Functional Medicine Stories Elena and Amber – Autoimmune

Show Notes

In Today’s Episode

Almost every autoimmune story I hear starts the same way. Something is wrong, the labs come back “normal” or the one abnormal result gets no comment, and you are sent home. Elena’s ferritin was low and nobody mentioned it. Amber could not move her hands and was told to exercise.

In this episode both of them tell the whole story. Elena describes what it was like to go from sluggish and cold to jittery and racing, the moment half her face went numb, and the Graves’ antibodies that finally explained it. She talks honestly about thyroid eye disease, about not recognizing herself in the mirror, and about the friction that came when she wanted to taper methimazole and her team said no.

Amber describes a year on hydroxychloroquine with migraines severe enough to send her home from work, flares that kept coming anyway, and the decision she made to walk away from her rheumatologist. She is clear that she does not recommend how she did it, and that finding a practitioner who could guide her was the turning point.

Where both stories converge is the gut. Amber’s methane was off the charts on her SIBO test. Elena’s stool test came back with H. pylori, dysbiosis, and intestinal permeability after a virus and a parasite picked up abroad. In both cases, addressing what was actually in the gut changed the downstream picture in a way that supplements alone had not.

We also talk about what does not come in a bottle. Yoga and mindfulness for Elena. Acupuncture and a less stressful work environment for both. The role chronic stress and trauma play in keeping the immune system switched on. And the reminder that this is a long game, not a thirty day fix.

There is a push and pull in our culture between the natural camp and the drug camp, and people get hurt in the middle of it. If you are in thyroid storm, you need medication. If you are bleeding and dehydrated from IBD, you need help calming that down. Root cause work and conventional care are not opponents. The goal is using both well and we are ready to support you in that.

Key Take Aways

• Autoimmune healing can be a layered process. Elena and Amber describe how addressing gut health, nutrition, infections, and other contributing factors became important parts of their journeys.
• Gut health may play an important role in autoimmunity. The conversation explores intestinal permeability, dysbiosis, SIBO, and how gut-related issues can intersect with inflammation and autoimmune symptoms.
• Lifestyle matters alongside clinical care. Yoga, mindfulness, acupuncture, movement, stress management, sleep, nutrition, and relationships are discussed as important components of overall health.
• Advocating for yourself is an important part of the healthcare journey. Elena and Amber encourage patients to research, ask questions, and seek providers who will listen and work collaboratively with them.
• Functional and conventional medicine can work together. Melody emphasizes that functional medicine should not mean automatically rejecting medications or emergency care, but rather finding an appropriate balance between immediate medical treatment and longer-term health strategies.

Topics Discussed

00:00 – Welcome to Table Talk
Melody introduces functional medicine pharmacists Elena Genik and Amber Fish and today’s conversation about autoimmune conditions.

02:33 – Elena’s Graves’ Disease Journey
Elena shares how fatigue, thyroid symptoms, and an unexpectedly high heart rate eventually led to a Graves’ disease diagnosis.

06:00 – Navigating Graves’ Disease & Thyroid Eye Disease
How Elena’s treatment evolved, the challenges she experienced with medication, and the development of Thyroid Eye Disease.

09:02 – Amber’s Rheumatoid Arthritis Story
Amber shares her experience with severe joint pain, medications, migraines, and her search for options beyond conventional treatment.

12:46 – The Gut-Autoimmune Connection
Why gut health, intestinal permeability, dysbiosis, infections, and inflammation become important areas to investigate in autoimmune conditions.

13:47 – Amber’s Gut Health Transformation
How testing revealed significant gut dysfunction and how addressing it coincided with major improvements in her pain and swelling.

16:20 – Elena’s Gut Health Breakthrough
After a virus, parasite, and major thyroid eye flare, Elena discovered H. pylori and dysbiosis and began addressing her gut health.

18:02 – Stress, Yoga, Mindfulness & Acupuncture
The role chronic stress may play in autoimmune symptoms and how Elena and Amber incorporated yoga, mindfulness, acupuncture, and other practices.

22:00 – Becoming Your Own Health Advocate
Why both women believe patients should ask questions, research their conditions, and seek practitioners willing to work collaboratively with them.

25:50 – Nutrition & Identifying Food Triggers
How elimination diets, food sensitivities, gluten, dairy, and individual food triggers can factor into an autoimmune health journey.

28:31 – Removing Triggers vs. Healing the Gut
Why identifying problematic foods or infections may only be one piece of the puzzle and the importance of supporting gut recovery.

31:29 – Autoimmune Health Is an Ongoing Journey
Amber and Elena discuss maintaining progress, navigating flares, and continuing to pay attention to nutrition, illness, stress, and lifestyle.

33:16 – Building a Lifestyle That Supports Healing
The importance of nourishing food, movement, sleep, relationships, stress management, and sometimes making larger life changes to prioritize health.

35:21 – Final Advice for Autoimmune Patients
Elena and Amber encourage listeners not to lose hope, to continue looking for answers, and to advocate for themselves.

36:06 – Finding the Middle Ground in Medicine
Melody discusses combining conventional treatment when necessary with functional medicine strategies rather than viewing the two approaches as opposites.

37:32 – Closing & Resources
Where listeners can connect with Elena, Amber, and the Pharm to Table team for functional medicine care and health coaching.

Resources Mentioned

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