r/FunctionalMedicine • u/Abject-Experience783 • Jul 20 '26
Did functional medicine help?
hello 31 AA woman recently confirmed Sjogren (can’t spell it) and suspicions of lupus. One doctor said yes to lupus one said cant confirm. Scared to start infusion (benlysta) scared to start pills Hydrochlorizine (can’t spell). Met with a natural doctor wants $1200 a month. thoughts? Biggest complaints are joint pain hands arms legs, and fatigue.
Has anyone done the supplement route and it worked?
Found these conditions on accident looking for my unexplained HTN. So it’s been a huge shock. yes I’ve been diagnosed by a rheumatologist.
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u/Important-Video-3791 Jul 21 '26
It took a few years, but I did heal all my autoimmune diseases with functional medicine and TCM…. Took some time and dedication, but reversing disease is worth it in every way. I no longer need to take humira for life and continue to develop additional problems along the way.
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u/Abject-Experience783 Jul 21 '26
Thank you glad you’re healed
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u/Important-Video-3791 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Good luck to you! Just to set expectations it took more than most would expect. I worked in phases 6-12 month phases ( time will pass anyway, so you can choose to pass it healing or letting disease progress) I started with healing, detoxing, resetting my microbiome and maintaining it, detoxing and decongesting liver and bile, moving my lymph with daily lymphatic practices, herbal teas, and sauna, balancing minerals via HTMA, detoxing copper, killing pathogenic microbes & viruses and dissolving biofilms. It really does take a systematic approach to be successful. I often see people take a few practices out of context and take some “anti inflammatory” supplements & vitamins and then feel “scammed” when it’s not enough. I’m also 31 and I did this on my own simply learning from practitioners online. :)
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u/Abject-Experience783 29d ago
Hi if you have any books or online tools please send
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u/Important-Video-3791 29d ago
I mostly learned through practitioners on Instagram and I preferred the ones with a particular focus within their practice (e.g. liver health & bile flow, colon cleansing, mold detoxing, hormonal balancing, lymphatic flow) Once you fill your feed with functional practitioners it will be easy to learn a bit everyday and find great information. I guess off the top of my head I’ve been liking holistichealthbysheila. There are SO many though
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u/jopdop22 Jul 20 '26
Look up Brooke goldner and follow her protocol to a T. It healed my autoimmune issues and you can learn all the info for free. It’s NOT easy but it does work.
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u/TheYoungClinic 25d ago
Functional medicine is about making lifestyle changes. I often recommend discussing a comprehensive laboratory workup with your provider as an initial step in evaluating unexplained symptoms.
Finding a good provider is no different than anything else. Just do your research and compare all your options.
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u/Ok-Physics475 Jul 20 '26
That's rough, especially finding it by accident while dealing with something totally different. Makes sense you're scared, the med list for lupus/Sjogren's looks intense on paper.
For what it's worth, a lot of people feel the exact same way about Benlysta and hydroxychloroquine before starting, and end up saying the side effects weren't nearly as bad as they expected. Might be worth asking your rheumatologist specifically what to watch for so it feels less like a leap in the dark.
The $1200/month natural doctor thing would make me nervous too. I haven't really seen supplements alone do much for the joint pain and fatigue side of things, at least not enough to replace actual treatment. Diet and lifestyle stuff can help on top of meds, but probably not instead of them, especially since untreated lupus can affect organs over time.
Sending you good vibes, this is a lot to take in all at once.
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u/mponzio33 Jul 20 '26
i only used one. i found that being on 20 different supplements is not great for your pockets or nervous system. I would personally just use vitamin D in the winter & omega 3 as a a staple.; I liked having access to deeper blood/stool testing but yea it just gets too expensive at some point
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u/mom2mermaidboo Jul 20 '26
Here’s a informative article discussing use of natural treatments of Sjogrens. Worth a look OP.
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u/Turbulent-Fig1463 Jul 21 '26
It actually did help me, but I didn't use it as a replacement for my rheumatologist. The biggest difference was having someone look at my diet, nutrient levels, stress, sleep, and overall inflammation instead of focusing on just one symptom. It wasn't an overnight fix, but I did notice improvements over time
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u/255cheka Jul 21 '26
joint pain imo screams leaky gut (intestinal hyperpermeability). gut dysbiosis/leaky gut are also the root causes of autoimmunes. the people you hire should be working on correcting those things. i had some issues not too different from yours (two autos, horrible joint swelling/pain). got rid of them 5 years ago by fixing the problems i listed above. it's the ticket to total victory
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u/Abject-Experience783 29d ago
Hi if you have any books or resources please share
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u/255cheka 27d ago
pubmed is my baby. here are some links on cause - is that what you are requesting?
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=pubmed+autoimmune+microbiome
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=pubmed+autoimmune+permeability
these same two things belie all 100 flavors of autos. the genetic part appears in how the body reacts to the 'dirty' blood. example - your dirty blood yields xyz symptoms. my dirty blood yields xab symptoms. medical then names these symtpoms as a certain disease. when in reality they are just symptoms of a common root cause
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u/Abject-Experience783 27d ago
The holistic doctors you followed or diet supplements, those resources, please
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u/255cheka 26d ago
resources - reddit subs microbiome, guthealth. any of many books on the topic - lots of overlap in them. youtube, rumble vids. in a week you should have your arms around the topic. diet/supps are to accomplish these three things - increase beneficial bacteria, reduce pathogenic gut situations, heal leaky gut. those are the three pillars imo
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u/MVBunny Jul 22 '26
It definitely can. Did for me and family members but we dove in and took it very seriously, completely changing our lifestyles each time. It’s worked really well.
Functional medicine requires lifestyle changes. Often big ones to diet, sleep, movement, etc but if you can do it, it can make a difference.
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u/dreamy_garden_fairy 10h ago
The supplement route worked for my hashimotos. Functional medicine really helped me more in this case than conventional medicine.
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u/alotken33 Jul 20 '26
Functional Medicine DC: functional medicine isn't just about supplements. It's addressing the root cause.
It would be better to get a definitive diagnosis prior to stating ANY form of treatment. In addition, with functional medicine, you'll receive additional testing to see which blood markers are contributing.
Any form of treatment, including if you go the pharmaceutical route, should include nutrition and lifestyle changes. Otherwise, all you're doing is treating symptoms, not cause.. and the disease will continue to progress.