What the Morgs?

Asking Why: A Different Approach to Chronic Illness with Dr. Tomas Gigena

Britt Girvan welcomes Dr. Tomas Gigena, MD, family physician, founder of True Health DPC, and co-founder of Evergreen Factor, for a conversation about hope, patient advocacy, and his approach to chronic illness. Dr. Tomas shares how his experiences in street medicine and integrative care shaped his commitment to listening, asking “why,” and helping patients take an active role in their health. Together, they explore the challenges facing people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease, the importance of personalized care, and his perspectives on emerging therapies.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Feeling heard and finding hope: How trust, compassion, and a supportive relationship with a physician can help patients who have spent years searching for answers.
• Asking “why” and looking beyond symptoms: Dr. Tomas’s approach to understanding each patient’s history, circumstances, and support system when developing an individualized care plan.
• Lyme testing and treatment approaches: His experience evaluating Lyme and co-infections, his use of follow-up testing, and the emerging therapies he discusses using in his practice.

About the Podcast:

What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Podcast YouTube: @whatthemorgspodcast 

What The Morgs? Podcast Website: https://whatthemorgs.com/

Listen on your favorite podcast platforms and watch full episodes on the What The Morgs? YouTube channel.

To learn more and connect with our supportive community, visit whatthemorgs.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok @whatthemorgspodcast.

Britt Girvan welcomes Nicole Bell, author of What Lurks in the Woods and CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics, for a deeply personal conversation about loss, advocacy and the search for answers. Nicole shares her husband Russ’s journey through an early-onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis and subsequent diagnoses of Lyme disease and other infections, and how her experience as his caregiver inspired a mission to improve testing. Together, they explore the challenges families face when answers are elusive—and the hope that drives Nicole’s work today.

In this episode, we discuss:

• A family’s search for answers: Russ’s cognitive decline, the challenges of navigating his care, and how Nicole turned her journals into a memoir about love, loss and tick-borne illness.
• The push for better diagnostics: Nicole’s perspective on the limitations of antibody testing, Galaxy’s work in direct detection, and efforts to make testing more accessible.
• Finding your voice as a patient or caregiver: Asking questions, seeking providers who listen, and finding support while navigating complex chronic illness.

About the Podcast:
What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What Lurks in the Woods:  https://a.co/d/0dvp2nFn

Nicole Belle at Galaxy Diagnostics: https://www.galaxydx.com/about-us/meet-the-team/nicole-bell/

What The Morgs? Podcast YouTube: @whatthemorgspodcast 

What The Morgs? Podcast Website: https://whatthemorgs.com/

Listen on your favorite podcast platforms and watch full episodes on the What The Morgs? YouTube channel.

To learn more and connect with our supportive community, visit whatthemorgs.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok @whatthemorgspodcast.

Understanding Morgellons with Melissa C. Fesler, Nurse Practitioner and Researcher

In this episode of What The Morgs?, host Britt Girvan sits down with Melissa C. Fesler, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, PHN, a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and researcher focused on improving the understanding and diagnosis of Morgellons disease. Drawing on her background in microbiology and experience caring for patients with Lyme and Morgellons, Melissa shares her clinical perspective, discusses her work developing a preliminary diagnostic protocol at UCSF, and explains why compassionate care and clinician education are central to helping patients feel heard and supported.

Topics Discussed:

• Exploring Morgellons and Lyme: Melissa discusses research examining a potential connection, the symptoms patients report, and observations from her clinical practice.
• Improving diagnosis and awareness: How Melissa’s doctoral project addressed gaps in clinician education and informed a preliminary diagnostic protocol for Morgellons.
• Putting patients first: The impact of medical dismissal, the importance of listening and building trust, and Melissa’s approach to individualized care.

About the Podcast:

What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Podcast YouTube: @whatthemorgspodcast  

What The Morgs? Podcast Website: https://whatthemorgs.com/ 

A Psychiatrist Living with Morgellons: Dr. Amelia Withington on Lyme, Diagnosis, and Advocacy

In this episode of What The Morgs?, host Britt Girvan sits down with Dr. Amelia Withington, a board-certified psychiatrist with more than 20 years of experience and a personal history with Morgellons disease. Bringing both clinical expertise and lived experience, Dr. Withington shares her journey navigating Lyme and Morgellons, the challenges of receiving a diagnosis, and her perspective on the relationship between physical illness and mental health. Together, they discuss medical dismissal, the emotional toll of chronic illness, individualized treatment approaches, and the importance of finding healthcare professionals who listen and take patients seriously. Dr. Withington also shares how her personal experience has shaped her advocacy and efforts to educate the medical community.

In this episode:

• Dr. Withington's personal journey with Lyme and Morgellons disease, from early symptoms and diagnosis to navigating treatment and managing her health.
• The intersection of psychiatry, Morgellons, and mental health, including medical dismissal, misdiagnosis, anxiety, depression, and the importance of compassionate patient care.
• Treatment experiences, barriers to healthcare and insurance coverage, and the importance of patient advocacy, support networks, and greater awareness within the medical community.

