Medical Disruptor™ by Dr. E

Epizodes

• 
  Your Genes Are Affected By How You Live Every Single Day ft. Dr. Kien Vuu 29.09.2026 39min

  Everyone in your family has diabetes, so you figure you are going to get diabetes next. That is not actually how it works. Dr. Kien Vuu was chief of interventional radiology when he got the diagnosis himself. Diabetes, high blood pressure, about fifty pounds he didn't want, and a handful of prescriptions. He was forty. If he had stayed in the system he trained in, he says he would still be on all of it, plus more by now. He doesn't have either diagnosis anymore. What he explains in this episode is the difference between having a gene and turning it on. Every cell in your body carries the same DNA, but a heart cell and an eye cell act nothing alike, because different genes are switched on in each one. What decides which ones get switched on is everything going on around that cell. Your food. Your sleep. And a bigger one than most people expect, whether your body thinks you are safe. When your nervous system reads danger, it turns inflammation up and it turns your immune system down. That makes sense if something is actually chasing you. It is a problem if your body has been in that state for fifteen years. I did push back on him, because there is a version of this conversation that turns into blaming sick people for being sick. He answers that head on. Nobody controls every single thing, and that was never the point. The point is how much of it you do. You have been treating your family history like a verdict. You get a say in what happens. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case: https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 7:33 - What Is Epigenetics? 10:31 - Why Conventional Medicine Misses the Whole Body 16:51 - How Stress Switches On Inflammatory Genes 23:05 - Small Shifts for Doctors & Patients 28:02 - Is It Victim Blaming? Control What You Can Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/doctorvmd IG: https://www.instagram.com/doctorvmd YT: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@DoctorVMD⁩ Website:https://kienvuu.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Autoimmune Disease Is Not Bad Genetics or Bad Luck ft. Dr. Aly Cohen 22.09.2026 41min

  Autoimmune disease is showing up in people with no family history, at ages nobody expected, and most people say that it's bad luck or bad genes. Dr. Aly Cohen stopped accepting that answer twenty years ago, and it started with her dog. He was a four and a half year old golden retriever who got sick out of nowhere with autoimmune liver disease, which is rare for dogs. She started looking at his water, his food, the plastic toy that lived in his mouth. Then she looked at her own kids, and then at her patients, and the question stopped being about the dog. If a healthy young animal can develop autoimmune disease out of nowhere, what is doing the same thing to us?. She has been chasing this question ever since. She explains the epigenome, which is the layer of proteins sitting on your genes deciding which ones get switched on. Having the gene is not the same as expressing it, and a lot of what flips that switch is what's coming into your body every day. We get into what a real autoimmune intake should ask, from your water filter to your job to what happened in your childhood. She also points out that vitamin D matters enormously in autoimmune disease, it's all over the literature and even on the board exams, and she almost never sees a patient show up with it tested. You have far more say in what happens to your health, and this is where you find out how much. Get Dr. E's FREE 5 Red Flag Phrases guide here: https://freechapter.lpages.co/5-phrases-that-are-red-flags/ Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 7:08 - How a Dog's Illness Changed Her Practice 10:13 - The Environmental Questions Rheumatologists Skip 22:06 - Genetics vs. Environment in Autoimmunity 30:02 - Inside "Detoxify" and the 80/20 Approach 36:07 - Rapid Fire: Plastics, Flares, and Wellness Traps Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/thesmarthuman IG: https://www.instagram.com/thesmarthuman/ Website:https://alycohenmd.com | https://thesmarthuman.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Hormone Testing In Perimenopause And Why You Should Ask For It ft. Dr. Tara Scott 15.09.2026 41min

