Personalized functional and integrative health consults with a nursing and psychology degreed board certified functional medicine practitioner; functional labs; functional health coaching; and integrative self-paced wellness courses to help you achieve your best health.

Services

HEART CENTERED OFFERINGS... because we've been there...

FUNCTIONAL WELLNESS CONSULTATIONS AND HOLISTIC FUNCTIONAL HEALTH COACHING SERVICES

FUNCTIONAL LAB TESTING WE OFFER**

*We are not medical doctors and do not diagnose or treat illnesses or diseases or prescribe treatments. Instead, we evaluate and educate on health from a functional perspective, within our scope of practice, equipping you to to discuss your holistic health and wellness picture with your medical doctor, nurse practitioner, physician's assistant, licensed ND, or other licensed provider. We take the time to help you understand holistic health--time that overbooked licensed providers often, unfortunately, don't have. Additionally, we enjoy teaching and patiently explaining complex medical concepts multiple ways; whereas some licensed providers do not.


**Functional lab testing is seamlessly ordered by medical doctors with whom we partner. There is zero extra work or hassle for the client. We educate clients about their labs within our scope of practice, so that clients are better equipped to converse and self-advocate with their licensed providers.


***First, when paying good money for supplements/nutraceuticals, be sure that they are manufactured according to good manufacturing practice (GMP), involving stringent requirements for companies involved with the manufacturing, packaging, labeling and holding (i.e., proper handling and storage) of dietary supplements, especially ensuring what they say is in the capsule is actually in the capsule, and nothing else, per third-party testing. Second, be sure any middle-men/resellers are storing the supplements correctly (read: not in a hot warehouse because they sell other things too). Third, be sure you are buying genuine practitioner grade supplements, not the tricky counterfeits of the practitioner brands that are so rampant online. We can help you ensure all three of the preceding and do not make money advocating for any particular brand(s).


Disclaimer: The information provided on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or health state, nor does it constitute medical advice. Make all medical decisions in conjunction with a licensed provider with whom you have an official provider/patient relationship and who knows the unique circumstances of your particular case.

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About Nicole

DEGREES IN MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

CERTIFICATIONS IN HOLISTIC BODY AND MIND WELLNESS & FUNCTIONAL HEALTH COACHING CERTIFICATIONS

PROFESSIONAL TRAININGS IN MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

HIGHLIGHTS IN HEALTHCARE, CONSULTING, AND EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
(Full CV Available upon Request)

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Contact US

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Thank you

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Curated Wellness Products

Follow the links below and discover our carefully selected and favorite products and services

※ Quality Food: Meat and Seafood Delivery ※

• Wild Pastures

Use the link above to get $20 off delicious, pasture-raised meats, wild-caught seafood, and other clean proteins, delivered directly to your door.

Unfortunately, the local responsible farmers we trusted started being bought out by local farm-to-table restaurants when our little city experienced a boom. We were forced to consider a protein subscription. We weren't sad for long, because Wild Pastures met our discerning criteria for clean proteins. We have been extremely happy with the quality and convenience they provide. Review Wild Pastures' "Our Standards" tab and you will see the high quality they offer at very reasonable prices.

※ SELF-ORDER FUNCTIONAL LABS & WELLNESS TESTING SERVICES ※

• MaxGen Labs Max Function Panel

Learn your methylation and other important SNPs (e.g., MTHFR, COM-T, MAO-A, VDR, etc.) via this cheek swab test you order yourself. MaxGen's MaxFunction Panel provides information about changes and potential impediments in your body's functions and processes.

The panel assesses 80 genes associated with methylation, detoxification, oxidative stress, neurotransmitters, brain health, vitamins and much more, helping you understand your risks and elucidating the path towards your wellness goals.

You will receive a lay-friendly, but detailed, 15-page report about important aspects of your health. The report will explain dietary changes, potential vitamin recommendations, and realistic wellness and lifestyle changes specific to your individual needs based on cutting edge genetic research.

MaxGen's privacy policies are among the best in the industry. See their FAQs.

