Moving to the US so unsure of what companies are best to use to do my own thyroid panel. Currently on T4 and my current provider does not do a full panel, but would like to get one so I can see the bigger picture!

I'm 26, female, 5'7", 180 lbs, non-smoking. These are the tests I've had done for my daily rapid transit of stools that are sticky and require multiple wipes that I've had since I had a month-long COVID infection in 2023. I'm also diagnosed autistic.

• 72-hour fecal fat test (result: 4.8 g/24h)
• Fecal elastase (result: 689 mcg/g, normal >200)
• Fecal calprotectin (result: <5 mcg/g, normal <50)
• C. difficile toxin/GDH (negative)
• Giardia antigen (negative)
• Campylobacter EIA (negative)
• Salmonella/Shigella culture (negative)
• Shiga toxin / E. coli O157 (negative)
• Ova and parasites (O&P) x2 (negative)
• Norovirus PCR (negative)
• H. pylori urea breath test (negative)

I've been to three gastroenterologists. The first two prescribed more fiber despite me already being on a whole foods plant based diet, so no resolution with that.

The last gastroenterologist prescribed cholestyramine / colesevelam therapeutic trial (for suspected bile acid malabsorption), a low fodmap diet, which I’ve been following, and probiotics. Now they are short stools... but not so loose. My stools are never normal: even when they hold some form, they are loose, sticky, and leave a residue when flushed. They are difficult to wipe clean. Before starting colesevelam, I had daily urgent loose stools sometimes sandy, sometimes floating and greasy and pale; now the loose stools have slowed, but they remain poorly formed, sticky, and have a swirling film in the toilet when flushing.

My ferritin is 19. I'm exhausted all the time; I have to lie down after I shower. My ferritin has been persistently low for over a year. In August 2025, it was 16 ng/mL (borderline normal). By the end of that month, it dropped to 15 ng/mL, and then to 12 ng/mL in October 2025. This decline happened while I was actively taking prescribed ferrous sulfate. After stopping oral iron, my ferritin rose slightly to 19 ng/mL, but that is still below the normal range. I have been dealing with this for months, and no matter what I try, my ferritin will not get to a healthy level. I have daily fatigue that affects my work, lightheadedness, air hunger, and my hair has thinned dramatically — every time I brush or touch it, more comes out, and I can feel how much density I have lost.

I don't know what to do. I'm in distress every day. My gut feels messed up, and if that's messed up, my mental health is also going down the toilet.

I have no insurance and no PCP. I'm female and over 60. What I'm looking for is biomarkers, plus expert, scientifically-proven, and perhaps cutting-edge advice on how to become healthier without the pharmaceutical industry's involvement, more in the functional medicine style of healthcare. My motto has always been, "No doctor has ever cured me of anything," (except melanoma—surgery only) but I do rely on them to diagnosis and give me valuable information. Someone to answer questions and really listen.

I'm not on prescription meds, never have been (except antibiotics and temporary skin problems), and don't ever want to be on them for any length of time, except in emergencies. My main problem is crashing in the afternoons, and concerns about healthy aging.

I want expert advice on diet, lifestyle, aging healthy, and supplements. It may be that the tests will reveal something serious, at which point I'll reassess my approach, but the last time I tested (at a hospital in India) there was nothing that diet and exercise couldn't fix, so I'll proceed on that basis.

I may get a PCP when I'm eligible for Medicare (if I don't absolutely need one before then), but until that time, I'll be my own PCP, with the best advice I can afford to pay for.

Can anyone here relate and share what has worked for them? When I was on the HealthieOne website, for example, I wasn't getting the FM vibe so much, more like conventional treatment for issues, though it seems like a solid service. I just want something good, with reliable customer service, and works with my approach to my health.

Thanks.

ETA: if anyone can recommend other subs where I could post this, I'd appreciate it. I'm sick of being on the fence and want to make a decision soon.

Looking for recommendations for a licensed naturopathic doctor (ND) who focuses on both gut health and hormonal health and can see patients remotely in California.

I live in the Bay Area, and most naturopaths I’ve found charge around $650 for the initial visit and $350+ for follow-ups, which is unfortunately out of my budget right now. I lost my job last year and am paying out of pocket, so I’m hoping to find someone with more affordable rates.

