589. What Your Doctor Isn't Telling You Could Kill You and How to Escape the "Sick Care" System

Summary

The Thyroid Fixer Podcast – Ep. 589

Title: What Your Doctor Isn't Telling You Could Kill You and How to Escape the "Sick Care" System
Host: Dr. Amie Hornaman
Guest: Daria Ann DiGiovani, author and patient
Date: December 23, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Amie Hornaman welcomes Daria Ann DiGiovani—patient, author, and advocate—for a deeply insightful discussion about escaping the limitations of the conventional "sick care" system. Through Daria’s personal health journey with Hashimoto’s, PCOS, autoimmune challenges, and years of misdiagnosis, the conversation explores the critical importance of individualized care, the pitfalls of insurance-driven medicine, and practical strategies for listeners to become empowered participants in their own health journeys. Both Dr. Hornaman and Daria deliver actionable advice, tough love, and hope for listeners struggling to find answers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking Free from the "Sick Care" System

• Issue with Conventional Medicine:
  Daria describes a long journey seeking answers from numerous gynecologists and specialists, only to be offered the same unhelpful solutions—primarily synthetic hormones and birth control. She highlights the frustration of being medically gaslit, dismissed, or told that “everything is normal.”

  • “It's when your doctor says, you're normal, everything's fine, just eat less and exercise more…those are gaslight terms to make you think it's a you problem and not a them problem.” — Dr. Amie Hornaman (25:13)

• Functional Medicine as a Turning Point:
  Daria found improvement after discovering bioidentical hormones, low-carb diets, and eventually functional medicine—though she also emphasizes that not all functional practitioners are created equal.

  • “Just like in every profession, there’s good and bad. The first functional medicine doctor I saw…did not have any bedside manner at all. But it did start me on the right track.” — Daria (27:16)

2. Daria’s Health Journey: Realities and Roadblocks

• Symptoms and Missed Diagnoses:
  For years, Daria struggled with subtle but life-disrupting symptoms: weight gain, joint pain, gum disease, cystic acne, irregular periods, and fatigue. She recounts “screw it syndrome”—eating whatever she wanted after healthy habits failed to produce results.

  • “It basically was just getting through the day, but I really wasn't living.” — Daria (09:39)

• The Power of Holistic and Individualized Approaches:
  Key milestones in her awakening included learning about Atkins, bioidentical progesterone, and functional medicine. The importance of bio-individuality and personalized protocols (especially dosing of T3 and thyroid medication) is a recurring theme.

  • “Medicine is really an art. Thyroid optimization is a nuanced art form. It really does take dialing it in.” — Dr. Amie (39:05)

3. Navigating Functional Medicine: Cautions and Best Practices

• Functional Medicine Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All:
  Not every "functional" practitioner is knowledgeable about thyroid and hormones.

  • “Not every functional medicine practitioner knows the thyroid and knows the hormones…They better be a hormone and thyroid expert if you are going to spend your time, your energy and your money.” — Dr. Amie (05:00)

• Tips for Vetting a Practitioner:
  Daria shares guidance on finding the right fit:

  • Ask about their education, specialty, and motivation (“pain to purpose” stories inspire trust).
  • Trust your intuition; if they’re dismissive or not compassionate, look elsewhere.
  • Gauge the overall practice environment, including staff attitude and willingness to explain labs and protocols.
    • “If you talk to this person and you just get a sense that they’re not very compassionate…go somewhere else.” — Daria (46:18)

4. Problems with the Insurance System

• Short Visits & Profit Over Patients:
  Daria’s father—himself a surgeon—fought insurance companies to get basic post-op care for patients, highlighting how insurance restricts quality time and decision-making.

  • “He wanted what was right for the patient and he had to go to bat for this guy… That’s just one of like a million examples I could give.” — Daria (24:03)

• Health as an Investment:
  Both host and guest urge listeners to move past the “$20 copay” mentality—reminding us that true health requires greater investment but yields far more in life and function.

  • “You've gotta get past the idea that you've got to do your $20 copay or whatever it is, because really, you gotta invest in your health. I mean, your health is your wealth.” — Daria (00:00, restated at 26:20)

5. Medication, Supplements, and Finding Balance

• Using Prescriptions Strategically:
  The episode emphasizes that some medications (like NP Thyroid, low-dose naltrexone, liothyronine) are essential for some patients, while mainstream pills (birth control, statins, SSRIs) are often handed out as “band-aids.”

  • “I am not against prescriptions…But the difference is they're actually addressing, like you said, replacing the thyroid that the body is not producing anymore…Low dose naltrexone—I mean, my God, my antibodies have come way down.” — Daria (38:25)

• FDA, Regulatory Capture, and Future Uncertainties:
  Discussion of possible regulatory changes regarding thyroid supplements. The hosts underscore the financial drivers behind medical decisions.

  • “The FDA really has no credibility in my mind. I think it’s all regulatory capture, unfortunately…Follow the money trail.” — Daria (42:52)
  • “Abbvie owns Armor and they bought Synthroid. So Abbvie is doing a clinical trial where they are pitting Synthroid against Armor to see which one keeps your TSH within normal limits. Oh, I know which one's going to win.” — Dr. Amie (43:33)

6. Empowerment & Advocacy

• Patient Participation is Essential:
  Listeners are urged to become informed and actively involved in their health.

  • “People should become participants in their health and not just outsource it to their doctor, even if it's a functional medicine doctor. Because this is a collaboration.” — Daria (39:31)

• Beware Buzzwords!
  The term “functional medicine” has in some cases become a marketing buzzword; always dig deeper into a practitioner’s actual expertise.

  • “You can't, if you are a jack of all trades, you're a master of none. And if you have Hashimoto's, if you have PCOS, that's thyroid/hormone…you need a thyroid/hormone expert.” — Dr. Amie (50:03)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being medically gaslit:
  “It's a you problem and not a them problem, that they're not doing their job and getting to the root cause and treating you properly.” — Dr. Amie (25:13)

• On the emotional impact of empowerment:
  “When you feel great, you want to keep feeling great. And really, care should be between a patient and their practitioner.” — Daria (44:49)

• On trusting your experience:
  “Even my dad, who was a surgeon, always told me, that's a last resort [surgery]. I only do that if it's absolutely necessary to save somebody's life…So, I guess, growing up with that, I was always inclined toward, let's find a holistic solution.” — Daria (13:04)

• On the importance of specialty:
  “You can't do one without the other. You cannot just see someone for your thyroid and have them ignore your hormones or have them half-ass your hormones.” — Dr. Amie (04:33)

• On regulatory frustrations:
  “You could get a free donut if you went to Rite Aid and maybe even a puppy dog if you brought your kids…The FDA really has no credibility in my mind.” — Daria (42:45)

• On self-advocacy and education:
  “Patients should not just outsource it to their doctor…this is a collaboration.” — Daria (39:31)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Finding Community and Live Help:
  [01:56] Host invites listeners to her supportive Facebook group for direct Q&A.

• Daria’s Personal Health Story:
  [09:25] Daria details her early symptoms, PCOS, experiences with various doctors, and her shift to functional medicine.