• MaxGen Labs The Works Panel

Learn your methylation and other important SNPs (eg., MTHFR, COM-T, MAO-A, VDR, etc.) and much more via this cheek swab test you order yourself. MaxGen's The Works Panel offers everything included in the MaxGen MaxFunction Panel above, and also insights regarding your food and dietary sensitivities and fitness. It tests 180 of the most researched genetic variants, providing insights into crucial aspects of your health. Includes a longer lay-friendly but detailed report. MaxGen's privacy policies are among the best in the industry. See their FAQs.

※ Corneotherapy: Functional Health Aligned & Skin Barrier Protective Skincare ※

• Gritty Beauty

Click the button link above and use discount code FORESTLIGHT for 10% off the entire order for your first purchase with no minimum requirements.

All brands on Gritty Beauty are corneotherapy approved. Corneotherapy is a science based skin treatment methodology we fully support at Forest Light Wellness.

In corneotherapy, the repair and maintenance of the skin barrier defense system is the central principle, and only skin identical lipids and other barrier supportive ingredients are used. In fact, non-skin-identical lipids, like in the organic, grass-fed tallow and organic olive oil recommended for face and body by non-toxic bloggers unaware of the structure and function of the skin, can compromise the skin barrier and lead to inflammatory conditions like acne and rosacea. This happened to a member of our team, long before we had this scientific knowledge.

See this informative piece written by Marissa, founder of Gritty Beauty, who has been an esthetician since 2006.

Corneotherapy recognizes that the stratum corneum, and the lipid barrier that keeps it intact, play a significant role in skin integrity, functionality, and health: they send many signals to the underlying living epidermis and influence the regenerative processes in deeper layers of the skin crucial to a healthy and more youthful skin appearance.

Our staff have had great successes with anti-aging effects and in halting and healing acne, psoriasis, and eczema outbreaks, and associated marks and scarring, using only corneotherapy approved products.

Not sure where to start? Go to the button link above for Gritty Beauty and type "skin restoring routine" into the search box, then click where it says "Start Here: Skin Restoring Routine."

※ FUNCTIONAL HEALTH ALIGNED LIGHT RELATED PRODUCTS ※

• BlockBlueLight.com

Click the link button above and use discount code FORESTLIGHT for 10% off your order at BlockBlueLight.com

BlockBlueLight.com is our favorite source for red light therapy panels and other red light therapy devices; lightbulbs with ideal, eye- and brain-safe spectral output (now that incandescent bulbs are very hard to find); and blue blocking glasses for computer/phone/tablet/TV screen use or day and nighttime wear when you are in places or homes that do not have ideal/safe lighting.

After scouring the market and doing lots of research regarding a replacement for our rather antiquated red light panel (ca. 2014, haha), BlockBlueLight's Elite XL red light panel is our top choice for coverage, power density, wavelengths included, and overall value in a red light panel if you are just going to buy one panel and want the most body area covered. However, their PowerPanel series offerings are also the best bang for one's buck we could find and can be combined with their bracketing system.

• Iris Blue Light Filter and Eye Protection Software

Eliminate eye pain and strain, improve sleep, and protect your body's overall circadian biology with Iris, our favorite blue light filtering and flicker control software. Light has drug-like effects on the body and light regulates the expression of at least 40% of genes! Be sure you are using light wisely, in accordance with proper day/night rhythms, and protecting your eyes and brain from the harmful effects of blue light.

※ Certification For Functional Health Coaching and Consulting, and Learning Functional Lab Testing ※

• Functional Diagnostic Nutrition's FDNP Program

If you have been wanting to spend the rest of your nursing or other career working for yourself and coaching others through preventative lifestyle changes that address the root causes of modern chronic ailments, then please read on and then click the button link above.

