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Welcome to Functional Medicine at Shrout Family Chiropractic!

As chiropractors, our philosophy has always been to get to the root cause of pain or dysfunction.  Functional Medicine allows us to expand that philosophy to a wider range of issues.  It is exactly what its name implies.  Instead of treating numbers on a lab printout or treating every symptom with a different prescription, functional medicine digs deeper.  With functional medicine, we ask the question "Why?"  Why is my cholesterol high?  Why do I get so fatigued?  We then answer those questions by looking at the biochemical pathways in the body and working to correct those imbalances at the source.  Our goal is to correct these mostly through dietary and lifestyle changes that have been shown to help with the chronic disease that has become epidemic in our society.  We also use targeted supplementation from companies that are backed by numerous scientific studies and that only distribute to healthcare providers.  We want you to be your optimal you.  Read on to find out more about how the process works. And, as always, to get more information, or to schedule, click here to get to our contact form, or call our office at 317-817-WELL(9355).  

 

Conditions Addressed

In functional medicine, our goal is not to cure "conditions" as many of these conditions are actually symptoms of some other problem.  Our goal is to look at the whole body and optimize its function so that the following health challenges won't have the fertile ground they had previously.  This is not an exhaustive list, but these are the most common conditions that people who seek our care are suffering from. We also treat people of all ages because, unfortunately, more children are diagnosed with chronic conditions than ever before. 

  • Anti Aging - no more brushing problems off as "i'm just getting older"
  • Chronic Inflammation  - due to infections like Lyme disease, Candida, or many other factors
  • Allergies and Asthma
  • Psychiatric and Neurological Issues - Anxiety, depression, insomnia, ADHD, Autism, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative processes.
  • Autism
  • Gastrointestinal dysfunction - Diarrhea, Constipation, GERD, Imbalance in Gut Bacteria, Inflammatory  and Irritable Bowel Diseases, Digestion, SIBO (Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), Bloating and Gas and Nutrient Absorption Issues
  • Weight loss resistance
  • Immune dysfunction and Autoimmune disease - including Celiac Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Thyroiditis, Lupus, Immune deficiency, etc. 
  • Metabolic conditions - Diabetes, Low Blood Sugar, Obesity
  • Toxicity - chemicals, pollutants, heavy metals, and even by products of substances produced in the body
  • Sleep Disorders
  • Cardiovascular Disorders - Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), Dyslipidemia (Abnormal Blood Lipid Levels), Prevention of Heart Attacks and Strokes
  • Energy Dysfunction - Pain, Fatigue, Fibromyalgia and Cognitive Dysfunction
  • Hormonal Imbalance - Thyroid, Adrenals, and Male and Female sex hormones, fertility issues

What to expect

From the first visit, to followups and treatment plans, we have you covered.  When you schedule your first visit, we will send you a comprehensive health history questionnaire that you can fill out online.  Dr. Derek will review your questionnaire with you during your first visit and collect any other pertinent information related to your case.  Appointments can be made for in the office, or via the internet through a secure telemedicine app. This first visit typically lasts 90 to 120 minutes, which allows us time to go into significant detail and really get a handle on your health concerns.  After this visit, Dr. Derek will recommend specific lab testing if necessary.  We use lab testing from advanced labs like Genova Diagnostics that specialize in functional lab testing, and we also use LabCorp for more conventional labs if necessary.  Payment for labs is done through the lab itself, and insurance can often be used to great effect to mitigate the cost.  Some of the first visit cost (see below for details) can be billed to some insurance providers so please call the office for more details on your particular insurance plan.  After the first visit, we will also suggest some lifestyle and dietary changes that can help get started even before the lab results come back.  

Once we get the lab results back, the first followup visit can be scheduled.  At this visit we will go over the labs and you will receive a plan for treatment.  This will include more specific lifestyle and dietary recommendations specific to you and the information obtained from the labs.  We will also recommend targeted supplements which are tailored to your labs and history.  Our goal is to emphasize optimal nutrition and lifestyle modifications rather than extensive long term supplementation.  Most conditions benefit from certain supplements initially and as the condition improves, these supplements can be tapered or changed.  We then schedule follow up visits periodically as the treatment continues in order to monitor progress.  Once you have reached a level of more optimal health, followups of 6 months or so are reasonable to make sure everything stays on track.  As with our chiropractic treatment plans, this is a no pressure situation.  We are your partner in your healthcare journey, not your boss.  Dr. Derek emphasizes education of his patients so that they can make the best decisions regarding their health on a daily basis.  

For more information on what functional labs are, what conditions can be treated, nutrition, lifestyle changes, and up to date explanations of scientific research we hope you will click here(coming soon) to read our blog entries.  

Cost and plans

Initial visit 90 to 120 minutes - $350.   This covers the comprehensive first visit, any review of your case that Dr. Derek does before and after, as well as all lab interpretations.  Insurance can sometimes be used for the examination portion of this visit. Insurance can also often be used for most lab testing.  Also, any HSA plans can be used for all services. 

Follow up visits 30 minutes - $150  

In the future, we are planning to offer treatment packages so please check back soon for those!