Case Study: 63 y/o Woman with Anxiety

Patient Complaints:

• constant, unrelenting worry
• insomnia: onset and maintenance
• fellings of physical hyperarousal: elevated pulse, blood pressure, irritability
• a feeling that she “can’t go on feeling this irritable and anxious”

Typical Care’s Failed Approach:

(all this occurred unsuccessfully over 30 years!)

• 2 Hospitalizations
• 10 different medications
• 4 different psychotherapies

DCIM Findings: extremely high cortisol state

The DCIM Difference:

• Deep listening for trauma history
• Checking hormones, nutrients, and gut function
• Recognizing that 1/2 of her symptoms were side effects of medications

DCIM: A New Approach

• Begin Amygdala retraining
• Begin slow taper of unhelpful medications
• Add Adaptogenic Herbs that balance Cortisol
• Begin daily meditation practice
• Honor her trauma history and leave space for healing

All health conditions have “treatments” but that doesn’t mean they always resolve the clinical issue at hand.

They don’t always work, or they leave people with massive side effects and poor quality of life. This woman had tried a plethora of medications and band-aid approaches to her health, but 30 years later she was still not well. One consult with us revealed a very key root cause.

I am not an either/or kind of gal, but Conventional medicine does not explore root causes. I know this because while I am deeply grateful for my training, the system I was taught is best for acute care, and chronic complaints will potentially leave you feeling MORE unwell.

I’m grateful to now practice a more comprehensive form of health CARE via Functional Medicine. If you’re doing well, I celebrate that! But If you’re not feeling your optimal self — find a functional medicine doc!