  Perimenopause does not always start with hot flashes. Sometimes it starts with anxiety out of nowhere, or sleep that falls apart, or ringing in your ears, or just the sense that you are not quite yourself anymore. If you keep being told you are too young for menopause or you still get your period so you’re not perimenopausal you need to watch this episode. Dr. Tara Scott is a board certified OBGYN who spent almost twenty years in conventional women's health before she started going back to school on her own time. She went through infertility herself, and when the Women's Health Initiative came out in 2002 and everyone panicked about hormones, she went looking for real answers instead of taking the panic at face value. She explains why the guidelines say women don't need hormone testing, and why that is different from saying testing has no value. Men get baseline testosterone testing and ongoing monitoring. Women get told their hormones fluctuate too much to bother. We also get into why more estrogen can backfire if nobody checked yours first, what anxiety in your forties is often really about, and the researcher who has now catalogued over a hundred perimenopause symptoms. There is a version of your forties that does not feel like this, and it starts with knowing your own numbers. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Still second guessing yourself in the exam room? Click here! https://freechapter.lpages.co/self-gaslighting-habits-to-watch-for/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:51 - Infertility, the 2002 WHI Panic, and Root Cause Medicine 7:36 - What ACOG Actually Says About Hormone Testing 17:07 - The Full Hormone Workup (Including the Test Nobody Orders) 23:32 - Medical Gaslighting and the Pizza Hut Analogy 35:02 - The Financial Incentive Question + Rapid Fire Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/hormonegurumd IG: https://www.instagram.com/hormonegurumd/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdT6C4nc_y9x9TSCMhiZgaQ Website: https://drtarascott.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Why You Have Never Felt The Same Since You Had COVID ft. Dr. Robin Rose 08.09.2026 40min

  Your fatigue never lifted. Your brain fog never cleared. You had COVID, you technically recovered, and you have not been the same person since. Dr. Robin Rose is double board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology. After she left conventional practice she started running much deeper bloodwork on everybody, and the same things kept showing up. White counts in the twos and threes. Ferritin that didn't line up with the iron. Elevated D dimer in people who had no clot anywhere. That last one is what sent her looking. A D dimer is what the ER runs when they think you have a blood clot, so seeing it high in people without one didn't add up. It led her to microclots. Too small to see on a scan, big enough to choke off the circulation where your cells actually pick up oxygen. We get into why she now asks every patient with POTS or mast cell activation when they last had COVID. Why the gut is where a lot of this starts and nobody checks it and why even a mild case isn't nothing, and why so many people feel like they aged five years in one. If you had COVID and never fully bounced back, this conversation is going to explain a lot. The fatigue, the brain fog, the racing heart when you stand up, and the labs that keep coming back normal. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 2:38 - From Conventional GI to Cellular Medicine 16:53 - The Strange Lab Patterns No One Was Talking About 21:19 - Spike Protein, Vaccines, and Her Own Reaction 28:17 - Prophylaxis and Treatment: Nasal Sprays, Melatonin, Ivermectin 36:16 - Rapid Fire: Dysautonomia, POTS, and Why There's Hope Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/drrobinrose IG: https://www.instagram.com/dr.robinrose/ Website:https://terrainhealth.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What Dairy Is Doing To Your Child's Gut And Skin ft. Dr. Sheila Kilbane 01.09.2026 42min

  If your child has eczema that keeps coming back, gets constipated for days at a time, or has had one ear infection after another, this episode is for you. These usually get treated as three separate problems by three different specialists. This week's guest, Dr. Sheila Kilbane says they are often one problem showing up in three places, and dairy is frequently part of it. She is a board certified pediatrician who trained in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona. She did not set out to change how she practiced. She just kept listening to moms who told her their child improved after cutting dairy, and eventually she went looking for why. In this episode she walks through the case that changed everything. She explains the cup of inflammation, which is the simplest way I have heard anyone describe why symptoms cluster. She covers what to do first, why she starts with magnesium, why you should never stop dairy cold turkey, and how to protect your child's bones while you do it. Your child is not a difficult case. Their cup is just full. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! ⁠https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/⁠ Get Dr. E's FREE 5 Red Flag Phrases guide here: ⁠https://freechapter.lpages.co/5-phrases-that-are-red-flags/⁠ Check us out on social media: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre⁠ ⁠https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre⁠ ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre⁠ #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Intro 3:15 - From Med School to Listening to Moms 11:06 - The Chronically Unwell Child: What Pediatrics Misses 18:38 - Leaky Gut: One Problem, Three Symptoms 22:15 - Fix the Poop First: Magnesium Over Miralax 35:28 - Answering the AAP Pushback + Rapid Fire Guest Links: IG: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/sheilakilbanemd⁠ YT: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@SheilaKilbaneMD⁩ ⁠ Website: ⁠https://sheilakilbane.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Menopause Symptoms Your HRT Is Never Going To Reach ft. Dr. Anna Cabeca 25.08.2026 44min