• Being Medically Gaslit/Discouraged:
  [25:13] Dr. Amie defines “medical gaslighting” and its impact on patients.

• The Limitations of Insurance-Based Medicine:
  [24:03] Daria shares a story of her father’s struggles as a surgeon fighting insurance.

• Using Medications and Supplements Thoughtfully:
  [38:25] Daria discusses the difference between band-aid medications and true hormone replacement.

• Navigating Changes in Thyroid Medication Regulation:
  [42:20] Ongoing conversation about FDA, big pharma, and why patients have to stay alert.

• Patient Advocacy and Finding the Right Practitioner:
  [46:18] Daria and Dr. Amie give detailed tips for choosing knowledgeable, compassionate functional medicine doctors.

• Functional Medicine Buzzwords and the Need for Specialists:
  [49:22] They discuss how “functional medicine” has lost some meaning and why niche expertise matters.

• Offerings & Resources:
  [53:01] Daria explains where listeners can find her guide and coaching for self-advocacy.

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Resources & Further Information

• Daria’s Book:
  My Escape from the Sick Care System: A Guide to Overcoming PCOS, Hashimoto's and Autoimmune Conditions with Functional Medicine (Kindle: $0.99).

• Daria’s Free Guide:
  Find tools for finding the right practitioner at TrueVoiceServices.com.

• Dr. Amie’s Facebook Group:
  Live Q&A, support, and additional resources for thyroid sufferers.

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Conclusion

This episode offers hope, empowerment, and actionable steps for those trapped in the conventional “sick care” system. If you’re tired of being dismissed or feel hopeless about your symptoms, Daria’s story—and the expertise of Dr. Amie—demonstrate that true healing is possible through self-education, the right partnerships in care, and persistence.

Listen, learn, and rise from broken to FIXED.

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Transcript

[A]

I think that there's a lot of distrust, and I don't blame people. We're paying a lot of money for insurance. But you've got to get past the idea that you've got to do your $20 co pay or whatever it is, because really, you got to invest in your health. I mean, your health is your wealth.

[B]

Welcome to the new and completely reimagined Thyroid Fixer podcast, a podcast that refuses to sound like every other health show out there. We're here to disrupt this entire space, and now you are part of that disruption. If you're listening right now, it's because you've hit your breaking point.

[C]

And I'm here tell you good.

[B]

Because this is where everything changes. This is where you finally say, no more. No more being dismissed by your doctor. No more being told your labs are normal. No more recycled medical advice. No more recycled biohacking advice. No more being told to accept what you know isn't right. Here we do things differently. This podcast gives you information you can actually use. Real tools, real direction, real answers so you can take back your energy, your metabolism, your hormones, and your life. Every episode will leave you with something actionable, something that moves you forward, something that reminds you that you're not crazy.

[C]

You're finally being heard.

[B]

This is Thyroid Fixer Podcast. And this, this is where you rise. You have questions about your thyroid, about your labs, what they mean.

[C]

What about your hormones? What about insulin?

[B]

What about why are you gaining weight? Why are you so tired? Why are you losing your hair? Why won't my doctor listen to me? Why won't my doctor test these things, all of these questions that you have running around in your brain and you know that if you just had the answers that that could push you over the edge into optimal health, that you could be that badass human that you are meant to be. Well, I got you covered there because I am going live every single week.

[A]

Every.

[B]

The just fix your thyroid Facebook group. That is my Facebook group. A beautiful community just filled with amazing people where I am in there, my nurse practitioners are in there, my health coaches are in there. There are patients in there that have been with me for so long, they're experts in their own right, and they answer just the way that I would. So we have you completely covered in this group. So not only can you post your question every single day, every single hour, if you want, you can mark your calendars for our weekly live Q and A sessions where you get to ask your question to me and I'm going to answer it live on air. And not only that, we are doing product giveaways. We're doing working with our team giveaways. You're going to want to be in there and actually be live on that call. If you're at work, go into the closet, just shut the door. Take minutes for yourself, Take a half an hour for yourself. Take an hour for yourself so that you can get the information that you need to bring yourself into optimization land, where you're not looking sideways at a brownie and gaining weight at the same time, where you can feel amazing every single day. Because that's my goal for you. You know that I love, love, love to answer your questions and this is the place where you can get them answered live.

[C]

I completely and totally hear you and I see you and I understand you and I know exactly where you're at. You're gaining weight. You can't lose. You have all the symptoms that no one's listening to. The fatigue, the hair loss, the brain fog. You can't remember why you walked into a room. You don't want to get dressed and.

[B]

Go out because you know if you have that glass of wine with your friend and if you have that dessert.

[C]

With your husband or even order an appetizer, you're going to be five pounds.

[B]

Heavier the next day and your clothes are already tight.

[C]

Every single doctor is telling you that you're normal and everything is fine. You've been to multiple conventional medicine doctors.

[B]

Trying to use your insurance, hoping to.

[C]

God that somebody has an answer.

[B]

Then you've dropped thousands of dollars on functional medicine or integrative medicine because you keep hearing how functional medicine gets to.

[C]

The root cause of the problem. But not every functional medicine practitioner knows the thyroid and knows the hormones and.

[B]

Can treat you as a nuanced, personalized.

[C]

Individual, a unique person. That is exactly what my team and I do.

[B]

We specialize in thyroid problems. We specialize in hormones. You can't do one without the other. You cannot just see someone for your thyroid and have them ignore your hormones or have them half ass your hormones. They better be a hormone and thyroid expert if you are going to spend your time, your energy and your money. If you are going to invest in.

[C]

Functional medicine, they need to be a thyroid and hormone expert and treat you as an individual.

[B]

They can't have a cap on how much T3 that they're going to give you. They have to personalize your treatment plan to get you feeling your best, no.

[C]

Matter what that looks like, so that.

[B]

Every system in your body functions at.

[C]

The very Top at the very best.

[B]

And that is exactly what we do.

[C]

I made it my mission because I went through this.

[B]

I was dismissed, I was gaslit, I was misdiagnosed and I dropped thousands of.

[C]

Dollars before I found an answer.

[B]

That is why I made it my.

[C]

Mission to be able to treat people in all 50 states so we can prescribe via telehealth, thyroid and hormones and peptides. Yeah, the GLPs as well to all 50 states, most of Canada and now Puerto Rico. That is my mission to be able.

[B]

To help you wherever you are because.

[C]

I want you living your best life.

[B]

I want you to join me in optimization land where you can go out and love life and go out with your friends and go out with your partner and not gain weight looking sideways at a brownie.

[C]

Yes, we do have financing options available. I'm talking like 0% or 12 months.

[B]

The whole thing based on your credit score. We got you.

[C]

And our programs are affordable.

[B]

They're completely and totally affordable and they will get you from point A to point B.

[C]

They will bring you into optimization land. So please don't waste another moment struggling, please.

[B]

I want you living here with me.

[C]

A great happy life in optimization land. So go to my [e-mail], click the Become a patient button so we can have a chat. Let's talk it out, let's hear what you've done, what you haven't done, what's worked, what hasn't worked, and let's get you on the right path to feeling your absolute best. If you can imagine the best life ever that is absolutely possible for you.

