Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Is More Than A Fertility Issue

While Dr. Gunter appropriately responds with empathy and surprise in this NYT article, Elle’s experience exemplifies a common and unfortunate reality within our current medical system.  In the most generous assessment: doctors are crunched for time and can only deal with the urgent or immediate issues at hand. They have less time for prevention. They think of states of “disease” once a problem arises.  A larger problem is that prevention is not how we are taught as physicians. It’s not how insurance and reimbursement work. Except for a few pamphlets at the doctor’s office, there’s hardly any framework for “practicing prevention.”

Prevention is a key component of what we do at DCIM.  By truly practicing holistic care within a functional medicine model, DCIM offers incredibly comprehensive diagnostic testing.  These tests can help me notice trends in the wrong direction *before* they actually become acute problems or “diseases.”  If this had happened for Elle, she might have had the chance to reverse her symptoms of PCOS and, potentially, avoid infertility.  While not all clinical conditions are reversible, many are. If we pay attention to the signs our body provides, we have a greater chance of preventing or reversing serious conditions.  It’s a completely different model than what I was taught. But now that I know how much it can help, I can’t practice any other way.

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