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What To Expect At Your First Appointment
Your first experience with Functional Medicine may be a little different than your past doctor appointments.
Functional Medicine is about treating the individual patient, so the first visit is learning about you. To get to the bottom of your chief concerns, we need to know your personal history (what events lead up to getting you to our office), past medical history (who's looked at you before, what did they measure, what was tried, what worked/what didn't), your family history, what you eat, how you sleep, how's your gut, energy level, brain function, exercise routine, living/work environment, daily stressors, etc. Be sure to bring a list of all medication and supplements you are currently taking. Medication dosing is important. The brand of supplement is also useful for us to know - many patients find it easiest to line everything up on the counter and take a picture of the front and back of all their bottles.
After our first visit, we're on a fact finding mission. We don't need to reinvent the wheel - if you've had labs/studies done in the recent past, please bring those results along. We will fill in the blanks with labs determined at your first appointment. Depending on time, we might discuss what could be going on and some possible treatment options depending on what we find with the labs. Sometimes a problem and solution are clear right from the start. If that's the case, we can make some initial treatment suggestions at your first visit. It typically takes about a month to get all the results back needed to identify the root cause of what needs to be addressed in order to determine a customized treatment plan specifically for you.
THE FIRST VISIT GENERALLY TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR
At your second visit (we call it your 'first follow up'), we will review the results of the lab tests, explain how these are contributing to your symptoms, as well as what types of treatments, medications, supplementation, and lifestyle interventions are needed to help maximize your unique treatment plan. This is a big visit. We go over results of tests you may never have had done before. We also look at common labs through a lens of what's 'optimal' versus what's just 'in the normal range'. Don't be overwhelmed by this visit. It's a ton of information and it isn't meant to overwhelm you. Our providers use that time to put together a comprehensive plan so we have an ultimate goal on our end as well. It's easiest to do all of that at the same time, even if we don't implement everything at once (we typically don't). There isn't a quiz at the end of that visit, but patients often find it useful to take notes. We will outline everything in writing at the end, but there's something about writing it down yourself that helps to remember details later on.
THE SECOND VISIT GENERALLY TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF
Of course it depends on your individual plan, but labs are more often than not repeated 6 weeks after therapy is started and follow up scheduled for 8 weeks after to go over those results and make changes where needed. Sometimes we need to dig deeper and look into other possible causes for symptoms if they're not identified on our first evaluation. Many of our patients have extremely complicated histories, have seen multiple physicians in the past, and require further investigation. It goes without saying - everyone's journey is different.
What should I bring?
Rx/Supplements: Please bring a list of all prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements you are currently taking, along with dosing instructions. A picture of the front and back of your medicine cabinet contents will do if you don't want to bring everything along.
Medical records: If you have had any medical evaluation completed within the past 6 to 12 months, please bring those records/results along or submit them prior to your first appointment. We don't need to repeat labs that have been recently completed.
An open mind: Functional medicine is different than medical care you have received elsewhere. Don't expect to hear that 'everything's normal' or that what you're experiencing is a part of 'just getting older". I've been doing this for many years and I have NEVER seen optimal labs after a first visit. Please trust in the process - the hardest part was getting here in the first place. Know that your body is 100% unique, and your treatment will be designed specifically for you.
Common Questions About Lindgren Functional Medicine
When looking at traditional care, it tends to be more focused on managing symptoms rather than treating the source of the condition. When you treat the symptoms, you allow the condition to progress, and often times the treatments that are prescribed, can make the condition worsen. This is where Functional Medicine differs from the care you may have experienced in the past.
Functional Medicine is patient centered, and takes the approach of treating the whole person - taking the time to understand what has triggered the condition, eliminate those elements, and allow healing to begin from within.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET RESULTS?
It's important to understand that in most cases, your condition didn't develop quickly. So for patients with autoimmunity or other chronic disorders, it may take months before you are starting to feel or see the results. Which is why the initial testing is so important. Testing lets us establish a baseline, and then with scheduled re-testing, we can determine how well your body is responding to the treatment. Because the changes are happening internally, testing is a way to verify the efficacy - even if you are not able to see or feel improvements.
For patients receiving hormone replacement therapies (such as pellets or injections), you may begin to notice a difference within a few days. And then as the hormones reach optimized levels, you will most likely have a good internal indication that it's working.
WHY DO I STILL NEED TO HAVE A PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR?
Functional Medicine is a very targeted approach to treating chronic conditions or imbalances within the body that is often ignored or glossed over by the conventional medical approach.
DO YOU ACCEPT INSURANCE?
While Lindgren Functional Medicine does not bill insurance companies, we can provide you with the necessary documentation and receipts to submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement of costs. All of our services use standardized insurance billing codes to make this easier.
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