[B]

I'm not BSing you. I am not bsing you. I was in your shoes. Many of my patients have been in your shoes. We will get you there and that is my promise to you. So do you want to escape the sick care system as well? My guest today has done exactly that. But so many of you listening are still in it. You're still in the sick care system, I. E. The conventional medicine system. This is the insurance based brainwashed system that you know, we've been trained from a very young age that that's just where you go. You go to your pcp, you go to your doctor, you go to the er, you go to the Med Express whenever you're not feeling well and that is where you will get answers. Right? Yeah. So many of you listening have already been through the frustrating and that's just. That doesn't even describe it enough. Frustrating journey of looking for answers, looking for why your body is rebelling against you, looking for the truth as to why you are gaining weight, losing your hair, can't get out of bed, you're depressed, you're anxious, you can't even poop every day. And you're not getting the answers because you are in that sick care system. So my guest Today, Daria Ann DiGiovani, also a patient, but an author who wrote My Escape from the Sick Care System, a guide to overcoming pcos, which she had Hashimoto and autoimmune conditions with functional medicine. So of course I had to have her on the show because this is going to speak to all of you because I know you are either in her shoes and on the other side and getting optimized, or you're in the shoes that she was in when she was doing the spiral in the sick care system as well. So, Daria, thank you so much for jumping on.

[A]

Oh, thank you, Amy, for having me. It's such an honor to be here. I'm really excited.

[B]

All right, girls, so let's just start at the beginning with your story, because your story is like many of my listeners story. So start there and tell me, like, what were your symptoms, what were you going through, and then what were your next steps?

[A]

Sure. Well, with regard to Hashimoto's, I think the problem with me was that my symptoms didn't all happen at the same time. And they weren't all severe. Like, they were different levels of severity. So I started noticing, like, for example, I had joint pain. I discovered Dr. Atkins in 1999. Totally changed my life. Right? Absolutely. Back then, there was no Internet, there were no support groups, there were no podcasts. And I did the maintenance part myself. And I was, I managed it. I was doing great. And then all of a sudden, somewhere along the line, I just started gaining weight. And it didn't matter what I did. So that was definitely one of my symptoms. I didn't know I had Hashimoto's at the time, though. And I think you call it screw it syndrome. I not, not proud of this, but I had screw it syndrome. Cause I was like, well, heck, all right, I'm just gonna eat whatever I want because it doesn't seem to work anymore. Even though I knew deep down it really wasn't low carb, it wasn't keto that was the problem. I just, I. I knew that something was wrong. So by the time I came to you, that was my biggest complaint. But it was just over time, I mean, even developed. I know this isn't like directly related to Hashimoto's. But I developed gum disease in, like, 2012, and nobody in my family had it. It just, like, came out of nowhere. I'm a maniac about, like, flossing and brushing and dental hygiene, so that didn't make any sense. One night I was brushing my hair, and I just happened to tilt my head in the mirror, and I was like, oh, my God. There's like, all this space between my hair strands. When did that happen? And I know a lot of women, you know, they'll brush their hair and, like, all this hair comes out. Like, I didn't have that. My symptoms were a lot more subtle, which was part of the problem. I did have a little bit of fatigue, but it wasn't crushing fatigue to the point where I couldn't function. But, like, I. This was not any quality of life. I mean, it basically was just getting through the day, but I really wasn't living. And I did discover, I mean, in 2002, I really think my functional medicine journey started long before that. Ironically, the same year that the Women's Health Initiative came out, I discovered bioidentical progesterone. Not from a doctor, from a woman who was a speaker at this monthly women's networking organization I used to belong to. Now she was there representing a network marketing company, and this was one of their products. It was natural progesterone cream made from yams. And by the time I met this woman, I believe I was probably like, 34, 35 at the time. I had been struggling with irregular periods from the time I was 16, and by the time I was 19, my mom was like, okay, that's enough. We're going to a gynecologist. And of course, I had to ask my dad, who was a general and vascular surgeon, if he knew any female gynecologist, because I was not going to go to a man. I was absolutely terrified. I think that's pretty normal. I think many of us probably go through that at that age. But she had no answers for me. I went there right thinking, she's going to tell me why my periods are irregular, and we're going to talk about it, and she's going to give me something that's going to solve the problem. And instead she was hands me. I believe it was Provera. Like, here, here's this synthetic hormone. We're going to trick your body into thinking it's having a period, and it's going to create a false scenario in your body. And I didn't like the word synthetic, number one. And number two, I Was like, I looked at her and I'm like, well, what is the point of this? Like, you're not giving me any answers. Like, why isn't my body functioning the way it's supposed to? And her answer was, it's just what we do.

[C]

Oh, my.

[A]

That was it.

[B]

That is classic. Now, real quick, how old were you at the time?

[A]

19.

[B]

Okay. So basically, it's. It's like what women are getting now. They're getting thrown the birth control pill. Whether they're 19 or 50, they're getting thrown the birth control pill. Synthetic hormones that shut down your own hormonal production. So you're right. And the answer is still the same in 2025 as it was in 2002. You know, that's just what we do. It's standard of care.

[A]

Exactly. Exactly. And, I mean, I was only 19, but I always leaned holistically. And even my dad, who was a surgeon, always told me, that's a last resort. I only do that if it's absolutely necessary to save somebody's life. I mean, I've been drinking a gallon of water a day since I was, like, 8 years old, because my father was always after us to drink water because it flushes your kidneys. So I guess, you know, growing up with that, and I was always just inclined toward, let's find a holistic solution. And I'm not against prescriptions. And we could talk about that. And it was. We can talk about the keywords for my book, because I did not want to use natural healing because I didn't want to mislead anybody. It's not that prescriptions are bad. It's what is it doing for your body? Right. We can get into that. So by 2002, I meet this businesswoman, and she's talking about Dr. John R. Lee and all of his work with bioidentical hormones and how natural progesterone cream solves all these problems. Now, at the time, this cream was made from yams. That was like, I guess, the big thing back then. And I was still struggling with irregular periods, and I was still ripping up the birth control prescriptions because I wasn't going to take it. And I was still dealing with this problem all those years later. And I thought, what the heck? I'm going to try natural progesterone. Would you believe, like, in a month or two, my periods were regular?

[B]

Well, I do believe that.

[A]

Of course you do. What am I saying? Yes. But I was amazed at the time. And I was also angry because I thought, why doesn't the medical system. Why didn't that gynecologist all those years ago? When I was 19, I'm 35 years old now, I finally find something that works. And it was so simple and so inexpensive. It was over the counter. I did. It was transdermal. I did two pumps in the morning, two pumps at night. And within a couple of months, everything was great. And that was kind of. Well, Dr. Atkins, I think discovering him in 1999 started my awakening. Or actually, I think the gynecologist started my awakening. But I feel like I've had, like, these little milestones along the way where the light bulb has gone off more and more when it comes to food, when it comes to hormones, women's health. And like I said, ironically, that was the same year the Women's Health Initiative came out. And by the time I heard about that, I'm like, I'm doing great on bioidentical progesterone. Like, nobody's taking this away from me.

