Episode 131 - 7 Things I Learned About Functional Medicine

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Alopecia Angel podcast. I am your host, Johanna Dahlman. Today, we're going to be talking about functional medicine and the 7 things that I learned while experimenting, while talking, while discussing, while working with functional medicine doctors and even interviewing them as well.

So the first thing that I learned is that not everyone is an expert in alopecia. This also goes back to the results and the experience, right? You can have a designation as an accountant, as a lawyer or a doctor or anything else. But that doesn't mean that any of these people or professionals are going to get you the results that you're looking for your particular situation. That's the fact of the matter. You know, if you have let's say an issue and you need to speak to a lawyer, well, there are various different types of lawyers, just like there's very different types of doctors, but just the same, even if they have a designation of functional medicine, they may have zero experience with alopecia. They may have had zero clients with alopecia.

And so these are some questions that I would want you to consider when looking or even thinking about talking with somebody who works in functional medicine. Because again, it's, it's not a one size fits all, and it's not all the same. Many times what I've come across is that they don't know, and they've never treated somebody with alopecia. And again, you know, limitations are everywhere. This is something to be self aware about, not just for you, but also for the people that you want to work with. Like, what are their limitations? How far can they go with you? How far can you go with them, right? Are they going to take you to the finish line or not?

And so these are the types of questions that I would be considering as well. But you know, others can surprise you too, and this is where I think I've done a fantastic job of surprising a lot of people, because again, I believe it really takes one to no one in terms of going through the experience yourself and being able to help others, because what I've done for myself has been replicated with thousands of clients in over 66 countries. And so it's not just the hair loss, but it's also the health. It's also the diet and lifestyle, and it's also a tailored format. And this is huge because when you start looking around, not a lot of people, probably no one actually offers that. And so this is really big. And again, the results speak for themselves, but so does the experience.

Another thing that I've learned about functional medicine is that it's very costly to do it. Testing and health insurance from what I see, from what I've experienced, from what I've heard doesn't cover it anywhere in the world. So functional medicine is not something that is covered anywhere in the world. It's all 100% out of pocket, there are extra charges and there's a lot of markups on the testing. There's extras for charges, for calls, for emails, for responses, and even about the results. Explanations and even the next steps. And so there's a lot of line items and when it comes to charges when it comes to the testing and again, so maybe the test cost $500 but then they're charging you extra for it because you're going through them.

And so they almost act as a broker in many ways. And they're even acting as a broker when it comes to supplements. And so many times, let's say when they have a recommendation for supplements or anything else, it's their own line of supplements. And so this is an extra charge and markup and revenue generated avenue for them. And so this is something to consider when thinking about functional medicine and how they're pushing their own supplements on you. I've been there. So this is that type of thing. And so this is something you should know and you should be aware of to really understand what's going on.

Most functional medicine doctors also have their own line of supplements as I mentioned this and you're forced to buy theirs, which means again, more markups, understanding of what's going on. And then also what I've seen too, is that many of my clients who have seen functional medicine doctors are not getting the results they're looking for in terms of hair loss and alopecia. This is a big one because I've seen many, many times where let's say they're tracking the hair growth of their child or theirself and it's been over a year and their hair growth is not where they want it to be. It's not progressed anymore. And the progress that they have seen is very limited.

I got to tell you, it's because that person, that functional medicine doctor that they're working with has their own limitations, and so they are not able to help them further. Does that make sense? And so it's up to you as the patient, as the client, to say: Okay, thanks, no thanks, like I'm not going to be spending any more time or money on you because you can't get me to the end result. This is like trying to go to university and not being able to graduate because the teachers are not capable, or you're not capable of graduating, you know, this is that same situation, you go to the professional you go to the institution to try to find that next level in your career and you can't graduate because I don't know the teacher's missing the coursework is not there or you're not able to take a task. This is the same type of issue where the results are not there, that next step isn't there.

And so again, limitations happen everywhere and I've heard this numerous numerous numerous times this is like you think just because this person is branded with this certificate because that's what this is, it's a certificate it costs around $12-15K to do it within 6 months to 9 months, maybe a year, you know, depending on how slow or fast they go. And, you know, you get this designation and again, what you learn in 9 months, 6 months on, let's say on a program for this designation still doesn't garner, still doesn't give you the work experience and potentially you may be finding yourself that you're, you as a functional medicine doctor are working in a different niche. You know, maybe they're more focused on fertility, maybe they're more focused on. Thyroid issues, or maybe they're more focused on, you know, other parts of the body versus just focused on alopecia.

So that's a big one too, because when I've gone and interviewed functional medicine doctors, I don't see too many people solely focused on alopecia. I think that's huge and it says a lot too. And what I've also have noticed too, is that people love working with me because I've been in their shoes and there's a different empathy, there's a different understanding, there's a different knowledge base and experience when it comes to healing others, helping others go through the healing journey when you yourself have gone through it. This is like talking to somebody, you know, who potentially, let's say, if we're going to talk about something else, let's say cancer or fertility or anything else, and this person hasn't gone through it, then there's like there's a a loss of translation, there's a loss of connection there.