From Nicole of FLW:

I believe in this organization and asked to help promote it because I am currently progressing through their other advanced-level program, called Health Coach Mastery, and have had a great experience with the quality of the coursework and the teaching. I've taken lots of continuing ed from a variety of organizations in functional and integrative health, and I'm really impressed with FDN. I will urge both of my children to complete this course and others from FDN in order to learn to safeguard their own health, whether or not they want to be in healthcare professionally.Further, I have had a nurse friend and a couple of non-nurse friends complete the main FDN program, and they were extremely happy with their experiences and the investment they made in themselves.

FDN creates a culture and community around helping others get well and stay well naturally, and from the type of holistic, functional, root-cause perspective I espouse and often talk about--the one I used when conventional medicine completely failed me after autoimmunity, complications from heart arrhythmia surgery, and more!

The only reason I haven't done the main FDN program myself is because I had already learned the cutting edge labs they teach a much harder way (i.e., all on my own) by the time they launched. However, I do tend to snag mini-courses and advanced courses whenever they offer them.When you enroll in the main FDN program, you get:⫸ High Quality Training Materials
⫸ (7) 1:1 Sessions with Course Mentors
⫸ (4) Functional Health Test Kits to Run on Yourself (friends have really valued this part!)
⫸ A Private FDN Facebook Community
⫸ Access to their Medical Director Program (MDP) to Order 60+ Functional Labs
⫸ The opportunity to Join their Graduate Program (I have personally taken 4 of these graduate-level courses thus far and they were a fantastic value!)
⫸ Lifetime Access to Program Materials

In my opinion, FDN is a one-way ticket to:⫸ Have a thriving career you feel passionate about
⫸ Help people transform their health on the deepest, root-cause level
⫸ Get the best training on the market for functional lab interpretation
⫸ Access specialty labs for clients after you graduate
⫸ Work from home, the beach, or wherever you want
⫸ Spend more time with friends and family
⫸ Learn a repeatable methodology to help every client that respects their bioindividuality
⫸ Feel confident in your skills as a health coach

Watch this 2-minute video of FDN trainees, a nurse and non-nurses, answering the question, "Was the FDN investment worth It?"

• ⫸Video: Is FDN's FDNP Program Worth It?

In addition to having non-nurse and nurse friends who loved the FDNP training at FDN, part of what made me want to do my National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching Board Cert eligible training through FDN was hearing Sandeep Gupta, MD, who I have long respected for his fantastic lectures on CIRS (associated with mold exposure, MCAS, Lyme disease and co-infections, etc.), say somewhere online that he had been through the FDN FDNP program himself and that he chooses to use the principles he learned at FDN in his private practice treating very sick people.I couldn't find the link to where I had heard him speak about that originally. However, these days, he is on the FDN Board of Medical Directors and FDN was kind enough to provide me with the following link to a podcast interview they did with him where he talks about it:

• ⫸Video: Podcast with FDN FDNP Program grad & FDN Medical Director, Sandeep Gupta, MD

• Functional Nurse Academy

From Nicole of FLW:

Are you a nurse who wants out of the sick-care model that pushes drugs to mask symptoms of diagnoses instead of eliminating root causes of modern health issues and promoting sustainable wellness? Are you opposed to mandates that take away your choice over your body? Do you want to control your own schedule and be your own boss? Do you want to help others heal via holistic modalities that better align with your ethics in order to feel more fulfilled in your nursing practice? If so, then read on and check out the button link above . . .

Functional Nurse Academy (FNA) provides comprehensive, accredited functional medicine training and business mentorship for nurses. FNA will teach you how to thrive in your own private practice.

FNA is virtual and self-paced and provides helpful resources and materials needed to launch your own practice. FNA is open to LPNs, ADNs, BSNs, and NPs. Nurses can earn 90 CEUs by completing Functional Nurse Academy, as FNA is a nationally accredited provider of continuing education. FNA graduates can also qualify for multiple board certifications at completion.

I greatly value the continuing education and business training I received at FNA. I especially appreciate FNA's emphasis on true informed consent and FNA's teaching of the FLCCC Alliance's evidence based protocols in a time when many are afraid to speak up for what is ethical.