  If you are on hormone therapy and still dealing with dryness, painful sex, or leaking when you laugh, this episode is for you. Estrogen and progesterone do a lot of good work. They protect your bones, your heart, and your brain. But systemic hormones do not reach everything. There is a whole area of your body they mostly skip, and that is where a lot of women are still struggling in silence. Dr. Anna Cabeca is a triple board certified OBGYN who delivered thousands of babies before she started asking why so many of her patients were not getting better. In this episode she explains why vaginal estrogen alone often is not enough either, and what she uses instead. She also explains the vaginal microbiome. Your standard panel looks for infections. It does not check whether your protective bacteria are still there. And as we age, that protection thins out, which raises the risk of recurring infections, bladder problems, and even HPV. We talk about topical DHEA and testosterone, why they reach the deeper tissue that estrogen cannot, and how she watched patients scheduled for incontinence surgery improve enough that they no longer needed it. Menopause is mandatory. Suffering is not. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case: https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 3:13 - From 2-3 Surgeries a Week to 2-3 a Year 11:44 - The Vaginal Microbiome Your Annual Exam Misses 17:36 - A Preventable Stage 4 Cervical Cancer Story 24:27 - Topical Hormones for Dryness and Incontinence 39:14 - Pushback and Rapid Fire Questions Guest Links: IG: https://www.instagram.com/thegirlfrienddoctor YT: https://www.youtube.com/thegirlfrienddoctor Website: https://dranna.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Your High Cholesterol Could Actually Be A Thyroid Problem ft. McCall McPherson 18.08.2026 42min

  High cholesterol does not always start in your diet. When your thyroid is slow, everything in your body slows down with it, including how you clear cholesterol. So you can eat well, move your body, do everything right, and still watch that number climb. If you were handed a statin prescription and never had your thyroid checked, this episode is for you. McCall McPherson is a PA and the founder of Modern Thyroid Clinic. At 27 she was spending 16 hours a day in bed, losing her hair, gaining weight, and struggling to think clearly. Her doctor ran one lab and offered her medication for her cholesterol. That was the whole visit. In this episode she explains why running only a TSH misses the real picture, and which labs actually tell you what is happening. She explains free T3 and why a large number of people cannot turn their thyroid medication into the form their body can use. We talk about Hashimoto's and how she has kept her own antibodies in remission for over 12 years. She breaks down the word subclinical and the single flawed study that taught a generation of clinicians to wait until patients get much worse. And she explains why so many people end up on medications for cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure that trace back to a thyroid nobody treated properly. When you know what to ask for and what the lab results actually mean, you can get your life back. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Get Dr. E's FREE 5 Red Flag Phrases guide here: 5 PHRASES THAT ARE RED FLAGS Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandrehttps://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandrehttps://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:45 - Bedridden and Dismissed: McCall's Thyroid Story 5:02 - What the Standard TSH Test Gets Wrong 8:45 - Hashimoto's and How to Lower Your Antibodies 15:58 - Subclinical Hypothyroidism and the Flawed Study Behind the Guidelines 28:53 - The Optimal Thyroid Numbers and What to Ask Your Doctor Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/modernthyroidclinic IG: https://www.instagram.com/mccallmcphersonpa YT: https://www.youtube.com/@McCallMcPherson Website: https://www.modernthyroidclinic.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Why Your Sleep Never Went Back To Normal ft. Dr. Daniella Marchetti 11.08.2026 39min

  If you have not slept properly in years this episode is for you. You lie down exhausted and your brain goes a million miles an hour. You wake at 3am for no reason and you are running on empty. This week's guest on the Medical Disruptor, Dr. Daniella Marchetti, holds the highest credential in behavioral sleep medicine. She works with veterans at the VA and with women in private practice, and she noticed something that changed how she treats insomnia. The gold standard treatment for getting a good night’s rest was built on men's sleep. Women's sleep is different. The hormone shifts are different. The daily load is different. And when treatment does not account for that, women drop out of it. In this episode she explains why being wide awake and wired at night is usually not anxiety. It is your nervous system doing exactly what it was trained to do. We talk about how your sleep tracker may be making things worse by turning rest into a score you keep losing. She explains what melatonin actually does, why the doses most people take are far too high, and what she recommends instead. She also shares the one question to ask a provider before you trust them with your sleep. It’s time to get a good night’s sleep. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Still second guessing yourself in the exam room? Click here! https://freechapter.lpages.co/self-gaslighting-habits-to-watch-for/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 5:02 - Why Women Need a Different Sleep Treatment 9:13 - Are Wearables Making Your Sleep Worse? 16:47 - "Mom-somnia": Why a Mother's Sleep Changes 28:56 - Ambien, Lunesta and the Truth About Sleep Meds 32:30 - The Truth About Melatonin Guest Links: IG: https://www.instagram.com/drdaniellamarchetti Website: https://daniellamarchetti.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What Your Mitochondria Have To Do With Brain Fog And Chronic Fatigue ft. Dr. Benjamin Busch 04.08.2026 41min

