This case involves a young parent in their late 20s who spent years experiencing severe dizziness, nausea, digestive shutdown, and faint-like episodes that repeatedly sent them to the hospital.
Multiple providers evaluated them, but no cohesive explanation emerged.
When they came to me, they were overwhelmed, exhausted, and scared with no idea why their body kept failing them.
My role was to make sense of the symptoms, follow the system patterns, and help guide the patient toward the correct testing and support.
When this patient approached me, they described a long history of:
They had been told everything from “it’s anxiety” to “you’re underweight” to “your tests are fine.”
But their pattern didn’t match anxiety alone.
It matched a stress-driven autonomic pattern that no one had pieced together yet.
After reviewing their symptoms, timeline, stress history, and flare cycles, I saw a clear underlying system signature:
1. Trauma and chronic high cortisol had overloaded the nervous system.
Their body reacted to everyday events as if danger was still present.
2. Stress made it difficult for them to eat, leading to years of under-nourishment.
This weakened motility and made flares worse.
3. Their digestive symptoms matched a motility pattern.
Early fullness, nausea, slow stomach emptying.
4. Their dizziness and faint-like episodes matched autonomic dysfunction.
The system was misfiring — not regulating normally.
5. Their flares had stages.
The patient had a repeatable cycle of:
This meant the system wasn’t random — it was patterned.
Doctors saw isolated symptoms.
I saw the full picture.
I suggested that the patient request evaluation for two specific areas that matched their system pattern:
• Autonomic nervous system function
• Gastric motility (to rule in/out gastroparesis-like physiology)
I did not diagnose the patient —
I simply recognized the pattern and recommended the next steps.
The patient took these recommendations back to their providers, who ordered the appropriate testing.
Testing confirmed:
• Autonomic Dysfunction
Their nervous system was not regulating properly.
• Gastroparesis / Motility Impairment
Their stomach was not emptying normally.
Exactly the pattern their symptoms had been describing for years.
This diagnosis gave the patient something they had never had before:
validation, direction, and understanding.
Once we understood the underlying pattern, I helped the patient learn how to live with and manage their system safely and effectively.
We developed personalized strategies for each stage:
Stage 1: Normal Baseline
During stable periods, we focused on:
This preserved stability and extended the time between flares.
Stage 2: Mild Flare
When symptoms first appeared, we used:
This often prevented the flare from progressing.
Stage 3: High Flare (System Shutdown)
During major flares — when eating was difficult and dizziness was severe — we used strategies to:
These strategies shortened the duration of each flare.
Stage 4: Recovery
After a flare, their system was vulnerable.
We used a structured step-up approach to help their digestion and nervous system recover without overwhelming them.
This smoothed the transition and reduced post-flare crashes.
With the correct diagnosis and a system-stage framework, the patient experienced:
For the first time in their adult life, their body made sense.
This case demonstrates the core of my work:
**Not diagnosing —
but seeing patterns that point patients in the right direction.**
Doctors saw disconnected symptoms.
I saw a system in distress.
By following the:
…the truth emerged.
This is exactly what Truly Heard Wellness does:
We listen.
We interpret.
We connect the dots.
We find the underlying system message.
We help patients and providers get to the right answers faster.
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