Welcome to Functional Medicine Clinic of Houston, TX and thank you for visiting our website! As you view and read through the information contained on our website, please let us know if you have any question or comments or constructive criticisms on how we might improve the information provided or better assist you.
We all want to live a long and healthy life; however, in America today, it is our belief that our Healthcare system has turned into a Disease Care system. Think about this – think of any disease – diabetes, cardiovascular disease, GERD, thyroid conditions, IBD, etc., when you visit a medical doctor, generally, you will be placed on a prescription drug of some type; maybe two or more. But is that the best approach for your body?
You need to step out of the traditional healthcare system and visit our Functional Medicine Clinic in Houston so that can take a new whole-body approach to healing your health.
We believe that medical doctors are the most competent and professional way to deal with an acute disease. A heart attack, a massive infection, a broken bone, etc. But when a condition becomes chronic, are treating these illnesses with acute protocols the best way to handle a chronic problem. We think not.
Have you ever had a laboratory test to determine how much Nexium or Wellbutrin you need in your body? Of course not! These are drugs that were developed to make the pharmaceutical company money. Do they work? Well, if you know someone on these or any other drugs, ask them when they can stop taking the drug? The answer is never. Once you are on a drug, typically, you are on it for life. And many times, the patient will still have symptoms. But is that the way anyone should live their life? The real question should be – Is there anything better or can anything be done to stop the madness of drug usage in this country, especially as it relates to chronic conditions?
Yes, we believe Functional Medicine is the answer there are alternatives and people don’t have to be on drugs for the rest of their lives. The answer might be Functional Medicine.
Our goal or mission at the Functional Medicine Clinic of Houston is to assist patients in their search to maintain a healthy body – free of disease and symptoms.
If you are a new patient please download the New Patient form.
Frequently Asked Questions about Functional Medicine
Does Functional Medicine actually work?
Generally speaking, FM helps restore balance within a body. Balance within the body, typically follows function. And if function is achieved, then generally speaking you have a body without disease or symptoms. Functional Medicine looks at what is dysfunctional within the body and tries to determine how to help the body restore balance. If that can be accomplished, then typically, symptoms resolve and patients feel better. Here is an example: someone breaks a bone and goes to a doctor. The doctor DOES NOT heal the bone. The doctor may set or straighten the bone so that it heals straight, but the body actually heals the bone, by itself. But the most remarkable part of the process is this – the body knew when to STOP THE HEALING! Think about this for a minute. The bone was broken and without an x-ray or lab testing or anything scientific, the body started the healing process but then it also stopped that process on its own. To me, this is the most remarkable miracle of life. The body knows and wants to be in balance and to be well. Hence, it heals the bone and then stops the healing process – balance!
I don’t live in Houston, so how can I find a practitioner if FM?
The easiest way is through the internet. Simply search for a functional medicine doctor. You can also search for alternative healthcare providers. You can ask friends if they have worked with someone who uses FM. If all else fails, contact me and I’ll see if we know of someone in your area and if not, we have professional resources that we can utilize that we might be able to assist you with.
What are the costs of your supplements or other protocols?
Each supplement is priced individually and differently. It would be impossible for me to state that a protocol is $XXX because we provide individual protocols to assist with normal function.
Does insurance cover the costs associated with utilizing FM?
Maybe yes, maybe no. Some of the laboratory tests are covered entirely; but some are not covered at all. A lot depends on your individual insurance coverage. Right now, we don’t know of any insurance coverage that will cover the costs of an office visit. With that said, many people have Health Savings Accounts and sometimes those monies can be used to pay for the office visit.
How much does it cost to utilize your services?
In general, for practitioners that we are aware of, the office visits ranges from a few hundred dollars to more than one thousand dollars. My initial office visit is $500 and then $750 for the second visit. The cost for each visit after the first two visits, is time dependent and ranges from $0 to $750.
I don’t live in Texas, so can you help me?
Probably not. We only have a license to practice in the Great State of Texas. But just like the answer above, try those same searches and if you can’t find someone, maybe we can help.
Do I have to purchase your supplements? If so, why?
Yes, for several reasons. First and foremost, we don’t know the quality of each and every supplement that is in the market place. We would refer people of review Consumer Reports and their research on supplements. Many of the supplements that this non-profit organization tests, do not meet label requirements and / or are contaminated. The second reason is that all of the supplements that we use meet at least 2 if not all 3 requirements that we demand of supplements. A – cGMP, B – 3rd party assays and C – bio-availability studies. The combination of at least 2, if not all 3 of these criteria means that patients are getting some of the best quality products available. Another reason is costs. Many of the supplements that we utilize in my clinics are the same or maybe slightly higher in costs, compared to OTC brands. Further, what use is a supplement if it doesn’t contain the nutrient it is supposed to contain or is contaminated. And last, patient compliance is vital for the re-balance of normal function. We will know if a patient isn’t compliant because we know how much a patient should be taking on a routine basis and therefore when they should be re-purchasing.
How long before I start feeling better using FM?
Difficult to answer directly; however, some nutrients have an immediate effect that a patient can actually feel. With other supports, a patient may never feel any difference. But what most patients tell me is that after several months, they don’t know what it is, but they feel different, in a positive way. Some have also told me for example that they use to get a cold every year or sinus infections a couple of times a year; things like that. But since being on my protocol, they haven’t had a re-occurrence of those symptoms any longer.
How do your protocols, using nutraceuticals (nutrients) differ from pharmaceuticals (drugs)?
First, your body needs nutrients in order to function properly. And we can test for many nutritional deficiencies. And we can also use other nutraceuticals that we can’t test for, but have been shown with scientific review/research to be beneficial to the body. The same cannot be said of drugs produced by the pharmaceutical industry. You can’t measure the amount of Nexium you are missing in your blood!
Also, if you look at the top-selling drugs in the US as reported by a healthcare industry provider, IMS Health, from October 12 through September 2013, the top 10 drugs had sales of approximately $49.5 BILLION! And the top 100 drugs totaled more than $139 BILLION. There is a massive amount of money at stake. In addition, there were more than 478 million prescriptions written during the same time frame. That is more than 1 prescription for every man, woman and child in America. Does that make sense to anyone?
Functional Medicine is an art and a science. We strive to provide answers as to why and where and then assist with body with protocols that gentle nudge the body back into health.