  Have you been exhausted, carrying weight you cannot lose, losing your words mid sentence, feeling older than you are? Those are not four separate problems. They are energy problems, and your body makes energy in one place. We all learned that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. Then we closed the book and never thought about it again. Which is pretty rude, when you think about it. That little thing has been working double shifts for you since the day you were born. It got you through tenth grade biology and you paid it back with four hours of sleep, a drive thru coffee, and a vitamin you bought in 2022. Dr. Benjamin Busch worked in the emergency room for twenty years. Then he left and built a practice that measures your energy instead of guessing at it. In this episode of the Medical Disruptor, he explains what VO2 testing shows, why a normal lab result only means you look like most other sick people, and how food, toxins, and hormones break the way your cells make energy. We also talk about brain injury treatment, why fibromyalgia was never a mental health diagnosis, and the money reasons the system is set up to manage you instead of fix you. This show gives you the conversation you did not get in your fifteen minute visit. Nothing is for sale here. Just real, board certified clinicians who trained inside the system and will tell you where it falls short. You are not lazy. You are not aging badly. You are running low on power. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 3:05 - Why He Walked Away From the ER 11:44 - Inside a Mitochondria-Focused Practice 16:11 - Why the System Profits From Sickness 22:16 - How Modern Life Damages Your Mitochondria 27:34 - Intranasal Biologics for Brain Healing Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/ViveWell.Health/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/vivewell.health/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ViveWell.Health Website: https://vivewell.health/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Real Driver Behind Most Heart Attacks Is Not Cholesterol ft. Dr. Philip Ovadia 28.07.2026 41min

  Half of the people who show up with a heart attack have completely normal cholesterol. That statistic is exactly why I brought back Dr. Philip Ovadia, a board certified cardiac surgeon who spent years operating on hearts while morbidly obese and pre-diabetic himself. In 2016, before Ozempic or any of the GLP-1 medications existed, he lost 100 pounds and reversed his own prediabetes, and it changed what he believed about the disease he had spent his whole career treating. We get into why insulin resistance carries six times the heart disease risk that elevated LDL cholesterol does, based on the Women's Health Initiative data, and why nearly 90 percent of adults are walking around metabolically unhealthy without knowing it. Dr. Ovadia walks through fasting insulin, a simple and inexpensive blood test that can flag this risk years before a cholesterol panel ever would, and explains why imaging that actually looks at your arteries tells you more than blood work alone ever can. We also talk honestly about statins, what the real numbers behind their benefit show once the marketing is stripped away, and why he now tells patients that meat, not cholesterol, belongs back on the table. It is a conversation that reframes what actually predicts a heart attack and gives you real questions to bring into your next cardiology appointment. Normal cholesterol does not mean a healthy heart. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Get Dr. E's FREE 5 Red Flag Phrases guide here: https://freechapter.lpages.co/5-phrases-that-are-red-flags/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 2:15 - From obese surgeon to carnivore & "meat is medicine" 8:18 - Insulin Resistance vs. Cholesterol & the $15 Test 19:36 - Why Doctors Miss It: Fasting Insulin, CRP & GLP-1s 23:45 - Gut Health, Fiber, Fermented Foods & ApoE4 31:25 - Fixing the Cardiology Visit & What to Ask Your Doctor Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/ovadiahearthealth IG: https://www.instagram.com/ifixhearts/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@IFixHearts⁩ Dr. Philip Ovadia New Book: https://stayoffmykitchentable.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Thyroid Hormone Behind Your Metabolism ft. Dr. Amie Hornaman 21.07.2026 43min