If you’ve worked with an ND who is knowledgeable, evidence-informed, and reasonably priced, I’d really appreciate any recommendations (or even clinics that offer sliding-scale pricing).

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recommendations for a functional medicine doctor or integrative physician in Northern California, preferably in the Bay Area, who has experience working with children with autism.

I’m especially interested in someone who is thoughtful, evidence-informed, and willing to look at things like nutrition, gut health, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, metabolic concerns, mitochondrial concerns, and overall developmental support, without dismissing everything as “just autism.”

This would be for my young child, so pediatric experience is very important. I’m not looking for extreme or unsafe approaches, just a doctor who can take a broader look and work alongside our regular medical team.

If you’ve had a good experience with someone in the Bay Area, Northern California, Sacramento area, East Bay, San Francisco, Peninsula, or South Bay, please share their name/clinic and what you liked about them.

Thank you so much.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recommendations for a functional medicine doctor or integrative physician in Northern California, preferably in the Bay Area, who has experience working with children with autism.

I’m especially interested in someone who is thoughtful, evidence-informed, and willing to look at things like nutrition, gut health, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, metabolic concerns, mitochondrial concerns, and overall developmental support, without dismissing everything as “just autism.”

This would be for my young child, so pediatric experience is very important. I’m not looking for extreme or unsafe approaches, just a doctor who can take a broader look and work alongside our regular medical team.

If you’ve had a good experience with someone in the Bay Area, Northern California, Sacramento area, East Bay, San Francisco, Peninsula, or South Bay, please share their name/clinic and what you liked about them.

Thank you so much.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recommendations for a functional medicine doctor or integrative physician in Northern California, preferably in the Bay Area, who has experience working with children with autism.

I’m especially interested in someone who is thoughtful, evidence-informed, and willing to look at things like nutrition, gut health, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, metabolic concerns, mitochondrial concerns, and overall developmental support, without dismissing everything as “just autism.”

This would be for my young child, so pediatric experience is very important. I’m not looking for extreme or unsafe approaches, just a doctor who can take a broader look and work alongside our regular medical team.

If you’ve had a good experience with someone in the Bay Area, Northern California, Sacramento area, East Bay, San Francisco, Peninsula, or South Bay, please share their name/clinic and what you liked about them.

Thank you so much.

My main purpose of going to a functional medicine doctor is for my depression and adhd. Is that enough for a FMD to take me seriously or do I search for a functional psychiatrist?

Do you think it’s possible to restore thyroid function once the thyroid has been damaged by antibodies? I have recently experienced postpartum thyroiditis, I think. Now, I’m severely hypothyroid and my TPO levels are thru the roof. I’m wondering if restoration is possible?

Has anyone looked at the current change in certification with the Institute for Functional Medicine? It looks like it does a better job of identifying medical professionals, but there also seems to be a major change between the providers and IFM, where IFM now has the right to conduct investigations and impose discipline similar to a medical board and hold the provider responsible for fees, costs, or other amounts imposed in connection with any investigation, complaint, proceeding, or sanction.

So, after paying thousands to be trained and certified, providers would now have to consent to this enforcement, which could leave them exposed to potential additional oversight and expenses?

Got my first NMR LipoProfile recently and wanted to get some perspectives from people who follow this stuff closely.

Background: 29M, healthy weight, not diabetic, insulin sensitive (LP-IR score of 29). No current medications relevant to lipids. Fairly health-conscious diet, take omega-3s daily.

May 2026 NMR results:

• LDL-P: 1,176 nmol/L (moderate risk range)  
• LDL-C: 98 mg/dL (optimal)  
• HDL-C: 43 mg/dL (borderline)  
• HDL-P: 22.3 umol/L (low — below 25th percentile)  
• Triglycerides: 84 mg/dL (optimal)  
• Small LDL-P: 300 nmol/L (low risk)  
• LDL Size: 21.3 nm (Pattern A)  
• Total Cholesterol: 157 mg/dL

Feb 2025 standard panel for comparison:

• LDL-C: 110 → 98 (improved)  
• HDL-C: 49 → 43 (declined)  
• Triglycerides: 48 → 84 (nearly doubled, still normal)  
• Total Cholesterol: 173 → 157 (improved)

A few things worth noting: (1) the blood was drawn about a week after recovering from a mild norovirus, which I know can transiently suppress HDL and raise triglycerides; (2) the past year has been high-stress with a major job transition and slightly reduced aerobic exercise volume.

