Search Results for: "healing stories"

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Episode 230: Healing Stories 11

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I start every year with a Healing Stories episode. It features back-to-back interviews with autoimmune warriors just like you! I ask them to share their journey from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. In this episode, we talk about Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, narcolepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, and also autoimmunity in general. Everyone’s story is unique, but we also have so much in common. Whatever your diagnosis, I hope these stories resonate and inspire.

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Episode 217: Healing Stories 10

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I start every year with a Healing Stories episode. It features back-to-back interviews with autoimmune warriors just like you! I ask them to share their journey from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. In this episode, we talk about Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Susac Syndrome. and also autoimmunity in general. Everyone’s story is unique, but we also have so much in common. Whatever your diagnosis, I hope these stories resonate and inspire.

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Episode 191: Healing Stories 9

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I start every year with a Healing Stories episode. It features back-to-back interviews with autoimmune warriors just like you! I ask them to share their journey from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. In this episode, we talk about rheumatoid arthritis, alopecia, myasthenia gravis, and also autoimmunity in general. Everyone’s story is unique, but we also have so much in common. Whatever your diagnosis, I hope these stories resonate and inspire.

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Episode 165: Healing Stories 8

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at a least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. In this episode, we talk about Ulcerative Colitis, Multiple Sclerosis, CRMO, Graves’ Disease, and also Autoimmunity in general. And if you want to hear the prior Healing Stories podcasts, check out episodes 1, 14, 30, 43, 61, 87, 113, and 139. Let’s inspire each other!

Episode 139: Healing Stories 7 | Phoenix Helix Podcast

Episode 139: Healing Stories 7

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at a least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. In this episode, we talk about Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Endometriosis, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Vasculitis, Celiac Disease, Type 1 Diabetes, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Antisynthetase Syndrome, and also Autoimmunity in general. And if you want to hear the prior Healing Stories podcasts, check out episodes 1, 14, 30, 43, 61, 87, and 113. Let’s inspire each other!

Episode 113: Healing Stories 6

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. In this episode, we talk about Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Adult Onset Stills Disease, but also Autoimmunity in general. And if you want to hear the prior Healing Stories podcasts, check out episodes 1, 14, 30, 43, 61, and 87. Let’s inspire each other!

Episode 87: Healing Stories 5

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at a least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. Today, we’ll be talking about Ulcerative Colitis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lichen Sclerosis, and ALS. And If you want to hear the prior Healing Stories podcasts, check out episodes 1, 14, 30 and 61. Let’s inspire each other!

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Episode 61: Healing Stories 4

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at a least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. In this episode, we’ll be talking about Diabetes, Alopecia, Lupus, Scleroderma, Myositis, Sjogren’s, Raynaud’s and Hidradenitis Suppurativa. And If you want to hear the prior Healing Stories podcasts, check out episodes 1, 14 and 30. Let’s inspire each other!

Episode 37: Meditation Healing Stories

Curious about the impact meditation can have in your life? Do you believe that you can’t meditate? Or that there’s one right way to do it? In this podcast, I interview four people with autoimmune disease, each sharing a different form of meditation and the impact it’s had on their health. At the end of the podcast, I share how meditation has worked in my own life since my rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis in 2012.

Episode 30: Healing Stories 3

If you’re a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I often start my shows with personal stories, where my guests share their health journeys from rock bottom to reclaiming a vital life. But at least once a year, I dedicate an episode to back-to-back healing stories, and I make an effort to speak to people with different autoimmune diagnoses each time. In this episode, my guests share their journeys with Scleroderma, Polymyositis, Raynaud’s, Psoriasis, Grave’s Disease, Uveitis, and Parkinson’s Disease.

Episode 14: Healing Stories 2

This episode includes 5 interviews with people maximizing their autoimmune health through the paleo diet and lifestyle. There’s nothing more inspiring than real life stories. Episode 1 of this podcast included 5 such stories and it is the most popular episode to date. Today we have a sequel and will talking about Hashimoto’s, Crohn’s, Myasthenia Gravis, Diabetes, Sarcoidosis, Cardiomyopathy and Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Episode 1 of the Phoenix Helix Podcast: Healing Stories

Let’s take it back to my very first podcast episode. The Phoenix Helix Podcast is dedicated 100% to autoimmune healing. I decided to kick off Episode 1 with personal healing stories. 4 guests and I talk about our rock bottom with autoimmune disease, how far we’ve come, and what diet and lifestyle choices made the biggest difference in our health.

