Thriving after thyroidectomy with Patricia Pomareda
05/18/23 • 48 min
Did you know that taking care of your adrenal system through detoxifying your body can help turn your life around? That's right! By understanding healthy habits like eating well, staying active, practicing mindfulness, taking the right supplements, and keeping an eye on your iron levels, you can make a big difference in your battle against thyroid cancer.
Joining us is Patricia Pomareda, a dedicated family nurse practitioner specializing in integrative medicine with a diverse background in geriatrics, urgent care, women's health, and primary care. She is a visionary; consistently advocating for her patients and deriving immense satisfaction from assisting them to attain optimal health and prevent chronic afflictions.
Following her diagnosis of thyroid cancer in June 2020, Patricia felt lost and fearful while undergoing treatment. Although she anticipated her life returning to normal, she quickly realized there would be a new normal to adjust to. "I was taking my supplements, I was eating, I was doing everything right on time. But when I went to go do my blood work. My ferritin was below range. It was super low. And so I knew because I was having all the symptoms of iron deficiency, this unreal fatigue. This is not the only thing but was a major driver for my source of fatigue. So I was just kind of piecing things together, like what would I do as a provider for myself?"
In this episode, join Patricia as she shares her journey with thyroid cancer and how it has impacted her approach to practicing medicine. She also explores her mission to promote public awareness of thyroid health and resilience through her clinic, The Integrative NP. Don't miss out on her insightful story!
Episode Timestamps:
0:02 - Episode Overview
0:35 - Dr. Christianson introduces Patricia Pomareda, Integrative Medicine Family Nurse Practitioner
2:42 - Dealing with neurological symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic.
7:52 - Patricia's thoughts on mortality and coping strategies upon diagnosis of thyroid cancer amidst COVID-19 pandemic.
13:03 - Using a patient-centered care experience to assist patients in receiving appropriate tests and diagnoses.
15:35 - Patricia's experience with thyroid surgery and the issues that persisted.
17:01 - Identifying any form of stress, be it mental, physical, or metabolic, in laying the groundwork for restoring physiology.
19:14 - The significance of exercising mindfulness and meditation, and detoxifying your body.
21:44 - How supplement selection and iron level monitoring address adrenal system care.
25:32- Understanding the importance of eating right, exercising regularly, meditation, and cultivating mindfulness practices for physiologic changes.
28:35 - Why thyroid cancer affects females more frequently than males, as indicated in statistics and trends.
31:10 - Early detection and treatment as the key to surviving women's health issues and the importance of patient empowerment in healthcare conversations.
37:38 - Resilient thyroid program and methodology.
38:25 - Establishing resiliency and optimizing thyroid hormones and adrenal health.
41:17 - Helping other people through integrative and non-integrative medicine.
42:43 - The gentle approach to iodine and the latest research on its importance for optimal health.
44:30 - Resilient thyroid methodology and other projects on integrative and non-integrative medicine.
44:53 - Patricia's journey in integrative health and her practice: the Integrative NP, balancing traditional and non-traditional approaches to healthcare.
47:40 - Final statement.
Patricia is an Integrative Medicine Family Nurse Practitioner. As a graduate of the University of Miami, she received training at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. She is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine and is board-certified through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
In July of 2020 Patricia was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She had a thyroidectomy and subsequent treatment. As a provider on the receiving end of treatment, she was lost and afraid. She was told that her life would go back to normal and learned very quickly that there would be a new normal. Her cancer journey has shaped the way she practices medicine and she has made it her mission to promote thyroid awareness and thyroid resilience in her community through her practice, The Integrative NP.
"Eating right, exercising, and setting up mindfulness habits (...) never ends, even when you're an adult. If we know what we have to do, we're able to get up faster and establish resilience."
Patricia Pomerada
Learn more about Patricia Pomareda here: www.theintegrativenp.com
Her thyroid checklists:
Did you know that taking care of your adrenal system through detoxifying your body can help turn your life around? That's right! By understanding healthy habits like eating well, staying active, practicing mindfulness, taking the right supplements, and keeping an eye on your iron levels, you can make a big difference in your battle against thyroid cancer.
Joining us is Patricia Pomareda, a dedicated family nurse practitioner specializing in integrative medicine with a diverse background in geriatrics, urgent care, women's health, and primary care. She is a visionary; consistently advocating for her patients and deriving immense satisfaction from assisting them to attain optimal health and prevent chronic afflictions.
Following her diagnosis of thyroid cancer in June 2020, Patricia felt lost and fearful while undergoing treatment. Although she anticipated her life returning to normal, she quickly realized there would be a new normal to adjust to. "I was taking my supplements, I was eating, I was doing everything right on time. But when I went to go do my blood work. My ferritin was below range. It was super low. And so I knew because I was having all the symptoms of iron deficiency, this unreal fatigue. This is not the only thing but was a major driver for my source of fatigue. So I was just kind of piecing things together, like what would I do as a provider for myself?"
