002: The Steep Learning Curve of Invisible Illness with Sascha Alexander
Uninvisible Pod with Lauren Freedman
Shownotes Transcript
Meet Sascha Alexander, Certified Autoimmune Wellness Coach extraordinaire. In part 1, learn about Sascha’s personal battle with autoimmune disease: her symptoms, diagnosis, and the steep learning curve of treatment for invisible illness. Specifically, Sascha lives with mold toxicity, Interstitial Cystitis, and Hashimotos disease. Stay tuned for part 2, where we will hear more about how her journey to wellness turned her onto coaching, and how becoming a coach has changed her life.
**In this episode, Sascha reveals: **
when and how she first realized she was battling invisible chronic illness and how she suspects it all started with childhood mold exposure
how her microbiome was wiped by overuse of antibiotics administered for smaller infections as a child, which she believes also contributed to her autoimmune diagnosis
how her dads genetics may be stronger than the rest of her family’s, because he’s the only one who never got sick
the cost of health and how she has had no choice but to shell out
how her Hashimotos disease and the inflammation associated with it led her into an eating disorder; a common occurrence among autoimmune patients
how she was lucky to avoid radioactive iodine treatment for her thyroid at the time of her Hashimotos diagnosis
her battle with her doctors, which lasted years and contributed to the long-term trauma of living in an unstable vessel
that many doctors gaslight women over their symptoms, when women are 7:1 more likely to develop autoimmune disorders than men are
that if you’re not being tested for all four of the following: reverse T3, free T3, TPO, and TSH then you’re not seeing a full thyroid panel
her theory that interstitial cystitis is related to toxic mold and candida, both of which she’s survived
that if you’re having acid reflux and you have Hashis, that doesn’t mean you have an overabundance of stomach acid but that you don’t have ENOUGH stomach acid
how you need a practitioner who can treat your root causes, but in the meantime you need to figure out how to be functional
how a diagnosis is sometimes the Best. News. Ever.
that for a long time, she took for granted her œsteely will to live because she felt for years that she was dying
her discovery of Autoimmune Wellness and AIP
that as an autoimmune wellness coach, she hopes to give her clients a sense of agency in their treatments
that getting well is an experiment in determination, and if she can do it YOU can do it This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit uninvisiblepod.substack.com)
