Author: Clark Five Design

Optimizing Reproductive Health

Posted on June 11, 2011 by - Fertility

Functional Fertility: Optimizing Reproductive Health Naturally

Recent statistics show that 1 in 6 couples of childbearing age are experiencing infertility issues. Statically, female factor accounts for 1/3, male factor accounts for 1/3 and both male and female account for 1/3 of couples struggling. We are offering a new service to help people in the area as well as those outside of Madison who are struggling with reproductive issues. After treating hundreds of people in our clinic, we have identified certain functional medicine tests that uncover hidden health issues affecting one’s fertility.

Imbalanced hormones most often result from other systems functioning improperly. We recommend four tests to evaluate important areas affecting reproductive health. Sometimes additional testing is required. These tests allow us to identify:

  • Chronic stress and adrenal imbalances
  • Specific hormone imbalances
  • Pituitary-ovarian miscommunication
  • Liver detoxification challenges
  • Systemic inflammation due to allergies
  • Sensitivities or gastrointestinal assaults

Our goal is to support your reproductive health so you can become pregnant naturally or with western assisted reproductive techniques. Additionally, improving the mother-to-be health promotes healthy and viable pregnancies.

Some tests that may help to determine the cause of your fertility challenges include the following:

  • Expanded Female Hormone Panel or Expanded Male Hormone Panel
  • Adrenal Stress Index
  • Gastrointestinal microbial/parasite/fungal panel
  • Gluten sensitivity genetic test

Usually, starting with a clear picture of your hormone health using the Female or Male Hormone panel is sufficient, however in some complicated cases further testing is required.

For others, acupuncture treatment, combined with herbs, nutritional supplementation and lifestyle changes is all that is required.

Let us know if we can help you overcome your fertility challenges.

What Is Functional Medicine?

Posted on June 11, 2011 by - Functional Medicine

What is Functional Medicine

Lack of disease does not always mean you are functioning at your best. If you experience recurring symptoms or are struggling with chronic health challenges, functional medicine may provide answers.

Functional medicine optimizes health using individualized, preventative and holistic care. Our objective is to detect early stages of health decline and provide proper treatment before disease sets in. If you already struggle with chronic illness or a diagnosed condition, we can use functional medicine to help detect the underlying cause.

Functional medicine evaluates individual systems in your body and looks to see how they are working together. By reviewing your individual biochemistry, improvements in health occur on many levels rather than merely treating disease. For example two people suffering from migraine headaches, may receive completely different treatment plans despite their identical diagnosis. One may require hormone balancing while the other requires allergy testing and food elimination.

The first step is to obtain a detailed health history. Often by asking the right questions and detecting early warning signs, more severe dysfunction can be avoided. Sometimes further lab testing is required to detect the cause of ill health. These specialty laboratory tests use saliva, urine, blood, hair &/or stool samples. Commonly performed tests check for hormone balance, food intolerances, gastrointestinal dysfunction, adrenal health, neurotransmitter levels, energy production, thyroid health and more. Detailed information gained through these tests helps us target support for your specific needs. This approach often proves more effective clinically than just treating symptoms.

Finally, Functional medicine observes your unique biochemistry as seen in the whole, therefore your treatment plans will be multifaceted. Treatment suggestions may include nutritional supplementation, herbal medicine, acupuncture, essential oils, dietary and lifestyle changes and follow-up testing to confirm we are on the right track.Lack of disease does not always mean you are functioning at your best. If you experience recurring symptoms or are struggling with chronic health challenges, functional medicine may provide answers.