I was a practicing emergency physician in a busy emergency department (ED) a few years ago, when inflammation began to take over my body. I had joint swelling and pain in multiple fingers, soon chest pains, and then even kidney involvement. I was promptly diagnosed with SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as lupus) and placed on heavy duty immunosuppressive medications.  Needless to say, I was terrified, and my life was sent into a whirlwind.  Within one week, everything was uprooted and big changes came my way.  I continued to work crazy hours in the ED initially, while my symptoms worsened and my doctors wanted to add more medications to suppress this overactive immune system of mine.  I didn’t like any of this, so I had to make some major life changes on my own.

I first swapped out my diet and did a significant overhaul.  I rapidly transitioned to a whole-food, plant-based diet and eliminated all the processed “foods”. I learned to shop, cook, and prepare healthful, life-saving real foods, which turned out to be both delicious, as well as a fun process.  I worked to correct my leaky gut, nourish every cell in my body, and eliminate foods that triggered my symptoms.  I quit my job and learned to sleep regular hours (no more night shifts! Ok, that could be a good thing that came out of all of this!!)  I became more active in my community, reconnected with friends, and even started my first garden.  I continue to exercise daily and enjoy the great outdoors where I am lucky to live.   And hardest of all for me, which I’m still working on every day, I’m learning to decrease my stress and live a simple, grateful life.

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"On a personal note, I also have my own story, as I was diagnosed with lupus in 2009. I had initially presented with joint pains, which rapidly progressed to heart, lung, blood vessel, and kidney involvement. I was on 6 medications, including high dose prednisone and immunosuppressants, and chemo drugs. I had to quit my job in the ER at this time, because I was so immunocompromised. It was a very depressing and dark time in my life, and I was scared for my health. This is when I googled diet for lupus patients, and learned about plant-based whole food diets. I transitioned immediately after learning about it, but my healing was still a long course. I was not one of those people who went plant-based and all of my medical problems went away. I tweaked the diet quite a bit to a full autoimmune healing diet, developed a comprehensive mind-body program to calm my nervous system and stress hormones, improved my sleep, and made other lifestyle adjustments. I also had to eliminate toxins completely and overhaul many aspects of my life. It's been quite a journey, and I live a very different, much more awake, aware, and present life, for which I'm ultimately grateful. This is what I am so passionate about and what I work so hard to share with my patients. I am very grateful for you inviting me to come speak with you and share the importance of diet, lifestyle, community, and maintaining hope as people heal from chronic illness, as well as about our new telemedicine practice at Plant Based Telehealth, where we get the opportunity to reach patients all over the country."