Are Functional Medicine Tests Worth It or Not?

Let's dive into a popular question, "are functional medicine tests worth it?".

I had a recent (and frustrating) case. "Jane" came into the clinic having spent over $2000 on functional medicine lab tests. But she was still experiencing uncomfortable symptoms of bloating, brain fog, IBS, and more.

So tune in to hear why this costly investment didn't work and how you can avoid spending time and money where it isn't needed.

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About me:

I’m a clinician, clinical researcher, and author working fervently to reform and improve the field of functional and integrative healthcare. My primary focus areas are digestive health and its impact on other facets of health, including energy, sleep, mood, thyroid function, and more.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider before starting any new treatment or discontinuing an existing treatment.

[carriemou]

Conversely, if a patient has been gaslit by conventional medicine, (gastroenterologist yells, " I don't know what you want me to do for you!") having functional testing that shows SIBO, abnormal cortisol response, etc, is really helpful to know that there is an explanation for one's symptoms and a way to move forward towards healing.

[Cyndy]

Oh my gosh! This podcast is God-send! The mental/emotional part of the functional medicine experience sent me into a huge tailspin where I'm now doing Employee Assistance counseling sessions to try to find myself again.

I was 45 days into a program and I developed severe stomach issues which left me sitting straight up on the couch for 2 days and nights straight w-stomach pains, nausea & vomiting. (Unbeknownst to me, my assigned "coach" from the program was enjoying her Thanksgiving break and was "off the grid" for 14 days straight and I received no help, answers, suggestions, compassion, direction.)

I drove myself to the ER where, (at Christmas time) had to pay for a gamut of tests (including an EDG the next morning). Gall Bladder had stones but was not angry or inflamed - blood work was all normal - GI cocktail helped with the pain for a while, suggesting it was somewhere in my GI tract. They did 2 biopsies during the EDG and I had inflammation & also tested positive for H-Pylori. I was weening off Omeprazole (from the program) and was really suffering! They kept telling me to do it slowly and then in the next breathe, would assign me to taper less every week! I missed a lot of work!

I held off on the double antibiotic treatment & PPI 2x's/day because they created so much fear in me about MD's, Rx’s & the negative effects of PPI’s which I needed to double. After a few weeks of them not helping me and still suffering, I finally resorted to the antibiotics & PPI treatment because I just wanted to get rid of my horrible stomach aches! (No one informed me that it is expected to feel worse before it gets better so I kept wondering what was really wrong with me? Was I dying? The stress certainly made my stomach much worse AND the exorbitant amount of money that I pulled from my 401K to pay for the program didn't help either.

I commented, to many people, that I felt like the tennis ball in a match between an MD & Functional program - giving me opposing opinions on treatment and I'm in the middle with no medical knowledge AND SUFFERING but have to hurry and make the BEST decision for my healing and recovery and to get some much-needed relief. Even while doing the protocol from the MD, I have felt so much stress that my gut is going to be adversely affected by this treatment.

I have a 15 min consult with your office this Friday, before jumping into another Functional Med program from a great doc here in my town. This podcast might have sealed the deal for me! You say so many things that are a breath of fresh air - *too many supplements - *don't have to be on such a restrictive diet the rest of your life - *way too many expensive tests that aren't helpful - *a blend of probiotics is so important - but maybe what really sold me is the *compassion about the MENTAL/EMOTION side of things! Thank you for understanding what it feels like on the other end - as a sick patient that starts to wonder if it's just a make-money tactic first & foremost.

BTW: After I laid out my concerns and screen shots of the lack of communication for 14 days and expectations for help that their contract gave as expectations, I was told that, "If I cannot trust their program, it would never work for me" (I now believe their care caused my issues!) I was then FIRED from my functional medicine program! He said, "after speaking to my coach and the staff, they have decided I'm no longer a good fit for their program!" OUCH!

My therapist was horrified by this experience and said that I was very strong in the way that I handled it and that a healthy person would have cracked under this pressure. She told me to get my self-esteem back right now and that she believes I was a threat because I had so much documentation. He then said he would do a kind thing and remove the 3% cancellation fee when refunding the remainder. Ya think? I'm not a horrible patient! I did everything they asked me to do and yet I got VERY, VERY ill – and paid a pretty penny to do so! (I’m crying as I type this!) Such PTSD!


Looking forward to meeting SOON! (Thanks for all you do - in advance!)

[laurawise]

Such a great video. I’m an RD, I don’t run labs, I actually refuse and suggest using insurance if we need blood work or diagnostics. I however have seen lots of these labs and I don’t think they help much. I see so much misinformation being spread and I see so much frustration from patients and disordered eating. Plus they never build a toolkit and figure out how to support themselves. I so appreciate everything you and your team do. While I’ve strayed from much of the “functional” world, I know I can refer to your work, find a middle ground and consider the integrative approach along with foundations.

[mleet]

Multiple coworkers of mine have ditched their PCP in favor of functional medicine.

One has been struggling with heartburn for 35 years and was eating tums like candy. Acid test showed low acid production, got an all natural acid pill, gone. With the correct amount of acid production, he was actually digesting all his food and his bowel movements became normal for the first time in decades. His joints stopped hurting. His wife saw the same doctor who suggested changes to their eating, both dropped 40lbs in 4-5 months.