[C]

Right?

[B]

Exactly, exactly. So now, did you know that you had polycystic ovarian syndrome at the time when you were doing the progesterone? Or was that not diagnosed yet? Okay, that was diagnosed.

[A]

It had been. And again, his solution, the specialist, the fertility specialist down in Miami, because that's where they sent me. His solution was to hand me a prescription for birth control on the way out. And that was the other thing. I didn't even have a conversation with this guy. He did the laparoscopy. I did have a little bit of endometriosis. Right. Come out of it. They send me home, and he's like. He hands me this prescription, and I'm like. And I walked out and I said to my mom, I'm not taking this. I'm just not doing it. And it turned out I did have the cyst. And I know, like, PCOS is kind of misnamed because not everybody gets sick cysts.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I did have them because I had the vaginal ultrasound. Yep. But they were, I guess, simple cysts because they just dissolved on their own.

[B]

And then exactly the same as mine. I had. I had the simple cyst picos.

[C]

Vaginal ultrasound.

[B]

Yeah, same thing.

[A]

Yes, man. That was.

[B]

Weight gain with the insulin resistant component of pcos.

[A]

I did. I had the weight gain. I wasn't what you would call obese, but, like, definitely, like, I would say 30 pounds, 35 pounds overweight, couldn't get it off. I did get cystic. And the interesting thing with my PCOS diagnosis was that it unofficially came from A dermatologist and not even a gynecologist, because all of a sudden I never had acne as a teenager. Right. All of a sudden I'm looking in the mirror and I'm seeing all this acne around my chin and I could feel it on the other side with my tongue. It was cystic acne.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I found this doctor, the wonderful dermatologist, and he took one look at me and he said, that's pcos. I'll give you a prescription to get rid of the acne, but you need to go see a gynecologist. And I thought, well, how interesting that it's a dermatologist figuring out what's going on with me.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it. Well, it's what it is. It's an enlightened doctor. So it doesn't matter what the specialty is of that particular practitioner. It's that his or her mind is open. So it's funny hearing your story. It's very, very overlapped to mine where I was diagnosed with my Hashimoto's first. And then I got the cystic acne and I started gaining weight again. I was like, what's going on? I went to my. I don't know what you would call him. We didn't even have the term functional back then. So I guess he was just an outside of the box doc. And he was the one that helped me with my Hashimoto's, did the same thing. He looks at me, he goes, oh, yeah, you have pcos? We could send you for a vaginal ultrasound just to confirm which we did. He says, but yeah, no, we need to control the insulin and I'm going to give you some progesterone. I mean, that was, again, that was probably 2,000, I don't know, five, six, something like that. So around the same time.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's amazing.

[B]

So you get the diagnosis, you go on the natural progesterone. That's actually starting to work when the Hashimoto's come up.

[A]

When I look back on it, I think it was somewhere around the middle, maybe around the timeframe you just mentioned, like 06 07, because I had kept the weight off. And one thing I just want to say, kind of as a side note, it was wonderful. Like when I discovered all these podcasts several years ago that were talking about keto and low carb, I was like, oh my God, like, where was the stuff? When I was reading Dr. Atkins book, I read it in 1999, but the. And the Internet was around but it certainly wasn't as advanced as it is now. And if there were any online support groups, I didn't know about them, but I think so for years. My point in bringing that up is I managed to do the maintenance on my own, just kind of following the book. And of course, everybody around me told me I was crazy. I was going to die, die. My heart was going to explode. You know, all the, all the, all the lies about, you know, eating low carb anyway. But, like, by the mid to late 2000s, though, I was sticking with it and I was flexing in and out, you know, doing my thing and it was working. But I slowly started to notice, like, weight is creeping on. What is going on here? And I was a cardio queen. I have to say that too. I talk about that in my book. My sister and I, when we were younger, I mean, we were just into the aerobic thing. I continued that. I discovered Leslie Sansone. I loved her five mile, like, high impact and low impact aerobic DVDs. So I'm going to town thinking, like, I'm doing all these great things for my body, even though I would look in the mirror and go, like, why isn't anything changing? You know, I felt good mentally, I guess, you know, maybe because I thought I was doing something good for myself. But, like, the weight wasn't going anywhere. So I believe it was around that timeframe, you know, mid to late 2000s. And I, I'm not, I'm kind of ashamed to say that I kind of let it go way too long before I finally said, you know what? I'm done. I think it was when the joint pain started, when I started feeling fatigued, certainly the gum disease, although I didn't know at that time that it was. And I don't think it's directly related, but it is an autoimmune condition. And so if the immune system's not working properly, that was just one area that affected me. And so I, I would rec. I would say to people out there, and one of the reasons I wrote my book was, like, don't suffer like I did. I mean, if I could do this all over again, I would have. And I know I searched for answers and I did find them, but I wouldn't have waited as long as I did, you know, in that timeframe where the weight started to come on. Even after all these years of having success with low carb getting, you know, resolving the pcos, I just let it drag on too long before I found answers for what I had.

[B]

So so you were in, I mean, you were still basically in that sick care system when you were diagnosed with PCOS and Hashimoto's. Yeah, I mean, it wasn't. You didn't come into our practice till just a few years ago, really. I mean, I've only known you a few years. So when we're, when we're talking to people who are kind of in conventional medicine, they're in that sick care system. I want you to talk about two things. Number one, what is the mindset where people just, they want to use their insurance, they just want to find that shining star doctor that's almost damn near impossible to find because they just want to use their insurance? Were you in that mindset as well? And then number two, what was that turning point when you realized conventional medicine wasn't working for you?

[A]

Yes. So to answer your question, yes, I was. And I was going from gynecologist to gynecologist. So I started with that one at 19. And I just kept going to different gynecologists on my insurance plan. Right. And wondering. It was a definition of insanity. I'm wondering why I'm getting the same answer, which was a non answer from all of these people. Their solution was the pill. The pill. The pill. And I just, I knew. I just. And I, I hadn't even done that much research. I just knew I did not want to be on synthetic hormones. It's like I intuitively knew that the, the pill just wasn't good for me. Not good for anyone, really. And so, but yes, I went from, I, I can't even remember. Had to be like seven or eight different gynecologists. And I think it was around that time that I met this woman who told me about the natural progesterone cream. And when that worked, that's when I was like, okay, something's wrong with the system. And listen, I understand. All right, let me. I can sympathize with people because I just said, I went through it myself. I was on that insurance system. But I also had the advantage, I guess, of seeing my dad and his fights with insurance companies trying to do right by his patients and realizing its limitations. And so by the time I went through all that and found the solutions, I think even before I found a functional medicine practitioner, just finding the natural progesterone cream and realizing, wow, there is another way here, I hadn't put all the pieces together. That really got me thinking. And then also Dr. Atkins. Let me. I keep mentioning Dr. Atkins, but I was reading his book Right. And I'm reading case study after case study. Oh, I reversed type 2. And this person, this person's heart test was better. They feel great, their energy like all these case studies. And I was a little bit naive back then. I did not yet know the mantra, follow the money, find the truth. But I think to my, I would think to myself, why isn't the AMA beating down this guy's door and asking him what he's doing, doing that he's having all this success with these people? Because I grew up, okay in a family that had type 2 diabetes, at least on my mother's side. I was always taught this is just something that's a genetic sentence. And I may or may not get it. Like it just ran in the family. That was the term I always heard, well, it runs in the family. And I remember as a little kid saying, well, it may run in the family, but that's not for me. You know, I had this defiance about it, but I didn't really have the science, this information behind it until I read his book and I'm like, wait, this is reversible. It was just mind blowing. So I think that's really when I started to wake up to the shortcomings of the medical system and the insurance system.

