The defining moment for me came 12 years ago, when I decided to go on the pill at the age of 20. I was suffering from a hormonal imbalance called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. At my worst, I weighed 200 pounds, I had severe cystic acne on my face chest and back, I was deeply depressed, and I had my period only about three times a year. It was quite traumatic.
I didn't even know what I had for quite awhile. Doctor after doctor suggested that maybe I had a slow thyroid, or an endocrine problem, or even candida, but all their tests came back inconclusive. I finally diagnosed myself with PCOS after tremendous research on my own. And that's when I was hit with even worse news: PCOS is considered incurable by Western medicine.
The one thing my doctors agreed on, after finally performing the right diagnostic testing with my guidance, was that I should start taking oral contraceptives. They all believed that artificially regulating my hormone levels would reduce my unpleasant symptoms, even though they didn't know what the cause was. The pill never felt like the right option to me. But after saying no repeatedly, and not getting any other answers, I realized I had to take a scientific, experimental approach to my situation. I had to admit that, having never tried the pill, I didn't know how it would affect me. So I went ahead and tried it.
Less than two weeks later, I knew my original intuition to say 'no' was absolutely right. I was having ocular migraines, which caused me to lose my vision temporarily, in addition to the searing migraine pain, fluctuating body temperature, and heart arrhythmia. I realized that my body was not reacting to the artificial hormones in the pill the same way it would to hormones produced naturally in my body. The simple solution prescribed by all my doctors just wasn't going to work for me.
In that defining moment, I finally realized that it was up to me to empower my own healing process. If I had had access to the best medical thinking on these issues, as I was myself planning to be a GYN while studying at Johns Hopkins University, then what were women to do who didn't have my access for this condition and other GYN castaway conditions?
So that's what I began to do. I started studying everywhere and anywhere I could. I felt that there were answers available outside of Western medicine, so I apprenticed myself to alternative healthcare practitioners. I studied the whole gamut of herbology, naturopathy, homeopathy, acupressure, elimination diets, and tried everything. I used myself as a guinea pig to see what could be done.
During these experiments, I found that the only thing that worked on powerfully impacting my own body chemistry was food. When I found the right combination of medicinal foods to heal hormonal imbalances, I saw tremendous positive changes in my health. I lost 60 pounds, my skin cleared up, and my depression lifted. Best of all, I have had regular menstrual periods for the last decade. Out of all of this experimentation came an understanding of what the true underlying causes of hormonal imbalances are and the discovery of what has become my 5 step healing protocol and foundation of my company.
After completing my studies in Integrative Medicine and Nutrition, I formalized my protocol and opened up my center Laughing Sage Wellness, now FLO Living - in midtown manhattan. At first I began reaching out to other women with PCOS to let them know that their condition was not incurable. In those early years of my practice, I realized something very critical - the underlying causes of hormonal imbalances are very similar, and my protocol was effective for all the GYN castaway conditions.
Fast forward to today, I have a 10 year old center in Columbus Circle Manhattan, I have worked with many hundreds of women in the US and in four continents to heal naturally from these conditions, I educate ten thousand readers weekly through the LSW Newsletter, I hire and train other health counselors to deliver this protocol, and my company is poised on the precipice of major expansion.
The protocol I designed, which uses the science of food (nutrigenomics) to manipulate a woman's hormonal biochemistry, is now the study of a year long clinical trial spearheaded by a brilliant reproductive research scientist and physician from Columbia University in conjunction with the Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine. It should be noted that the lead physician for this study spent 10 years in his lab researching the effects of turmeric on the vascular health of ovaries!
I have been a woman on fire with a mission for a long time and now my vision for revolutionizing the way women's healthcare is delivered is coming to fruition. FLO Living was founded to treat women with chronic GYN issues such as PCOS, PMS, Fibroids, Cystic Ovaries, Thyroid Issues, Adrenal Fatigue, IBS, Amenorreah, Dysmenorreah, and HPV. If you've gone to the GYN and have discovered one of these issues and you've heard the following options given to you: drugs, surgery, or we'll see you in 6mos - then you need to know about what's possible for you at FLO Living.