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The Final Episode of the Phoenix Helix Podcast

Ten years ago in 2014, I recorded the very first episode of this podcast. Today is the last episode. In this final conversation, I celebrate the past 10 years and share what’s coming next.

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Episode 229: Best Of – Resilience with Dr. Cynthia Li

This is one of the most popular podcast episodes – for good reason! The topic is Resilience, that ability to bounce back from life’s hardships. With autoimmune disease, we get lots of practice. Sometimes we feel strong and capable of overcoming suffering. Other times we feel beaten down and frightened by our body’s unpredictability. The good news is that resilience isn’t something you either have or you don’t. Resilience is a trait we can nurture. My guest is Dr. Cynthia Li, a functional medicine physician who has autoimmune disease herself. The intensity of her own health challenges ended up being a masterclass in resilience, and also changed the way she practiced medicine.

Sandy smiling with shoulder length brown hair and a bright purple shirt

Sandy’s Healing Story (Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis)

For Sandy Swanson, symptoms began subtly and progressed slowly. At first, she thought it might simply be a sign of aging, even though she was only in her 30’s at the time. Like many people with Hashimoto’s, it took years to discover the cause. By that time, her symptoms had worsened, and doctors routinely dismissed them as “all in her head.” She experienced a lot of medical gaslighting. I know many of you can relate! In this interview, she shares her journey back to health, and the interventions that made the biggest difference.

Emma hiking, arms raised and smiling big

Emma’s Healing Story (Lupus Nephritis Class IV)

When Emma Chu Farnsworth was 18 years old, she was an athlete and a freshman in college. Over the course of three weeks, her life changed forever. What started as an unexplained rash on her face ended with a diagnosis of Lupus Nephritis Class IV. It was a shocking, overwhelming, and lonely time in her life. She’s incredibly grateful to conventional medicine for saving her life. Now nine years later, Emma is experimenting with diet and lifestyle changes to improve her life even more. With Emma, we celebrate the baby step approach to autoimmune health. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to do everything all at once. Each positive choice can reap rewards that you actually feel. For Emma, those rewards are less digestive bloating, increased energy, more mental clarity, and hope for what comes next.

Jenny smiling with short black hair and a lime green leather jacket

Jenny’s Healing Story (Autoimmune Pancreatitis)

It took 16 years and multiple hospital visits before Jenny received her diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis. Once she realized her condition was autoimmune, she decided to try the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP). After doing the elimination phase for 2.5 months, she returned to the gastroenterologist for follow-up testing. Her tests came back healthy and showed that the damage to her pancreas had healed. Simultaneously, the AIP also eliminated the asthma and eczema she had suffered from for years. Her doctor told her to keep doing what she was doing. That was six years ago. Since then, she’s reintroduced many foods successfully back into her diet, and has a personalized diet and lifestyle that supports her wellbeing. She shares the details in this interview.

Neil in his workshop, smiling with grey hair and a beard

Neil’s Healing Story (Celiac Disease)

Like many people with celiac disease, Neil went undiagnosed for years, and that led to a lot of damage to his small intestine. His symptoms were debilitating and impacted every aspect of his daily life. One of the hardest parts was not being able to make plans without fear that he would have to cancel. Now, after following a healing diet and lifestyle for five years, he’s starting to see some regrowth in his small intestine villi for the first time. His symptoms have also reduced enough that he’s able to enjoy the things he loves again, like skiing, motorcycling, and time with his friends and family. It’s been a long road, and there have been ups and downs along the way. He shares the details in this interview.

jacqueline smiling with her head tilted, wearing a blue top

Jacqueline’s Healing Story (Uveitis, Alopecia, Psoriasis)

Jacqueline’s autoimmune journey began with unexplained abdominal pains as a child, and ended with three autoimmune diagnoses as an adult. When she first developed uveitis, no one told her it was autoimmune. She only discovered that later as she developed two more autoimmune conditions: alopecia and psoriasis. Conventional medical treatment was helpful for the uveitis but had minimal impact on her other diagnoses. A friend finally told her about the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), and it was a life-changing discovery. Not only was she able to reverse her autoimmune symptoms and is medication-free today, she also overcame chronic insomnia. Her family also did the AIP alongside her, and their health improved as well.