※ Insurance Coverage For Wellness Coaching and Consulting, and Many Other Services in the Realm of Alternative Health, Wellness, Beauty, and Fitness ※

• Alternative Balance Insurance

Alternative Balance offers coverage for over 800 professional services in the fields of alternative health, beauty, fitness and wellness under one policy.

Click the button link above to obtain instant professional and general liability coverage, plus FREE business personal property and accident coverage, for U.S. residents, to protect you anywhere you work. Instant proof of insurance is available to your email and online account. There are also options to add on insurance for cyber liability and sexual abuse liability coverage.

Included with an Alternative Balance policy is access to their exclusive virtual business enhancement workshops, customizable templates and waivers, discounts on business services, marketing help, educational resources, and much more. They also offer opportunities to promote, network, and showcase your work to over 20k like-minded professionals.

Notice: This website includes affiliate links and coupon codes, which means Forest Light Wellness, LLC may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in item descriptions, articles, or advertisements on this site. You will not pay more because of this, and it helps support the free education we provide on our blog and elsewhere. We only share products and services we have tried and found worthy of our genuine endorsement.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or health state, nor does it constitute medical advice. Make all medical decisions in conjunction with a licensed provider with whom you have an official provider/patient relationship and who knows the unique circumstances of your particular case.

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Forest Light Wellness' Link Hub

• FLW Website

• FLW's Recommended Products & Services List & Discount Codes

• FLW's Favorite Functional Health Certification: FDN

• FLW Self-Paced Wellness Courses (Coming Soon . . . )

• FLW Blog on Substack

• FLW Facebook

• FLW Instagram

Our Clients Say:

⁜ Her Doctor Told Her it Was Probably Cancer . . .

Nicole may not be able to diagnose, treat, or prescribe, and she will be the first to remind you of that, but let me tell you, with the education she provides you (and often your doctor), you will be far better off. She has it going on in ways that those who are allowed to do those things do not. Here's what happened to me.
I got routine bloodwork and my MD internist told me with a grave look on her face that she was afraid I had cancer based on a pattern she saw in my bloodwork. We happened to be out with friends, and friends of friends, and one of them told me to send my bloodwork to Nicole and she would review it from "an educational perspective." I had no idea what that meant at the time, but not wanting cancer, and hoping for the anxiety around it to stop immediately, I messaged Nicole and she nicely agreed to review my bloodwork and educate me on the realm of what particular lab markers can potentially mean according to her training in functional medicine.
Nicole took a quick look at my bloodwork and said that the markers my doctor was concerned with can often signal deficiency of key B vitamins or a history of alcohol use. My doctor did not mention any of that. I have no history of alcohol use. Nicole shared with me the names of the best lab tests to look for the key B vitamin deficiencies, since those were the most common things that could cause what was going on with my bloodwork.
It took a bit of back and forth, because my doctor had zero idea what the B vitamin labs were or meant. As in my doctor had literally never even heard of them and couldn't spell them. Thankfully, my doctor is nice and willing to learn, so she did run the new bloodwork Nicole suggested.
Sure enough, when the bloodwork came back, Nicole was exactly right. It was verified that I was low on the key B vitamins. After doing some research, my doctor also concluded the issues in my labs were most likely due to the B vitamins being low and decided we should watch and wait while I worked on that.
Within a couple of months on the correct forms of the key B vitamins for my genetics, my bloodwork was perfect and some bothersome symptoms I had been having, which it turns out, as Nicole explained, can be signs of B vitamin deficiencies, went away too.
Hopefully, my doctor will not scare other people who have this lab pattern by suggesting they have cancer before checking their vitamin status.
I'm grateful that Nicole probably saved me from lots of expensive and unnecessary cancer testing at the hands of my doctor.
Nicole says not to blame the doctors, they were not taught a lot about nutrients and nutrient deficiencies in school, nor were they taught about the best labs to assess for them. Sad in that case that insurance pays for doctors and not people like Nicole.
Nicole also helped me realize that I was showing signs of insulin resistance in my symptoms and my labs. This most likely helped me avoid a diagnosis of diabetes type 2 and all that conventional medicine does for that. I'm sure you have also heard the fast-spoken side effects of those drugs on commercials.
Nicole helped me learn to eat only real food in a way that was more appropriate for what my body was showing me. Not only did my labs improve nearly immediately, but, over the years, I lost 90 lbs.
CS in New Hampshire

⁜ MTHFR is Not One Size Fits All . . .