They were HAPPY to pay the price out of pocket since big pharma doesn't want to fund the research that would show the merits of functional medicine, therefore insurance mostly doesn't cover these doctors (due to insufficient research). Imagine that, evidence that would allow people to be free of prescriptions, big pharma can't have that.

I'm about to sign up for a functional medicine doctor.

[TheTattooedSoul]

100% Spot on with Dr-gastrologist experiences, diet restrictions, psychological-medical trauma, wasted $ on tests ... and general frustration dealing with the wrong doctors.
How my daughter went from a size 31 to having to buy new clothing for a 11/12 yr old.

[ConsiderItHealth]

This was so good!! I learned a lot of pearls from this. Thank you Dr. Ruscio for the invaluable info and breaking down the studies, especially meta-analyses.
I love functional medicine, but definitely it has often become so supplement heavy and test-heavy for many, that as you said, few patients feel like they are able to move forward.

[movingforward]

Wow amazing video. This absolutely confirms what my intuition has been telling me but I was about 1 week away from “investing” in the full kit and kaboodle of testing to get my gut in check. So glad I saw this 😅

[lisam]

The reason for a comprehensive stool test is to access digestive ability, inflammation, and parasites as well. A probiotic won't kill yeast and parasites. That's why you have a percentage of people who DON'T get better on probiotics alone.

[paweenapanananon]

My mentor taught me the same. Less test. Treat the patient.

[Buttergirla]

How will you know what is wrong ta patient unless you test? My doc said ue just wants mento take tow test, blood test and stool test. All together $1000, he said that should pretty much tell him mostly every thing 🤷🏾‍♀️ should i run from?

[juliaarambula]

So what your saying is food intolerances or sensitivities are not really a thing then. Because that’s what the Everlywell test is for along with some other food tests. Not allergies, but intolerances that show up later in other forms like brain fog, joint muscle aches, fatigue, etc. It’s a delayed response as opposed to an immediate allergic reaction. An allergic reaction isn’t the same as an intolerance. So yes, why wouldn’t you avoid what the test says if that’s what causing the non-immediate symptoms. Am I missing something here? Please let me know I am because Lord have mercy! I miss my eggs and diary!! But I also have Hashimoto’s thyroid. But it’s nerve wrecking because everyone sounds like they know what they are talking about.

[Jasonsoul]

Great video Dr.Ruscio as always! ‘Jane’ deserved better and now she can get that care and guidance

[davidivanyi]

Dear Dr Ruscio,
You mentioned „SIBO breath test wasn’t necessary“. But I guess breath test proposed that the patient have SIBO so it’s seems at least a good hint to take the probiotics. Do you mean that you would recommend people with any gastrointestinal symptoms to just take probiotics without any test because probiotics help always and almost never have side affects?
What if a person has a specific bacteria, fungi, virus parasite overgrowth in his/her small/large intestine or anywhere else? What if the person has increased level of toxins, specific metabolites, hormons in his/her guts or blood? Would you recommend only probiotics for those cases as well? If not, what other therapies would you suggest in those cases?

[kianureeves]

Im suffering from lbs, I didn’t even know what Sibo is. I appreciate your work so much. You can’t imagine how good it feels if seeing a doctor really wanna help and understand the whole system. Especially psychologically I have been told All my life I have depression etc. doctors gave me anti-depressant all the time. You are the hero people with gut diseases needed.
I just recently heard that many probiotics seem to be less effective or not effective at all because the acid in the stomach kills them. Therefore a friend of mine who is in research send me a new probiotic which is called „Bacillus subtilis.“ these are basically spores which are way more efficient. What do you think Dr. Ruscio ?

[privacymatters]

Wow it takes an honest and brave clinician to admit when it's time to leave previous practices behind. I wish all doctors practiced Science in this way. It's ok to be wrong, but fix it. Evolve. That's how progress works.

[paulb]

So what would you recommend. I have 3 autoimmune diseases, celiac, hypothyroidism and stills. Blood test diagnosed all of these. I ask all drs about diet and exercise and all drs say ‘it won’t help’. So my only option in my opinion is to find a functional md who will spend time with me and understand my health needs. Thamks

[brendakgeiger]

Great explanation of the problem with ordering random tests. Thank you!

[keren]

Was it the 'P88 dietary antigen test' that they did, which tests both IgE and IgG?

[peacejoy]

Thank for your informative videos. I think Food sensitivities tests are different than food allergy tests. Some food cannot be digested well by certain individual at the moment dont mean that they are sensitive. I want to share my limited great experience on those functional medicine tests. I admit that some practitioners may overdo the tests, esp ND. Gut test can show a lot of good information to guide the practitioners to give more effective treatment. My husband tried many expensive probiotics without success until he followed the gut test result recommendation. Then, he saw the result within a day. For toxicity test, it helps us to remove the sources of toxicity and find out the possible root causes of our serious illnesses. We have immediate improvement within a day again. For nutrient test, my husband took many general vitamin supplements without obvious result until we follow the nutrient test recommdnation. For food sensitivity test, i am not sure how accurate those sensitivity tests because they can take snap shot of your body and change frequently based on your diet and health conditions. I am still investigating on those food sensitivity test. Some tests like SIBO, wheat zoomer or adrenal tests may not be necessary. Some labs offer special a few each year, and some practitioners do not add service fee on the top of lab charge. That may help a lot to reduce the cost. Currently, one lab is offering $300-700 discount on 3 bundle tests, so $600-700 for three tests.

[nadig]

Thank you so very much! Blessings all around!!