My Hormone Story

My hormone story began in my twenties. Looking back now, with everything I have learned about hormones, I believe I may have entered perimenopause unusually early or, at the very least, was experiencing significant hormonal dysfunction.

I was absolutely miserable. My periods were long, heavy, unpredictable, and often lasted seven to ten days. I experienced severe anxiety, agoraphobia, rage, uncontrollable crying, Exploding Head Syndrome, dry skin, insomnia, low libido, frequent waking throughout the night, recurring urinary tract infections, and constant abdominal pain.

Whenever I brought these symptoms to my doctors, I was told I was young, healthy, and that what I was experiencing was normal. At other times, I was treated like a hypochondriac and given prescriptions for SSRIs or antidepressants.

Eventually, I gave up and stopped going to the doctor altogether. I felt dismissed, defeated, and convinced that no one was going to help me.

A Hysterectomy at 26

When I was 26, I began bleeding heavily and could not make it stop. A close friend recommended her doctor and promised me that he would listen.

His recommendation was a partial hysterectomy. He believed I had fibroids and endometriosis. After the surgery, he confirmed that I had multiple large fibroids and severe endometriosis.

Once I healed, I felt much better physically. Mentally, however, I did not improve. In fact, I felt as though my mental and emotional symptoms were getting worse.

I continued to experience recurring UTIs, and then the ovarian cysts began. For the next four years, I was repeatedly in and out of the emergency room because of painful ovarian cysts. Eventually, I returned to the doctor who had performed my hysterectomy, and he recommended removing my ovaries.

At only 30 years old, I entered surgical menopause.

Surgical Menopause Changed Everything Overnight

Before the surgery, I asked my doctor what I should expect afterward. He told me I would feel much better and would simply need to take a pill every day.

He was very wrong.

The surgery turned my world upside down overnight. My ovaries were gone, which meant my natural production of estrogen and progesterone suddenly stopped. The medication I was initially sent home with was testosterone, which I did not tolerate well and which made my symptoms significantly worse.

For weeks, I woke up approximately every 20 minutes throughout the night. I experienced intense hot flashes, crying spells, anger, fear, and the overwhelming feeling that I was losing my mind.

Once I could function well enough to call the doctor’s office, I explained what was happening. I was told to stop taking the testosterone, and I was prescribed Premarin.

Twelve Years on Premarin

I remained on Premarin for approximately 12 years. It stopped the hot flashes and helped me sleep better, but I still did not feel mentally or physically well.

I also developed a strange feeling that my body was not tolerating it. I noticed a chemical-like smell on my skin, and over time, my white towels developed yellow stains that would not wash out.

As the years passed, I became increasingly unwell.

My entire body ached. Every joint felt as though it might break if I moved too much. I experienced severe back pain, and when my back went out, I could be unable to get out of bed for days.

I had almost no energy. My weight fluctuated constantly. I continued battling UTIs and pelvic pain. I felt angry, sad, disconnected, and incapable of experiencing joy.

My libido was nonexistent. I became uncomfortable with physical touch, even from my husband. I did not feel like myself, and I did not know how to find my way back.

Discovering Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

Eventually, I found a doctor who introduced me to bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT.

Within two weeks, my life changed.

For approximately three months, I experienced something that felt almost magical. I had energy, happiness, joy, and a healthy libido. I felt mentally well. I began exercising, losing weight, and gaining muscle. I was no longer living in constant pain. The anxiety and rage disappeared.

For the first time in years, life felt amazing.

Then, little by little, the symptoms began returning. Eventually, I felt almost exactly as I had before starting BHRT.

I visited what felt like countless hormone specialists. Eventually, many of them stopped treating me because they could not determine how to help me. Every adjustment seemed to make things worse.

In the end, I resigned myself to staying on the original hormone creams because, although they were no longer making me feel well, they did not make me feel worse.

When My Health Completely Collapsed

I remained on the same hormone dose for eight years. During that time, my health continued to deteriorate.

I owned a very successful business, but eventually, I became too sick to run it. Closing that business broke my heart, but it also became one of the best decisions I could have made for my health.

It took approximately three weeks to sell everything and close the doors.

Within ten days of closing, I ended up in the emergency room with seizures. I was eventually diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder, or FND, with seizures, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, commonly known as POTS, and chronic fatigue.

I was essentially bedridden for almost two years.

For much of the first year, I slept and had seizures. It was the most frightening and depressing period of my life.

