Yes, functional medicine doctors can prescribe medication if they are licensed to do so. However, the good ones will tend to use other approaches first, including modifying diet, sleep, exercise, meditation and supplements. There are certain types of parasites for which you will need to use conventional drugs, these include entamoeba histolytica, giardia, cryptosporidium, and dientamoeba fragilis.
Functional medicine is an approach to healthcare that focuses on identifying and addressing the underlying causes of illness and imbalances in the body’s systems. While functional medicine practitioners emphasize lifestyle changes, nutrition, and other holistic approaches, they are also licensed medical professionals, such as medical doctors (MDs), doctors of osteopathy (DOs), doctors of chiropractic (DC), nurse practitioners (NP), and licensed acupuncturists (LAc).
Functional medicine doctors take a more comprehensive and personalized approach to medication management, considering how medications fit into the overall treatment plan, addressing any potential interactions or side effects, and reducing the overall number of medications being used if possible. They also explore alternatives to medication such as supplements, in conjunction with other therapies to achieve the best possible outcomes for their patients.
It’s important to note that functional medicine doctors use conventional medication more as a strategy of last resort when nothing else is working. If you’re considering working with a functional medicine doctor, they can provide information regarding removing or adding medication that you can use when talking with the prescribing medical provider.
At Lafayette Acupuncture & Functional Medicine, we tend to not use medications unless they are essential to your health and well-being. Instead we aim to help you make significant lifestyle changes, including dietary (reducing gluten, sugar, and dairy, and more veggies and whole foods), exercise (more or less, depending), sleep (usually more and deeper), and meditation (consistently every day). If we need to affect your body’s biochemistry more directly, our choice is to use supplements first, as they tend to be safer, less expensive, and less damaging to the rest of your body. If medications are needed, we refer out to appropriately licensed providers.
If you would like to discuss your situation in more detail, you can set up a free 15-minute phone call here.
(925) 297-4785