  Your thyroid does not make one hormone. It makes five. Your last panel probably only tested one. That gap is exactly why I brought Dr. Amie Hornaman onto the show. In this episode of theMedical Disruptor, she shares her own thyroid story, including the 25 pounds that showed up in a matter of weeks and the seven different doctors she saw before anyone gave her an answer. From there we get into why testing TSH and T4 alone misses so much, what a full thyroid panel should actually include, and why she believes most people need more than T4 only medication like Synthroid to feel like themselves again. We break down reverse T3 and what it means when it is elevated, then go into T2, a thyroid hormone that is not T3 or T4, has decades of research behind it, and may play a real role in metabolism and fat burning. We close with what to actually ask for at your next appointment so a normal result is not the end of the conversation. As always, this is a free conversation with a vetted, board certified clinician, no products and no upsells, just information you can take straight into your next appointment. This is how we address medical gaslighting directly, by giving you the language and the data to advocate for your own thyroid health. You are not fine. You are just not sick enough yet. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 3:22 - Amie's 25-Pound Mystery & 7 Doctors 7:27 - Why TSH & T4 Alone Aren't Enough 19:55 - T2: The Forgotten Thyroid Hormone 28:08 - How to Stop Getting Dismissed 33:21 - "You're Just a DC, Not an MD" Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dramie IG: https://www.instagram.com/dramiehornaman/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/dramiehornaman Website: dramiehornaman.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What Is Actually Living in Your Gut That Is Making Every Other Symptom Worse ft. Izabella Wentz 14.07.2026 41min

  What Is Actually Living in Your Gut That Is Making Every Other Symptom Worse ft. Izabella Wentz Your gut symptoms have a cause. Finding it just requires someone willing to look past the standard playbook. More than thirty distinct root causes including SIBO, parasites, celiac disease, bile acid malabsorption, food sensitivities, and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency can produce the exact same symptoms and most of them will never show up on a standard workup because the tests that catch them were never built into the protocol. Dr. Izabella Wentz is a pharmacist, Hashimotos specialist, and four-time bestselling author who spent years watching her own body fall apart while the medicine she had been trained in had no answers for her. Explosive diarrhea, brain fog, anxiety, hair loss, fatigue. Each symptom managed in isolation, and none of them ever connected. It was not until she started looking at what was actually happening in her gut that everything shifted. The IBS went into remission, her Hashimotos improved, and the acid reflux disappeared. In this episode we get into why IBS is no longer being treated as a diagnosis of exclusion and what that means for anyone who has been handed that label without a real workup. Izabella walks through the first places she looks before any testing even begins, including medications most people never think to question and food additives hiding in products marketed as healthy. She breaks down the functional tests that actually reveal what is driving symptoms and why parasite infections are far more common than conventional medicine is willing to admit. She also explains the three conditions that have to be present for autoimmune disease to develop and why a disrupted gut barrier can precede an autoimmune diagnosis by a decade or more. The Medical Disruptor exists to bring you board-certified clinicians who were trained inside conventional medicine, learned its limits firsthand, and came out the other side with real answers. Your gut is not just a digestive organ. It is the command center for your immune system, your hormones, your brain, and your ability to absorb every nutrient your body needs to function. When it is compromised, everything else follows. And the longer you go without finding the actual cause, the longer everything else keeps breaking down. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Still second guessing yourself in the exam room? Click here! https://freechapter.lpages.co/self-gaslighting-habits-to-watch-for/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 2:45 - Izabella's Decade of Dismissed Symptoms 9:58 - What IBS Really Is and How It's Diagnosed 16:47 - Medications and Food Additives That Trigger IBS 21:11 - Functional Testing to Find Your Root Cause 25:06 - The Gut-Thyroid-Autoimmune Connection Guest Links: FB: https://www.instagram.com/izabellawentzpharmd/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/izabellawentzpharmd/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThyroidPharmacist Website: https://thyroidpharmacist.com/media/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What Your TSH Number Isn't Telling You ft. Dr. Brittany Henderson 07.07.2026 43min

