People tells me that I have “ bad genes”

I pointed out to her that weight gain is not in itself a disease, but rather a symptom of something else going on.  I proposed to her a full Functional Medicine evaluation as follows : 

1. Diet: I asked her to do a 2 week diary of everything she ate and drank. This allowed me to look at her nutrition and the toxins she is ingesting. 
2.  Sleep history: I asked her if she snores, but she didn’t know since she lives alone. She said she does not wake up refreshed and it takes two energy drinks and a coffee to get her going. I gave her a pulse oximeter ring (it measures how much oxygen you have )  to use for three nights to see how well her brain is getting oxygen at night. 
3. Exercise: None. She reminded me that she sits at a computer more than 40 h per week 
4. Family history: She has family history  of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure, and strokes. She insisted she has bad genes. I explained that genes  can be turned off or on depending on your environment. It is called “ epigenetics”
5. Comprehensive laboratory tests: I ordered a bit more than the common ones that primary care doctors do annually. 

Three weeks later she came to discuss the results of her assessment. From her dietary diary we found that she mostly consumes ultra-processed fast food with minimal fiber and lots of additives. She drinks lots of sugary juices, which spikes her blood sugar. From her pulse oximeter we found that she has severe sleep apnea. She stops breathing several times a minute and her oxygen is way below the recommended 94% most of the night. Her labs showed that her cholesterol, blood sugar, and markers of inflammation are high despite  the many medications she takes to  treat all her conditions. 

Keeping the diary helped her realize that she is using caffeine to compensate for chronic fatigue. We worked then together to develop what I call a road map— a treatment plan— and came up with some simple changes she felt able to implement. She agreed to stop eating ultraprocessed food, stop drinking juices and soda, get a CPAP machine fitted, and walk for 30 minutes a day. The 30 minute walk could be broken down into just 5 minutes 6 times a day, or three 10 minute walks. 

She sat down with our life coach to talk more about these changes and how to implement them. She felt supported, not judged. Now, three months later, she’s lost 15 pounds. She uses a CPAP machine and, for the first time in a long time, wakes up refreshed and without headaches. She’s conquered her caffeine withdrawals. Her biggest challenge, she tells me, has been stopping going through the drive-thru lanes. Although she’s far from where she wants to be, she finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel. 

This is what a functional medicine approach can do. We focus on the pillars:

• Diet: optimizing natural, organic, vegetables and lean meats. Avoiding ultraprocessed foods. I asked the patients to look at the food; is it made in a factory? Then not good for us. 
• Exercise:  we want to set up a program that is realistic for all patients, depending on their baseline with the objective of improving their overall function
• Sleep: Extremely important to optimize healing, repair and growth of muscle as well as cleaning the brain from toxins. We optimize the oxygenation of the brain  to help preventing dementia
• Stress: How we manage and cope with stress determines many of our hormone functions and becomes very important in the equilibrium we need to sustain. We help with strategies for stress management. 
• Identify  reversible risks: the lab work allows to correct vitamins and nutrient deficiencies that are very important on the healing and  function of the body, 

 For this lady, I found the root causes of her chronic diseases and treated them. Most of my patients face many of the same lifestyle challenges and feel guilty or hopeless until we start our treatment together. I am very grateful to my team at Forever Wellness because we work together to help our patients make meaningful changes. I know it isn’t easy. Nothing worth it is easy. But recovery is worth it. 

Are you ready to find the root cause of your ailments? We can help. At Forever Wellness we dedicate all our resources to help you understand and act upon the conditions.