If so, you should rethink your situation. If diagnosed with a condition, it’s important to look beyond simply symptom management. For example, if diagnosed with diabetes or hypothyroidism, the main aim of conventional management is to regulate sugar levels in diabetes, and prescribe thyroxine in hypothyroidism. Similarly, if presenting with depression or anxiety, antidepressants or anxiety medication are often prescribed. These meds can help, but do not address the root cause – or causes – of the condition, and are thus rarely long-term solutions.
People prescribed long-term medications may turn to natural alternatives to reduce adverse effects, or even look for safer options. For instance, replacing a long-term sleeping pill prescription for insomnia with a natural-herb alternative. Both treatment protocols though, are still ‘symptom management’ whether for conventional or alternative medicine.
At The Murthy Clinic, however, a combined Ayurvedic and Functional medicine approach investigates the reasons why your body or mind is expressing certain conditions. These might be diabetes, hyperthyroidism, anxiety, insomnia or other chronic disease conditions. Note that, even before a disease can be diagnosed, your body has suffered a long process of disturbances in its physiological functions. In an ideal world, one would correct these imbalances and prevent the manifestation of a chronic disease in the first place. This is not possible, but be reassured, even if a disease has been diagnosed, addressing the areas of dysfunction related to the condition will offer the best chance to reduce medications and sometimes actually reverse modifiable factors. Suppressing the symptoms alone, will not optimise the programme for long-term health care.
Studies show that diabetics who are prescribed antidiabetic medication – yet do not change nutrition or lifestyle, even though sugar levels are controlled – actually had worse health outcomes like heart disease or early death. In comparison, those diabetics who addressed their condition through nutrition and lifestyle, without medicine – despite acceptable fluctuations in sugar levels – lived healthier, longer lives.
It is not uncommon for peri-menopausal women on hormone replacement, after a short interval of feeling better, to continue experiencing fatigue, insomnia and anxiety despite hormone therapy. This could be linked to excess stress hormones produced by the adrenal glands (cortisol) contributing to the symptoms of fatigue, insomnia and anxiety. If the excess cortisol is addressed and corrected, it may be unnecessary for hormone replacement. This shows that symptom management alone is not always a guarantee of good health.
At The Murthy Clinic, we create a targeted health evaluation to complement conventional care, addressing the causes that led to the condition, identifying modifiable factors and working to reverse them.
WHAT CAN I DO?
- Consider a full health evaluation with The Murthy Clinic.
- Consider testing to understand your true underlying root causes.
- Stop wasting time in illness, start working towards Health.
- Book an appointment with The Murthy Clinic.