About the Podcast:
What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Podcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatthemorgspodcast

What The Morgs? Podcast Website: https://whatthemorgs.com

In this episode of What The Morgs?, host Britt Girvan sits down with Lyme disease advocate, and founder of Lyme Support and Wellness, Diana Cust. Diana shares her journey from discovering an embedded tick while eight months pregnant to experiencing debilitating neurological and physical symptoms, years of medical appointments, and an exhausting search for answers. She opens up about the emotional toll of being dismissed and misdiagnosed, the challenges of Lyme disease and co-infections, and how her experience ultimately inspired her to advocate for others navigating similar health journeys.

• Diana’s experience with a tick bite during pregnancy, the progression of her symptoms, and the long road to receiving a Lyme disease diagnosis

• Medical dismissal, neurological symptoms, treatment challenges, financial strain, and the emotional impact of living with chronic illness

• Turning personal experience into advocacy through Lyme Support and Wellness, sharing her story publicly, and the Bitten Not Beaten 5K supporting people affected by Lyme disease

About What The Morgs? Podcast:

What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected, turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Website: whatthemorgs.com/

Diana Cust's Website: https://www.lymesupportandwellness.com/about

Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/5go8lkWIhnNtPbq0mq254r?si=fd65ba31a9814c52&nd=1&dlsi=2c10c3a37a06406b

Listen on Apple Podcasts: 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-morgs/id1890555933

In this episode of What The Morgs?, host Britt Girvan sits down with Christine Daley, PhD, MA, SM, a medical anthropologist and researcher studying Morgellons disease and other complex medical conditions. Dr. Daley shares what drew her to Morgellons research and what she has learned from interviewing patients about their lived experiences, including recurring themes of medical dismissal, difficulty accessing care, pain, cognitive symptoms, mental health impacts, fibers, self-diagnosis, and the possible connection between Morgellons and Lyme disease. The conversation also explores concerns surrounding existing research, treatment experiences reported by patients, the need for greater scientific and clinical attention, and Dr. Daley’s upcoming book, Living with Morgellons Disease and Medical Dismissal.

Topics Discussed:

* Medical dismissal and the lived experience of Morgellons patients
Dr. Daley discusses why some clinicians continue to view Morgellons as a mental health condition, concerns surrounding existing research, and what patients have shared about feeling dismissed or not receiving thorough examinations.

* What patient interviews reveal about Morgellons disease
Drawing from dozens of interviews, Christine Daley, PhD, MA, SM shares recurring themes involving pain, cognitive symptoms, difficulty finding care, fibers, mental health impacts, self-diagnosis, and the possible connection between Morgellons and Lyme disease.

* Research, treatment experiences, and the future of Morgellons awareness
The conversation explores treatments patients have reported trying, the need for more research, Dr. Daley’s upcoming book, and her efforts to encourage clinicians and researchers to take a closer look at Morgellons disease.

About What The Morgs? Podcast

What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected, turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Website: whatthemorgs.com/

Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/5go8lkWIhnNtPbq0mq254r?si=fd65ba31a9814c52&nd=1&dlsi=2c10c3a37a06406b

Listen on Apple Podcasts: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-morgs/id1890555933

This week on What the Morgs?, host Britt Girvan sits down with Dr. Raphael Stricker, a physician at Union Square Medical Associates in San Francisco and longtime advocate for patients with Lyme disease and tick-borne illness. Dr. Stricker is a past President of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), serves on the board of LymeDisease.org and the Lyme Disease Advisory Committee, and has authored more than 200 medical publications. In this episode, Britt and Dr. Stricker discuss the challenges surrounding Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment, chronic Lyme symptoms, current vaccine research, tick-borne co-infections, Morgellons disease, and the barriers many patients face when searching for answers and appropriate care.

Topics Discussed

• Lyme disease diagnosis, chronic symptoms, and common misconceptions
  Dr. Stricker discusses the limitations he sees in current Lyme disease testing, what can make diagnosis difficult, how chronic symptoms are defined, and why patients with persistent symptoms may struggle to receive appropriate care. He also shares his perspective on the current Lyme disease vaccine landscape.
• The connection between Lyme disease and Morgellons disease
  Britt and Dr. Stricker explore Morgellons disease, the physical symptoms patients experience, research examining Morgellons fibers and skin lesions, and the history of patients being dismissed or characterized as delusional. They also discuss the importance of clinicians taking patients' experiences seriously and continuing to investigate the condition.
• Co-infections, treatment approaches, and neurological symptoms
  Dr. Stricker discusses current research into tick-borne co-infections such as Babesiosis, his use of combination antibiotic therapy, and approaches used in his practice for patients experiencing neurological symptoms such as brain fog and cognitive difficulties. He also explains why treatment can vary significantly from one patient to another.