I had been having day-ruining palpitations for months. They would stop me in my tracks and give me anxiety. As a retired medical professional, I knew from my symptoms and vitals I was not having a heart attack, but boy were they awful. I was spending time around Nicole and she noticed that they were always around the same time every day. She asked me what was in my morning vitamins based on the time of day I was having them. I explained what I was taking under the guidance of my chiropractor.
Nicole asked me questions about each one and asked me to show her the bottles. After looking through them for less than a minute, she picked up a bottle and said, "It's likely this one." I stopped taking it and ZERO palpitations in the preceding days, after months and months of suffering.
What had happened was that I had my 23 and Me done to find out my mutations (or at least that is what I thought they were called at the time, thanks to the internet and my chiropractor). One day I went to my chiropractor and she had a chart with the mutations and the cycle on the wall. She said she knew how to treat the MTHFR mutation I had found on my 23 and Me using vitamins. She said she'd completed a course in it. I believed her and started taking what she said was good for all MTHFR mutations.
Nicole explained that a lot of holistic practitioners, who have not had enough continuing education on SNPs (what things like MTHFR issues are actually called), are operating under a set of misunderstandings about MTHFR and other SNPs. My chiropractor had made the very common mistake of treating me for MTHFR without properly assessing what type of MTHFR it was, how many copies I had, how it interacted with my other SNPs, and without checking my diet, supplements, and labs to see if MTHFR was even "turned on" in me.
I'm so glad that I happened to be around Nicole while this all was happening. Otherwise, I would have ended up in a cardiologist's office having a very expensive work up. Also, I bet the cardiologist would have had no idea that a vitamin would be the cause. Nicole says she sees this all of the time from holistic providers who have not done enough continuing education in MTHFR etc. In the end, my chiropractor didn't even have me on the correct forms of B vitamins for my particular SNP combinations.
Nicole educated me about my SNPs, my labs assessing whether or not SNPs were turned on, and how my diet affects my SNPs. I'm happy to report that I am now feeling much better without palpitations and knowing that my SNPs are being addressed correctly and comprehensively in order to ensure they don't turn on in a way that can hurt my future health (the reason I tried to have them checked in the first place). As an added bonus, Nicole is a Younger You Trained Practitioner and taught me about how to use methylation support from whole, real foods to reduce my biological age in a way supported by research.
LB in Maine

⁜ She Wanted a Lower Risk Option Than Diflucan During Pregnancy . . .

I was referred to Nicole by some ladies in a mom group online. I was 20 weeks pregnant and had a HORRIBLE yeast infection. I had failed the low-risk for pregnancy vaginal medications. The yeast was absolutely awful and I was miserable. It was "could not even leave the house" level of horrible.
My doctor wanted to use a drug called Diflucan, but I read on the internet that it had been associated with problems in pregnancy. My OB-GYN admitted that what I had found about the drug online was true, and that she preferred to not use it until the 3rd trimester, but that there was no better option she knew of.
Thankfully, Nicole came to the rescue. She explained that holistically trained medical professionals had been using particular probiotics research has found to be in healthy vaginas, with ideal microbiomes, to alleviate yeast infection symptoms, and that these particular probiotics could be used at the first sign of vaginal yeast infections or even when the pregnancy safe category creams had failed.
Nicole had me seek approval to try this from my OB. My OB was intrigued, but felt like it could not hurt at all, since it was definitely probiotic strains that were found to be in healthy vaginas, according to research.
Nicole educated me as to how this is all done. I tried it, and within a day I had great relief. Within a few days I felt cured! Sure enough, my doctor could find no evidence of yeast infection under the microscope at a point about a week later.
I was so glad to have that misery behind me and to have accomplished it in a way I could be sure was safe to my baby, given that it only involved using good bacteria that should have been there in my vagina in the first place, protecting it from bad bacteria and fungi overgrowing.
My doctor wanted to know all about it for other patients in the future.
MC in New Jersey

⁜ No Matter What She Tried, She Could Not Lose the Weight This Time . . .

