How Functional Medicine Changed my Life As A Nurse

In 2019, my husband and I sold our house and moved in with my parents with our two babies. It was supposed to be temporary until we found our next home but we ended up staying a year and a half as we had our next home built smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. While we lived there, both my husband and myself began experiencing some weird symptoms. We had nasal congestion, rashes that wouldnt go away, and I even had sneezing attacks after exercising. They live in the desert with dirt roads so we chalked most of it up to the dust. Once we moved into our home, I decided I would try to get in with a functional medicine doctor and figure out if all of these symptoms were related. My husband was very interested in functional medicine and had a dream of being in the functional space some day. I knew it was root cause care but did not know the inner workings of it or what all it meant other than "diet and lifestyle". I had listened to Mark Hyman's podcasts a few times so I had a basic idea. I looked at IFM (the Institute for Functional Medicine) website to browse through their providers that were located near me. Once I found one that was somewhat close by, I booked an appointment with her.

Moved into our house!

This Functional medicine doctor toured me through her big fancy office of equipment I had never heard of and bragged about all of the supplements that she had in stock. She had an hour long consultation with me and took the time to listen to my concerns. She then informed me that she thought I had mold illness based off what I had told her. She also said that she didnt think she could help me at the moment because I was pregnant with my 3rd child and she had never treated anyone for mold illness while they were pregnant. Then she proceeded to ask me for $8000 and had an entire presentation on how this was an investment in my health. I left that office in tears. How could anyone afford to get the answers for their health?

I decided to ask my OBGYN what her thoughts were on this. She suggested that I see an allergist since the symptoms I was experiencing sounded like allergies and they could test for mold. After seeing an allergist, I was told that I needed to have an allergy test for mold. If that came back negative, which it did, then it could not be mold illness that was affecting me. I was at a dead end again. I later found out that this is not true by the way. And you can indeed have mold illness without an allergy to mold.

I never did get any answers, but thankfully after having my baby, I did not experience any futher issues. After all I have learned about functional medicine over the years, I certainly have my speculations but have yet to confirm anything as of late.

Fast forward to 2022, after working as a nurse through the pandemic, I felt I needed to learn something new. I went back and forth on getting my Masters vs Nurse Practitioner school, but began getting curious about functional medicine again and whether or not there was anything out there for nurses in this space. I felt that the FM doctor I saw was just after my money and not truly wanting to help me get better. If I could learn more about FM then maybe I could help others in a more substantial way without the hefty price tag. When googling, there was not much to offer at the time. I did end up finding the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy and found they had a course just for nurses called "Functional Medicine for Nurses". This sounded exactly what I was looking for! Unfortunately, it was not cheap and not in my budget at the moment. I kept it on the back burner and continued to listen to all the podcasts and read as much as I could about the topic.

I started focusing more on food and nutrition. I did an elimination diet and felt so much better than I previously had. I discovered I had a dairy intolerance and never knew this. It really made me think about my previous health issues and digestive issues that I had encountered growing up. I started researching Functional Nutrition degrees and played with the idea of getting my Masters in Functional Nutrition. I got some quotes from some schools and really was not in the market to spend that kind of money on a Masters program so I went back to the Functional Medicine for Nurses course. It was not as expensive as a Masters program and I was so eager to learn something new and exciting.

Food is medicine! We learned to pack healthier snacks when traveling.

At the time, my employer offered a program that would allow you to be reimbursed for education but you had to submit an application and write an essay on how you could utilize that education to help the institution. This was after the pandemic so tuition reimbursement was not the same. It was not something hospitals were offering as freely anymore and they only allowed a specific number of applicants to receive the reimbursement if they felt it would bring value to their institution. I wrote on the benefits of helping patients with their diet and lifestyle and how this Functional Medicine for Nurses course could really help me make an impact on these conversations with patients. It was only a fraction of what some graducate programs were asking so I thought for sure this would be a win-win. Well, I kid you not, my Supervisor would not let my application move forward with the pool of candidates and I needed her approval. I didn't understand and thought surely this must be a misunderstanding so I went above her and asked the Manager (Nursing Manager mind you!) about this and she had a conversation with me that I will never forget. This truly was the pivotal point in my career, my outlook on healthcare, and my beliefs as a nurse. She told me that I could not move forward with my application because teaching patients about diet and lifestyle would not apply to all aspects of my job description. That I could not "utilize this skillset" in all aspects of my job. Those were her exact words. I, of course, argued that diet applies to all aspects of patient care and it didnt matter what aspect of nursing. Everybody eats! I think back about that conversation and part of me gets so angry that I didnt say more or come better prepared. I thought for sure she would back me up and at least let me enter into the pool of candidates that they would allow for this reimbursement. But, the other part of me recognizes that God had greater plans for me. I needed to hear this and see this so I could have a fire lit inside of me. A fire for health. A fire for all of those patients that I was "not allowed" to discuss diet and lifestyle with. I vowed to make it my mission to learn a better way. I would not let an institution (that claims they want to help people get better) define what I could and could not talk to my patients about. I would not let someone stop me from helping others. That is why I became a nurse - to help people! And here, a fellow nurse, was telling me that I could not do that. This is also when I realized not everyone is ready for the truth. Not everyone is ready for functional medicine. Not everyone recognizes that the collaboration between functional medicine and allopathic medicine could truly be the best interest of the patient.

I wanted to read ALL the health and wellness books

So I scraped up my pennies and I took that course. And you know what? It changed my life. It is what brought me here today. FoodFirstNurse became my fourth baby. And the amount of education and guidance that I can bring my clients now because of this is life-changing for others. I vowed that I will never stop learning and I will never stop giving my best to my patients. That is why I am a nurse. #Foodfirstnurse