Aarti Batavia | Nutrition Wellness Consulting

Testimonial – Impact of West Nile Virus, Boosting Mitochondrial Support and Functional Medicine

Meet Michael :

Michael, a retired veteran and tool and die- maker enjoyed his wood -work and summer hours working outdoors.  Last October, he started feeling exhausted, followed by body aches and fever. His wife then saw a rash on his body and since she had heard and read about West Nile Virus, she suspected the same.  Over a next three days, doctors confirmed the diagnosis. West Nile virus is commonly spread by infected mosquitoes. It can cause febrile illness, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord).

Within a span of three days Michael’s life had changed. From being a normal active individual he was on the bed all day unable to move.

An episode of pulmonary embolism followed two weeks after his fight against West Nile Virus and during his nine week stay in the hospital he combated MRSA, C.diff and pneumonia.  Michael’s case was severe.  Most individuals who are infected do not experience such symptoms and when they do, it can be crippling, taking away all the joys of mobility leaving behind headaches, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea and a frail body.

After being discharged from the hospital, Michael had spent almost four months in rehab. He had also undergone hyperbaric oxygen treatment therapy and it helped regain mobility. He could now walk using a walker but was still dependent. His ability to drive by himself, lift even 5 lbs of weight was still a dream.  His health –care practitioners were not sure how much function he would regain. Michael had hit the plateau that and that’s when his wife Kathy called to set-up an appointment with me at Nutrition and Wellness Consulting LLC.

At Nutrition and Wellness Consulting, I use a functional medicine approach to manage chronic conditions. Functional medicine involves understanding the origins, prevention, and treatment of complex, chronic disease. Instead of asking, “What drug matches up with this disease”, functional medicine asks – “why do you have this problem in the first place? Why has function been lost, what nutrients are you deficient in and what can we do to restore function?” In other words, functional medicine looks to find the root cause or mechanism involved with any loss of function, which ultimately reveals why a set of symptoms is there in the first place, or why the patient has a particular disease label.

We looked at Michael’s nutritional, biochemical and inflammatory markers, identified his food sensitivities and got a stool test done that provides an insight into his gut microbiome.  Within a fortnight his blood pressure medications for cut to half and then eventually stopped. Initially Michael could not lift 5 pounds and at his follow up visit i.e.  10 weeks later, he mentioned curling 8 pounds– 3 sets of 15! Whoa, this is motivating, isn’t it? Not only that, he then mentioned about driving Nebraska for a family reunion and being physically more active, climbing stairs up and down!

Here is Michael’s story before he came to see me – http://www.clickondetroit.com/lifestyle/health/livonia-man-battles-back-from-west-nile-virus/26676746

Michael continues to maintain his exercise and supplement regimen and follows an anti-inflammatory diet protocol as per his test results.  I wish him the best in his recovery and I am happy to be a part of this journey.