[B]

Wow, that is so mind blowing. So basically, yeah, your dad wanted to give people more time back then. Because everything that you read about your dad in the book and everything that you've told me, he was a functional medicine doctor practicing in conventional medicine back in the 60s and 70s. So he was ahead of his time and didn't even know it. And it sounds like he really wanted to spend more time with his patients. He wasn't allowed, he wasn't even allowed to spend more than five to seven minutes with them.

[A]

No, exactly. And his patients loved him. I mean, he would do his best. I mean, and he would, it was quality time. I mean, they, they would give him gifts. I mean, he was, he would just go above and beyond for people. And so I'm really proud to say that I used to love to go to his office and, and see him interact with people. But I remember one time, I'll just, I think I use this example in the book. I mean, he was on the phone, I swear it was 45 minutes, screaming at somebody at the, at Insurance Center Co. Because he had this elderly patient. Again, this is major surgery back, I think this was like in the mid-80s. He had like an 85 year old patient that underwent hernia surgery. And all my father wanted was for this guy to stay in the hospital one extra night because he did not have anyone at home to take care of him. And my father just wanted him to be watched. It wasn't going to benefit my dad financially in any way, but he just wanted what was right for the patient and he had to go to bat for this guy. I think eventually they relented, but I remember hearing my dad on the phone saying, what do you know about hernias? What do you know about hernia surgery? I think it was a, you know, a doctor that was working for the insurance company. And I'm not putting down an internist. I think it was an internist, though it was a non surgeon who didn't know anything about this surgery, trying to dictate, you know, what, what my father should do with this patient. So, yeah, that's just one of like a million examples I could give.

[B]

So here you are in the conventional system. And at what point point did you know, you know, we talk a lot right now about being medically gaslit, and that seems to be a more common term these days. I mean, back in 2022. No, we didn't hear any of that. I, I would even argue. Back in 2010, we weren't using the term medically gaslit, but now we know what it is. And it's when your doctor, because pretty much everyone listening to this has been medically gaslit at some point. It's when your doctor says, you're normal, everything's fine, just eat less and exercise more. It's all in your head, you're just getting older. I mean, those are gaslight terms to make you think it's a you problem and not a them problem, that they're not doing their job and getting to the root cause and treating you properly. This is you. You need to do more, you need to diet more, you need to exercise more, or you're just crazy. So at what point did you realize, like, I am actually being medically gaslit? And how did functional medicine actually help you see that other side of like, oh, look, someone is actually listening to me and cares what I say?

[A]

Yeah. So again, I think it was when I was Dr. Atkins, it was the natural progesterone cream. And then gaining the way and not being able to get it off and not getting answers. I was kind of like, okay, I'm done, I've had enough, I need to do something different. So I did go to see a functional medicine doctor and I talk about this in the book. Now I do want to say, and the reason I wrote the book was patient to patient. I want to speak to people out there who are still struggling where I was, and maybe they're not sure who to trust. You know, we live in this great information age with the Internet, but I feel like from being in different thyroid groups, including. Including yours and others, and just. I think that there's a lot of distrust, and I don't blame people. We're paying a lot of money for insurance. But you've got to get past the idea that you've got to do your $20 copay or whatever it is, because really, you got to invest in your health. I mean, your health is your wealth. I had a great aunt that used to say that all the time, your health is your wealth. And think of all the things you'll be able to do and accomplish, like, once you do that. So. Okay, I'm sorry. I lost my train of thought here.

[B]

Those are all good points, though, actually. Those are good points. Yeah.

[A]

So, I mean, you know, we're captured by this insurance system, so I do understand that. And. But premiums keep going up, and the amount of time you get with your doctor goes down. We're stuck with this system that is really not meant for people to thrive. But the. Oh, I know. The point I wanted to make, though, is just like in every profession, there's good and bad. So the first functional medicine doctor I saw, and I'm honest about this in the book, basically the right diagnosis, right? He ran all the right tests. I got fasting insulin. I got, you know, the antibodies, the reverse teeth, like all the tests that you talk about for the thyroid, all the hormone tests. He did do that, and he gave me a diagnosis. But the man did not have any bedside manner at all. And looking back, I probably would've said, okay, well, thank you. I got these answers, and now I'm gonna find another functional doctor who's actually going to spend some time with me and talk to me, make me feel comfortable. And I knew this guy through someone else that was working in his office at the time, and not even that was enough for him to, like, warm up. It was very strange, very cold. But it did start me on the right track, so I will credit him for that. You know, when I got a diagnosis and I was like, hallelujah, I finally know what's wrong. It's Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Right? Okay, great. So. And he did give me the right, you know, go gluten free, which really, I mean, if you're low carb and you're eating whole foods, you're sort of automatically gluten free. But okay, great. It was good to know, right? I mean. Cause I wasn't never big. I mean, I'm not gonna say I never eat processed food. I mean, I'm not perfect at all. But I mean, for the most part, I was eating pretty healthy and trying to stick to real foods. So, I mean, the gluten free thing was easy for me. It wasn't really a big deal. I was kind of already doing that anyway. And so I, you know, I started to put into practice some of the things that he was saying. And then I had a bad experience of, I will say that. And I'm on NP thyroid now, and I love it. We could talk about that too. I mean, I'm on lyothyrenine, I'm on NP thyroid. I feel great. In fact, my dosage, I'm only taking half of the dosage I was taking before. And I feel great because I think maybe there was still some thyroid function in there. I don't know. But since January of this year, I've been on half the dosage. However, I did have a thyroid storm. And I'm bringing this up because I want people to understand. Like, I did not let this stop me because I still knew I had Hashimoto's. But I think looking back, it was probably a mistake on the compounding pharmacy's part because I take things as directed. I'm not one of those people that goes off the rails. I mean, I do what the doctor tells me, right? And I ended up with thyroid storm. And for some whatever reason, I don't know why this happened, but I kept spiking fevers. It was unrelated to the thyroid storm. But like one of the viruses that's dormant in our system, I think it was shingles or one of those viruses, kind of became active and went after my liver. And my liver enzymes were like in the eight hundreds. Crazy. Had this crazy uninsured hospital stay, which is going to be the topic of my second book, because that really hit home just how much insurance inflates the cost of everything. I mean, I saw it firsthand.