In this episode, join Patricia as she shares her journey with thyroid cancer and how it has impacted her approach to practicing medicine. She also explores her mission to promote public awareness of thyroid health and resilience through her clinic, The Integrative NP. Don't miss out on her insightful story!
Episode Timestamps:
0:02 - Episode Overview
0:35 - Dr. Christianson introduces Patricia Pomareda, Integrative Medicine Family Nurse Practitioner
2:42 - Dealing with neurological symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic.
7:52 - Patricia's thoughts on mortality and coping strategies upon diagnosis of thyroid cancer amidst COVID-19 pandemic.
13:03 - Using a patient-centered care experience to assist patients in receiving appropriate tests and diagnoses.
15:35 - Patricia's experience with thyroid surgery and the issues that persisted.
17:01 - Identifying any form of stress, be it mental, physical, or metabolic, in laying the groundwork for restoring physiology.
19:14 - The significance of exercising mindfulness and meditation, and detoxifying your body.
21:44 - How supplement selection and iron level monitoring address adrenal system care.
25:32- Understanding the importance of eating right, exercising regularly, meditation, and cultivating mindfulness practices for physiologic changes.
28:35 - Why thyroid cancer affects females more frequently than males, as indicated in statistics and trends.
31:10 - Early detection and treatment as the key to surviving women's health issues and the importance of patient empowerment in healthcare conversations.
37:38 - Resilient thyroid program and methodology.
38:25 - Establishing resiliency and optimizing thyroid hormones and adrenal health.
41:17 - Helping other people through integrative and non-integrative medicine.
42:43 - The gentle approach to iodine and the latest research on its importance for optimal health.
44:30 - Resilient thyroid methodology and other projects on integrative and non-integrative medicine.
44:53 - Patricia's journey in integrative health and her practice: the Integrative NP, balancing traditional and non-traditional approaches to healthcare.
47:40 - Final statement.
Patricia is an Integrative Medicine Family Nurse Practitioner. As a graduate of the University of Miami, she received training at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. She is a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine and is board-certified through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
In July of 2020 Patricia was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She had a thyroidectomy and subsequent treatment. As a provider on the receiving end of treatment, she was lost and afraid. She was told that her life would go back to normal and learned very quickly that there would be a new normal. Her cancer journey has shaped the way she practices medicine and she has made it her mission to promote thyroid awareness and thyroid resilience in her community through her practice, The Integrative NP.
"Eating right, exercising, and setting up mindfulness habits (...) never ends, even when you're an adult. If we know what we have to do, we're able to get up faster and establish resilience."
Patricia Pomerada
Learn more about Patricia Pomareda here: www.theintegrativenp.com
Her thyroid checklists:
Previous Episode
Adrenal/Thyroid Connection with Dr. Izabella Wentz
Adrenal stress is real. It can hurt your thyroid and cause major symptoms like:
- Insomnia
- Mid-body weight gain
- Food cravings
- Fatigue
How do you know what can help it? We now have even more evidence that adrenal symptoms can improve with natural lifestyle therapy. My friend Dr. Wentz created a protocol that was successfully tested for over 900 people. Most saw marked improvement in adrenal symptoms in just a few months.
She has a new book out that explains the adrenal/thyroid connection and walks readers through the protocol. In this episode, she and I discuss why your adrenals matter and what you can do to help them.
As a pharmacy graduate, Dr. Izabella Wentz is fascinated by science and the impact of substances on the human body. After two years of researching Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism, she combined emerging knowledge with her quality improvement expertise to run rapid changes on herself, leading her to discover the root cause of her condition. She has summarized three years of research and two years of testing in her book: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause.
If you experience thyroid symptoms, tune in to this episode as Dr. Izabella Wentz explains in simple terms how lifestyle changes can be used to identify and treat the underlying causes of adrenal fatigue.
Episode Timestamps:
0:00 - Episode overview
0:35 - Guest introduction
4:31 - Conversation regarding Dr. Wentz's move to Texas.
9:15 - Introduction to Dr. Wentz's trial, study, and survey.
10:33 - The connection between thyroid health and the adrenal side of thyroid care.
11:33 - Dr. Wentz's healing journey in addressing the symptoms of adrenal fatigue.
16:20 - Comparing the evidence and experience of the fatigue model versus dysfunction.
16:50 - The adrenal fatigue model, its association with other diseases, and its existence.
18:12 - Understanding adrenal dysfunction - how our body compensates under too much stress.
20:15 - Exploring how the body receives danger signals when deprived of sleep, insufficient calorie intake, and excessive stress.
23:22 - Solutions and practical steps to transition towards thriving and healing modes.
27:31 - Obtaining sunshine or utilizing a light therapy box early in the morning as one strategy.
29:49 - The potential of weight loss and a natural increase in metabolism to alleviate fatigue.
31:10 - How Dr. Wentz assisted patients in transforming their lives by modifying their lifestyles.
32:58 - At what point will the advantages of lifestyle modification become evident?
33:37 - Who should undertake all of the mentioned protocols?
34:15 - Where to get Dr. Wentz's books and other great resources.
