Depression

Millions of Americans are dealing with depression. This is a complex mental health problem so it’s not surprising that there are so many different ways to approach and treat this disorder. Most people with depression struggle for years before seeking help. Once they find help, they are often placed on antidepressants. While antidepressants can be beneficial to many people dealing with mood disorders, functional medicine focuses on other ways in which we can improve a patient’s symptoms, physical health, mental health and overall wellbeing apart from or in conjunction with your current prescription medication.

Functional and integrative medicine tackles all the different ways in which depression can occur. While depression is attributed to chemical changes in the brain, most people are surprised to discover that gut health also plays a role in depression. Instead of just prescribing a medication to manage your symptoms, Dr. Chan and her team will determine what’s causing your depression in order to create a treatment plan that will effectively encompass all aspects of care. After all, depression isn’t just in your head, it’s also a part of your body.

Our goal as a functional medicine doctor is to correct problems within the body to eliminate your depression. We will perform an in-depth look into what could be causing your imbalances. Here in out practice, we offer comprehensive lab testing that measures everything from toxins and hormone levels to nutrient levels and oxidative stress.

From there we can determine whether there are certain therapies, treatments, vitamins and supplements that can help balance the body naturally and safely to provide you with relief. Everything from low thyroid function and low vitamin D levels to B12 deficiencies and food allergies can leave you feeling depressed. Fortunately, many depressive symptoms are rooted in physiological problems that we can pinpoint and address.

Our Brain Care Program has also provided patients dealing with everything from depression and anxiety to ADHD and bipolar disorder with long-term relief. Of course, with functional medicine, the treatment is only as effective as the patient’s dedication to treatment. In this program, we use cutting-edge technology to be able to assess cognitive performance and brain chemistry to then determine how the therapies and treatment we offer could improve your depression.

Your treatment plan will offer a variety of solutions such as,

•  Exercise
•  Creating a gut-friendly diet
•  Supplementation
•  Regular lab testing and weekly appointments
•  Osteopathic manipulative therapy
•  Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
•  Nutritional IV therapy (rids the body of toxins)
•  Ozone IV therapy (eliminates infections that could impact the brain)

If you are dealing with depression and want to find out how functional medicine could help you, call us today at (415) 945-3213.