I contacted Nicole after struggling with post pregnancy weight gain and an inability to lose it for over two years, even after weaning from breastfeeding. I eat very cleanly to begin with, and had no issues losing the weight with prior pregnancies. I had tried cutting carbs, calories, and increasing exercise, but the weight would not budge.
Nicole helped me learn at home blood glucose monitoring and helped me to recognize that I was, unfortunately, meeting the published qualifications for pre-diabetes at age 35! My fasting blood sugars were consistently too high and many of my post-prandial blood sugars were also too high. She says she sees this commonly in younger and younger people.
At first I was very alarmed, but everything was okay. Nicole has seen this many times and helped many people turn the ship around before they get full-blown type 2 diabetes. In fact, she shared that she herself was insulin resistant on labs due to undiagnosed PCOS, when she demanded she be checked, in her late 20s, even without unwanted weight.
Once Nicole taught me the ins and outs of monitoring blood sugar at home, I was able to better determine which foods were driving the issues for me personally. Nicole taught me that it can vary by person.
In addition to helping me overcome the insulin resistance, blood sugar dysregulation, and weight loss resistance I'm currently facing, Nicole also taught me rules for eating more in sync with human physiology and bio-rhythms that will help me avoid the insulin resistance, weight loss resistance, and leptin issues that people so commonly develop as they get closer to 40.
Nicole also educated me on nutrients important to glucose handling and insulin sensitivity.
After putting in place the food and lifestyle education Nicole gave me, the scale finally started to move. I have lost 16 lbs so far, and it is still coming off!
From there, Nicole educated me regarding which labs to ask my doctor about, as she suspected I may be facing thyroid issues and nutrient deficiencies based on what we were seeing with my energy levels, symptoms, and my blood sugar. Sure enough, the labs showed that I was showing long-standing issues with insulin resistance and blood sugar, thyroid issues, lipid issues often seen with thyroid dysfunction, and multiple nutrient deficiencies often seen in conjunction with thyroid dysfunction and fatigue. There was also evidence that I had been adversely affected by a mold exposure incident the year before.
I have never had a doctor check such a comprehensive list of labs before on their own, so having Nicole give me a wish list to share with my doctor was very helpful and, sure enough, it helped show my full clinical picture so I can be more proactive about my health as I age. Better still, Nicole can now help her clients get labs run at wholesale through her new partnerships, and she is now offering functional medicine lab testing I could not get through my local doctors even if I had asked.
Now that I know for sure what is going on, I can start to develop a plan to address it. Nicole has educated me regarding my options, according to published research and a functional, root cause, preventative, and anti-aging medicine mindset. This is a perspective I was not getting at my PCP or OB-GYN office when I went in complaining of inability to lose weight at such a young age and no real help was offered.
It seems that I would have to have developed full-blown type 2 diabetes (which I have now read takes > 12 years to develop from the early signs of insulin resistance that Nicole looks for!) and an absolutely awful case of hypothyroidism for my conventional doctors to notice. In fact, my doctors are not even using the very conventional American Association of Clinical Endocrinology’s recommended reference range for TSH, and that is concerning. I know this, because Nicole showed me.
Thank goodness Nicole urged me to have them run a full thyroid panel so I can see for sure that I am having thyroid issues, according to published resources, and know that I need to find a more integrative minded doctor to help me address it, as I likely need at least bridge therapy medication at this point.
LG in Georgia

⁜ Her Stress Test Caused More Than Temporary Stress . . .

