Lupus and Doctors: Functional Medicine is SO intriguing

Earlier this year, I felt like writing a post titled " Why Teen Girls Take their Frustrations Out on their Moms". 

But I didn't. 

If that blog post exists, though, I'd like to read it. 

And takes notes. 

And memorize the top three reasons so I can remind myself the next time a hypothetical teen is hypothetically taking it out on me. 

But all of that seems to have moved to the proverbial back burner, as our family has made MAJOR progress in the teen health and wellness department in the last couple of months, and I'm so excited to share. 

My oldest daughter has been experiencing symptoms that just weren't adding up - I won't go into all of them here, but the final straws were unrelenting acid reflux and nausea when eating. I knew if I took her to the GI doctor I know and love, we would go through the typical routine of prilosec (or the like) for the reflux, and a stomach med to help with the nausea. I went through the same sequence when my mom developed GI issues - treating one symptom after another. When one med didn't work, we'd try another. It was like a very unsuccessful game of whack-a-mole. 

I knew we wanted something different for our daughter, primarily because it appeared like her symptoms (when considered over the course of years, not weeks or months) were stemming from something else. 

So we sought out the help of a functional medicine doctor. And we are so happy we did.

The doctor seems to be a great fit for us, and my daughter really loved the first appointment - the questions alone made her think that we were onto something fantastic. Questions about mold, leaks, and other environmental factors. One question - "When was the last time you remember feeling good? When did you last feel like yourself?" - left us all speechless. Deirdre couldn't really say - it had been that long. Years, even. 

The testing after that first appointment included a food sensitivity test tied in with inflammation testing, a stool sample, blood work, and a few other minor things. 

I'll share more in an upcoming post. The results have been EYE-OPENING, and we are definitely on the path to healing. 

And that teen post I wanted to write months ago? I couldn't even write it now. It's been THAT transformative. 

For now, I'll close with a thank you to Aunt Jodie, whose personal success with her own functional medicine doctor spurred us to act on our hunch, and to Laura, for the referral. We are eternally grateful!