The Importance of Completing Your Plan
A low-grade chronic health condition can fester away for years before becoming life-disrupting. When symptoms reach a certain level, this can prompt the sufferer to seek help. In Functional Medicine, we know that unless the root causes of a condition are identified and addressed, the condition will persist, no matter what the treatments given. Lab test results, not guesswork, should form the basis of the treatment plan that acts as a the roadmap to get the person out of the ditch and back onto the roadway to good health. In entrenched chronic conditions, that journey can be challenging, requiring motivation and persistence to reach the goal. Why do some patients never complete their treatment plan but fall by the wayside or back into the ditch? Here are seven main reasons I have observed in clinical practice why patients go adrift.
Trying to save money by going it alone
When patients get their tests results and treatment plan, that’s when the real work begins. The journey back to health is navigated in a series of cycles of interventions and observation of patient response. There will be ups and downs along the way as changes occur. It is important to have regular follow- up appointments to navigate these changes and to see which interventions produce the best improvements. When patients try to go it alone, they can often wind up back in the ditch and back to square one. Saving in those initial follow-ups can be a false economy. As individuals start to improve and stabilise, follow-ups can be spaced out until that point where the person is able to take control over his own health.
Not recovering fast enough
Patients are naturally impatient to get better. Especially if they have been ill for a long time and can now see why from the test results. The problem is that the pharmaceutical-led philosophy of “a pill for every ill” does not work for complex, chronic conditions. Patient expectations need to be matched to the complexity of their biology. There is no magic bullet and I am not Harry Potter. If it takes several years for the body to get messed up, it is reasonable to expect it to take several months to see improvements, even with the patient making all the right moves. And when that first improvement does come, it is important to acknowledge that we now have tangible proof that it can occur.
Still Questing
Many individuals have been engaged in a long quest for years to find out what is ruining their health. This has become the driving factor in their lives. When they finally do get the answers in their blood tests, they find themselves unable to abandon the quest and keep questing. They surf the internet looking to see if they have more conditions, they self-diagnose and self-prescribe. Money is wasted on supplements which might block the things that are really helping, instead of investing in necessary follow-up consultations where concerns can be discussed and plans can be tweaked as needed.
Fixed idea about healthcare costs
Some individuals have the fixed idea that their healthcare should be free. This is a real barrier to getting started on a plan, let alone doing the steps to complete it. However, many are now waking up to the fact that mainstream medicine in the UK is inadequate for complex chronic conditions like ME, chronic fatigue, Long Covid and Lyme disease. There is growing recognition that there is a need to look outside the NHS for solutions to complex chronic conditions, particularly chronic low grade infections, if they want to get well. Nevertheless, this fixed idea can be deeply engrained. Having the viewpoint that healthcare is ‘something done to you’ because you ‘trust the experts’ is not a successful approach unless you are in A and E with a cardiac arrest. I find that even with economic challenges, when individuals are determined to take control of their own health, they generally find a way to do so.
Poor understanding
Poor understanding of their condition or treatment plan is a major factor why some patients fall by the wayside. On the one hand, practitioners don’t need to be as blunt as Doc Martin, but they do need the patient to be fully aware of the implications of their condition. This is particularly true in the area of infection and immune suppression. The unhandled Epstein Barr Virus of today can become the lymphatic cancer of the future. In the physical universe, things never stay the same. They either improve or deteriorate. With infections and immune suppression, sitting back and hoping for the best simply isn’t an option.
Cherry picking
Patients tend to do the bits of their plan that are most convenient or that they can confront. This can get them so far, but not all the way. If the root causes of a condition are not addressed, the condition will keep coming back, no matter what the treatments given. Then they lose heart, thinking their programme isn’t working and stop doing it. Examples of cherry picking are failure to address dental issues (often the main drivers of the condition), failure to look for gluten cross-reactors if a gluten-free diet has failed to yield expected results, and even failure to read the treatment plan itself (apologies for the several pages, I am always striving to simplify things!).
Improving symptoms
This is a situation I see a lot. When patients start feeling better they often assume that they no longer need their treatment plan. This can lead to stopping vital supplements that are keeping infections at bay or going back to old eating habits that put them in the ditch in the first place. Others rush out to do things, making up for the lost time of being ill. This is understandable but if improvements are not managed under guidance, it can lead to a crash.
Limited family support
Having a supportive family network plays a major role in keeping someone moving through their programme. The more severely affected the patient, the more this is true. Conversely, when a family member is unsupportive, or even obstructive, this can influence a patient not to continue with their treatment plan. There are ways that can help address this situation but they are beyond the scope of this particular blog. At the end of the day, patient willingness and motivation are critical to recovery.
Conclusion
There are the take-away points:
Collaboration between patient and practitioner is essential where general health has been compromised.
The Functional medicine practitioner should offer the same follow-up appointment services that have been a traditional part of mainstream medicine. It does not make sense to have a ‘single visit will be enough’ mentality when dealing with chronic complex conditions.
Trying to save money by not having follow-ups can be a false economy if you get stalled or wind up back in the ditch.
The real work starts with the treatment plan.
The treatment plan consists of cycles of interventions and observations about patient response.
Regular follow-up appointments are needed to monitor patient response and tweak the programme as needed.
Careful monitoring and follow up with basic blood work is essential to give the best chances of clinical stabilisation or recovery.
If chronically ill patients need dental revision, close collaboration between dentist and practitioner is essential. If patients go it alone here, it can lead to disaster.
As improvements are made, the length between follow-ups should lengthen until the patient can manage his own optimum health.
If were given a treatment plan but are have not been in touch for a while and are not making the progress you would like, please get in touch with the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com to request a free 30 minute Enquiry Call or book an appointment.
Please note that an Enquiry call is not a consultation but an exploratory call to see if this is a clinical approach you wish to pursue.
To your very good health,
Suzanne Jeffery (Nutritional Medicine Consultant)
M.A.(Oxon), BSc.(NMed), PGCE, MNNA, CNHC
The Good Health Clinic at The Business Centre, 2, Cattedown Road, Plymouth PL4 0EG
Tel no: 07836 552936/ Answer phone: 01752 774755
Disclaimer:
All advice given out by Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic is for general guidance and informational purposes only. All advice relating to other health professionals’ advice is for general guidance and information purposes only. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information provided with other sources. Patients and consumers should review the information carefully with their professional health care provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by other practitioners and physicians. Suzanne Jeffery and the Good Health Clinic will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages arising therefrom.