And so one thing is to be book smart and textbook smart, but the other thing is to prove the textbooks wrong and say: Hey, you can heal us and I can too, and I've done it and I'm here to show you how. So there's a big discrepancy there, because again, that training, the initial training that they have could be saying, well, textbooks say there's no cure, so, you know, I can load you up on testing, I can load you up on supplements, but potentially that's not getting you again to that next level, to that next step, to the next limitations. Those limitations are everywhere and I've seen it, and I hear it all the time from my clients and my customers, because they too come to me, they're like: you're the last hope you're the last person and I'm coming to see you because you only focus on alopecia because all my other doctors do not and they say they can help and I haven't seen the results. It's been years.

And so this has been something that's been on a consistent basis, you know, and you can listen back to those interviews that I've had with people on the podcast, there's numerous interviews of different types of hair loss, but people who've been dealing with hair loss for 5, 10, 15, 20 years, 30 years, and it shouldn't be this way. It really shouldn't be this way. So I would say, look for that, look for someone who has the results, look for someone who has the experience, look for someone who has the proof to be able to get you to that next level, because you shouldn't be waiting 6 months, one year or more just to see a little bit of fuzz, you should be seeing already humongous progress. And if not, there's a disconnect. There's a disconnect there.

So I hope that helps in just a little bit and let's see. The next thing I learned about functional medicine is that to see a functional medicine doctor, it can cost anywhere from $500 upwards to over $2000 just for the initial visit with no testing involved and it depends. You know, every person has their own pricing and their own scale, but I will say functional medicine in general is much more common in North America than it is anywhere else in the world. And so you will see very few and far between of these designations outside of North America. It's about $12-15k as I mentioned to get this certificate, which can be done anywhere from 6 months to a year. Most people with health and wellness backgrounds can apply to get it.

So you're not necessarily seeing a functional medicine doctor who has a medical doctor designation as well. I mean, sometimes it could be a chiropractor, it could be a nurse, it could be something else. And so when I see a designation of this sort, or when I hear of people working with functional medicine doctors, I want to say that, you know, it's kind of like your contractors, kind of like your roof specialist, or maybe 3 different people that you're looking to paint your house, you're going to get 3 different quotes with the painting of the house with the roof, with the gutters, it'll be all 3 different, maybe levels of experience, levels of quality, levels of customer service, but then also different pricing.

And just in speaking, actually with my hairstylist the other day, she was telling me how she was quoted $11000 for gutters and yet she found another option for $2000 so everyone can place their own pricing, right? So just like doctors, just because you have this designation doesn't mean that you can heal alopecia, doesn't mean that it's the one size fits all, because, you know, if this was it, then you guys wouldn't be listening to me, right? Because we've all seen numerous doctors, we've all seen numerous dermatologists still with no responses, with no understanding and with no hair growth, am I right? So it's much more about the results and about the experience.

And especially when I'm considering somebody to work with or to be their client or to even partner with, this is where those 2 aspects, the experience and the results shine. Trust is another factor, but then also I like to consider the rapport. And also their knowledge base in the breath. And so, for example, I would start asking questions like how many people with alopecia have you helped? Have you helped reveal completely somebody with totalis, universalis, areata, da, da, da. I would start asking all these questions if you had those questions. And again, start shopping around for testing because I got to tell you, like the markups are insane when it comes to testing.

This is why I've decided to offer testing worldwide to my clients because a) There are no markups b) Because it's all at a lower cost and c) Because, it's something that I want to make sure that it's available worldwide to others. And so this is a huge component. So when you start and work with Alopecia Angel, it's not just, you know, the personalized program, but it's also the coaching calls and it's also testing if, and when you want it, if and when you need it, if and when you know, let's say it's hard for you because you live in a remote area, or maybe you're in a country where functional medicine doctors are not available. When I was living in the Netherlands, there was zero functional medicine doctors and the closest one was probably like a 4 hour drive.

You know, I'm not going to drive four hours just to see somebody, you know, what I actually ended up doing, I flew, I flew back to the US and did that instead. But in any case there's a lot of places where my clients live in over 66 countries. And this is the situation, they don't have the possibility to test next door or telehealth or any of these things. And so I add that convenience for you, because again, you know, if you want to test the good quality gold standard testing, this is where it is. It is in functional medicine, the gold testing, the gold standard of testing is worth it. And yes, there is a price to it, but again, I believe it's definitely worth it versus just the standard testing on insurance. And if you wanted to learn more about my take on testing in general, you can go back to a previous podcast where it's all about testing.

And again, my take, my information on testing and what that looks like because testing is important, but not everyone needs it. Like I healed without testing and a lot of my clients heal without testing. Sometimes, you know, maybe they're curious or they're encouraged to say: Hey, maybe I want to look at this, this and that. Go for it, but understand that testing is just of one point in time of what your health and your biomarkers look like right now and that can change. That can change in 8 weeks, right? After doing the Hair N' Heal program that can change in 6 months and that can continuously changing because we are continuously changing. And hopefully in your case, you continue to get better, get healthy and get on the right track.

And so if you haven't seen the hair growth, if you are seeing, you know, professionals and you haven't gotten the results that you're looking for, I would say come and look at the Hair N' Heal program that I offer. It opens up periodically, you can see more online at alopeciaangel.com But then also we offer a free training. So email us at any point [email protected] and we'll set you up with a free training that you can see, watch and absorb, because this also gives you the ins and outs of what to look for, what not to look for and what you need in order to heal, move on and get those results that you're looking for.

I hope this has been helpful. Please rate and review my podcast so that more people can hear about the beauty and the possibility and opportunity of healing and reversing alopecia naturally without medications with a tailored program just for you. I look forward to hearing and talking to you next time.

Thank you so much. Take care.