MY Health Story
I’ve wanted to share my health story for a long time. There is no better time than now. I hope that my story helps someone else advocate for what they deserve.
Before I dig in, I want to be clear about my stance on conventional medicine. I genuinely believe that conventional medicine ( Western Medicine) saves lives daily. Doctors and healthcare workers are miracle workers. Doctors are good people. I do not think doctors operate with “ill will” or with any intent to harm. I believe all doctors want to help their patients, but I also believe the system they operate within is flawed. I still see my primary doctor annually, and I know that I will need conventional medicine in my life. There is a time and place for everything, and I am open to all health perspectives. I am writing from my own experiences with chronic and “mystery” illness and how I got lost in the shuffle. It has been my experience that conventional medicine treats symptoms and illness in parts versus as a whole unit. This "siloed” approach to health led to more issues and confusion for me on my health journey, and this is what has inspired me to share my story.
My name is Lauren, and I am a Dance Educator and Certified Foundational Health Coach. Fourteen years ago, I opened my dance academy to accomplish my dream of becoming a dance studio owner. I was also a public school's Creative Movement and Dance Specialist for 14 years. I live with my husband, Kevin, and our cat, Tinkerbell, in Massachusetts. My passions are dance, nature, foundational health, learning everything, and reading!
Although some aspects started in childhood with nervous system dysregulation, my significant health journey started a little over a decade ago with the development of body aches and gastrointestinal issues that began slowly with constipation and stomach discomfort. After multiple visits and tests at conventional doctor’s offices, I was told to “relax and talk to someone.” Although this was valuable advice, I felt lonely, scared, and in pain.
As my stomach symptoms worsened, other problems started to appear. I was diagnosed with a laundry list of symptoms and conditions, including histamine intolerance, multiple food sensitivities, autoimmune conditions, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia, migraines, IBS, problematic menstrual cycles, nutritional deficiencies, and more.
I was placed on several medications and antibiotics because it was unclear how else to treat me, and the advice from well-intentioned doctors was to “manage” these symptoms with medicine and band-aid approaches. To be clear, I have nothing against using medication to support the body when necessary and when the patient has given informed consent of the medication; however, despite trying to manage my symptoms with medications, I remained utterly miserable.
After years of countless doctor’s appointments and tests, I sought support from an out of network registered dietitian (RD) to help me work on my relationship with the body I had become disconnected from. With her help, I explored intuitive eating concepts and reflected on my relationship with food and my body. I dug deep into my relationship with exercise, and she challenged me to examine the “why” behind many of my limiting beliefs about my body. We also dove into more profound questions about my symptoms, which, at the time, I was convinced were permanent. She asked me if I’d ever been tested for SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) or mold (mycotoxin) toxicity, and I hadn't. She ordered me a mold (mycotoxin) toxicity test, and I completed the SIBO test through my gastroenterologist. Both tests came back positive, and these results would change the trajectory of my health story and what I thought it would be for the rest of my life. The results of these tests marked the turning point for the work needed to address the root causes of all my symptoms.
My RD referred me to another out of network RD specializing in women’s functional health. She and I worked on the basics, dug into the root cause of all my symptoms and diagnoses, completed functional testing, and supported my body with targeted supplementation. We investigated the “why” behind my symptoms and diagnoses, like SIBO and mold toxicity, to address my health at the root and adequately treat these to avoid recurrence. My RD’s approach asked, "Why is the SIBO/mold there in the first place?" That answer would uncover the solutions.
We uncovered many drivers that led to my cascade of issues: sluggish detoxification pathways, a congested lymphatic system, imbalanced blood sugar, mold toxicity, gut dysbiosis, nervous system dysregulation, overwhelmed adrenals, cortisol/hormonal imbalances, circadian rhythm disruptions, nutritional deficiencies, chronic inflammation, bacterial overgrowth, and so much more. Once this was apparent, we prioritized fundamentals to support my body: sleep, circadian rhythm, nervous system support, detoxification, nourishing my body with food, joyful movement, connecting with myself and nature, and more. These foundational shifts, functional testing, and the support of targeted supplementation changed my life. Symptoms are not a bad thing. They are clues to what is going on a deeper level. The functional approach to chronic conditions explains why the body is speaking through symptoms and addresses the issue at the root. After about a year of supporting my body from a foundational perspective, and with the guidance of my RD and PCP, I tapered off over ten medications.
I am still determining where I'd be today if I hadn't taken the chance and invested in my health this way. My goal is to feel vibrant in mind, body, and soul. I want to be the best dance educator I can be. Functional medicine, holistic fundamental support, and digging into the root cause of symptoms gave me answers and clarity I never thought I'd get and a second chance to take care of the one body I have.
This was my path, but everyone's path is different. Advocate for your health and what works for you. Your body will tell you if you’re willing to listen. I am still on a healing journey, but I remind myself daily that I did not get sick overnight, and offering myself some grace and compassion goes a long way. My body has always known what to do and is incredibly resilient.
Time for some FAQ!