  What Your TSH Number Isn't Telling You ft. Dr. Brittany Henderson Your TSH can look "perfectly normal" and you can still feel exhausted, foggy, cold, and stuck at a weight that won't budge. In this episode of the Medical Disruptor, I sit down with thyroid specialist Dr. Brittany Henderson to find out why. Dr. Henderson is fellowship-trained at Duke, ran thyroid programs at two major academic centers, and now runs her own thyroid-only practice, the Charleston Thyroid Center. She told me flat out that TSH alone is not enough, and that most doctors don't even know how to read a full thyroid panel. In this conversation we get into why TSH is actually a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone, and why the "normal" TSH reference range was built on flawed population data that included undiagnosed Hashimoto's patients. I ask her what free T4, free T3, and reverse T3 actually reveal that TSH can't, and she walks me through why muscle mass is the missing piece in thyroid hormone conversion, since it's muscle tissue that activates T4 into usable T3. She also explains why up to 95% of people with severe Hashimoto's or a thyroidectomy may need combination T4/T3 therapy instead of T4 alone, and we break down the real differences between levothyroxine, desiccated thyroid extract, and combination treatment. We talk about patients who've been on the wrong thyroid medication for decades and what happens when it's finally corrected, plus the flip side: patients who never needed thyroid medication in the first place and how to tell the difference. Along the way we cover how birth control, inflammation, steroids, and menopause quietly throw off your thyroid labs without anyone telling you. If you've ever been told your thyroid is fine while your body is telling you otherwise, this episode gives you the exact labs to ask for and the language to ask for them. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Still second guessing yourself in the exam room? Click here! https://freechapter.lpages.co/self-gaslighting-habits-to-watch-for/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 2:10 - From Duke-Trained Endocrinologist to Questioning the Standard of Care 12:38 - Why TSH Alone Is Not Enough 23:16 - Combination Therapy and the Muscle Mass Connection 25:17 - Desiccated Thyroid Extract: History and Misconceptions 35:19 - Pushback, Broken Guidelines, and Where to Find Dr. Henderson Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/DrHendersonMD/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/mythyroiddoctor/ Website:charlestonthyroidcenter.com | mythyroiddoctor.com | thethyroidfoundation.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  How to Help Your Gallbladder Heal Before It Turns Into a Problem 02.07.2026 16min

  Can you heal your gallbladder instead of removing it? Maybe. In this episode I break down what's really behind gallstones, gallbladder sludge, and gallbladder pain, and what you can actually do before surgery. I'm Dr. E, the NP with the PhD. Most people get told "you have stones, let's take it out" and that's the whole conversation. Nobody asks why the gallstones formed, or what happens to your digestion after gallbladder removal. That's what we're fixing here. We cover: What causes gallbladder sludge and gallstones Why gallbladder attacks and biliary colic happen The root causes doctors skip: insulin resistance, thyroid, hormones, bad bile What gallbladder removal actually does to your body When you truly do need surgery Already having symptoms? Get checked by your GI first. If you're in wait-and-see mode, you deserve to ask the deeper questions. Welcome to The Medical Disruptor, where smart humans get answers they won't hear anywhere else. I help humans go from medically gaslit to medically empowered. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Still second guessing yourself in the exam room? Click here! https://freechapter.lpages.co/self-gaslighting-habits-to-watch-for/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 2:31 - Gallbladder Pain, Stones & Sludge 5:42 - The Root Cause Nobody Talks About 7:50 - Why the Gallbladder Gets Sluggish 10:04 - Life After Removal: Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome 13:37 - How to Support Your Gallbladder Naturally Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  The Hormone Myth Everyone Needs to Stop Believing ft. Dr. Cassie Smith 30.06.2026 40min

  Estrogen is the hormone women are told to fear, and never told it is actually the one they need most. In this episode of The Medical Disruptor, I sit down with endocrinologist Dr. Cassie Smith to dismantle the hormone myth that's kept millions of women suffering: the belief that estrogen and hormone therapy cause cancer. Dr. Cassie trained at one of the top metabolism and endocrinology fellowships in the country, was named chief resident, ran clinical trials, and then walked away from conventional medicine because the system was failing her patients, and failing her. What she's seen treating thousands of women tells a very different story than what your doctor was taught. We get into why "normal" thyroid labs don't mean you're healthy, how your gut secretly controls whether your hormones actually work, why TSH is a terrible standalone test, and why hormones done correctly can extend longevity and lower your risk of heart disease, dementia, and disease, not raise it. If you've been hesitant about hormone therapy, this conversation will give you the context you need, so you can make a decision based on how hormones truly work, not on outdated fear. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Stop getting dismissed at the doctor's office.Get Dr. E's FREE 5 Red Flag Phrases guide here: https://freechapter.lpages.co/5-phrases-that-are-red-flags/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 4:38 - A Doctor Diagnosed, Dismissed, and Gaslit 11:10 - How Your Gut Controls Your Hormones 19:52 - Why "Normal" Labs Don't Mean You're Healthy 26:13 - What to Ask Your Doctor (and When to Leave) 34:58 - The Truth About Hormones and Cancer Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/ModernEndocrine IG: https://www.instagram.com/modernendocrine_/ YT: ⁨https://www.youtube.com/@modernendocrine Website: https://www.modern-endocrine.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Perimenopause & Menopause: Why Balancing Hormones in the Right Order Changes Everything 25.06.2026 19min

