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

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.

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)

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)

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.

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.

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.