About What The Morgs? Podcast:

What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Website: https://whatthemorgs.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@whatthemorgspodcast

Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/5go8lkWIhnNtPbq0mq254r?si=fd65ba31a9814c52 

Listen on Apple Podcasts: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-morgs/id1890555933 

Marianne Middelveen on the Scientific Evidence Behind Morgellons

In this episode of What The Morgs?, host Britt Girvan sits down with microbiologist and longtime Morgellons researcher Marianne Middelveen to explore the scientific evidence surrounding this complex and controversial condition. Marianne discusses her work examining Morgellons tissue and fibers, the use of staining, microscopy and PCR testing, and research identifying Borrelia in samples across multiple studies and laboratories. She also shares what she has learned from years of investigating Morgellons, the skepticism she has faced within the medical and scientific communities, and why she believes physicians need to look more carefully at the physical evidence before dismissing patients' experiences as delusional.

Topics Discussed

1. The scientific evidence being studied in Morgellons tissue
Marianne explains how researchers have used microscopy, specialized staining, immunostaining and PCR to examine Morgellons samples. She discusses research detecting Borrelia burgdorferi and relapsing fever Borrelia and explains why evidence gathered through multiple testing methods and laboratories is important.

2. What research suggests about Morgellons fibers
Marianne discusses her work examining fibers deeply embedded in skin, including findings involving keratin, collagen and melanin. She also describes research using electron microscopy that found blue fibers consistent with human hair and containing melanocytes, contrasting these findings with superficial textile fibers.

3. Challenging skepticism and the psychiatric interpretation of Morgellons
Marianne talks about opposition to Morgellons research, attempts to challenge her peer-reviewed work, and experiences showing skeptics slides and scientific data that she says changed their viewpoints. She and Britt also discuss the stigma patients face when physical symptoms are dismissed as psychiatric or delusional.

About What The Morgs? Podcast:

What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

Website: https://whatthemorgs.com/

Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/5go8lkWIhnNtPbq0mq254r?si=fd65ba31a9814c52

Listen on Apple Podcasts: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-morgs/id1890555933

In this episode of What The Morgs?, host Britt Girvan sits down with Dr. Courtney Day, ND, a licensed naturopathic physician and microbiologist who specializes in Lyme disease, Morgellons, parasites, and illnesses connected to environmental exposure. Dr. Day shares both her professional expertise and her deeply personal journey with Lyme and Morgellons, offering a compassionate and insightful look into the complexity of these often misunderstood conditions. Together, Britt and Dr. Day discuss the challenges patients face in getting diagnosed, why so many sufferers feel dismissed by the medical system, and what it can look like to pursue healing through a more individualized, whole-person approach.

3 Topics Discussed:

• Dr. Courtney Day’s personal journey with Lyme and Morgellons
   Dr. Day opens up about her own experience developing symptoms, searching for answers, and how her background in microbiology helped shape her understanding of these complex illnesses.
• Why Lyme and Morgellons are so difficult to diagnose and treat
   Britt and Dr. Day discuss the limitations of current testing, the barriers patients face in conventional medicine, and the importance of working with clinicians who understand Lyme and Morgellons.
• Hope, remission, and whole-person healing
   Dr. Day shares her perspective on remission, explaining how healing often involves addressing not only physical symptoms, but also mental, emotional, spiritual, and environmental factors.

About What The Morgs? Podcast:
What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Website: https://whatthemorgs.com/

In this episode of What The Morgs? Podcast host Britt Girvan sits down with Dr. Paula Mader, ND, LAc  a doctor of naturopathic medicine and acupuncture, to discuss the complex and often misunderstood connection between Morgellons disease, Lyme disease, co-infections, mold exposure, and chronic illness. Dr. Mader shares her own personal experience with Morgellons, including the painful symptoms, medical dismissal, and isolation that shaped her path as both a patient and provider. Together, Britt and Dr. Mader explore why Morgellons patients deserve to be believed, how healing often requires addressing the body, mind, environment, and immune system, and why there is still hope for those who feel stuck, scared, or alone in their journey.

Topics Discussed:

1. Dr. Paula Mader’s personal journey with Morgellons and Lyme disease
 Dr. Mader shares how she developed full-body lesions, colorful fibers, and painful sensations under the skin, only to be dismissed by multiple doctors before discovering Morgellons and beginning her own healing journey.

2. Why Morgellons and Lyme disease can be so complex to treat
 Britt and Dr. Mader discuss Lyme co-infections, biofilm, mold exposure, immune system burden, detox pathways, environmental toxins, hormones, and why there is no one-size-fits-all approach to healing.

3. Validation, hope, and support for people who feel dismissed
 The episode focuses heavily on the emotional toll of being gaslit or misunderstood by the medical system, while encouraging listeners that their symptoms are real, their suffering is valid, and healing is possible.

About What The Morgs? Podcast:

What The Morgs? is a podcast for people navigating Lyme and Morgellons disease. Hosted by Britt Girvan, the show is built on a mission to support, educate, and empower those affected—turning personal struggle into shared strength and purpose.

What The Morgs? Website: https://whatthemorgs.com/