[C]

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[A]

Okay, so I get through that, everything was fine. And of course, the doctor, right, the conventional doctor, the hospitalist at the hospital, took one look at. I was armor at the time. Armor, thyroid. Oh, my God. Did you know this was made from pigs? And I said, yeah, it's better than being made in a lab. You know, like, she had this problem with it being from an animal. And I'm like, okay, look. And I didn't know really what had happened, but I came out of that experience and I said, you know, I still have Hashimoto's. Yes, it was very scary. It was terrifying. I'm not gonna lie. I just need to find the right doctor. I just didn't find the right functional medicine practitioner. And maybe this was a compounding pharmacy mistake. And so the next person I go to, you know, I'll be honest about what happened. So that led me to another practitioner who was wonderful local here to where I live in central Florida. I'm in Melbourne by the. On the Atlantic coast. But then by the time I got to her, I kind of thought about it. I'm like, well, maybe I could do this naturally. And this is a point I really want to bring home here too, because this is really important. Maybe I can do this naturally. Right? So I had this poor woman, she was a nurse practitioner. I think I had her so terrified by my experience, she was afraid to prescribe T3 or LY with irony for me, right? So we were like, we were doing it with supplements. And I mean, my numbers, I mean, I think the first time I went to see her, my T3 was like, was horrible. It was like 1.93. I mean, it was like in the toilet. It was really, really bad. Right. And just for reference, right, we want it to be 3.2 or higher, right? Usually.

[C]

Right.

[B]

So you were super low. Now at this point in time, when you tested that free T3 and when you went to her thinking you're going to do this naturally, did you just go cold turkey? Were you off your thyroid meds then?

[A]

Because, yeah, I was terrified. And my, you know, and my mom, of course, was freaking out at my sister. And so, you know, my sister was a medical malpractice defense attorney and she went into that line of work based on what she saw my dad go through. But she's very, you know, conventional insurance system, the whole thing. And so I said, okay, you know, I'm going to figure out another way to do this. But the funny thing is, when I was working with this other practitioner, the joint pain did go away. I mean, that was a symptom I had when I started with her. So I did get some symptoms, did alleviate, but I was still like, I still had the fatigue, I still had the thinning hair. I still just wasn't feeling myself, you know, And I'm like, okay, I'm kind of getting there. But the T3 is still low. And, you know, I just, I don't think this is going to work. However, she was the one that introduced me to low dose naltrexone. And, you know, and that is also a prescription. And that for me now, I know a lot of people have difficulty taking it. I was very fortunate in that we titrated up to 4, 4 milligrams. Never had a problem. I take it to this day, I've never had a problem with it. Now, I do understand that some people cannot take it. And that speaks to the bio individuality, which Is another thing I love about functional medicine is because it's very personalized. It's not this one size fits all. What works for me may not work for the next person. And that's okay. You can find another way. But so. But she put me on that, and I think that probably helped. And that was part of the reason why some of the symptoms, you know, alleviated. However, I still wasn't optimized, and I knew that I needed to do something different. And I think, like I said, I think I scared this poor woman into, like, I'm not prescribing this stuff for her because, you know, I had told her about this whole scary experience I had. So anyway, I think it was probably. It was in 2021. It was probably, like, around September. Ish. I remember this. I woke up one morning with the thought in my head. And I'm a big believer in intuition. You know, follow your intuition. I've been affirming and praying about it, and I just heard this. I heard it in my mind, like, go online right now and look up thyroid specialists. So I went online and did that, and Dr. Weston Childs popped up on my search results. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna follow him. So I started listening to his podcast, and then one day, he interviewed Dr. Amy Horneman. And Amy, man, I was just blown away. Not just by your knowledge, obviously. Your intelligence, your whole story, your whole pain to purpose story. But you were so relatable and so funny and just so approachable. I thought, ma', am, I gotta start listening to her podcast. And you were sharing information for free that I was actually putting into practice in my life that I never heard from any other practitioner that was actually helping me. And I think, like, three months later, I was like, man, if she's sharing this information for free, and I'm. I'm putting these things into practice, and they're helping. Like, what more can she do for me if I join her program? So that's when I decided. I believe I had a discovery call in, like, December of that year, 2021. With Rory. Yeah, it was. He was wonderful. My God, we were like, blah, blah, blah on the phone. Like, Rory, I think. I think our 30 minutes is up. But we just hit it off, and it was just really fun. And then I believe you were so booked that, like, I think I started and actually started the program in February.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. That's what I was seeing patients, like, solely. So that was a good time. Oh, my goodness.

[A]

I can imagine.

[B]

I had no help. So I was kind of booked out a little bit there, Daria, but now that you're telling me your story, I'm remembering that story of the thyroid storm and then trying to go natural and just not quite cutting it. And you know, my view of going natural, it's like if you can catch, let's say Hashimoto's, I mean, this could apply to any health condition, but specifically thyroid and Hashimoto's, if you can catch it early in the very, very, very beginning stages. And let's just say, you know, your free T3 isn't a 1.9, that it still is rather robust in the threes and your symptoms are minimal and maybe you're just showing signs of antibodies. Okay, maybe at that point we could do the gluten free lotos now. Check some black cumin seed oil. Controlling stress, throw in those nutrients to support the body, and maybe you'll be able to stay off thyroid hormone replacement. But I am a huge proponent of us using the proper terminology when we're talking about thyroid medication and let's call it thyroid hormone replacement because we're replacing hormones that are no longer being properly made by your body. I totally understand wanting to stay off medication. Right. The synthetic progesterone that they put you on birth control that they hound out like candy. Antidepressants, statins, sleeping pills, BP meds. BPIs.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's the category of meds that all day long your doc will give you to band aid. The symptoms of low thyroid function.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yep. And like I said, you know, when I was putting my book together and researching the keywords for the subtitle, one of the keywords that came up that my book publicist said, you know, natural healing is a keyword. And I said, no, no, no, I'm not using that because I do not want to mislead people. I am not against prescriptions.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Np thyroid is a prescription. Lyothyronine is a prescription. Low dose naltrexone is a prescription. But the difference is they're actually addressing, like you said, replacing the thyroid that the body is not producing anymore, you know, but should be. You were just replacing that and low dose naltrexone. I mean, my God, my antibodies have come way down. I mean, I think it's a combination. That's another thing too, too, like with functional medicine, it's really, I believe it's just, for me anyway, was a combination of a lot of different things. I can't point to any one thing. It was the right things. In the right combination for me, very personalized. That did it. And I know, you know, we had to tweak the. The dosage too, with. With fly. With irony, you know, and it's. It's an art. It really is an art. I think medicine is really an art.

[B]

It really is.

[C]

And.

[B]

And thyroid optimization is a. A nuanced art form. I mean, it really does take dialing it in. And. And you're using all the same words that I use. Just that. Personalization, bio, individuality. It is. It's about learning that person and what do they need, what combination, what dose, what do they need? And what works for Susie Q. Over here isn't necessarily going to work for you.