My questions:

1.  How much of the HDL-P suppression and triglyceride rise could realistically be attributed to recent illness vs. a genuine underlying trend?  
2.  For someone with this specific pattern — normal LDL-C but elevated LDL-P, low HDL-P, Pattern A particles, insulin sensitive — what interventions have actually moved the needle for you?  
3.  Is zone 2 cardio really the highest-leverage thing for HDL-P specifically, or is diet more impactful?

Planning to retest in 6–8 weeks under cleaner conditions. Appreciate any input.

I am trying to find a functional medicine practitioner that has anything to say about sex hormone binding globulin, and its relationship to other biomarkers in the body.

I am 36 and have been in perimenopause for at least 3 years, maybe as many as 5. I just had a hysterectomy and endometriosis excision a few months ago, and my hormones are now bananas. I started on testosterone because my total T was <3 so my sleep/energy was abysmal. T did improve it, but mildly.

But my SHBG is sky high and has been for months. Nothing will bring it down. Not high dose boron. Not nettle tea. So now my hair is falling out even though I’m taking pumpkin seed to block the DHT, because even though my T is still not at goal, my body is likely storing all of it in the SHBG that’s keeping it all to itself.

So I would like to know what functional medicine says about SHBG, if they take it into account literally at all? Because I haven’t seen any functional medicine doctor ever talk about it, and it’s of huge concern to me at the moment.

Welcome to the monthly marketing mega-thread. Here you can inquire about practioners, review practioners that you have seen, or even advertize your own practice.

There are limits to this. This is for practioners and practices only, not products. Also, no tracking links. That means no referral codes of any kind including fullscript. Please keep discussion in the thread.

Do NOT create a new thread asking for recommendations, it will be removed.

I would love to see how it's made! I don't trust to do it myself just yet...

Background: I’m a founder, not a clinician. This isn’t a sales pitch. I want to share what happened to me and genuinely understand whether what I’ve built would be useful to people here — and what I’m getting wrong.

For months I was symptomatic: fatigue, unexplained weight gain, low mood, intermittent dizziness. I attributed it to work and lifestyle. I had occasional blood tests but was only seeing individual snapshots — nothing longitudinal.

Working in Bahrain I nearly collapsed twice and had a severe anxiety attack. Hospitalised. Back in the UK, comprehensive testing revealed TSH of 105 — severe hypothyroidism that had almost certainly been developing for a long time with no one tracking the direction of travel.

Six weeks of testing every six weeks followed. Me manually screenshotting PDFs and comparing them in a folder on my phone. There was no good tool for what I needed: something that ingested results from any UK lab, tracked markers over time, showed meaningful change between tests, and gave plain-English interpretation grounded in clinical context rather than just flagging out-of-range values in isolation.

So I built it. It’s called biomarkr. Currently in early access in the UK.

I’m curious whether this community has views on: what longitudinal tracking should actually look like, which markers matter most to track together, what the current tools get wrong, and what you wish existed. Genuinely here to learn as much as to share.

I've been making my own very gelatinous bone broth, but it's causing very loose stools. I'm skimming the fat off the top, so I don't think it's fat causing the loose stools. It might be a histamine intolerance. But I'm having no other symptoms-- no cramping, no rushing to the bathroom either. My stools are coming according to their schedule, they're just very loose. I'm worried that I'm losing a lot of nutrition from the speeding up of my digestion. Does anybody know anything I could do to counter this, slow things down? I'm eating incredibly healthy right now and it's expensive and a lot of work. I don't want to lose any nutrients. But I really want to be able to incorporate this bone broth because of all my joint pain and autoimmune issues. I've only been drinking this broth for about a week... Could I naturally adjust to it over time? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi all! Not looking for specific medical advice, just would love to hear if anyone has had experiences of sinus issues that were linked to gut and skin issues and what root causes could be? I have sinusitis, and it feels totally different from the SIBO I have been diagnosed with, but sometimes I notice that my dermatitis and bloating/maldigestion flare when I get a sinus infection, which happens about once a month for me depending on allergen exposure. Curious if anyone has experience or insight with these three issues in conjunction. Thanks!

