Functional Pediatric Medicine
Functional Medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease, using a systems-oriented approach to find and address imbalances and support healthy function. It is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century, especially regarding complex, chronic diseases and replaces the outdated and ineffective acute-care models carried forward from the 20th century which uses the “name it-blame it- tame it” model to disease where the doctor basically matches a drug to a problem and does not attempt to find the underlying reason for the issue.
Examples of conditions ideally suited for functional medicine visits are: chronic abdominal pain, allergies/asthma/eczema, Autism, ADHD, Auto-immune diseases, mood disorders, chronic fatigue and many more…
It is the only scientific and biologically based system of holistic medicine that addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. This is cutting edge medicine, not alternative medicine. Those people suspicious of more esoteric systems of health that require a leap of faith, so to speak, can feel good knowing that functional medicine is based in biology, but just looking at the child from a more holistic viewpoint.
We take time to look at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence your child’s health. In this way, Functional Medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual. This is done through:
- Extensive history taking with the first visit lasting approximately 1 ½ hours with follow-ups lasting 1 hour to really get to know your child’s history and best decide where to help them maximize function.
- Extensive conventional (Quest/Labcorp) and integrative lab testing including things like food sensitivity testing, comprehensive digestive stool analysis, organic acids testing, nutrient analysis, hair element analysis, methyl genetics testing, etc. through labs like Genova, Doctor’s Data, Great Plains Labs, ALCAT, Cyrex, and more…
- Recommendations on diet, vitamins and various supplements to help support the body’s functioning and thereby optimizing their and health and wellness.
- Unlike most functional medicine practitioners, I am trained in Pediatric Medicine and focus on children ONLY.
Dr. Fliedner is no longer seeing patients.