People often come to us a little unsure about functional medicine. They’ve read good things, but also stories that it’s confusing, takes forever, or costs too much.
So let’s just be upfront: there are some problems with functional medicine. Not in the sense that it doesn’t work — but in the sense that there are things you need to understand before you decide if it’s right for you.
Here’s what I’ve seen:
1. Functional Practitioners vs. Functional Doctors
This one trips a lot of people up. A functional doctor and a functional practitioner aren’t the same thing.
- Functional doctors usually already have medical training (MD, DO, etc.) and then add functional medicine on top.
- Functional practitioners can come from all sorts of backgrounds — nutrition, naturopathy, chiropractic, health coaching.
On paper, that’s the difference. In real life, what matters just as much is the experience they’ve had and the approach they take with you. Two people can have the same certificate but treat patients very differently.
2. Training Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
There’s no single “right” way to train in functional medicine. At our clinic, most of our doctors train with the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). The rest of the team are trained in different ways, but we all speak the same language: root cause, whole person, functional approach.
At the end of the day, the training matters, but what matters more is how your practitioner uses it to support and guide you.
3. It’s Not a Quick Fix
This is a big one. Functional medicine isn’t about handing you a pill and sending you home. It’s about figuring out who you are, how your body works, and what’s really going on underneath the surface.
That takes time. We test. We try things. We re-evaluate. Often it takes a couple of cycles to really understand what your body is telling us.
It’s science, but it’s also trial and error — and patience.
4. You Have to Be Ready for Change
Functional medicine works best when you’re ready to make changes. That might mean in your diet, your lifestyle, your habits.
Sometimes expectations don’t match reality. Patients want results right away, or they say what they think we want to hear. But once they’ve met with the team and we get the full picture, we can see the whole person.
Let me give you an example.
We had a patient who booked a short 30-minute appointment “just to try us out.” They weren’t sure what to expect. Over time, they decided to work with the whole team — doctor, nutrition therapist, and coach. Each person brought out a different piece of the puzzle and helped us see the wonderful person behind the symptoms.
One detail that never came up in the doctor’s appointment was that their elderly mother-in-law, who was unwell, was living right next to the kitchen. Cooking healthy meals had become stressful and sometimes impossible. That only surfaced when the nutrition therapist and coach spent time with them.
Because we had the full picture, we were able to adapt the treatment plan to fit their real life — not just an ideal scenario. That’s what functional medicine is about: personalising care in a way that truly works for you.
5. The Investment
Yes, functional medicine is an investment — in both time and money. There’s no way around that.
But here’s what I’ve seen: when patients stick with it, stay curious, and work in partnership with their practitioner, that investment pays off. The journey is rarely a straight line — it’s full of ups and downs.
And actually? The “downs” are often the most useful. They tell us what’s really going on and help us adjust.
That’s how, over time, people arrive at their dream outcome.
Final Thoughts
So, what are the problems with functional medicine?
- The qualifications can be confusing.
- The training isn’t standardized.
- It takes time.
- You have to be ready for change.
- And yes, it costs money.
But for the right person — someone who’s ready to dig in, partner with their practitioner, and look at the bigger picture — functional medicine can be exactly what they’ve been searching for.