I was feeling absolutely dead, like too exhausted to move for days and days, after having had a stress test at my cardiologist's office. Thank goodness I see Nicole. She explained to me that stress tests and cardiac surgeries often use up all of a person's heart muscle cells' stored ATP energy, leaving the person feeling drained for weeks or months afterwards, and with the length of suffering depending on the quality of the person’s diet and lifestyle choices.
Nicole explained to me that the same thing had happened to her when she had had a cardiac stress test in her 30s, since her heart was already struggling to keep up with ATP production due to two heart arrhythmias, even at that young age. She said that she also experienced the same thing after having had cardiac ablation surgery in an attempt to address her two heart arrhythmias. At the time it had taken her months to get back to baseline, so she had searched for a reason behind the phenomenon in order to help find a solution for others. Thankfully, she eventually found one.
Nicole introduced me to a functional medicine trained board certified MD cardiologist's published protocol for mitochondrial support and had me okay it with my cardiologist. She also educated me on diet and lifestyle interventions to better support my mitochondrial health.
To my surprise, my cardiologist's nurse practitioner, who I happened to see at that appointment was also (closet) functionally minded and knew all about the protocol! She said that it was fine for me to try, and that she encouraged it. She said she wished all of their patients would try the protocol and the diet and lifestyle interventions Nicole had shared with me.
The protocol helped me get back to baseline fast. I could tell a difference right away. Given that I also have ongoing arrhythmia issues, I have stayed on the protocol and feel that it helps my endurance on a daily basis compared to when I was not using it. I am working to implement the food and lifestyle changes as well.
DS in Louisianna

⁜ Missed Something Surgically vs. a Common Electrolyte Deficiency . . .

After my heart bypass surgery, the doctors assured me they had fixed everything wrong in there. However, I was having what felt like palpitations with bouts of anxiety. These episodes filled me with fear that something bad was going to happen and were quite awful.
I contacted Nicole and told her what was going on. She told me to have my cardiologist check a particular electrolyte level using a more accurate test than conventional medicine usually uses.
My cardiologist agreed that it was a great idea to check on that electrolyte using that test, even though he didn't think of it himself.
Sure enough, my level was too low.
Nicole educated me on my options for replenishing this electrolyte often found to be low in patients suffering from cardiac issues (she herself has been through cardiac arrhythmias and a surgery for them, so she knows first-hand).
My doctor okayed me going down the path Nicole recommended.
Despite Nicole sharing her and her client experiences with a protocol to help restore me to my pre-surgery and pre-COVID levels of energy (I have long-haul COVID too), I decided to test it out and proceed slowly and just start with trying to replenish the one electrolyte.
Nicole was right! Sure enough, just starting on the electrolyte replenishment has alleviated much of my symptoms of the palpitations and anxiety. Nicole says I need to re-check lab levels to make sure I get the level up for good, but even without doing that, I can feel a major difference already.
BB in Massachusetts

⁜ Medical Mystery vs. an Often Overlooked Syndrome . . .

I contacted Nicole at the end of my rope. I had been in and out of the emergency department (ED) for months and months with crazy blood pressure issues, allergic reaction type symptoms, and more, that my doctors could not figure out.
Nicole took the time to listen carefully to all of my seemingly weird and disconnected symptoms that none of my doctors could figure out. My doctors had called me "a medical mystery" for which medicine had no answers, and had assured me I would just have to deal with it using various drugs to help with various symptoms. I felt I was too young for that, at 36, and wanted to know what I really had, but I was lost as to how to get the answers I wanted.
After listening to my full story, Nicole educated me about a syndrome that involved all of my symptoms that she felt I needed to have my doctors rule in or out. As in she knew of it off the top of her head! She gave me a list of labs to ask for from my doctor, and some published research on the syndrome to bring to him.
My doctor seemed a bit entertained that I had sought help from a lowly nurse. However, he ran the labs, and, sure enough, I did have the laboratory signs of the syndrome Nicole proposed. With Nicole's help, I located a top specialist in a city within driving distance and had my doctor give me a referral to them. I have been in good hands ever since, and my issues are being managed from as much of a root cause perspective as is currently possible given the science on the subject to date.
Without Nicole, I would still be a walking medicine cabinet, just aimlessly using drugs to ineffectively cover up life-altering symptoms. Probably with it getting so bad in between that I would still be going to the ED terrified only to not get any answers. Thanks to Nicole, now I am not only getting the cutting edge care for what I actually have, but I also know of lifestyle changes that can help me live better in the face of my issues with mast cell activation syndrome. Plus, no more ED bills for no answers.
KT in Connecticut

⁜ They Said PT, OT, Speech, and ABA Were All That Could Be Done . . .

