Functional
Testing
No two people’s illness is the same, even if their diagnoses is identical. Recognizing that everyone’s body, biochemistry and health journey is unique, is an important part of creating an intervention that really works.
Investigative, functional & biochemical testing
In some circumstances, functional testing may be helpful in understanding the underlying causes of your symptoms. Testing can be done using either blood, saliva, urine or stool. Using different tests removes the guesswork of how your body is functioning and provides a more detailed picture of your current health status. This allows us to intervene in a very precise way and address the underlying causes of your symptoms with the aim of restoring your health function, and in turn, restoring your health.
In medicine, we have traditionally thought about things in terms only of health and disease, with the assumption being – if you don’t have a diagnosable disease, then you are healthy.
However, Functional Medicine recognises that you don’t develop a disease overnight and we understand that there is a period of disrupted and malfunctioning biochemistry and physiology present in the developing period of illness, which may be several years long.
Gain a better understanding of disturbances in your body.
We also understand that during this period, you can have troublesome symptoms or feel pretty ill. Better understanding of the disturbances in your body allows us to intervene in a very precise way, to address these underlying causes of symptoms or illness, with the aim of restoring healthy function, and in turn, optimal wellness.
Popular tests
I work closely with many professional industry-recognised laboratories that offer a comprehensive range of tests. Functional testing fees are in addition to consultation fees and they are usually paid to the laboratory directly. Some of these tests are the same as those used conventionally by your GP although I may look at them a little differently.