Barclay Stockett smiling and standing in front of rainbow siding

Barclay’s Healing Story (Ulcerative Colitis)

Are you a fan of American Ninja Warrior? Did you know that Barclay (aka Sparkly Ninja) is an autoimmune warrior as well? She shares her story in this interview. Trauma has a powerful impact on autoimmunity. It increases the likelihood of developing autoimmune disease and can increase disease severity as well. Barclay knows this first-hand. Prior to her diagnosis, she was living a full and active life as a professional athlete. Then in 2019, her mother was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Three months later, Barclay started experiencing symptoms herself. It took over a year to get her official diagnosis, and it took two years to get her symptoms under control. Success came through a combination of medication, the support of her fiancée, belief in herself, and personal experimentation to discover what her body needed beyond medicine. Now in 2022, she’s competing in American Ninja Warrior again.

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Episode 196: Troubleshooting with Dr. Terry Wahls

This podcast is all about autoimmune empowerment! Making choices in our daily lives that minimize symptoms and maximize our joy in living. That said, it’s not always easy. Sometimes the habits are hard to start and hard to keep. Other times, you’re doing everything right but not seeing the results you hoped to achieve. So, today, we’re doing a troubleshooting episode with an expert guest and one of my favorite people: Dr. Terry Wahls. She is a functional medicine physician, a clinical researcher, a professor of medicine, and a fellow autoimmune warrior. In this episode, she shares her best advice for thriving with autoimmune disease and troubleshooting the obstacles we encounter along the way. We talk about motivation, family dynamics, digestion, supplements, physical therapy, personalized diets, and more!

Ann smiling in her kitchen wearing a kansas jayhawks shirt - a favorite sports team

Ann’s Healing Story (CREST: Limited Scleroderma)

After 23 years of living with scleroderma, Ann has experienced both lows and highs. She’s become an expert on her condition, because she had to be. Many doctors didn’t offer the care she needed because scleroderma is a rare condition that very few doctors truly understand. Now, she has a great healthcare team, and she is at the center. She’s also become more empowered over the years with her daily life choices. She actively supports her health through diet, meditation, exercise, sleep, and other forms of self-care. As she puts it: “I have the capability to overcome a lot of what happens to me, and I am in control of my autoimmune journey.”

Lauren’s Healing Story (Autoimmune Encephalitis)

What happens when diet and lifestyle changes don’t lead to the improvements you seek, and the doctors aren’t providing solutions that work either? It may seem strange that I’m highlighting a story where the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol wasn’t the answer, but sometimes that happens. Lauren Mabry didn’t give up. Autoimmune encephalitis is a rare autoimmune condition that’s only recently been discovered. That was a huge barrier to an accurate diagnosis. She went to multiple doctors and tried both conventional and functional medicine approaches. While she would experience short-term improvements, her symptoms always returned and eventually escalated to the point that nothing helped. She continued to advocate for her health until she got the right diagnosis, and eventually the right treatment (having to fight her insurance company to receive it). She’s a role model of persistence and self-advocacy and shares her story with us today.

Elise’s Healing Story (Alopecia & Eczema)

Elise Chan has suffered from alopecia, eczema, and osteoarthritis. For a long time, she attributed it to stress, and stress does influence her symptoms. But when she had a chance to research further, she realized diet might be a root cause as well. She turned to the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol and got dramatic results.

Lindsey’s Healing Story (Pernicious Anemia, ITP, Hashimoto’s)

When you have one autoimmune disease, you’re more likely to develop another, and that has been Lindsey Parsons’ experience. She got three diagnoses within one year: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and pernicious anemia. She was lucky to get diagnosed early before symptoms became severe. When conventional doctors offered little in the way of treatment and suggested a “wait and see” approach, she took her health into her own hands. Diet and lifestyle changes reduced her thyroid antibodies from 103 to 15, and her other symptoms improved as well.

Chad’s Healing Story (Multiple Sclerosis)

Chad King is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, who is also living with multiple sclerosis. He was diagnosed when he was just 21 years old and told by his doctors that he may end up paralyzed. Looking for hope, he found The Wahls Protocol and turned his health around.

Tameka’s Healing Story (Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Sjogren’s Syndrome)

For Tameka Martin, intermittent health problems in adolescence led to more serious health problems as an adult. At her worst, she had six diagnoses but no solutions. She felt trapped in her own body. The Paleo Autoimmune Protocol healed many of her symptoms and restored both her physical and mental wellness. She shares the details of her journey with us today.

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