Gastrointestinal / Gut Problems

Are you having heartburn/acid reflux/GERD? Struggling with indigestion? Constipation or diarrhea a regular part of daily life? Been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome/IBS? Possibly Crohn’s disease? Do you spend the better part of your day preparing for, or dealing with gastrointestinal problems?

If you said yes to any of these, there is a very strong possibility that your solution is not medications, but rather an all-natural one.

But to find the answer, you need to ask the right questions, or in this case, team up with a Doctor who knows the right questions to ask.

Because chances are you’ve seen a doctor already. Let’s see if this story sounds familiar…

You’ve been to see your family physician. Exam performed. Blood was likely drawn. Some over the counter medications were recommended. Or maybe some stronger medications were prescribed. It is possible that you were referred to a GI specialist. A barium Xray was performed or you underwent a colonoscopy or endoscopic procedure. Luckily it is not cancer. Whew. Stronger medications were prescribed. Maybe exploratory surgery was recommended…..

Yet the problem still persists. Why?

Because no one has asked the right questions!

To this point you have been bombarded with diagnostic tests and procedures in the hopes of answering these two questions:

1) “What exactly are my symptoms/pain/problem?”

2) “How can these symptoms be reduced, eliminated or at the very least, “covered up,” so that I don’t have to feel these symptoms anymore and I can continue on with my normal life/routine?”

And that is the problem.

Because to solve gastrointestinal (GI) problems, you have to ask the right questions.

Even if you cover-up the symptoms, you haven’t fixed the problem. If your car engine light comes on, do you slap some duct tape over the light so you can’t see it anymore? You can. But the problem continues, actually worsening. To fix your problem, you need to team up with a Doctor who knows the question to ask and will go to great lengths to find the answers to the question:

“What is the CAUSE of my problem?”

All tests, procedures, and analyses need to start with this question in mind.

– Not “What will get rid of my ulcer pain?”
– But rather, “What is causing my stomach acid to increase to the point it’s eating away at my stomach lining and now I’ve developed an ulcer/sore in my stomach?”
– Not “How can I get rid of irritable bowel symptoms?”
– You need to ask “Why is my stomach not fully digesting my food, therefore severely irritating my small intestine, which is not built to do all of the digestive work, and causing pain and dysfunction?”

HIlary with Patient

Without asking the right question, you don’t find the right answers.

Period.

And a Functional Medicine Doctor, who is trained and willing to ask the right questions, just might be the answer to you or your loved one’s prayers…..

A Functional Medicine Doctor who can finally get to the root CAUSE of your problem. …

A Functional Medicine Doctor who will take their time and work hard to find a solution for patients who have been struggling for months, years, even decades with GI problems.

Making sure the correct labwork was run by other doctors along with comprehensive food allergy/sensitivity testing, complete food/dietary assessments, stool samples, urinalysis, hair analysis and saliva testing are just some of the tests a Functional Medicine Doctor may need to run to get the answers. Once the data is in, a Functional Medicine Doctor can determine the real CAUSE of your problem and develop a game plan.

Dr. Hilary Rutledge is a Functional Medicine Doctor located in Wilmington, North Carolina. She has helped many frustrated patients over the years who came to her with various types of gastrointestinal problems. In every case, she starts with asking what is the cause of this person’s problem? She then works tirelessly to come up with the answers. And finally creates a game plan that is designed to empower the person to get better by fixing the cause of the problem. We offer a free 15 minute consultation with us over the phone to answer any of your questions. Click here to schedule your free consultation.