34:47 - Episode closing
Dr. Izabella Wentz is a compassionate, innovative, solution-focused integrative pharmacist dedicated to finding the root causes of chronic health conditions. Her passion stems from her own diagnosis with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in 2009, following a decade of debilitating symptoms. As an accomplished author, Dr. Wentz has written several best-selling books, including the New York Times best seller "Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause," the protocol-based #1 New York Times best seller "Hashimoto's Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back," and the Wall Street Journal best seller "Hashimoto's Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols and Healing Recipes to Take Charge of Your Thyroid
Health."
Her latest book, "Adrenal Transformation Protocol," is set to be released on April 18th, 2023. The book focuses on resetting the body's stress response through targeted safety signals and features a 4-week program that has already helped over 3,500 individuals. The program has an impressive success rate, with over 80% of participants improving their brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, sleep issues, and libido.
You can purchase Dr. Izabella Wentz’s books here -
Website: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/
Adrenal Transformation Protocol Book: Amazon
Catch Dr. Wentz at:
Facebook: ThyroidLifestyle
Instagram: @izabellawentzpharmd
Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving a review! Visit these links to learn
more:
Next Episode
Marta’s story - Dangers of thyroid meds when overprescribed.
In this episode of Medical Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales, we have the pleasure of chatting with Marta, a behavior change facilitator who shared her journey battling hypothyroidism. The thyroid's primary purpose is to control the body's metabolic rate, which is the speedometer for energy conversion. If it goes haywire, it can affect the entire body system. We're talking about everything from sluggishness to skyrocketing energy levels. This is what exactly happened to Marta; she went through all the hallmark symptoms (breakouts, weight gain, renal change, depression, anxiety) of a person suffering from thyroid disease. While on desiccated thyroid medication, she learned through the discussion the importance of maintaining the correct medication dosage, eating healthy, and showing the body the TLC it deserves.
Marta's incredible tale and insights will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about thyroids. There's so much misinformation about thyroid conditions that it's enough to make your head spin! Understanding the ins and outs of thyroid treatment is crucial, so let's dive right in!
Key Takeaways:
(0:00) Episode Overview
(0:37) Introduction to Marta, a behavior change facilitator.
(1:54) The story of Marta’s journey with thyroid disease.
(3:51) Diagnosis of hypothyroidism, experiencing the hallmark symptoms, and initial treatment.
(5:53) The ‘Spoonie Concept’ for managing energy and the body’s resources.
(7:18) Suffering from depression due to declining health.
(8:06) Initial benefits observed from the desiccated thyroid medication.
(8:52) Coping with weight gain, fluid retention, and overall electrolyte management.
(10:08) Desiccated thyroid for ten years, followed by a brain injury.
(10:43) Marta’s growing distrust in the medical industry and the Western medicine.
(13:31) Overdosing the T3 resulting in dangerously low TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone).
(14:38) Marta’s realization leading to her tapering off desiccated thyroid.
(16:13) Dr. Christianson’s anecdote about a patient who experienced hyperthyroidism.
(18:56) Discussion on the correct dosage for desiccated thyroid.
(20:01) Dr. Christianson’s interpretation of Marta’s dependency on desiccated thyroid: the cycle of feeling better and raising the dose until unbearable risks manifest.
(22:38) The history of testing thyroid levels.
(23:44) High mortality from heart disease among people on thyroid treatment around the 1930s to 1970s.
(24:53) Marta’s reintegration of certain types of foods following reading Dr. Christianson’s book.
(27:43) The pros and cons of both basic medication and overtreatment.
(28:45) The body’s need for a TSH.
(30:40) Taking care of your body and eating well to regain function.
(32:41) Successfully deprescribing and tapering from medication.
(33:54) Discussion on the T3 and T4 levels while on medication and in a healthy state.
(36:48) Misconceptions on the correlation of TSH and T3 levels.
(39:27) T3 levels that are continuously high as risk factors for both breast cancer and diabetes.
(39:48) Impact of elevated T3 levels on renal frequency.
(41:36) Relationship between the thyroid hormones, medication, and body weight.
(42:42) Discussion wrap-up
(43:03) Closing statement
Marta is not just your average person. She's a Spoonie, a mental health advocate, and a behavior change facilitator in employee wellness and healthcare. Marta sustained a traumatic brain injury years ago, leaving her with cognitive issues. During her recovery, she realized she was trapped in what the scientists refer to as the Intention Behavior Gap– the place between knowing what to do and actually taking action. Driven by a passion for discovering methods for bridging this gap, she embarked on a transformative journey involving the guidance of experts in the medical field. She proves that change doesn't have to be complicated or boring—it can be easy and FUN!
When Marta isn't busy discussing behavior change, you might catch her doing something silly at the Second City's amateur improv classes and hunting down the best gelato in town!
"...I had this really horrific negative experience and I still wasn't hearing them [the doctors]... and I had the same thing happen to me the following year. That's when it shook me...my mental health is more important than whatever other things I'm afraid of."
Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving a review! Visit these links to learn
more:
● https://www.drchristianson.com/
● Dr. Christianson on Facebook
● Dr. Christianson on Instagram
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