Autoimmune Flare-Ups and Choosing Providers

Piyalli nochimeh! Hello everyone! It has been quite awhile since I have posted anything here. It has been a little bit of a wild ride since August 2024. In August, we found out about potentially life-endangering health issues of a couple of family members which brought us in to prioritizing, even more than we already do, connection with family. And of course, it brought stress with processing the information, waiting for surgeries to happen, feelings of grief, and releasing of expectations. Whew! Thankfully, both family members are doing much better now!

I'm sharing this because the high stress levels, coupled with traveling in August and October, brought me back into an autoimmune flare-up. Now that I am a couple months past the flare-up and have reflected on it, here's what I believe triggered it:

1. Not taking time to do my daily centering work- breathwork, meditation and quiet time

2. Over scheduling myself during the late luteal phase of my cycle when it is more natural to be slower and in reflection

3. Pushing my body physically to get ready for a surfing trip

4. Drinking alcohol 2 alcoholic drinks multiple times per month

It's important to reflect back and understand what the triggers are for our flare-ups so that we can avoid them (or occasionally intentionally engage in them) and also to become aware of (if we aren't already) what helps to keep us centered. Daily centering work can be a beautiful foundation when kept as a routine, helping us to flow like wind and water around life's obstacles.

This flare-up was similar to my previous flare-ups where I had fatigue and pain in my body- in my joints including my toe and finger joints, my knees, right hip and elbow, and my spine. I also had pain in my hair follicles. I also had three new symptoms: pain in my skin-I didn't want anyone to touch me, swollen finger joints, and lots of anger, which promoted my husband and I to decide that I needed to find a new Naturopathic Doctor and also to work with my conventional medicine doctor to see what was going on. (I will write another post soon talking about the different approaches between conventional medicine and working with a Naturopathic Doctor and also exploring what is functional medicine). I didn't have a Primary Care Provider (PCP) at the time, so I did some research within my insurance to choose a provider. I am an RN and picky with my providers so I wanted to choose a clinic that most closely aligned with my values. Here's what I looked for:

1. A place that took my insurance

2. A place that had online booking of appointments, online charts and provider messaging for convenience and because my cell doesn't have great reception where I live

3. A place that had appointments available almost immediately

4. A place that the providers were well cared for- I read the mission and values statements of several clinics before I chose one. In the place I chose, a value for the clinic was that providers would have flexibility in their schedules, encouraged provider time off, and emphasized not rushing through patient appointments. To me, if the provider is cared for, then they will have time and space to care for me

5. A place that had good reviews on Yelp from patients

6. A place that had multiple specialties in one clinic, for ease of care for both me and knowing all the providers had easy access to my charts for reference

7. A provider who valued nutrition and the outdoors- I read bios!

   
   

Choosing the right provider for you is important! Providers should be willing to listen to your concerns, wants and needs in how you want to address your health and willing to work with you in a team of other providers without projecting their egos onto your care-this is your health and your life! If you walk out of your appointment feeling like you haven't been heard or that you are on a circuit from provider to provider and there is no coherence and continuity with your care, you can choose another provider, another clinic. I know it may be some work, but to feel empowered in your care instead of disheartened will greatly affect your outcome and willpower to continue pursuing health.

When I got to my appointment, I told the Physician's Assistant what was happening in my life, my symptoms, and how I like to approach health- starting from finding the root cause of the symptoms and using a holistic, least invasive tool to start, then working up from there if needed. She was happy to work with me in this way! I asked if I could please have my hormones checked along with my labs because of symptoms of endometriosis. She agreed and ordered the labs. After labs, I learned that my progesterone was abnormally high so she referred me to an endocrinologist and a dermatologist for my psoriasis. (I am still working on finding out why my progesterone is high!)

Meanwhile, I also searched for a Naturopathic Doctor who is functional medicine certified. (I'll do a post on this soon, to share why I chose this!). First, I found a clinic that had multiple practitioners and seemed great, but they wanted me to agree to do the functional medicine tests and supplement protocols that they give to every person instead of an individual plan after a long initial intake. We decided that this didn't quite feel right- first of all, it was a LOT of money and second, it wasn't tailored to the individual and the symptoms, which is part of the point in functional medicine. So we continued to search and found an individual doctor who was open to working slowly through the process with us to help keep us from financial burnout, only doing tests and giving supplement protocols that were indicated because of my symptoms. We felt much better in this approach.

I am still working through completing all of the tests, but we did receive results from our DIY mold testing in our house and we found out our house was full of mold! We are currently working on remediation. I will share more about this in the post on conventional vs functional medicine.

Thanks for listening and I hope this share is helpful when looking for providers and understanding autoimmune flare-ups a little more. Sending love!