For the Medical Misfits Out There
Finding Hope and Healing When Conventional Healthcare Falls Short
I remember - during my days in conventional, office-based primary care practice - discussing cases with colleagues. I often heard grumbles and groans from my colleagues about the "complex cases" - those with challenging diagnoses, unclear diagnoses, many conditions, multiple sensitivities, a dislike of the available treatment options, and so on. And to be honest, in the usual healthcare office or clinic setting, I get what the grumbling is about: it's awfully hard to meet patients' needs and feel like you're making a lick of difference as a physician when you only have 15 (or even 30) minutes to spend with a person. That's especially true when their cases are complex.
But I'm a bit of a unicorn in this regard, too: I like challenging and complex cases - the patients who come to me with loads of medical records, sometimes with years of frustration and disappointment weighing on them, and often a deep and nagging sense that something very important has been missed. In medical school and my conventional training, we sometimes called these cases "zebras" – the cases that break the pattern of simple and common diagnoses. Over the course of my training and years in practice, I've come to appreciate that many people don't fit neatly into modern medical boxes. And that's not even always because their conditions are necessarily rare (though that does happen!), but because our conventional medical system isn't designed or equipped with the tools to see them as whole, living, dynamic people.
These folks are who I lovingly call the medical misfits – individuals whose needs cannot be met through the modern medical system (and sometimes also through naturopathic, functional medicine, chiropractic, etc. channels) because of the limitations of that system. Medical misfits frequently (but not always) come with complex, chronic health issues that haven't found answers and/or resolution through the dominant available channels. They may actually have a very straight-forward case medically, but be very displeased with the care and treatment options that are available to them. They may also find themselves feeling dismissed by other providers and medical professionals.
You might be one of them. Perhaps you've been told "your labs look normal, there's nothing for us to do," despite you feeling anything but "normal." Or maybe you've been prescribed medication after medication, supplement after supplement, each addressing a symptom or a small part of the picture, but never quite getting to the root of your problems. You might even have been told that it's all in your head (not unlike gaslighting, really), or that you're simply "too complex" to treat effectively.
After practicing as an integrative physician within the conventional system for several years, I saw this happening day after day, to person after person. I grew increasingly frustrated with the limitations of the conventional system, and how limited my care was inside of it, even with all of the tools I have. The standard 20-minute appointments; the narrow focus on symptom management or a single complaint/condition at a time; the barriers created by insurance companies – none of it served those medical misfits (or anyone else, for that matter) well.
I knew there had to be a better way.
My disillusionment with the system led me to develop a very, very different model of care at The Buddha's Medicine. Drawing on my background as both a western-trained physician and an Ayurvedic physician, I've created an approach that bridges multiple healing traditions. My training spans conventional medicine (MD) with a board certification in family medicine, public health (MPH), integrative medicine (ABOIM), lifestyle medicine (DipABLM), and yoga (E-RYT, YACEP). But much more important than the credentials themselves is the perspective and experience pursuing them has given me. All of the hours, the work, and the schlep culminated in the ability to see health challenges through multiple lenses and develop comprehensive, personalized care solutions to all kinds of health concerns.
At our practice:
You're not limited to 15 or 20 minutes. Your first visit with me will be around 3 hours long. We explore your entire health and personal story. And our follow-up visits are almost always 1 hour or more - we don't shortchange our patients on time.
We don't just look at your symptoms; we investigate patterns and causes. This means examining not just physical symptoms, but also lifestyle, emotional well-being, spiritual health, and the whole, integrated body/mind complex that conventional medicine often treats as a set of separate symptoms.
We blend the timeless wisdom of Ayurveda and other integrative healing approaches with evidence-based lifestyle medicine, and we develop a more complete picture of you as a person and a more effective path to healing.
We do more than just treat symptoms – go to the root causes of each person's condition, and address them systematically. This might mean exploring how your diet affects your inflammation levels, or maybe how your sleep patterns influence the balance of hormones in your system, or how chronic stress might be influencing your digestive health. It means looking at patterns that might seem unrelated at first glance, but that are actually deeply connected.
We don't judge or question who you fundamentally are; we welcome you exactly as you are, at each and every interaction.
The journey to wellness isn't always quick or straightforward, especially for those with complex health challenges. But I've personally seen - time and time again - that healing is possible when we take the time to listen, observe, understand, and address the root causes of illness. My role is to serve as your guide and partner along the way, bringing together the best that healing traditions have to offer to support your body's innate capacity for healing.
If you've ever felt like a medical misfit, know that you're not alone, and there is hope. Your health concerns aren't just in your head, and they're not beyond help. They may simply require a different approach - one that honors the nuances of your personal situation and draws on tools that treat the causes of your concerns.
At The Buddha's Medicine, we create and the space for deeper exploration and healing to occur. We take the time to truly understand all of the details of your health story as we work together toward healing. And I do believe that true healing is possible – the restoration of genuine health and vitality.
Your journey to wellness might be different than others', but you don't have to walk it alone. Sometimes, finding the right guide makes all the difference.
As always, if you are curious about how our Ayurvedic, integrative health approach can support your health (or the health of a loved one), you can book a cost-free, 15-minute Consultation with Dr. Matt. Experience our integrative approach firsthand and discover how we adapt our care to support your unique situation.
Dr. Matt Van Auken, MD, MPH
Dr. Matt is an Ayurveda-trained, triple board-certified physician.
