How Functional Medicine Changed My Life

I know firsthand what it’s like to struggle with chronic illness. In my late 20s, I developed the symptoms of 3 autoimmune disorders, including a thyroid disorder, a connective tissue disorder, and inflammatory bowel disease, all while juggling the demands of being a medical student and new mom. My symptoms only worsened after I graduated and went on to work 80 hour weeks as a Family Medicine resident for 3 years. I knew all too well that the medical treatments for these conditions work by suppressing the immune system – rather than addressing the root lifestyle cause. So I looked to approaches for treatment that would work more naturally with my body. I tried a number of healing diets, took different nutritional supplements, and learned from multiple integrative practitioners. In doing so, I discovered the functional medicine approach that helped me to recover my own health. Once I learned how to maintain my health and my family’s health with functional medicine, I became passionate about applying what I had learned from my own healing journey and using it to help my patients. I pursued certification in functional and integrative medicine and have been practicing it since 2014.

In 2016, I founded Upstream Functional Medicine in order to help better educate and empower my patients to take control of their own health. In functional medicine, we recognize that the key to long-term healing is in addressing the underlying causes of illness, rather than just suppressing the symptoms. We also know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to each medical diagnosis. The cause of one person’s hypertension is often different from the next person’s, and therefore each case will not respond to the same treatment. At Upstream FM, we don’t treat the disease – we treat the individual. We use an in-depth history and physical – along with advanced evidence-based diagnostic methods when needed – to uncover the root causes of health problems and to design a plan just for you based on your results and individual situation. This is the approach that ultimately helped me to regain my own health, and it’s what I use every day to help my patients to do the same.

Whether you are looking for basic education, coaching support to implement lifestyle changes, or a full medical consultation with diagnostics, follow up, and ongoing support, Upstream Functional Medicine offers a range of health services for all ages. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out – we can help you determine whether functional medicine is a fit for you.

-Julia Buchkina, MD, MPH, ABIHM, IFMCP