Becoming Immune Confident

Dr. Erin Williams is a Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist. She graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy and completed her residency in Ambulatory Care and Teaching at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy/St Louis County Department of Public Health.

'She is passionate about reducing the use of potentially inappropriate or unnecessary medications where possible, while at the same time promoting quality of life. She currently serves as a long-term care consultant pharmacist for skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Nebraska and Iowa.

Outside of her work, she enjoys time with her husband and two boys. In her "free time" she loves helping friends and family reduce their exposures to potentially harmful chemicals in a real-life way. 

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About Dr. Martina Ziegenbein

Born and raised in Slovakia, graduated from PJ Safarik University in Kosice, Slovakia with an MD degree in 2000.

Residency: St Joseph Hospital/Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, WI 2001-2004
Fellowship: Boston University Medical Center Boston, MA, 2004-2006, rheumatology
Fellowship: Johns Hopkins Lupus Center MD 2006-2007

Moved To Cape Cod on 3/2021 where She currently lives and works part-time as a Rheumatologist
Passion: Fibromyalgia related pain and advances
Coaching business: Martina Ziegenbein MD Coaching, LLC
Website: www.winningatfibromyalgia.com

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Dr. Parastoo Jangouk is dual board certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine  as well as being a certified life coach, entrepreneur and founder of MindGutFitMD. She has a particular interest in gut health, brain-gut interaction, gut microbiome, mental fitness, preventative medicine, and lifestyle medicine. Dr. Jangouk incorporates her medical knowledge and coaching skills in promoting gut health as well as mental and physical fitness. She has written numerous peer-reviewed publications in medical journals and is also the host of the podcast “Let’s Clean House.” Her main goal is to help busy, professional women lead their healthiest life and prevent disease by saying goodbye to stress, improving physical fitness and optimizing gut health

www.mindgutfitmd.com

@mindgutfitmd

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Jillian Rigert, DMD, MD has formal training in dentistry, medicine, and Oral Medicine. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow in Radiation Oncology and a Certified Professional Leadership Coach and Wayfinder Life Coach Trainee. Dr. Rigert values holistic care with priority in disease prevention and optimization of the quality of life through the integration of lifestyle and modern medicine.

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Cheryl Crow is an occupational therapist who’s lived with rheumatoid arthritis for eighteen years. In 2019, Cheryl started Arthritis Life to help others thrive with arthritis. She facilitates online courses and support groups to help people adjust to their conditions and live full and meaningful lives. 

Most days you can find Cheryl creating life hack videos, sharing patient stories on the Arthritis Life Podcast or spreading the word about ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).    

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I am so excited to welcome you to the first official episode of the Success with Sjogren’s podcast!  Over the coming weeks and months, my guests and I will share how modern medicine and lifestyle work better together.

So what exactly does an allergy & immunology physician do?

In its simplest definition, I see children and adults with misbehaving immune systems. I primarily see patients who are struggling with seasonal allergies, chronic sinus problems, asthma, food allergies, allergic skin rashes and conditions that cause hives and swelling. Although less common,  I also care for patients with mast cell and eosinophilic disorders and immune deficiencies.

When we think about the immune system misbehaving, allergies, autoimmune diseases, and immune deficiencies all signal that the immune system is dysregulated or out of balance. In the case of allergies and autoimmunity, the immune system is recognizing something as the enemy that should be tolerated or ignored. Unfortunately, both of these types of conditions can occur more often when there is an immune deficiency too.

In short. The immune system gets very complicated very quickly!

So what exactly is Sjogren’s syndrome?

Sjogren’s syndrome is a chronic autoimmune condition where the body recognizes the exocrine glands. These are the glands that produce moisture in our body. They include the glands that produce tears, saliva, sweat, breast milk, skin oils, mucus, and more.  White blood cells called lymphocytes relocate to these glands and the inflammation produced results in tissue destruction. The end result is are classic symptoms of dryness but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Fatigue, joint and body pain, and digestive problems affect the majority of those with Sjogren’s too.

Traditionally, Sjogren's has been classified as primary or secondary meaning that it can be an autoimmune disease diagnosed on its own or the symptoms can be related to another connective tissue disease like lupus.

How and why this happens is still not fully understood but we will take a deep dive into the science in a future episode. In short, there is a combination of both underlying susceptibility and environmental triggers that are implicated.

Sjogren's is estimated to affect 4 million Americans with the vast majority of those affected being women. The average age of diagnosis is around 40 but diagnosis can be difficult to get and takes several years on average.

So why am I here? Oh goodness, there have been so many reasons over the last few years…

Where do I start?

When I was first diagnosed, I was so overwhelmed. I was exhausted and in pain- both the physical pain but also the emotional pain associated with my diagnosis. I also was incredibly overwhelmed.

After the initial shock and I dried my tears, I found myself frustrated that Sjogren’s lacked the effective disease-modifying treatments that similar conditions like rheumatoid arthritis had. Subsequently, I found myself searching high and low for any and all other options that might be out there. Diet. Vitamins. Supplements. Exercise. Mindfulness. You name it.

Sadly, what I found was a lot of speculation, slick sales pitches and very little science.

With my medical background, it made sense to me to approach my health from the perspective

The Crunchy Allergist Podcast seeks to empower those who appreciate both a naturally-minded and scientifically-grounded approach to health and healing.

Dr. Kara Wada, quadruple board-certified pediatric and adult allergy immunology & lifestyle medicine physician, Sjogren’s patient and life coach shares her recipe for success combining anti-inflammatory lifestyle, trusting therapeutic relationships, modern medicine & our minds to harness our body’s ability to heal.

ABOUT DR KARA WADA
Quadruple board-certified pediatric and adult allergy immunology & lifestyle medicine physician, Sjogren’s patient and life coach shares her recipe for success combining anti-inflammatory lifestyle, trusting therapeutic relationships, modern medicine & our minds to harness our body’s ability to heal.

CONNECT WITH DR WADA
Website → http://www.drkarawada.com/ 
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/crunchyallergist/ 
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/crunchyallergist/ 
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/CrunchyAllergist 
Twitter → https://twitter.com/CrunchyAllergy 
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@crunchyallergist 

SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER → https://www.drkarawada.com/newsletter  
Get my weekly dose of naturally-minded and scientifically-grounded approach to immune system health.

THE BELONG COMMUNITY → https://www.antiinflammatorycollective.com/
If you are looking for more ways to work on reducing your pain and support in having that anti-inflammatory lifestyle, Belong is the right place for you.