Nobody likes going to the doctor.

Even if I can’t move, I’ve lost a limb, and breathing is limited to one nostril, my partner is still tasked with the fun job of forcing me kicking and screaming into the doctor’s office.

This is probably why, statistically speaking, people in relationships live longer.

Still, it’s not my partner’s job to keep me alive, and the ‘ignore it and it will go away’ approach to illness is an unhealthy habit – one that I plan on kicking at some point in 2019.

Which brings us to diagnostics.

Finding the source of symptoms is the only way to get to the crux of what’s wrong.

The best way to do this is to make an appointment with a highly-skilled functional health practitioner, like those you’ll find at Health Renewal.

A functional doctor takes a holistic approach, meaning they consider every factor that influences your wellbeing – from your medical history, family history, lifestyle and headspace. They then resolve any health problems by identifying the source of your symptoms, treating the former in a way that resolves the latter.

The emphasis here is to prevent potential problems before they can take hold, while also treating problems that have already manifested.

Included in the diagnostic process is diagnostic testing that covers blood, saliva, urine and stool testing, right through to iridology analysis.

Blood Testing

Blood tests can help identify anything from a nutritional deficiency to a hormonal imbalance. The latter is often resolved via bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BIHRT) products.

It’s vital that patients don’t attempt to self-diagnose through ‘Doctor Google’. For example, you might think the fatigue you’re experiencing is caused by anaemia and start taking an unnecessary iron supplement that ends up damaging your kidneys.

Other Types Of Tests

There is an array of diagnostic tests including saliva, urine and stool samples.

Saliva tests analyse your hormone levels while in an unbound carrier protein state that’s much more sensitive than traditional methods that use a serum base.

While stool tests are something nobody likes to do, they can help your doctor detect many conditions that don’t just affect the gut.

Intestinal dysbiosis, for example, is an imbalance of gut bacteria but, if left unchecked, it can lead to things that are much worse, with acute pancreatitis being just one of them.

The bottom line is that if you’re tired of feeling sick and tired, or dealing with symptoms that never really resolve, it’s time to make an appointment to see one of the functional health practitioners at Health Renewal.

They’ll take a holistic approach to your health and run cutting edge diagnostic tests to help you get to the bottom of what’s making you ill.

In short, make this the year that you put yourself and your health first.