Conventional medicine is exceptional at acute care, surgery, and life-threatening disease. Functional medicine is exceptional at chronic, multi-system, and 'I don't feel right but my labs are normal' problems. Most patients benefit from both - used appropriately.
The core difference
Conventional care is largely organized around diagnosis codes. You get a label, then a guideline-driven treatment for that label. Functional medicine is organized around systems and root causes. We ask why your immune system is overactive, why your gut isn't absorbing, why your hormones are dysregulated - and we treat the upstream cause, not just the downstream symptom.
When functional medicine is the right fit
- Chronic fatigue, brain fog, or low energy with 'normal' bloodwork.
- Hormonal symptoms, irregular cycles, or peri/menopausal changes.
- Gut symptoms, food reactivity, or autoimmune flares.
- Chronic Lyme, post-viral syndromes, or unexplained inflammation.
- Optimization goals - energy, longevity, metabolic health, sleep.
When to stay with conventional care
Acute injuries, infections, surgical needs, cardiac events, cancer screening, and emergency care belong in conventional medicine. We coordinate with your primary care doctor, OB-GYN, oncologist, or specialists when their care is the right tool for the job.
