A few weeks ago I shared my comprehensive nutritional report in the post My Nutritional Assessment with a Functional Medicine Nurse. This week, I met with Sue and shadowed her and the infamous Dr. Faria at DNA Associates in Sterling, Virginia.
In this post, you'll learn :
What is Functional Medicine
About Dr. Faria
Clinic Services at DNA Associates
Illnesses Treated at the Clinic
Why Functional Medicine Clinics are Hard to Find
What is Functional Medicine
Functional medicine
provides an upstream approach to healthcare that seeks to uncover the root causes of symptoms of a disease
considers the unique individual by examining biochemical individuality and exploring predisposing factors (genetic & environment), triggers, and mediators of disease
values the importance of personalized treatment plans created through a partnership between the patient and their provider
views organ systems as interconnected and adopts a holistic approach to create a healing environment that restores vitality, not merely the absence of disease
VS.
Conventional medicine
specializes in acute, emergency, intensive and urgent care
uses conventional modalities such as surgery, prescription medications, symptom treatment, and prevention
organ-system model of disease, where the body is often seen and treated as separate parts
the practitioner is typically viewed as the authority in the treatment process
About Dr. Faria
Dr. Faria is a renowned general, cosmetic and surgical dermatologist with 28+ years of experience. However, over the last 10 years, Dr. Faria has embraced holistic approaches to health. She has integrated Western medicine and Eastern medicine, using Energy Medicine, food, vitamins, and herbs in caring for her patients. She looks for the root cause of skin, hair, and nail diseases. She also cares for immediate issues through conventional medications, while guiding her trusted patients and friends with lifestyle changes, diet modifications, vitamin/minerals replacement according to the body’s needs via various advanced blood/saliva/stool testings, and energy medicine via Applied Kinesiology.
Clinic Services at DNA Associates
Ozone therapy. Ozone is a form of oxygen (O3). Practitioners of ozone therapy use gas or liquid forms of ozone to treat medical conditions and as a topical disinfectant. Used in treating arthritis, viral diseases, disinfecting wounds, activating the immune system, treating ischemic heart disease, treating macular degeneration, and treating cancer.
Muscle testing & energy medicine. Muscle testing is also known as applied kinesiology (AK). It is a practice that claims to effectively diagnose structural, muscular, chemical, and mental ailments. The basic idea behind AK is similar to one of Sir Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion, which states, “for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction.”AK takes this concept and applies it to the human body. This means that any internal issues you may be experiencing would be accompanied by a related muscle weakness.
IV and IM vitamin therapy. A mixture of disease-specific vitamin and minerals are mixed and injected into the muscle or intravenously.
Supplements. Most diseases being treated are caused by other deficiencies in the body which can be supplemented chronically or acutely with bioavailable hormones, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, peptides, etc.
Pellet therapy. Pellet therapy is the most natural way to replenish hormone levels for women and men. These implants, placed under the skin, consistently release small, physiologic doses of bioidentical hormones just like those found normally in your body providing optimal therapy.
Infrared sauna. An infrared sauna is a type of sauna that contains carbon panels that use infrared radiation to generate and fill the space with an impressive amount of heat. Infrared radiation is a naturally occurring wavelength of energy. The warmth produced by this wavelength penetrates the body through the skin and can even reach into the bones and joints. Many studies have looked at using infrared saunas in the treatment of long-lasting health problems like high blood pressure, heart failure, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, headache, type 2 diabetes, and arthritis.
Nutrition counseling. Sue's job :) Sue does comprehensive nutrition reports on patients and works with Dr. Faria to resolve dietary diseases and deficiencies.
Illnesses Treated at the Clinic
I saw about 10 patients on Wednesday presenting with a range of diseases such as Lyme disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, premature menopause, post-COVID-19 infection, IBS, food sensitivities, and type 2 diabetes.
Many of the patients received ozone therapy and personalized intramuscular vitamin therapy as well as hormone pellet therapy and temporary hormone replacement therapy via supplements. However, a big part of the patient's treatment plan was through lab results.
Almost every patient had lab results done prior to the visit. Dr. Faria went over all the imbalances with each patient. In collaboration with Sue, they offered the patient nutritional and lifestyle education and supplement therapy. Most lab imbalances that I noticed in the patients were hormonal. Such as, testosterone/estrogen/progesterone/estradiol (sex hormones), T3/T4/TSH (thyroid), and cortisol (stress). Dr. Faria stated that "You can't treat any underlying disease without first balancing the hormones because they determine every cellular pathway." Amen sister.
I noticed a lot of patients also had electrolyte imbalances like low sodium, potassium, and magnesium. I got to educate the patients on the importance of drinking salt water and coconut water!!!
Patient culture- Each patient was so confident when they came in. For a lot of them, this was their last resort for healing their disease. They were constantly disappointed by conventional medicine and looked elsewhere for whole-body healing. After finding Dr. Faria, they have hope. They knew they were in the right place, they knew they were getting better after each visit and they were so involved and knowledgeable about their health. The environment was just so different.
Why Functional Medicine Clinics are Hard to Find
Functional medicine can be controversial, so many clinics are run by word-of-mouth, not billboard advertising like many healthcare systems that just want your money (in my opinion). Controversial limitations include:
Criticism
A lot of treatments are known as "quackery" by conventional medicine. This is because there are fewer scientific studies on frequent treatments.
Money
Additionally, functional medicine clinics are not as popular because insurance rarely covers it. This also makes it harder for clinics to operate being that they rely on out-of-pocket costs and receive no help from pharmaceutical and health insurance companies.
Final thoughts
I may sound biased but I do believe, 100%, that there is a time for medications and acute care, but for chronic illnesses and prevention, functional medicine might be the best option for some patients. Especially for young, healthy patients who are striving for optimal health, and just want to know what their lab and hormone levels are.
DNA Associates was a very inviting, passionate workplace. Sue and Dr. Faria reassured my passion and goals. They both even pushed me into thinking about being a nurse practitioner or going to naturopathic medical school so I can write lab scripts and start my own clinic... That's a lot to think about but the 9-5, M-F, no holidays, with 1 hour lunch sounds pretty good right about now LOL.
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