  Menopause doesn't have to be miserable. Yes, we're going to age, and yes, our hormones are going to change, but we do not have to feel old, exhausted, foggy, and brushed off. In this solo episode of the Medical Disruptor, I walk you through how to actually balance your hormones through perimenopause and menopause, in the order your body actually works. Most women get handed estrogen and sent home, and I'm going to show you why that approach so often misses the real driver, and what you need to address first. I start by clearing up the difference between menopause and perimenopause so you know which stage you're really in, and then I explain why your sex hormones aren't the right place to begin. From there I walk through it in the order that actually matters: first insulin and blood sugar, which almost everyone skips, then cortisol and your stress system, which can quietly hog the raw ingredients your sex hormones need, and then your thyroid, where I explain why a single TSH number is not enough testing. Only after those foundations do I get into sex hormones and hormone therapy, including the real difference between HRT and BHRT, what you're actually being offered, and why the type, dose, and route of delivery matter so much. I also unpack the truth behind the Women's Health Initiative studies, the myth that menopause is simply estrogen deficiency, what estrogen dominance really means, and why testosterone matters for women too. You're not stuck, and you don't have to push your way through this. I'm Dr. E, the NP with the PhD, and I help humans go from medically gaslit to medically empowered. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case: https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 1:25 - Defining Menopause, Perimenopause & Hormones 3:06 - Why Insulin Comes First 5:38 - Cortisol & Your Stress System 7:21 - Getting Your Thyroid Tested Right 9:15 - Sex Hormones, HRT & Finding Balance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Why Your Brain Is Starving Even When You Eat ft. Dr. Matt Bernstein 23.06.2026 40min

  Why Your Brain Is Starving Even When You Eat ft. Dr. Matt Bernstein What if the symptoms we call "mental illness" aren't really about brain chemistry at all, but about a brain that's literally starving for energy? In this episode of The Medical Disruptor, I sit down with psychiatrist Dr. Matt Bernstein, who trained and taught at Harvard before everything he believed about mental health got turned upside down. It started with what he was seeing in his own patients, and then it became personal when his own children got sick at home. We get into the science most psychiatrists were never taught. Dr. Bernstein explains how brain insulin resistance can leave your neurons swimming in glucose but unable to use it for fuel, why mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation may be the real root causes behind conditions like bipolar disorder and severe depression, and how a ketogenic diet can give the brain a fuel source it can actually access. He also shares one of the biggest eye-openers for me personally, which is that the "relapse" so many people experience after stopping medication is often withdrawal, not the illness coming back. We also talk about why the "chemical imbalance" story is incomplete and what's actually happening in the brain, how food, exercise, sleep, and metabolic health work together to heal the mind, and the difference between a clinician questioning the model and a health influencer simply guessing. Everything you think you know about why the brain breaks down is about to be challenged. Press play and let Dr. Bernstein walk you through the science that changed his mind, and his entire practice. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 2:23 - When His Own Sons Got Sick 11:02 - The "Chemical Imbalance" Myth 18:04 - Why Your Brain Is Starving 22:20 - Switching the Brain's Fuel 29:09 - "Isn't This Just False Hope?" Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/accordmh IG: https://www.instagram.com/accordmh/ Website: https://accordmh.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  Why You Can't Get All Your Nutrients From Food Anymore 18.06.2026 17min