[A]

Exactly. And that's another reason why I wrote my book. I have a free guide in there about how to find the right functional medicine practitioner for you. I'm very clear to say I'm not any kind of medical practitioner. I don't. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not in that field at all. I'm just a much more informed patient. Thanks to functional medicine and your program. Amy, I want to say that it was about five months, right? And it was a lot of education that I personally loved, because I do think that people should become participants in their health and not just outsource it to their doctor, even if it's a functional medicine doctor. Because this is a collaboration. Like, Amy, you could say, hey, I think I want to, you know, I want to start you on this, this, and this. And if I don't do it, if I don't do the strength training, right? If I don't stop the aerobics, that was another thing that the previous practitioner, before I got to you, said to me, you've got to stop all aerobics. And I'm like, why? And she's like, your body is on a treadmill, like, strength train, do yoga, do Pilates, but give up. Like, I was doing extended. I mean, I'm not talking about like a warmup. I mean, I was doing extended cardio.

[C]

I know. I was.

[B]

I was there. I was a cardio queen, too. I get it. And so many people do, because you're in this. This frustration mode where literally you're trying anything. You know, okay, well, an hour cardio doesn't work. Let's do an hour and a half. Or let's do two a day. Let's restrict even more. And we don't even realize, like, we're doing our body a disservice. We're actually doing our Body harm by going to the extremes like that. Out of frustration.

[A]

Yeah. And why is it that we always want to do more? It's. It's funny. Like, do this harder. You like?

[B]

Yeah. More is better. More is better.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. So, you know, it's funny because you mentioned that you are on NP thyroid. And of course, you know that we are still in December of 2025, we still don't know what's going to happen to your medication. You know, it might be that you change over to armor. It might be that you have to go to the. How I call it, biosynthetic. Because when we are talking about thyroid hormones, the Synthroid, the liothyronine, they still fall under biosynthetic. Meaning they are, yes, manufactured in the lab, but they are identical to what your thyroid gland makes different from. I want to clarify this for the listener. Different from the synthetic hormones that Daria's doctor tried to put her on that are in birth control, that are in Provera. Those are true synthetic sex hormones. They are not anything like that which our body makes. But the lyothyrenine, cytomel, Synthroid, Levo, those are. But for you, you have found that NP, thyroid and a biosynthetic lyothyronine T3 works beautifully in combination together. So what is your input on what's going on with the FDA's?

[A]

First of all, I'm not sure I have to watch my language here on the show. First of all, I was just infuriated.

[B]

You don't have to watch your language on the show. You let it go, girl.

[A]

I just, you know. Okay, let's think back over the last five years. Right. And they're okay with a product that's killing people, causing myocarditis. Yeah. You know, causing young kids to die. Right. And now we're even talking about others. Other cancers.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Turbocans. That's okay, though. That's all.

[B]

You could get a free donut if you went to Rite Aid and maybe even a puppy dog if you brought your kids. Yeah.

[A]

And you could go to liquor store and drink all the alcohol you want. But don't even think about going to the gym. Don't even think about strength training. Anyway. Okay, so the FDA really has no credibility in my mind. I think it's all regulatory capture, unfortunately. You know, we think we vote for people, but there are so many unelected bureaucrats making decisions, and I think it's all based on money. In fact, I think. Now, I can't think of the guy's name now. But I think I saw an update, Amy, from someone, one of your colleagues, that there's a specific individual pushing this. And I was like, aha. Like you always said. You said on one of your podcasts, follow the money trail when you were talking about it. Yeah. And Advi Pharmaceuticals. Right. Weren't you talking about their involvement? Yeah.

[B]

Abbvie owns armor and they bought Synthroid. So Abbvie is doing a clinical trial where they are pitting Synthroid against armor to see which one keeps your TSH within normal limits. Oh. Oh, I know. I know which one's going to win. I know Synthron is going to win that all day long. Is that little bit of T3 in your NDT medication in the armor is going to push your TSH below. And then they're going to say, well, look, those. Those natural desiccated pig thyroid glands, they put people into hyperthyroid because that TSH is low.

[A]

It's just. It's so infuriating. I know. It's just. It. It frustrates me to no end. And I do applaud you and your colleagues who created the Thyroid Health alliance. Is it? I was on there, and that was actually because I have a podcast that was actually my first episode because I was so mad when I first saw you on Instagram talking about it. And I was like, damn it, I. And I had a feeling, you know, just based on everything that's happened over the last five years, five or six years, I'm like, okay, how long until they start coming for the hormones? And, gee, let's start with. Let's start with thyroid. So.

[B]

It's scary. It's scary. We'll see what happens. We still don't know anything, but we'll see what happens.

[A]

Yeah, well, listen, and I. Amy didn't tell me to say that, to mention this on the air, but I did purchase a bunch of your thyroid glandular supplements just as stock. Yeah, honestly, I did, because I'm like, okay, I can still refill it now, but I mean, there may. Hopefully not. Maybe we can turn this thing around. I don't know. But I just wanted to be prepared just in case. And so I. I stocked up. Cause you had a really. You had a good sale. And I was like, okay, I'm stocking up on these. I won't need them, hopefully for a long time. But, you know, like, the thing is, Amy, when you feel great, you want to keep feeling great. And really care should be between a patient and their practitioner. I don't like the Word provider. I like to say practitioner. And if you work it out with your practitioner and you're happy, like the FDA should have no say in that. But we know that's not how life.

[B]

Works, so it's not, unfortunately. It's follow the money trail. But I think there will be alternatives for anyone. Listen, say, I really do believe there will be alternatives. But yes, the thyroid glandular supplements, they are gone. Like, we got a cease and desist letter. We've not received anything since allowing us to resume production. So as soon as thyroid glandular is gone, it's gone as of now. Yeah, it's kind of scary. It's kind of scary. So let's go back to. I want to talk to the people that are ready to advocate for themselves. Like you said, you have a guide that basically gives people step by step practices on how to find the right doctor. How do you search out someone in functional medicine? So, you know, kind of give me your, your top three and then I want to piggyback off those.

[A]

Sure. So I would, you know, ask some questions just about maybe their education, their background, what led them to go into functional medicine. Because I've learned that that's really, it's really important to understand why. I think that one of the reasons I was attracted to you and wanting to work with you was your whole pain to purpose story. I'm like, oh my God, she's been there, done that. I mean, I, I could totally relate to everything you were saying on that interview the first time I saw you. And so that gave you a lot of credibility in my mind. Because then you were like, well, then I went back to school and I got the education I needed to be able to help other people do this. And so I would say that that's important. I would, you know, I would ask that. I also. It's gonna sound silly, but again, I'm a big believer in intuition. If you talk to this person and you just get a sense that they're not very compassionate, like that one doctor I mentioned that I went to that. I should have, I should have cut that off sooner. That's another lesson I've learned. Then if you're uncomfortable, if they kind of laugh at your questions or they brush off your questions, go somewhere else. Because there are so many good practitioners out there. Also, you know what kind of like, if you're in person, I know a lot of this is telemed, but if you are in person, like, what kind of feeling do you get from the staff? Or even if it is a Telehealth thing. Like I said, I had my discovery call with Rory. I mean, he was so awesome, so friendly. Like, if they're first the person that's a representative of you, and really, he was representing you and your brand. Right. So whoever it is for that practitioner, if that your first point of contact is rude or you feel like they brush you off or they don't listen, then maybe that's not something you want to pursue. Also might be something you might want to talk to the practitioner about, because if you're a good one, they'd want to know things like that. So I think, you know, just. Just asking questions, seeing how they treat you, what kind of vibe you get. Also asking them how they work. Like, you know, how long I'm going to be there in my first appointment. Are you going to explain my labs to me? Like, I think now, you know, it's funny, Like, a friend of mine said to me yesterday, you're such a geek with this stuff. Like, most people don't want to know that. You're like, the small minority of patients that want to know this kind of stuff. And I'm like, well, and maybe it is because of my dad, and I've been around doctors my whole life, but I find it fascinating, and I do want to know what's going on. And I loved. Like, that was the one thing I loved about your course, was I understood labs. And even your podcast, I mean, you explain labs. And also the flip side of that, of not hanging your hat on labs either, like, gauging how you feel. And I actually keep binders. I mean, I know this is. I'm really geeking out now, but I do because I want to kind of see patterns. Like, I'm looking for patterns and symptoms, patterns and results, because maybe if I'm going off the rails a little bit and something's creeping up, I want to get control of that. So I find it interesting. But, yeah, so those are some of the things I recommend people do in my guide, which is free. I mean, they can. And my book is. I'm keeping it at 99 cents in Kindle because I want to help as many people as possible. Yes. Oh, my gosh.