I remember praying constantly and asking God, “Why?”

The answer I felt repeatedly was, “Your story is not done being told.”

I would respond, “How can my story not be done when I can barely even talk?”

Then there would be silence.

Begging Someone to Look Deeper

During this period, I was constantly in and out of doctors’ offices. I cried and begged my primary care provider  and hormone specialist to order bloodwork or investigate further.

Each time I asked, I was told, “Bloodwork won’t tell us anything.”

Eventually, I became so unwell that I was convinced I was going to have a seizure and die in my sleep. I made another appointment, explained exactly how afraid I was, and was finally referred to a neurologist who specialized in seizures.

The first neurologist told me my seizures were caused by trauma and that I needed to see a psychiatrist. I remember thinking that if trauma alone caused seizures, nearly everyone would be walking around having them. We all experience trauma in some form.

I continued searching and eventually found a neurologist who specialized in movement disorders.

She was wonderful. She listened to me and did not dismiss what I was experiencing. She diagnosed me with FND seizures, POTS, and chronic fatigue. Unfortunately, she also explained that there was no simple medication or treatment that would make everything disappear.

Deciding This Would Not Be My Life

I sat with those diagnoses and made a decision: I would not allow this to become the rest of my life.

If my body was going to fail me, it was going to have to put up a very good fight.

I began exercising my brain and my body. What I could do was not much by ordinary standards, but for me, it was enormous progress.

I decided to study to become a licensed insurance agent. Because my brain was working more slowly at the time, it took me six months to complete the process, but I did it.

I was offered a part-time position at a small insurance agency. Gradually, I became able to do more until I reached my capacity.

I learned to listen carefully to my body. When it told me to sleep, I slept. When it told me to rest, I rested. Managing my health became a delicate balancing act.

For a couple of years, I was able to work without anyone realizing how much I was struggling behind the scenes. Eventually, however, the stress became too much, and I had to leave the job.

Once again, I was devastated.

Moving to Florida and Finding Casey

When we moved to Florida in July 2025, one of the first things we did was search for a functional medicine hormone specialist.

By the grace of God, we found Casey.

The first thing she did was the exact thing I had begged other doctors to do for years: she ordered comprehensive bloodwork.

At my follow-up appointment, she explained how low my hormone levels were, how depleted several vitamins and minerals were, and how anemic I had become.

For the first time, I felt like there was an explanation for why I had been so sick. My body had been struggling for years, and it finally felt as though someone was looking at the full picture instead of treating each symptom as an unrelated problem.

As we worked to correct those deficiencies and improve my hormone levels, things began changing. Within a few weeks, the seizures stopped. My energy began returning, and I started thinking about working again.

How Glow Health and Wellness Became Part of My Story

I knew I wanted to start another business or invest in one rather than return to working for someone else.

My husband and I spent weeks thinking and praying about what that next chapter should look like. Finally, he said, “Why don’t you ask Casey if she wants help?”

So we made an appointment.

During that meeting, I asked Casey about the clinic, her goals, and her vision for the future. With a sparkle in her eye, she shared her hopes and dreams for helping more patients and growing Glow Health and Wellness.

I asked whether she would like some help.

She immediately said yes and began crying.

Casey is an incredible provider. She is highly intelligent, compassionate, and deeply knowledgeable about hormones. However, she was trying to carry the responsibilities of being both a medical provider and a business owner. That is an enormous load for one person.

In October 2025, we signed the paperwork and officially became business partners.

Casey serves as Medical Director. I am a Managing Partner and oversee business development and marketing. My husband is the CEO of everything Casey and I either do not want to do or do not know how to do.

A couple of days after we closed on the business, Casey sent us an early-morning text. It was a photo of a page from her prayer journal.

She had been praying about her struggles with the business. The answer she had written was:

“They will come to help you. My timing is perfect. Trust me.”

Four days later, we had walked into her office and asked whether she needed help.

Where I Am Today

Today, I work every day and can function normally. Together, we are building a successful business and helping as many people as possible feel better and experience a better quality of life.

My journey has been painful, complicated, and far longer than it should have been. I know what it feels like to be dismissed, misunderstood, and told that your symptoms are normal when you know something is wrong.

That experience is one of the reasons the mission of Glow Health and Wellness means so much to me.

I now understand why I kept hearing, “Your story is not done being told.”

This is why I am telling it.