These are two questions I get asked often!
Question 1: "Why/How did you get "sick"? Have you always been "sick?"
A: My story is an example of what is referred to as the "perfect storm." Some of my symptoms continued from childhood and slowly worsened into adulthood as my lifestyle became more demanding. Through childhood and young adulthood, I did not always prioritize fundamentals to help my body function optimally: sleep, rest, eating, or my nervous system. I was also a people-pleaser with little to no boundaries. I operated deep in diet culture and had a poor relationship with food and exercise. My approach to food as "good" or "bad" led to extreme dieting and under-nourishing my body as a dancer who danced several hours a day each week. I held beliefs about myself and my body that further fueled the stress cycle. Coincidentally, I am also sensitive to mold toxins, or mycotoxins, in my environment. Sadly, this is largely unrecognized in the conventional space. I’ll share more on my mold journey soon! For now, please know that mold exposure is not just simply inhaling mold and having congestion/allergies—it is SO much more than that!
Eventually, my lifestyle led to continued nervous system dysregulation and gastrointestinal disruptions, which led to constipation (sluggish detox pathways), which led to mold toxicity (not detoxing due to constipation), which led to histamine issues, food sensitivity, POTS, hormonal imbalances, blood sugar issues and so on. It wasn't just one factor but a perfect storm of chronic, lifelong factors that led to my "dis-ease." The following FAQ highlights how these factors created a "perfect storm" and influenced the expression of my genes. From my health experiences, I carried a significant amount of medical trauma. With the help of a trusted therapist, somatic coaching, and nervous system programs, I continue to work on signaling safety to my body. It took me a while to stop blaming myself, but it wasn't my fault that I got sick. I was doing my best at the time with the knowledge I had. I’ll share more on my nervous system journey soon too!
Question 2: "Do you still have all the diagnoses the doctors gave you?"
A: Today, I am choosing not to identify with any specific diagnoses and just let my body tell me where it needs support each day. This helps my mindset and allows me to zoom out a bit. This mindset may change over time, but this is what feels aligned for me today.
The research of Epigenetics helps to explain why my body may have expressed a state of "dis-ease" the way it did. Epigenetics research suggests that many factors may influence how our genes are expressed. This research suggests that our genetic destiny is not necessarily written in stone, meaning we can constantly influence it. Lifestyle factors such as sleep, blood sugar regulation, diet, exposure to industrial chemicals, toxin exposure, and so on can influence the expression of our genes. This may also apply to chronic conditions like Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol, migraines and more. Every moment of every day, our genes work on the “document” of our health, which can be written in a way you like or don't like, but the body is always writing which genes to turn on and which to turn off (Lynch).
The document your genes write is significantly impacted by the messages you send to your body through lifestyle factors. For my health story, my genes began to receive messages of chronic stress and danger from my brain/body, which turned specific gene receptors on or off. This is called Epigenetic Expression and can be driven by stress and sub-optimal environmental conditions. As my lifestyle became more demanding, my gene expression shifted, eventually leading to the laundry list of illness/symptoms I was experiencing.
The symptoms I experienced based on the messages my body was receiving led to symptoms and my placement into several clinical diagnostic categories for symptom management according to conventional medicine, such as POTS, MCAS, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Ehlers-Danlos syndromes are a group of connective tissue disorders caused by genetic defects primarily in collagen structure, production, and processing. This process is significantly impacted by environmental toxins, poor detoxification, histamine, gut and hormone imbalances, and so on, which also greatly affected my journey. This gray area led me to put all my diagnostic labels aside and pursue learning how to support my body on a deeper level.
I wiped my health slate clean. I chose not to identify with diagnostic labels or just treat symptoms with bandaid approaches. I decided to dig into the “why.” Why was my body sending me all these messages? What is the root of all of this? How could I support my body for optimal gene expression despite any diagnoses I had been given? Could I support my body on a foundational level knowing I’m hypermobile? Could I hold space for all of these things and still choose to support myself? Yes, I could. I dug into the root cause of what I was experiencing and learned tools and lifestyle strategies to support my body and genes on a deeper level. This helped my body rewrite its "genetic document," which has recently led to a more optimal genetic expression.
What’s Next?
I am still healing. Healing my body, mind, and spirit. I am rewriting old stories and beliefs about my body and learning to meet my body where it is today. It will be a lifelong journey and I am here for it! I went through a challenging time in our healthcare system and felt lonely and unsure of how to help myself. For those of you in the trenches of a health journey, I see you. Francis Bacon said “Knowledge is power but knowledge without action is useless”. I truly believe everyone should feel empowered in their bodies. It is time to take action and advocate to help yourself! I am so passionate about foundational health and how it changed my life. My health experiences inspired me to become a certified Foundational Health Coach with the mission of supporting dancers and women with the foundations that would have helped me most when I needed it. It’s time to get back to the basics!
For Foundational Health Coaching Information for dancers + women, contact me by submitting a form.
Health Coaching is for educational purposes only. Always consult your doctor for medical advice.