My son was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. His doctors said OT, PT, speech, and ABA could help, but not much else could be done aside from to love him. I met a nurse practitioner mom in a mom's group who introduced me to Nicole.
Nicole provided me with education regarding a whole new world of thinking on autism. She taught me to pay attention to how my son reacted to different foods. Sure enough, particular food sensitivities (not allergies) and food chemical reactions were driving many of his more horrible symptoms. To the point where eliminating those foods, and reducing those food chemicals, made a night and day difference in his quality of life.
Nicole also educated me regarding many children on the autism spectrum having issues with particular methylation SNPs being present and activated, and also with particular gut issues. She helped us get answers for my son on this front as well.
Providing nutrients that my son was missing in part due to his SNPs activating and also in part due to him refusing particular food textures made a difference. Getting these nutrients into him helped him to the point where I feel that it played a huge role in him finally starting to speak long after a child normally would. A mother knows! Forever grateful for Nicole's help.
JK in Texas

⁜ She Wanted To Address the Roots Causes of PCOS and Hashimoto's . . .

I came to Nicole seeking help for PCOS. I had seen some improvements with conventional medicine approaches to PCOS, like metformin and spironolactone. However, metformin was giving me horrible gut issues and I was terrified to be on it for too long because I read that it could cause neuropathy even if you only take it for about two years.
I also hoped to conceive in the future and had read I could not do that on spironolactone. Plus, even on these meds, I didn't seem to be ovulating regularly and my cycles were still all messed up.
It turns out Nicole has PCOS herself. She had to fight for a diagnosis while in nursing school after she'd been to doctors for years for the symptoms and they'd all missed the diagnosis. She told me her story of begging for labs and an ultrasound to confirm, and finally getting her diagnosis, only for a misinformed OB-GYN to tell her that the treatment was birth control pills with fake progesterone made from testosterone in them. I think we all know that the last thing a PCOSer needs is more testosterone. Prior to that, Nicole said she had a similar unfortunate experience with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and that is part of how she ended up attending nursing school in the first place.
I'm sorry Nicole has Hashimoto's and PCOS too, but I'm glad she is using her experiences with being mistreated to help other women get better treatment. It is fantastic to have an experienced ally on my side facing these two issues that seem so common in women, yet so poorly managed for most women.
Nicole knew exactly what to look for in terms of any damage done to me by my time on metformin, because she had been through all of that herself. Sure enough, like she had experienced, my time on metformin had left me with multiple B vitamin deficiencies and a nasty case of SIBO. With Nicole's education, I addressed my SIBO, replenished missing nutrients, and started to work on addressing the insulin resistance that Nicole explained is part of the driving force behind PCOS symptoms from a root cause thinking perspective.
Through diet changes, lifestyle changes, and using key supportive supplements for PCOS, I'm happy to report that I have lost weight, am ovulating regularly, have a regular cycle, have more hair on my head, have less hair in places I don't want it, have less acne, and feel better overall. Daily gut pain is no longer a part of my existence, thank goodness.
Nicole has also educated me on the key labs that I will need to be sure to have monitored to ensure I am staying in good health with Hashimoto's and PCOS.
Nicole has educated me about the use of cyclic bio-identical progesterone (instead of synthetic birth control pills) to help regulate my cycle with PCOS. This therapy will help protect my body in the long haul. Other key nutrients she taught me about help me ovulate regularly now. After talking to Nicole, I know how essential ovulation is to female health long-term.
I wholeheartedly recommend Nicole to any woman who wants functional and preventative medicine oriented help for Hashimoto's thyroiditis and/or PCOS.
NR in Florida

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