Feels good to feel good health & fitness themichellewest

Hello friend! Happy New Year! I know I’m a few weeks late but, to be fair, I had this drafted since last year! I hope your 2024 is off to a great start. In the spirit of health and wellness in the New Year, I wanted to share a follow-up to my original blog post, STRESS, HORMONES, AND THYROID … OH MY!!! I can’t stop praising Dr. Goolsby and Infinite Health Integrative Medicine Center for helping me feel like myself again because it Feels Good To Feel Good!

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The last time I updated,

I was still dealing with a bit of anxiety while running errands alone or driving, especially with Charli. Mainly, it was concern for her safety if I started feeling unwell. Proudly, I can now say that I’m feeling like myself again. I’ve been running errands, enjoying holiday festivities, planning Charli’s birthday, launching our new brand (Gnarley Charley) and headband (pictured below), and much more since that last blog post.

Headband linked here

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We’ve confirmed my thyroid medication dose, and I’m feeling significantly better. On a side note, I learned the hard way not to take Magnesium within four hours of my thyroid medicine because it lowers the potency. That might also be why it took us a little extra time to pinpoint it. If we’re Instagram friends, you might recall the days I mentioned feeling “wonky” right around Christmas—that was it. It turns out it’s a really good quality (potent) Magnesium, but I have to take it at night, which is when it’s supposed to be taken. I was just being lazy, to be transparent 🙂

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Q & A Time!

I recently did a Q&A on Instagram and wanted to answer a few common questions about Infinite Health Integrative Medicine Center and the whole process. Feel free to ask additional questions below, and I’ll answer them in the comments!

Does Infinite Health take insurance?

Yes, they do take insurance! They accept specific plans, so it’s beneficial to check with them first. However, for me—and this varies for everyone—it’s cheaper to pay out of pocket and have emergency insurance. Dr. Goolsby, is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and handles all aspects of his patient-partners’ care. For example, I recently made an appointment for cold symptoms, and he called in a Z-pack. Since I utilize Infinite Health’s affordable private pay plan, that appointment was included in my membership. Therefore, I didn’t have to use my insurance to deal with Urgent Care or something of that nature, which is also nice because Dr. Goolsby knows all my medications, supplements, etc. Patients who choose to use insurance have the same level of access, but each consult will be filed with insurance.

Do you have to get blood work, or are there other ways to determine, and is that included?

For me, everything involved blood work because we were examining my hormones at different times in my cycle. However, I am also taking a DNA test, which is a cheek swab, soon. I asked him about it, and he’s all for it so that we can check my methylation pathways. That’s a topic for another blog post, but he’s also a hematologist, so he can tell A LOT by looking at blood work.

Dr. Goolsby has a comprehensive lab panel, which is required in order for him to have the information he needs to provide the best recommendation for each individual. Depending on your insurance, most of the labs are covered. Additionally, he offers Nutrigenomics and Biological Age test kits. These kits are not covered by insurance, but the information is invaluable.

How do virtual appointments work for blood work and tests?

It works the same as if you were local. I actually do many virtual appointments with them even though I’m local because it’s easy. The only difference is that you go to a lab in your area for blood work and they send the results in. If you need shots or supplements from the office, they can mail them to you. They make it easy!

Any other tests besides blood work?

I think I answered this earlier, but for me, it was all blood work. However, based on symptoms, I know there may be urine or stool tests that would be a possibility. But, I think blood work is the starting point, and then he may order other tests based on those results or any additional symptoms.

What kind of diet/workout plan did he have you on?

I am on a low-carb diet, using the exercise bike for 30 minutes at least five days a week, and I chose to add pilates anytime I can for muscle building and toning. Initially, for a cleanse, I was only allowed 40g of carbs per day. Then, I wanted to gain some weight, so he increased it to 60g per day.

What medications/plans are you on?

