Ep 141: Dr. Saima Khan’s Journey of Becoming a Functional Medicine Physician and Building Her Own Practice Part 1

Dr. Saima Khan is a physician with over 27 years of experience and a deeply personal story of resilience and transformation. Diagnosed with narcolepsy in 2016 after stepping away from medicine due to chronic fatigue and excessive sleepiness, she found herself navigating the healthcare system not as a doctor but as a patient. When conventional treatments failed, she took her health into her own hands, uncovering and addressing multiple causes of brain inflammation including mold illness, Lyme disease and coinfections, chronic SIBO, mast cell activation, autoimmunity and much more. 

Dr. Saima holds a Doctor of Medicine from Aga Khan University, known as the "Harvard of Pakistan." She completed her Pediatric Residency at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and fellowship in Medical Toxicology at Wayne State University. She is board-certified in Pediatrics and certified in Functional Medicine from the Institute for Functional Medicine. She also has advanced training in chronic illnesses like Lyme and coinfections, and mold. 

As the founder of Rebalance Family Health, a virtual practice based in Florida, Dr. Saima specializes in helping adults and children with complex illnesses with a focus on lyme and coinfections, mold illness, autoimmunity and inflammatory brain disorders. Her mission is to alleviate suffering by uncovering root causes, connecting the dots, and empowering patients to live vibrant, healthy lives. 

Some of the topics we discussed were: 

• Being a mold-literate and lyme-literate physician 
• Treating mold related illness and Lyme and coninfections from an integrative medicine perspective  
• How integrative medicine is useful for identifying root causes in people who are chronically sick and cannot seem to find answers 
• Dr. Khan’s path to completing her training in functional medicine 
• What functional medicine teaches us and why these concepts are so important to cover in medical school curriculums 
• How the process of treating patients on the drivers of illness differs from the conventional model of diagnosis 
• What the mental, spiritual, and emotional piece of one’s life manifests as in their health 
• Functional medicine’s role in evaluating the different aspects of a patient who is suffering and is not well 
• When Dr. Khan realized she had mold exposure and what she did for treatment 
• How Dr. Khan learned more about pediatric conditions for starting her functional and integrative medicine practice 
• Where Dr. Khan received training for inflammatory brain conditions and how it linked to narcolepsy 
• The pieces of Dr. Khan’s journey to recovery and education in functional and integrative medicine 
• How Dr. Khan expanded to treating adults in addition to children 
• The high need for more physicians trained in treating mold illness and Lyme and confections to meet the high demand of patients who are very suffering and cannot find help 
• How Dr. Khan easily arranges for lab work and imaging to be done for her virtual practice 
• The role of functional medicine in more simple treatments for ADHD that do not require medication 

And more!

Learn more about me or schedule a FREE coaching call:
https://www.joyfulsuccessliving.com/
 

Join the Voices of Women Physicians Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/190596326343825/
 
Connect with Dr. Khan: 

Website:
www.rebalancefamilyhealth.com 

Instagram:
@drsaimakhanmd