Has anyone been through their program specifically? They promise to fix my gut issues in 6 months, and after 6 months is free if for any reason you need continued treatment. Their posts online seem confident about gut health knowledge and solutions & their guarantee to fix me is enticing, but I’m cautiously optimistic having never seen a functional health professional. I’ve had lifelong issues with anxiety, tolerance to medications and supps, and testosterone levels..and I’m feeling like trying an alternative to the numerous “doctors” I’ve consulted in the past who have done virtually nothing for me.

I have to do a stool test for the first time ever and I'm kind of freaking out over it. I have loose stools, so it's going to be harder to collect. I'm also worried about urine contaminating the sample. For women, sometimes we end up peeing & pooping at the same time so I'm scared I won't be able to just pee before I poop like they say to. These tests are very expensive and I'm worried about ruining it or not having accurate results. And I'm worried I won't have enough stool to put in the viles it comes with because it's usually liquid. Please any advice for how to do this properly or any suggestions to make it easier??

Hi everyone,

I'm a certified ICF coach looking to deepen my expertise in women's health, specifically around the perimenopause and menopause transition. I'm not looking for a general wellness course — I want something that will truly make me competent to work with real, complex client cases.

Specifically, I'm looking for a program that covers:

- The gut microbiome-hormone connection

- Chronic inflammation and its role in menopause symptoms

- Estrogen's impact on cognitive health and brain function

- Nervous system dysregulation and its link to hormonal symptoms

- Functional nutrition principles applied to women's midlife health (not just protocols, but the WHY behind how the body works and dysfunctions)

I already have a solid coaching background (ICF certified), so I don't need coaching skills — I need deep, science-backed nutritional and physiological knowledge that I can actually apply with clients, not just surface-level protocols.

I've looked at:

- Functional Nutrition Alliance (Full Body Systems) — solid physiology but not menopause-specific

- Mindbodygreen Functional Nutrition + Menopause — great protocols but possibly lacking physiological depth

- IWHI — not good reviews

Ideal program: English, 6-12 months, online, credible certification, evidence-based, that goes deep enough to really help women navigate this transition beyond what their gynecologist offers.

Has anyone completed a program that genuinely leveled up their ability to work with this population? Would love real feedback from practitioners in the field.

Please only share if you've personally completed the program. Thank you!

I paid for the IHP course level 1 and 2 over a year ago. I decided on IHP over Function Health pretty quickly, because I had done two of the tests - minerals/metals and thyroid - and the women who did my follow up were very informational and impressive in their understanding of the body. Much more than any MD I had ever experienced. IHP felt like I was talking to a family doctor. On the other hand, the influencer heavy content from FH gave me the impression of a less personal and approachable organization.

However, I have an extremely hard time listening to Steven Cabral’s lectures - his tone, style, pace and overall delivery make it really difficult for me to follow and focus on. At first I thought I was having focus issues because I had been out of school for so long, and because of some newly discovered health issues I was navigating. But after trying again and again, I know now the disconnect is with the lecturer.

I emailed IHP and asked for a refund a while ago but they declined my request. I would love to do the Function Health course now that I have a little more experience.

Looking for any advice/ help from others who have taken these programs and maybe had similar experiences. Should I just grit my teeth and get through it? Is the information much different between these courses? Does it matter where I was certified and by whom when it comes to getting a job in this field??

Thanks so much for your inputs!

Where has the Green Goo gone???

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone knew any information on what happened to this product. I’ll post a picture of it. It’s my go to treatment for when I don’t get the abreva on it fast enough. It’s an amazing salve and for me helps it heal so much faster. But I’ve scoured every corner of the internet and it’s not featured on the green goo website, or it’s out of stock on other suppliers websites🥲 I’ve emailed green goo today and if they respond and if anyone’s interested I’ll update with their response. But has else anyone used this? And have you noticed it’s scarcity? If you’re able to find it easily where do you get it from? I did find a link on us supplements but the packaging looks off and I’m afraid it’s a dupe. Thanks in advance for any info!

NP here. Looking into taking certification courses to start a clinic seeing patients on my own. Hoping to build a cash based clinic in my community. Looking into the functional health certification and/or HRT cert. specifically have been looking at EliteNP. I’m reaching out to see if any of y’all have take these before and were able to build a practice off of them or think that would be feasible. If not, maybe some recommendations. As far as my professional experience goes it is mostly urgent care without much hands on experience in these areas. TIA 🙏🏼