Functional Medicine
Root-Cause Care Built on Your Labs and Your Story
How functional medicine works, what it tests, and how our team uses it to guide hormone, weight loss and peptide care.
What Is Functional Medicine?
Functional medicine is a patient-centered approach to care that looks for the underlying causes of symptoms, rather than treating each symptom on its own. Providers combine a detailed health history, broader lab testing and a review of nutrition, sleep, stress and environment, then build a personalized plan that is adjusted over time.
It works alongside conventional medicine, not in place of it. At Regen Wellness in Dallas, functional medicine is the foundation for our hormone therapy, medical weight loss, peptide therapy and lab testing.
Told Your Labs Are "Normal," but You Don't Feel Normal?
Use our free Decode My Labs tool. Enter the numbers from a recent blood test to see where each falls against standard and optimal ranges, or check off what you're noticing to see which labs are worth asking about. You'll also get our lab guide, Your Labs: Normal Isn't Optimal.
Functional Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine
Conventional medicine is essential for diagnosing disease and handling acute problems. Functional medicine adds a different set of questions, especially for symptoms that linger when standard tests come back normal.
| Conventional care | Functional medicine | |
|---|---|---|
| Main question | What is the diagnosis, and how do we treat it? | Why is this happening, and what is driving it? |
| Lab testing | Targeted tests, read against standard reference ranges | Broader panels, read against your symptoms and trends over time |
| Visit length | Often 10 to 15 minutes | Longer first visits to cover history, goals and labs |
| Treatment | Usually medication or procedures | Lifestyle and nutrition changes, plus medication, hormones or other therapies when needed |
| Best suited to | Emergencies, infections, injuries, diagnosed disease | Ongoing fatigue, hormone, weight, gut and metabolic concerns |
Many of our patients keep their primary care doctor and use us for the deeper workup. We're happy to share results with your other providers.
Key Principles of Functional Medicine
- Root causes over quick fixes. Fatigue, weight gain and poor sleep can come from many places. The goal is to find which ones apply to you.
- Body systems are connected. Hormones, thyroid, blood sugar, gut health and stress affect one another, so they're evaluated together.
- Care is personalized. Two people with the same symptom may need very different plans, based on their labs, history and goals.
- Lifestyle is part of treatment. Nutrition, movement, sleep and stress management are built into the plan, not left as an afterthought.
- Progress is measured. Follow-up labs and check-ins show whether the plan is working, and the plan changes when your results do.
Who Functional Medicine Can Help
Patients usually come to us after years of feeling "off" without clear answers. Common reasons are below. See the full list of conditions we treat.
Hormone Changes
Perimenopause, menopause and low testosterone symptoms like poor sleep, low energy, low drive and mood changes.
Hormone therapy →Weight & Metabolism
Weight that won't move, rising blood sugar or insulin resistance. Medical weight loss can be part of the plan.
Medical weight loss →Fatigue & Brain Fog
Ongoing tiredness with normal standard labs, often worth checking thyroid, iron, vitamin D and B12 more closely.
Lab testing →Thyroid Concerns
A full thyroid panel, including Free T3, Free T4 and antibodies, instead of TSH alone.
Thyroid testing →Gut Health
Bloating, irregularity and food reactions, looked at alongside stress, diet and inflammation.
Gut health care →Recovery & Healthy Aging
Peptide therapy, NAD+ and longevity planning for active adults who want to stay ahead of decline.
Peptide therapy →What Labs Does Functional Medicine Use?
A standard physical often checks a basic metabolic panel, a lipid panel and TSH. A functional medicine workup usually goes further, depending on your symptoms. Tests we commonly consider include:
- Fasting insulin, to see how hard your body is working to keep blood sugar steady
- Full thyroid panel: TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies
- hs-CRP, a marker of inflammation
- Homocysteine, linked to heart and brain health
- Vitamin D, ferritin and B12
- RBC magnesium, which reflects magnesium inside cells
- Sex hormones: estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA-S and SHBG
Your provider reviews results with you line by line, alongside your symptoms, rather than only flagging what falls outside the reference range. See our lab testing options.
Decode Your Labs Free
Have recent results? See where each number falls against standard and optimal ranges. No labs yet? Find out which tests fit what you're noticing. It takes about two minutes.
How Functional Medicine Works at Regen Wellness
Free info call
Tell us what's going on and what you want to change. We'll explain how our process works and suggest a first step, with no obligation.
In-depth consultation
Your provider reviews your health history, symptoms, medications, nutrition, sleep and stress.
Comprehensive labs
We order the tests that fit your situation and review the results with you in detail.
Your personalized plan
Nutrition and lifestyle steps, plus hormone therapy, medical weight loss, peptides or other treatments when they're appropriate.
Follow-up and adjustment
Regular check-ins, many by telehealth, and repeat labs to track progress and fine-tune your plan.
Is Functional Medicine Evidence-Based?
Research on functional medicine as a whole model of care is still growing. The largest study so far, published in JAMA Network Open in 2019, compared 1,595 patients at Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine with 5,657 patients in primary care. Functional medicine patients reported greater improvements in physical health-related quality of life at six months.
It was a retrospective study, so it shows an association rather than proof of cause, and the authors noted that patient differences and commitment to the plan may have played a role. Many individual pieces of a functional plan, such as nutrition changes, exercise, sleep and FDA-approved hormone therapy, have their own strong evidence. We're open with patients about which recommendations are well supported and which are less certain.
Who Provides Your Care
Care plans are overseen by our medical director, Dr. Adam Parsons, MD, and delivered by our nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses, including our lead nurse, Jose Baldazo, BSN-RN.
Functional Medicine FAQs
What is the difference between functional and integrative medicine?
The terms overlap. Integrative medicine combines conventional treatment with complementary therapies. Functional medicine focuses on finding the underlying causes of symptoms through detailed history and lab testing. Many clinics, including ours, use both.
Is a functional medicine provider a real doctor?
Functional medicine is an approach, not a separate license. It's practiced by MDs, DOs, nurse practitioners and physician assistants who hold standard medical licenses. At Regen Wellness, care is delivered by licensed nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses under the oversight of our medical director, Dr. Adam Parsons, MD.
Does insurance cover functional medicine?
Often not fully. Our services are self-pay, and we can provide a superbill you may be able to submit for out-of-network reimbursement. Many patients use HSA or FSA funds. Request our pricing sheet for details.
How long does it take to see results?
It depends on your goals and starting point. Some patients notice changes within a few weeks of starting a plan, while hormone and metabolic changes are usually tracked over several months with follow-up labs.
Do I have to stop seeing my primary care doctor?
No. Functional medicine works best alongside your regular care. Keep your primary care doctor for routine and urgent needs, and we can share lab results and plans with them.
What happens at the first visit?
Your first visit covers your health history, current symptoms, medications and goals in detail. Your provider will usually recommend lab testing, then build your plan once results are back.
Do you offer telehealth?
Yes. Whether a visit happens by video or at our clinic depends on what you're coming to us for. We'll talk through the options on your free info call.
Where is Regen Wellness located?
We're at 5510 Abrams Rd, Suite 126, Dallas, TX 75214, in East Dallas near Lakewood and White Rock Lake. We see patients from across Dallas. See all areas we serve.
Find Out What's Really Driving How You Feel
Start with a free info call with our team at our Abrams Rd clinic in Dallas.
This page is educational and is not medical advice. Talk with a qualified clinician about your own health before starting or changing any treatment.