Interview with Dr Ho See Yunn, Family Physician
Welcome See Yunn! The purpose of this interview is to give our patients more of an idea of who you are and what a Family Physician treats.
- What drew you to medicine? And what keeps you passionate about your field?
I have been interested in medicine since I was young as I see it as a meaningful field in which I can help people through my skills. Having an interest in biology and the functioning of the human body also helped propel my interest in this field.
After graduating from medical school, I was involved in medical mission trips to places like China, Indonesia, Cambodia and Mongolia whereby I could use my skills to help people in disaster situations during the Sichuan earthquake in Chengdu and the Indonesia earthquake. I was privileged to be able to be there just to heal and comfort the patients who were recovering from natural disasters and also to heal the sick in the many rural areas where healthcare was in dire need.
Medicine is always evolving and each day new technological advances allow doctors to use better technology and greater medicines to help patients have better health outcomes. During my studies in International Healthcare and Management in London, I grew interested in healthcare innovations and was involved in using Telemedicine to enable healthcare to reach patients in rural areas to improve their monitoring and reduce hospitalization rates.
Currently, I am developing myself in the field of Functional Medicine as it marries both healthcare innovations with holistic Medicine - both fields I am so passionate about. I believe that the integration of my knowledge in traditional Western Medicine with the field of Functional Medicine would enable me to help my patients in a more holistic and personalized approach through targeting their metabolism, hormones, nutrition and genetic health to treat the many chronic problems from their roots. This is different from traditional medicine which usually treat the disease symptoms rather than their root cause.
- What can someone expect from their time with you?
I would spend time with my patients through a detailed consult to find out what are their underlying problems and triggering factors for their current health issues and we will work together to find a treatment to heal their bodies from the underlying causes to that we can put them on the road to recovery. I will also work with the patient through their lifestyle and nutrition changes to empower the patient to be in control of their own health. Many times patients are suffering from multiple medical problems without realizing that there is an underlying cause, be in inflammation or autoimmunity, which is causing all their problems. I have heard patients switching from doctors to doctors and taking multiple medications without being able to treat their problems. I hope to spend time with my patients to find out all the triggering and exacerbating causes to their problems and to find a solution with them to empower them to take charge of their own health going forward.
- You have a keen interest in Functional Medicine. Can you explain how Functional Medicine works? Is it compatible with the western medical system/philosophy? Is so, how do the two work together?
I grew interested in Functional Medicine as during my own journey to treat a family member who came down with neurodegeneration. Being a traditional family medicine doctor, I was frustrated that using traditional western medicine, I can only treat part of the symptoms of the problem, and many times, we have to refer to different specialists to treat each problem without being able to treat the root cause of the illness. Each time the number of medications started piling up. I started reading up on Functional Medicine and how we can use various technologies and supplements to treat the disease from its root and also lessen the side effects from traditional medicine. I started working on increasing his energy and tiredness from the mitochondria and B vitamins and also giving antioxidants to reduce the effect of free radicals on the brain glial cells. I am happy to say that till date the treatment is helping my family member has regained more energy and improve cognition and mood and I am also able to reduce the multiple medications given by the various doctors just because we treat the disease from its roots. Currently I am taking my Advance Fellowship in Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine and I hope to use my knowledge in traditional western medicine and combine it with Functional Medicine studies to deliver a personalized approach to treat my patients from their root cause starting from their nutrition, hormones, mitochondria and cells. Functional Medicine is definitely compatible with western medicine philosophy as many of these therapeutic approaches are based on the body's biochemistry and metabolism pathways and researchers have done extensive clinical studies, proven to improve health outcomes with reduced side effects. For example, using Bioidentical hormones in Functional Medicine to treat menopause goes with the natural hormonal rhythm of the body rather than using synthetic hormones which can be harmful and lead to risks like breast cancer.
- We all define "good health" differently, but most associate it with the lack of disease, a well-balanced life and a strong social network. How would you define it?
I would define "good health" besides being free from illnesses and a well balanced lifestyle and emotional health, also importantly as a sense of patient empowerment to take charge of their own health through knowledge of how their body functions and how to optimize their health through nutrition and vitamins to maximize their body's capacity to function with its best capability.
- Family Physicians see some pretty weird and wonderful stuff, what is the weirdest case you’ve come across?
I have seen cases of people with gut issues which left untreated manifest as mental fog and chronic fatigue or even having psychiatric problems like depression and anxiety. Many times, these patients present to the doctor with body pains and aches or extreme tiredness without realizing that their issues start from the gut!
- In a parallel universe, if you weren’t a Family Physician, what would you be doing?
I would be a nutritional chef, travelling around the world to learn to cook various healthy cuisines.
- Could you give us some general health tips that you follow and would recommend?
I believe in a 90/10 rule, to eat healthy 90% of the time and allow myself 10% cheat times to indulge in my favorite foods. This plus regular exercise keeps me maintain my weight and energy. I would also recommend finding out your body's biochemical and genetic status so that you can supplement your body with the nutrients and vitamins that you are lacking to optimize your health and prevent diseases from happening.