Per Dr. Goolsby, I take Armour Thyroid every morning an hour before breakfast and half of an Iodoral tablet with breakfast. I take a shot once a week that includes testosterone, B12, and Vitamin D. And sometimes, I take a DHEA vitamin at night. I kind of base that on how I’m feeling.

Per myself, on my own, I add in a daily women’s vitamin and a Tongkat Ali (it has testosterone) with breakfast. I also take a few drops of hemp oil for heart health, and I drink a green juice every morning before breakfast. It’s the most delicious one I’ve found (crisp apple flavor), and I actually enjoy it. If we’re Instagram friends, you’ve heard me talk about Organifi because I use A LOT of their products and love the quality. Speaking of, Harmony is my absolute fav, and I put it in my tea daily! My Organifi code, WEST20, is always active and stacks with their sales!

Just to clarify, the only necessities are the thyroid medication, Iodoral, and the weekly shot. I can’t miss those! The others are just additives that give good energy and benefits. If I miss a day or so, it wouldn’t hurt me at all!

What kind of doctor is Dr. Goolsby?

Dr. Goolsby is the co-founder/CEO of Infinite Health Integrative Medicine Center, where he helps people across the nation with his bio-individual integrative approach to health optimization, age-reversal, and regenerative medicine and expertise. Prior to transitioning into integrative and regenerative medicine, Dr. Goolsby, a Board Certified Internal Medicine and Board Certified Medical Oncologist, provided medical oncology and hematology medicine for 30+ years.

I want to add a comment/question …

specifying “Integrative Medicine”. Per LeNae Goolsby, “Integrative Medicine is an approach to care that places the patient in a partnership with the healthcare provider and addresses the concerns of the patient by taking into consideration all factors that affect their health – from nutritional, environmental, familial, social, etc. Infinite Health IMC then takes a bio-individualized approach, “integrating in” the best of peer-reviewed and evidence-based complementary therapies with the best in traditional medical approaches.”

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With that said, I want to revisit my original blog post about this when an OB said I had a stomach bug and wanted to put me on an antidepressant when that was NOT the problem. Dr. Goolsby doesn’t just assume via symptoms. In fact, the OB ordered a small blood panel and said my thyroid was normal. To be clear, it was in the “normal” range but barely, making it not optimal for function. Once Dr. Goolsby took a much more extensive blood panel, including the full thyroid panel, he was able to diagnose Subclinical Hypothyroidism and has me on a natural thyroid medication, Armour Thyroid, made from animal hormones, which is more beneficial for the body. And for the weekly hormone shot, they use bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) – nothing synthetic.

Looking back on last year,

it’s bizarre to me that at one point my body was so off that I couldn’t put the thoughts together to make my child a pancake, a simple pancake that I’ve made daily for months prior!!! That just seems so bizarre to me! Either Dean or my mom was with me constantly because I felt so sick, and, as I said in the last blog post, I literally thought I was going to die to be completely transparent. Brain fog sounded like a blessing, but my brain was seriously not functioning. It’s hard to explain, and I wish it on no one, but I am SO glad to have my life back and feel like myself again. Like I said … it feels good to feel good!

Dr. Goolsby is so proud of the outcome of my journey, and I appreciate him and LeNae to the absolute fullest for going above and beyond for me to get me back to feeling like me!

What’s to come?

Remember how I threw out that “methylation pathway” term earlier? Well, we’re going to do a DNA test soon that checks the pathways to see if we can find out WHY the thyroid stopped working to see if I may not need medication for life! If I do, it’s totally ok because I got a taste of that recently with the Magnesium hiccup and it wasn’t fun but I guess that’s the next mystery we’ll unlock!

AND, soon, I’ll be on an episode of their podcast, Your Infinite Health Podcast, to discuss my journey with Dr. Goolsby and LeNae so stay tuned! I’ll update here as well and add a link for it so you don’t miss it! But they have a really great podcast that is definitely worth a listen!

Until next time!

XO,