[B]

That's crazy. I didn't know that. Okay, that's amazing. Well, we're going to link to that in the show notes as well, so no worries there. People will be able to grab it real quick. Going back to the functional medicine have you found? Because I talk about this a lot, too, and I see this over and over again. Especially with the patients that come from these functional places into the clinic. Have you found that functional medicine has also become a marketing buzzword for conducting doctors to get out of the insurance system?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do. And I think that, like, you know, it's amazing, like, when I started sharing my book with people, like, in person, how many people said to me, oh, my God, I have an autoimmune condition. Oh, my God. I know, like, five people that have an autoimmune condition. And I think that, you know, you're saying the functional medicine. I think people almost, like, tune it out. It's a buzzword. But I think they're either confused or they don't trust anyone. Because even though there are all these fabulous people like you that put out all this great content, I think people are just. They don't know who to trust. And that. That's why I wrote the book, because I wanted to share my experience and tell them, like, you can find the right person. They are out there. And I know it is the functional medicine. It. That term is everywhere. It's almost like to the point where it's. I don't want to say meaningless, but it's just oversaturated.

[C]

It is.

[B]

It is. Well, that's my point. It's like, I'll take your steps and take them one step further. And maybe this is in your guide, too. But to also ask, what is their specialty? Because you can't. If you are, what is it? A jack of all trades. You're a master of none. And if you have Hashimoto's, if you have pcos, that's thyroid hormone, and you need a thyroid hormone expert, you don't need a. I don't even know, a heavy metal Detox X.

[A]

Right. Don't. Right.

[B]

Or these functional practitioners that say we do everything, you go to their website and it's like Epstein Barr virus, Hashimoto's hormones. Right. Detox. This, this. It's like, well, what are you really good at? Yes, you know, and I think that's important as well.

[A]

And thank you for reminding me, Amy. Yes, that is in my guide also. It's very, very important. So in my case, obviously, I had Hashimoto's. I wanted a thyroid specialist. And that's why that's the term I used that day when I went online to try to find someone very, very important. Absolutely. It's funny that you said that too, because I'm not going to say who this guy is, but I started noticing someone on Instagram and he's this doctor that, you know, everything's a toxin. And you could just solve everything by, you know, you don't, you don't need thyroid replacement. You know, there's nothing wrong like the antibodies. Your body's not confused. Your body's functioning the way it's supposed to, and, you know, you're just supposed to get rid of toxins. And I'm like, yeah, I was doing all that. And you know what? I still had Hashimoto's. I still had symptoms. No, like, you're misleading people. So I hate that. So 100%, thank you for reminding me about that.

[B]

It makes me want to stab my eye out. And then, and then when male doctors, male doctors, right. Who have never had a thyroid problem or have never gone through menopause start talking about how you don't need thyroid hormone, you don't need real hormones, I'm like, can we castrate you and then hold the testosterone back and see if you're gonna go on IG with your little fix the cell to get well protocol? Like, no, you're gonna be like, please give me testosterone.

[A]

Yeah, exactly. I know, I know. It's so, it's so infuriating. It's like that women's study too. Like it was, the whole thing was so flawed. And then in 2006, there's this little blurb somewhere saying, oh, we're sorry, this study is wrong. But meanwhile, all these women went off of hormones, petrified. You know, it's just makes me so mad, like, exactly, exactly.

[B]

Well, now your story is so powerful. Your book is so powerful. It's going to help so, so many people. So many people. So we're gonna put the links all in the show notes. I love that you're doing a free guide as well. Can you tell people where they can find you? Because really, I mean, your, your job is a ghostwriter, a content strategist. I mean, there might be listeners out there that want to work with you and share their story and put their pain to purpose story into a book, which they can totally do working with you. So share where they can find you.

[A]

Oh, thanks, Amy. Yeah, so you can find [e-mail] so that's TrueVoiceWritingervices.com and all my links to socials and everything is on there. I do a free discovery call, so there's a contact link there. If somebody is interested in learning more about my writing services, I'm happy to have a 30 minute conversation with them just to learn more about them. And I love ghostwriting. I think the best quality a ghostwriter can have is a genuine interest in other people. And I always have. I've just been fascinated by other people and their stories. And I've ghostwritten over a dozen books at this point and edited many, many more. So I would love that. I mean, reach out to me. We can talk. No obligation. Even if you just need a little bit of guidance, I'm happy to do that.

[B]

That's impressive, girl. It's impressive. Well, thank you for writing once again my Escape from the Sick Care System, A Guide to Overcoming Picos, Hashimoto's and Autoimmune Conditions with functional medicine. So Ms. Daria, thank you so much for being on and thank you all for listening. I hope you gained a lot of knowledge and just resonated with her story because it's, it's, it's so similar. We all have so many similar stories. All of us in the Hashimoto's hypothyroid world. We've all been there and done that and shared a similar story. So thank you for sharing.

[A]

Yours, Amy. Thank you for having me on. It was really a pleasure.

[C]

Absolutely.

[B]

And once again, thank you for listening. Make sure you share this episode subscribe to the podcast because what that does is it teaches Apple, it teaches Spotify to just show it to more people that need help. So thank you so much for listening.

[C]

The information shared on the Thyroid Fixer Podcast is intended solely for informational and educational purposes. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, treatment or before making changes to your healthcare regimen, including medications, supplements, or other therapies. Use of the information provided in this podcast does not establish a doctor, patient, or client provider relationship between you and the host or between you and any other healthcare professionals featured on the show. Any medical opinions or statements made by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or affiliated parties. Statements regarding dietary supplements or health related products mentioned in this podcast have not been evaluated by the fda. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Some episodes of the Thyroid Fixer Podcast may include sponsorships or affiliate links. The host may receive compensation for discussing or perhaps promoting certain products or services. Any such sponsorships or affiliations will be clearly disclosed during the episode. All opinions expressed are those of the host or guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of any sponsors.

[B]

The inclusion of a product or service.

[C]

Does not imply endorsement by any healthcare professional featured on this podcast.