You know that one friend who you talk to about everything…all the weird, the good, the bad, the hysterically funny (that only you two think is hysterically funny)? Well, as we were maturing, more and more of our conversations were about what’s going to happen when “I get diagnosed with _____” like my mom, grandma, grandfather, etc. Then we started talking about beating that first diagnosis, and all the rest! What would it take to do that?

That was probably 2021, a conversation mostly borne out of exhaustion from discussing the pandemic, George Floyd, being a Jesus-following woman of color in what felt like a world gone mad. So let’s talk about our failing health instead…yeah, that makes sense! HA!

Most of us know the thing that is our health challenge. We just try to ignore it. For many of us, it’s something in our gene pool. I knew there were thyroid issues on one side of the family. I knew there was diabetes and heart disease along the way somewhere. And some memory stuff to boot. But I had spent so much time being young and invincible and then having kids and chasing them all over the place, then more time thinking I had enough time to reclaim “young and invincible”…but I could tell something was off in my body and mind.

I couldn’t get out of the bed; no energy, no interest. My gut was all sorts of jacked! My face was…well, I didn’t have acne as a teen and this perimenopause adventure was wreaking havoc on my face and my self-esteem.

The two things that were working were (1) clean eating. Changing my diet by eating the products of my company was changing my health. Reducing sodium and sugar and taking out inflammatory ingredients had yielded a less puffy Stephanie and a Stephanie with lower blood pressure. YAY for Stephanie! I couldn’t make those medical claims about the food, but I knew there was a shift! And (2) nutritional response testing. Okay, it wasn’t working on me because I wasn’t the patient. But I was watching the (unbelievable and radically) positive response in 2 of my children. My brain had started churning to think what would happen with me.

One day while chatting with my girl, one of us said (we are a uni-brain, so I honestly don’t remember): What we need to do is beat the diagnosis before the diagnosis!

And that is when my wellness journey was reborn! I deserved to awaken with energy, have pep in my step, eat well, drink plenty of water, sleep soundly, and not struggle to see life through brain fog!

It was probably in October or November that I represented Epicure at a wellness event at a health practitioner’s office. Her patients had been asking lots of wellness questions and her answers didn’t have traditional western medicine answers. She knew the benefits of essential oils, clean eating, clean cosmetics, and toxin-free cleaning products. So she hosted an event at her office to offer both a yoga class and all her favorite companies to answer their questions.

That’s when I heard her story and fell in love with her and her cause. So when it was time to beat the diagnosis, that was square one. I started with a full panel of blood tests and this wonderfully beautiful nurse practitioner who shared my belief that God provides so many solutions in nature and that traditional medicine can work in concert with them.

Let me tell you, going in for that set of labs was probably the hardest thing ever. It’s like when you get back from vacation and you know the credit card balance is going to be out of control because you used it for everything on the trip. You know that you have to pay the piper and you know you have the money in the bank and a plan to pay. But still…opening that envelope and actually reading the number…churns the stomach. That is the level of nerve and upset I felt going in for those labs. Whatever life decisions I’d made, whatever gene pool games were being played in my bloodstream, it was all going to come out. But I wanted to know on my terms, not be surprised sitting in an ER one day. So bared my arm to the needle.

Everything on my journey has been the result of prayer and journaling, research, talking extensively with my medical team (a nurse practitioner, functional therapist, nutritionist, chiropractor, and physical therapist). I trust them as brilliant professionals in their field, but I also know their hearts, how they live their daily lives.

So I can vouch for the path I’ve taken for me. I’m not a medical professional, so can’t promise my solutions will work for you on any stage of your journey. But if using/introducing them helps you toward your goals, I’m happy to share.

That first set of blood panels actually helped me beat a diagnosis! Stay tuned for the blood results (and in the meantime, maybe go find someone you trust and schedule a consult and consider some lab work. You’re stronger than you know and you can do this!).