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What is Personalized Wellness Medicine that is practiced at aNu and how can it help ‘ME’?

I have been a patient my entire life – starting when I was born with a hereditary blood disorder to suffering as an adult with inflammation, migraines, chronic pain, PCOS, infertility, severe stress and fatigue.

Despite seeing many traditional (and amazing) physicians throughout my life, I still could not get a handle on my own chronic disease.  I was even practicing as a Board Certified Primary Care Physician for over 10 years and could not reach my own wellness goals. I also found that my patients were suffering and not finding relief from fatigue, insomnia, anxiety/depression, heart disease, diabetes, infertility, PMS, weight gain, GI issues, and severe stress to name a few.

This personal journey encouraged me to seek out my own answers and treatment and I found Wellness Medicine.  So this begs the question I get all the time….what exactly is Wellness Medicine?

Some call it Functional medicine, while others call it Integrative medicine, Alternative or Complementary Medicine. I prefer Personalized Wellness Medicine. Functional and Integrative medicine are good descriptive terms where the focus is on integrating with the body’s biochemistry to promote optimal function and healing, instead of blocking and obstructing. Wellness medicine highlights the focus and the ultimate goal—the patient’s optimal wellness. Whatever the name used, the paradigm is different than traditional medicine, the questions asked are different than traditional medicine and because of the questions asked, the answers are different than traditional medicine.

Wellness medicine is not just simply being different than traditional medicine.Its focus is the patient and its goal is the healing of the patient. Anything that corrupts that focus and that goal is an obstacle to wellness medicine. No two humans are the same in regards to metabolism, nutritional status, exercise tolerance and chronic disease predisposition. Nor are they the same in regards to the optimal treatment options. Therefore, we believe in personalized wellness medicine, tailored to each patient individually.

Wellness medicine is many things:

  1. Evidence-based
  2. Disease prevention
  3. Dysfunction based
  4. Works with the body’s biochemistry
  5. Healing
  6. Lifestyle-based

In contrast, wellness medicine is not many things:

  1. Disease management
  2. In opposition to traditional medicine
  3. Event-based

Wellness medicine is never waiting for the event to occur, it is proactively working within a lifestyle to prevent events.

The paradigm of traditional medicine is different. It’s focus is different. If you break a hip, wellness medicine cannot help you. As a wellness physician, I can help you prevent a fracture and heal faster from a fracture, but you will still need a surgeon to surgically fix the broken hip. Traditional medicine is many things:

  1. Evidence-based
  2. Disease based
  3. Disease diagnosis
  4. Disease management
  5. Works in obstruction of the body’s biochemistry
  6. Event-based

In contrast, traditional medicine is not many things:

  1. Healing (except in rare circumstances)
  2. Disease prevention
  3. In opposition to Integrative medicine
  4. not lifestyle-based

Traditional medicine reacts to the event to then manage the event.

The paradigms of wellness medicine and traditional medicine are quite different and because of this difference, the impression is that the two cannot co-exist and are, in fact, in direct conflict with each other. The two paradigms are not in direct conflict, but in fact, directly complement each other. Each has a different focus and a different goal because they are different paradigms in medicine. Wellness medicine is evidence-based, lifestyle interventions to prevent disease and promote wellness. A wellness lifestyle cannot guarantee a life without disease. However, it can limit disease, slow disease progression, limit the systemic effects of disease and promote an environment that favors faster healing. In contrast. traditional medicine is evidence-based event management focused on disease diagnosis and disease management. Traditional medicine cannot guarantee disease management.

At aNu, we have a very distinct advantage at treating and helping patients – both Dr. Watkins and Nurse Practitioner Amanda are certified in traditional Family Medicine AND Wellness Medicine to bring together BOTH paradigms of medicine. We know what your traditional providers are telling you and we know how to fully optimize your health in a very personal approach.

Have you been told by your providers that you are ‘normal’, your labs are ‘normal’, and that you just need to lose weight, eat better, sleep more and possibly take an anti-depressant to help your condition?  We know this is not the answer and know that you are frustrated by the traditional system.

We work with each patient on an individual basis, spend 1-3 hours during each visit, check labs specific to each problem or goal, and implement a plan that is 100% personalized to each individual person. Conditions we treat include but are not limited to:

  1. Autoimmune Disease
  2. Thyroid
  3. Weight Gain/Loss
  4. Fatigue
  5. Adrenals/Cortisol/Chronic Stress
  6. Sex Hormones
  7. GI Health – IBS, GERD, Microbiome, Yeast, Infections
  8. Hypertension, High Cholesterol, Diabetes, Heart Disease
  9. Cancer
  10. Dementia and other neurologic conditions
  11. Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, PTSD, ADD, Bipolar
  12. Toxins
  13. Lyme and other infections
  14. Disease Prevention
  15. Executive Stress Management

When I found Wellness Medicine several years ago, I started living and practicing a healthy lifestyle (yes I practice what I preach!).  I started to eat an anti-inflammatory diet, regulate stress, sleep 7-8 hours per night, walk, meditate, practice yoga and stretching, take regular nutrients and supplements, regulate my hormones, lose weight and a whole new world and life has opened up for me. I do the same for my patients and I walk the wellness JOURNEY with them along the way.  Optimized Wellness is a daily journey and I would love to take you along with us at aNu.

~”The lifelong pursuit of wellness and vitality.  At the very least, you’ll spend time trying something amazing. At best, it could change your life. Are you ready for ‘aNu You’?”

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