  You can eat all the "right" foods and still be starving your body of what it actually needs. Healthy and well-nourished are NOT the same thing, and that gap is wider in 2026 than ever. I'm Dr. E, the NP with the PhD, and this is The Medical Disruptor. In this solo episode I explain why getting all your nutrients from food alone has become nearly impossible, even on a clean, whole-food, plant-heavy diet. Industrial farming has left much of our soil depleted, so fruits and vegetables grow with fewer nutrients than they used to carry. That same soil affects the meat and fish in our food chain too. Then produce travels thousands of miles and sits for days or weeks, losing nutrients the whole way, so what lands on your plate is not what was picked. Listen to the full episode to see why you can be doing everything right and still feel fatigued, foggy, low, and wrung out. Your symptoms are usually the first sign your body is running low, long before any test flags a problem. Stop being dismissed. Start being informed. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Stop getting dismissed at the doctor's office. Get Dr. E's FREE 5 Red Flag Phrases guide here: https://freechapter.lpages.co/5-phrases-that-are-red-flags/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 2:43 - Why Eating Healthy Isn't Enough Anymore 5:08 - The Toxic Load Hiding in Your Food 7:57 - Sick & Dismissed: "You Don't Need That" 9:43 - The RDA Myth & America's Deficiency Epidemic 15:05 - Doing Everything & Still Running on Empty? #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  What Is Biological Dentistry? Are Mercury Fillings Toxic? ft. Drs. Ben & Shawn Javid 16.06.2026 41min

  What if the source of your chronic symptoms has been hiding in your mouth this whole time? In this episode of the Medical Disruptor I sit down with Drs. Ben and Shawn Javid, twin brothers and practicing dentists with nearly 50 years of combined experience, who walked away from conventional dentistry to practice biological dentistry. We get into why mercury fillings are still being placed in millions of mouths, what really happens to a tooth after a root canal, and how hidden infections in the jaw can show up as symptoms everywhere else in the body. We also go over the case of a patient with 40 years of heart palpitations, and what to actually ask if you are looking for a biological dentist. This conversation gave me a whole new lens on the connection between the mouth and the body, and I think it will do the same for you. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ "Fine" isn't the same as well. Stop waiting to collapse before someone listens. Build your case https://freechapter.lpages.co/how-to-build-a-case-for-yourself/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters 0:00 - Introduction 7:10 - Why No One Checks Your Mouth 8:48 - Mercury Fillings: The Obvious Toxin 16:06 - Your Tooth Is an Organ 28:06 - "Isn't This Just Fearmongering?" 37:22 - Doing Everything & Still Sick? Guest Links: FB: https://www.facebook.com/MySmileBody/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/mysmilebody/ YT: https://www.youtube.com/@MySmileBody Website: https://mysmilebody.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  IBS Symptoms Explained: Why Your Gut Is Bloated and Irritated 11.06.2026 18min

  If you've been diagnosed with IBS, or you have ongoing belly issues that testing keeps coming back "clear" on, this episode is for you. IBS is often given as a label once the serious causes are ruled out, but a label doesn't tell you what to do next. Your bowel isn't simply "irritable." Something is irritating it, and identifying that something is where real progress starts. I'm Dr. E, the NP with the PhD. In this episode I break down what IBS actually is, why it matters well beyond your stomach, and a practical, step-by-step way to start calming and repairing your gut. I cover the medical rule-out you shouldn't skip, how to use a food diary and elimination diet to pinpoint your triggers, why bloating and gas trace back to your microbiome, what SIBO is and how it's tested, how antibiotics and acid-blocking drugs can quietly set off IBS symptoms, and the correct order to eliminate, repair, reinoculate, and reintroduce foods so that probiotics actually help rather than make things worse. If you've already cut the obvious foods, tried the gut-friendly supplements, and you're still uncomfortable, the problem usually isn't you. Let's dig in. Want more practical health tips? Join my newsletter! https://freechapter.lpages.co/newsletter-opt-in/ Still second guessing yourself in the exam room? Click here!: https://freechapter.lpages.co/self-gaslighting-habits-to-watch-for/ Check us out on social media: https://www.instagram.com/drefratlamandre https://www.facebook.com/drefratlamandre https://www.tiktok.com/@drefratlamandre #functionalmedicine #drefratlamandre #medicaldisruptor #NPwithaPHD #nursepractitioner #medicalgaslighting Chapters: 0:00 Introduction: What Is IBS? 1:03 Get the Workup First & IBS Red Flags 5:01 Finding Your Triggers: Food Diary & Elimination Diet 9:07 The Microbiome, Bloating, SIBO & Medications 15:28 How to Treat IBS: The Order of Healing 17:35 The Wrap-Up: Your Action Plan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices