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Welcome to "This is Health, Wealth, and the Pursuit of Happiness" your source for insightful discussions with economist and author, Dr. Murray Sabrin. Join us as we challenge convention, expand minds, and pursue truth.
Murray Sabrin (00:02.608)
Welcome to Health, Wealth, and the Pursuit of Happiness Podcast. I'm Murray Sabrin. On this podcast, we explore the ideas, people, and principles that shape healthier lives, greater prosperity, and human flourishing. In each episode, we'll challenge conventional wisdom on healthcare, economics, politics, and personal freedom so you can think independently, make better decisions, and pursue your happiness. And please subscribe to our YouTube channel, Health, Wealth in the Pursuit of Happiness.
So we can spread the word about health, wealth, and the pursuit of happiness. It's a great pleasure to have our guest today, Sharon Lam Lemoyne. I just want to introduce her and get into a very important topic, improving our health, especially women's health, which we know is is an issue that women of all ages are facing in America today. And I've got to ask, let me introduce Sharon, then we'll get into it. Sharon Lemoyne is a nurse practitioner, a woman's health
Provider, an entrepreneur, and a faith-based wellness advocate with nearly three decades of experience in medicine as a type one diabetic, thyroid cancer survivor, and a woman who has personally navigated surgical menopause. Sharon brings both clinical ex expertise and live lived experience to conversations about taking ownership of our health. Thank you, Sharon, for joining us. I know you have a very busy schedule and providing expertise in your in your field.
And welcome to Health, Wealth and Pursuit of Happiness.
Sharon Lemoine (01:32.224)
Well, it's a pleasure to be here and I've been looking forward to connecting for a while now.
Murray Sabrin (01:36.728)
Well, I I'm glad we connected because as you know, I'm the author of two books on healthcare on on how we need to restore the doctor patient relationship. So Lesk let me ask you something out of that has nothing to do with healthcare. when I lived in Fort Lee, New Jersey, there was an avenue parallel to where we live called Lemoine Avenue. are there any relatives that are from New Jersey that may have been named after Lemoy?
Sharon Lemoine (02:01.858)
You know, not in New Jersey. In southern Louisiana I married into the name and so there's lots of relatives down there, but none in New Jersey that I know of. Yeah. Correct.
Murray Sabrin (02:11.275)
Interesting. I looked it up. It's LeMont is a French name, so there must have been some French settlers in New Jersey back back in the day and they named an an avenue, pretty prominent avenue in Eastern Bergen County. So anyway, let's get let let's get to it. tell us about your journey, about how you were diagnosed with type type one diabetes, how you were d diagnosed with thyroid cancer, what are the symptoms people should be looking for?
Sharon Lemoine (02:25.75)
I love that.
Murray Sabrin (02:39.913)
And let's go into the some of the protocols about how to deal with these chronic illnesses.
Sharon Lemoine (02:46.978)
So my personal story certainly starts way back when I was younger. As a teenager, I was very, very health conscious. my mom really dealt with obesity, and I saw how that affected her health and her confidence. And that was really impactful for me to, you know, learn from those experiences. And, you know, in my teenage years, well into my early adulthood, I was very, very cautio aware of, you know, what I was putting into my body and didn't drink a lot of alcohol and worked out.
And went on to go to nursing school because of my passion for health and wellness and medicine. And when I was 31, I was working in a very busy emergency room in Southern California. I just had my third child. And I, you know, looking back, I had all of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes. My weight had been stable since high school. And so all of a sudden, in about four to six weeks' time, I had lost 20 pounds.
And of course, you know, being a busy mom, I was like, I'm just working a busy job. I've got kids and you know, schedules, and really didn't take a moment to pause. And then of course I was thirsty, very hungry, frequent urination. And it was interesting because I was really discounting the symptoms, even though I knew as a medical professional, those were key symptoms of diabetes. And I was working.
In the ER one day and had seen a nurse I hadn't seen in a while, and she was like, Wow, Sharon, you've lost a lot of weight. I said, I know. I'm I'm eating like crazy and my kids are keeping me busy. And fortunately, there was an older doctor who I really well respected, walked by and heard our conversation. And he goes, Yeah, you're probably diabetic. I said, my gosh, no, I'm not. I'm so healthy. And
Then I that light bulb came on and I thought, my gosh, I'm gonna go check my blood sugar. So I used our accu check machine in the ER and my blood sugar was over five hundred. And
Murray Sabrin (04:49.199)
Whoa wow.
Sharon Lemoine (04:50.798)
Of course, the first thing was denial, right? I thought, I'm gonna go check the other machine. That machine's wrong. And of course, it was still a 500. So I was fortunate in the sense that we caught it before I actually became very ill. Because quite honestly, I saw patients all the time that were coming in with these symptoms extremely sick in DKA, diabetic keto acidosis, where metabolically they're completely shutting down, they're acidotic, they're very, very sick, and sometimes even in a coma, especially for young.
Children that can't verbalize those symptoms, they usually get really sick, and that's when they present to the ER and get diagnosed. So that was a big shock. I had no family history. Again, I took care of myself, and you know, there's a lot of emotions that go along with that as well, thinking that's not fair, and you know the denial. And quite honestly, as a medical professional, I quickly realized that there was so much I did not know.
When it came to metabolism and nutrition and what exercise would do to your blood sugar. And so I was very committed to stay healthy. There was a little bit of fear factor because in emergency medicine I saw patients either newly diagnosed or patients that had
been well into their diabe diabetes and diagnosis for years and seeing them come in with renal failure, cardiovascular disease, losing limbs and poor circulation. So
That fear factor alone really wanted made me focus on what I needed to do and really dived into nutrition. I I had some friends actually that would run and I thought I'm gonna start running with you guys. And 13 months later, after my diagnosis, I ran my first marathon, which was very therapeutic for me. It was able to give me a sense of control over my own health. And so, you know, went on in my career. I I look at my diagnoses as a
Sharon Lemoine (06:54.096)
Gift because I feel they have purpose. You know, we're a faith-based practice and really trying to see the purpose in not only, you know, our physical ailments, but overall purpose and what are we supposed to do with these diagnoses? And so being a type one diabetic as I went through my health career has certainly made me a better provider. I can relate to the patients, I understand it on a whole other level, very much deeper than a provider that's.
Mm-hmm.
So fast forward, now I'm in menopause and having all the symptoms. I was severely anemic and decided to have a hysterectomy. And what I found is my blood sugars would spike and drop significantly through that monthly cycle and hormone fluctuations. So at the time I decided to have a hysterectomy, I opted to go ahead and move the ovaries as well to try and regulate my blood sugars a little bit better. And so
So complete hysterectomy, surgical menopause, and I was in my mid-40s. I was offered an estrogen patch at the time. I was not in the hormone replacement space, so I could not appreciate the importance of that and chose just I was not compliant with it.
And I really suffered. I really suffered with a lot of menopausal symptoms for about five, six years before I went on hormone replacement. So, again, you know, that gives me perspective to what my patients are now walking in the doors and how how I can relate with them. And shortly after my hysterectomy.
Sharon Lemoine (08:35.25)
I started developing symptoms such as weight gain or weight loss again, which my weight again very consistent. So when I drop weight, it's a big red flat. So I had dropped weight. I was very irritable.
Very anxious, which was out of my character. I was heat intolerant. There was snow on the ground, and I had a fan and the window open. I just could not cool off. And the big one was that I was working in emergency medicine as a provider, and I got up and walked from my desk to a patient, and I felt short of breath.
And I was wearing my little watch, you know, that shows my heart mod my heart monitor. And my heart rate was in the 120s, 130s. And I'm very active, so my resting heart rate norm normally is like 50 or 60. And that was a big takeaway. I'm like, what in the world is going on? And went ahead and went and saw my endocrinologist and was diagnosed with Graves disease, which is a hyperactive thyroid, autoimmune.
Murray Sabrin (09:19.262)
boy.
Sharon Lemoine (09:36.395)
And then of course with that workup getting an ultrasound, they found thyroid cancer. And so opted to have a complete thyroidectomy. And it's been a very interesting journey because I can certainly appreciate
our bodies and that balance and the chemical balance that our bodies naturally do on their own. And now I have two major systems that I have to self-regulate with medication and insulin, nutrition, exercise. And so it's been it's, you know, again, there's a purpose in it. I've learned a lot from it. Really makes me appreciate my health now, being in my mid-50s and navigating what the next 30 years are going to look like. And really has
It's just made me an overall better provider.
Murray Sabrin (10:26.199)
This is fascinating because I did some research for my books, and one thing I came across is three-quarters of American adults have one chronic health condition, and I think 40% have two or more chronic health conditions. So as a nation, we are not very healthy given all the money that we spend, five trillion dollars a year, and this there's a real disconnect. The more the government spends, the more people spend on insurance and other things.
Sharon Lemoine (10:46.912)
yeah.
Murray Sabrin (10:56.333)
The obesity numbers are through the are through the roof. Dementia numbers are increasing. We had a naturopath on for a second time recently and he showed a chart with the increase in dementia over the next decade or two as the baby boomers age. So let's get into so I thought type one diabetes is really for youngsters and not adults. So can you explain the difference between type one and type two diabetes?
Sharon Lemoine (10:58.402)
Yeah. Yep.
Sharon Lemoine (11:21.356)
Yes, so yes, you are correct. Typically, type one was also known as juvenile onset diabetes, where over the last decade or so there has been more and more incidents of adult onset. I was 31 when I was diagnosed. And really the difference in type one and type two, type one is autoimmune. Your body attacks the the cells that make insulin, right? So you have a complete depletion of insulin production. So
Murray Sabrin (11:27.372)
Right.
Sharon Lemoine (11:51.303)
The the the treatment for it is insulin versus and there's nothing really you can do to make your pancreas make more insulin, it's it's really a lifelong diagnosis. Type two is insulin resistance, it can be more genetic. Type two, your body has stressors, whether it's obesity, inactivity, lack of muscle mass, your insulin resistance continues to climb, trying to compensate for the
Murray Sabrin (12:01.059)
Right.
Sharon Lemoine (12:21.236)
High glucose levels, and as this continues, your body completely stops metabolizing correctly, and you're so resistant that you're just not able to metabolize glucose properly. Which the big takeaway with type 2 is you can reverse it, and that's why I'm so passionate about helping my patients because in corporate health care, and we can get into that, but there's not a lot of time to sit there and say, Yes, you have this diagnosis of type 2, and here's all
All the things we can do to get you at a point where it's completely reversed. It's a lot of work. But most of the time patients are coming in, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, here's metformin, here's medications, and out the door they go with no true education on how much control they certainly can have over the diagnosis.
Murray Sabrin (13:08.271)
Mm.
Murray Sabrin (13:12.003)
This is fascinating. so the thyroid, we the nitropath that was on, Dr. Glenn Jarrell from New Jersey, he's coming out with a book on the on the thyroid next year. And from what I understand, the thyroid is one of the most important organs in the body, after the brain, I guess in the heart.
Sharon Lemoine (13:31.203)
Yeah, my gosh. You know, it's the regulator of so many different hormones, and you know, we often discount
the the the ability of the thyroid, but man, when you are I I I like to think of it as your foot on the gas pedal. You take your foot off the gas pedal, everything slows down metabolically. So those typical symptoms would be fatigue, right? dry skin, constipation, depression. You just everything has
drop down a few notches versus hyperthyroidism, put your foot on the gas pedal, way too much. Irritability, loose or frequent stools, you know, just you're just really amped up. And so it's a complete regulatory system that is fine-tuning so many different metabolic systems throughout the body
Murray Sabrin (14:25.785)
So with the removal of your thyroid, how does your body function d since you don't have a thyroid?
Sharon Lemoine (14:32.694)
Yeah, so I'm completely reliant on thyroid medication. As we know, our thyroid and our liver makes T four. And that is a a hormone from the the a th a
Thyroid hormone that you have to convert to T3 to use. And so, you know, this is another conversation I have with my patients that so often we go to our doctors and they're looking at thyroid stimulating hormone, TSH. That's actually a signal from our brain responding to how that thyroid is working. So that's only one piece of the puzzle. In our practice, we do a complete thyroid workup to look at TAC.
TSH, how's that brain reacting to what the thyroid's doing? Does it need a little more signal, a little a little less signal? But really we need to know how much T4 is floating around in your body and how well are you converting it to T3, that active thyroid that you utilize. And so these are things that I'm looking very closely at my levels as well as my patients, when they come in, they're classic. They have classic symptoms of hypothyroidism. But
On their blood work, that T3, that range is two to four. And so if they're in the low twos, they very well could be symptomatic. Let's get them to a three or a four, still in normal range, but that little turn of the dial can make a significant impact on their overall symptom control and health.
Murray Sabrin (16:02.927)
Mm.
Murray Sabrin (16:07.387)
This is interesting because so many people are walking around with s symptoms and some of them just fluff it off and say, Well, it's I'm getting older. I'm I'm having a stressful day and therefore there's nothing to worry about. Let me ask you there's something I read many, many years ago, is that when the difference between male and female reaction to symptoms, from what I read, males tend to fluff it off while females seem to be more proactive.
Sharon Lemoine (16:18.402)
Yeah, yeah.
Murray Sabrin (16:37.069)
in terms of their symptoms and going to a a doctor or for or a in this case a a nurse practitioner. So what's your take on that?
Sharon Lemoine (16:45.422)
I do agree, you know, it's funny, working in emergency medicine, I always made the joke that the only reason men would go to the ER is their face and their penis. And that was it. They could be losing a limb, they could be having a heart attack, they're like, I'm fine. Women, yes, I think we're a little more in tune with it. And it's kind of funny because we do a lot of hormone optimization in my office. And so the women are coming in, they want to get the full workup. We start treatment, they feel phenomenal, and three, six months down the road, their heart.
Husbands are sitting in front of me and I s and I ask them, like, what brought you in today? What do you want to talk about? I don't know, my wife just told me to come in. And I and I'm like, okay, well, I I got you. And so we'll do some basic blood work. And really, sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get men to open up about some of the symptoms. They're like, no, I'm fine. And I think sometimes they think maybe they'll be appeared to be weak if they're complaining of symptoms.
But when I can show them, here is your blood work, here's your entire workup, and there is so much work to be done, testosterone levels, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid function. And then they're more willing to say, yeah, you know what, actually, I have had those symptoms. They have been impactful. But I think they're more data-driven sometimes. And so they want to see the their results first before I can really get them to open up how they truly are having significant symptoms.
Murray Sabrin (18:09.069)
As a nurse practitioner, are you are you permitted to write prescriptions or do you need the the oversight of D?
Sharon Lemoine (18:17.314)
So that is state by state. I am in Washington state and we have full script authority. So yes, I have the same scope of practice. I can write prescriptions, I do not need a medical director, and that allows me to own and operate my privately owned business.
Murray Sabrin (18:33.379)
So essentially a nurse practitioner, how does that differ from an MD in terms of training and experience as an internship or a fellowship or whatever the case may be?
Sharon Lemoine (18:45.506)
Yeah, so typically MDs, they're going to four-year medical school and then four-year residency and and then go on from there. I actually started as a nurse. I worked at the bedside and nursing for 18 years, and then I went back and got my nurse practitioner license. So if you think about their the MDs are getting a lot of the upfront didactic, where nurses are getting more bedside along with didactic in more of a longer
period and you know I think it's a great combination I have all the respect for the work that goes into the the the doctor level of training and I think we both blend very well with that that both types of training and experience
Murray Sabrin (19:34.713)
Fantastic. you s you state that faith is a part of your practice. Can you explain that? How faith is important in the way you practice medicine?
Sharon Lemoine (19:45.743)
So when we see pa I can speak from being in emergency medicine for so long, I was a witness to patients really relying on their faith to deal with very difficult situations. When people are in emergency medicine, they're having major life crisis. They're getting very difficult diagnoses. And so I've witnessed firsthand how patients have relied on their faith to cope. And actually there's been many studies to show better outcomes when you rely on your faith.
And you know, working in corporate health care for so long, there I had so many opportunities to maybe pray with a patient at the bedside if they were really struggling. Yet at that time I really had to look over my shoulder and be concerned that, you know, this is corporate health care. And I did worry about stepping out of that norm and being reprimanded for that. Owning a private practice.
As you know, the world we live in and maybe being a little bit older and really appreciate my own faith, I have really integrated that into our practice in the sense that, you know, we're certainly not discriminatory towards our patients, but we're gonna put it out there that we are going to look at your overall wellness, not just physically, emotionally, but spiritually. And it really comes back to I'm counseling so many patients and trying to tell them how much control they have over their life and over their health.
And it's a lot of work. Yeah, you know, you got to get your sleep. You have to stay hydrated. You have to get your workout. Count your grams of protein. There's a lot to do. And I took a step back and had to ask myself, what is motivating me? And what is motivating my patients to make this a priority? And for me, I was really stepping back and thinking, this is a gift I've been given. I need to steward my body. I need to embrace my diagnoses and realize there's a there's a purpose for that.
And my my patient population really has embraced that. They can appreciate it. I've had many discussions like this on putting your faith out there as a business owner, as a medical provider. And the people want that. I'm telling you, patients they want to be healthy physically, but they are really searching for peace and purpose. And I really believe they go hand in hand.
Murray Sabrin (22:09.007)
I think we we can go on and on and on because th there are people who have been using their faith to get better, to balance their life work relationship, balance their marital relationship, bar balance their relationship with their children, and yet we see these chronic illnesses happening over and over again. So since you're focusing on women's health primarily,
What are some of the big issues that women are facing in midlife that are not being addressed? And can they are they getting this the sufficient care that they need in order to get them back to optimal health?
Sharon Lemoine (22:53.366)
You know, that's a great point to talk about because I I really do feel in corporate health care women have been dismissed. The the short appointment times are one thing. The other issue is that in medical school there's not been a lot of
Time spent on specific hormone optimization and menopause care. So when we go to our providers, and you know, like I said, I respect MDs and we all want to do good by our patients, but if that's not they've not had that special specialized training, they they cannot offer the patients options for menopausal care and really relate. So I feel like women come in, they are absolutely feeling defeated. They feel their bodies are.
Letting them down, they feel emotional, they are irritable, anxious, sometimes for no reason, they can't put their finger on it, along with the physical symptoms of sleep disruption, weight gain, joint pain, brain fog, and that's really impacting their careers and their relationships, and they they come in feeling dismissed. So, the first and foremost, you know, medically and scientifically, there's a lot to talk about, but the first thing
We really take time in that first appointment is to validate how they're feeling. For them to take the time to come in and sit down with me after seeing multiple providers, and they're like, I just can't get anybody to listen to me. That right there is much appreciated. And so to establish trust with your provider is huge, right?
We dive into comprehensive workups and we're looking at so many levels to their physical health that when they come back, we can sit down and have another hour-long appointment, and I can spell everything out whether where their data is, where their blood work is, metabolically, hormonally, and quite honestly, a lot of them will break down in tears because they realize it's not a lack of willpower or their irritability or anxiety. This truly is.
Sharon Lemoine (25:06.032)
On paper deficiencies that that validates exactly how they feel, and and that goes so far, and then they feel motivated to think, okay, I'm not failing at life. There are legitimate issues here, and then we can start talking about medically treating them. And it's a beautiful thing to watch to see people come in, not only feeling better physically, but I can see when they walk through my doors, they're holding their head up a little bit higher, more confident.
Because they just come back and say they feel like themselves again.
Murray Sabrin (25:39.499)
Interesting. what part, if any, do supplements play in your practice in terms of helping people optimize their health?
Sharon Lemoine (25:51.107)
Well, I'm a big believer in supplements and I always warn my patients, I'm like, look, I'm going to tell you to probably take quite a bit, which can be a lot for some people, so we just ease into it.
But here's the reality. We live in a very toxic world and we're always trying to counterbalance that. Number one, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in my patients is out. I mean, just it it's so crazy to think that people are walking around with a diagnosis of rickets of a vitamin D level in single digits. And we didn't used to see this. Now, yes, we are in the Pacific Northwest, sun exposure.
Is a small piece of it, but I'm telling you, globally, we are all very, very low, and I think it's because of inflammation, right? We're not absorbing the nutrients we need. We are trying to counteract chemicals, plastics, exposures, and so we are all walking deficient in so many different areas, and just even improving a few right out the gates can make a huge difference.
Murray Sabrin (27:00.909)
Any other supplements that and of course anyone who's listening, please check with your medical provider about any supplements to take because I've been my wife and I have been taking supplements since 1970, believe it or not, when a cousin from Colorado, whose apartment we moved into in 1953, moved out there because she had asthma and she was a big proponent of vitamins, and we've been taking vitamins ever since, increasing some supplements that
Sharon Lemoine (27:22.221)
Yeah.
Murray Sabrin (27:29.207)
My nature pet friend who's been on the podcast twice has recommended, especially during COVID, to improve our respiratory system, to improve our immune system. And as they say, knock on wood, we haven't had any COVID. there was no need to take the vaccine, and we stayed pretty healthy throughout this whole ordeal. So there are so many things that people have
Sharon Lemoine (27:34.231)
Yeah.
Murray Sabrin (27:53.828)
have can use that I've been using again, people have to do their own research and due diligence, but we now d there's a big p interest in mushrooms. Do you have any any I ideas about mushrooms and mush and how mushrooms can improve your health?
Sharon Lemoine (28:11.54)
You know, I have not dived into that area yet. my daughter is a social worker and mental health provider, and so she has actually seen some studies and patients coming in for their mental health and how it has helped. I am embracing anything that is natural and gets patients off of medication.
Right. And to me, if I can get them on a whole list of supplements and get them off some of their medications with a high risk profile and lots of side effects, that's a win. Maybe that pill count is a little bit the same because you're taking so many supplements, but the basics are your vitamin D, your methylated vitamin B, omega-3s, magnesium. There's a lot of deficiencies in it that we are seeing in magnesium. those those are the really big ones. And you know, you couple that with the peptide.
That are coming out, I think we've got a better grasp on keeping patients healthier longer and off as many medications. And your story with COVID, that is a true success story to not require the vaccine, not have COVID, being on supplements again for such a long time. Your system was really prepared when it needed to be.
Murray Sabrin (29:30.233)
Well, I I've always felt that if you don't have your health, life can be really miserable and you you you are less productive, you become anxious, you become depressed. And w one thing for me is I try to keep my weight in a normal range. So getting into the weight issue, GLP one has been off the charts in terms of use. is that something you recommend in your practice?
Sharon Lemoine (29:36.654)
Absolutely.
Sharon Lemoine (29:57.379)
We do have a a significantly growing weight loss program. I'm very proud of what we're doing because yes, we use GLP1s, but we are using them correctly. It's a great tool if you've got some medical management. And I tell my patients, you know, you have to do the work. You've got to be working out. You've got to be prioritizing your protein and watching your diet. But if you're doing that and we add that layer of GLP1s in, you can have great success.
Test.
Our program specifically, you're coming in once a month, you're getting on an in-body composition scale. So we're looking at your total muscle mass, and we're looking at your body fat percentage and visceral fat. So as you progress and you lose weight, we want to preserve muscle mass. That is like gold for our health. And what's happening is patients are getting GLP ones off wherever they can get them, injecting at home with no guidance, they're eating less and they're burning more.
muscle mass for energy. And we know less muscle mass, more insulin resistance, lower metabolism, and metabolically you will be 10 times worse when you get to your goal weight. So I'm very, very proud of the work we're doing and I'm seeing significant and phenomenal results overall with overall health in our patients. And it's because we are are managing and making the muscle mass the priority.
Murray Sabrin (31:27.887)
So with GLP one, do you do patients have to stay on it forever or is it something that is a short-term use and then they change their lifestyle? They don't have the high sugary foods, they eat more protein, more vegetables, lean meat, fish, wha what what what is the coordination between GLP one and diet?
Sharon Lemoine (31:49.827)
You know, I when I was asked that question a few years ago, I I was pretty adamant, like, no, you shouldn't have to stay on, right? You make those lifestyle changes, you're on the GLP one for four, six, eight months, whatever it may be, and then you you wean off and you should be able to maintain that lifestyle. Over that period of time, there's more and more research coming out, and I have firsthand witnessed my patients coming in saying, Not only did I lose weight, but my joint pain is better, my overall inflammation is better, my gut health is better, and I know there's more research.
coming out and supporting that there are so many health benefits even for patients that they've studied that did not have weight to lose because that was my argument right if somebody has lost 50 pounds well yes their blood pressure is better yes their lipid profile is better they have more energy so we could correlate it to that weight loss but the studies have shown on the patients that did not have that were not obese they did actually show better inflammatory markers
cardiovascular health. And so that is ongoing research. And so to answer the question, do they need to stay on it? Some patients do. And I will support them as long as the lifestyle is number one.
Murray Sabrin (33:04.687)
Interesting.
Sharon Lemoine (33:04.692)
So some patients will wean off, they do fine for a while, which is great. Others will just stay on a very, very low dose, maybe even once a month, every couple weeks, they take a small little dose for the other issues such as gut health and inflammatory markers and so on.
Murray Sabrin (33:23.501)
What type of questions should patients, especially women, ask their physician in order to make sure that the physician not only is diagnosing their situation correctly, but they can also do their own due diligence to improve their health?
Sharon Lemoine (33:43.055)
You know, I think when you're looking at a provider, I often say, you know, a functionally based practice or functionally trained provider is looking at root cause. Writing a prescription is not number one on their agenda, right? They want your body to heal. And sometimes we do have to use medicines to put that fire out briefly. But if you're if you're going to a provider and number one, they're validating and hearing what you're saying.
And they're looking very thoroughly and doing very comprehensive workups, looking at things like gut health, which we know is the center of so many disease processes. That's really the beginning. And again, you have to establish that trust with the patient. So asking questions like, you know, do you do comprehensive blood work? What does that entail? There's extensive lipid panels we can now do, there's epigenetics we can look at as what is your genetic risks for carbon.
Cardiovascular disease and dementia based on the genes your mom and dad gave you, right? And that's good information to know. Just say, hey, you've got one extra risk factor here, maybe pushing you just a little bit more to take your health more seriously. so you really need you know, another thing we were talking about, supplements, and I go back to vitamin D, it's a perfect example that on my blood work per the lab, the normal range is 30 to 100. So if
Going to your doctor and they're nope, your your vitamin D is fine, you're 35. Well, what about getting you at that higher range of 80 to 90 and maintaining you there? Because studies have shown in that particular situation that you are lowering breast cancer and by 83% colorectal cancer, MS, with just keeping a higher dose of vitamin D. So that's just an example of what you should be looking at in your provider. Are they giving you five minutes and writing a script and
giving you an antidepressant and calling this anxiety when it's really perimenopause. Or are they really taking the time and offering you comprehensive testing and approaching it from a root-based approach to fix the problem versus mask it with medicine?
Murray Sabrin (35:58.864)
Th this is a fascinating conversation and I wish we had more time to go over it. Sharon we're gonna have you back. if people wanna get in touch with you, do you do telemedicine visits or do since you're in Gig Harbor, Washington, people in all over the country will have a hard time getting to Gig Gig Harbor. What should they do if they want to tap into your expertise?
Sharon Lemoine (36:11.245)
Yeah.
Sharon Lemoine (36:15.255)
Yeah.
Sharon Lemoine (36:19.01)
Yeah, I would love to to serve everybody, right? We do have our practice here in Gig Harbor, Washington, which is about 45 minutes outside of Seattle, and logistically and legalities, you have to s be in Washington when I establish care with you. Now I do have some patients that a lot of my patients live halftime in Arizona and halftime here, and I can certainly manage them via telehealth if they've established care with me here in the state initially. I personally see my doctor in Dallas, Texas.
And I had to go out there and establish care, and then we can certainly touch base from there. So logistically, it can be a little tough, but really right now, you know, our practice is growing and I'm very, very grateful. But I'm really finding a passion to speak out and just help patients find their people in their community and get the right care and help them look at the right approach to not only feel better now, but to be healthier 30 years from now.
Murray Sabrin (37:17.091)
This is one of my biggest issues is why can't the doctor-patient relationship be established no matter what your geography is? Because after all, your f the goal is to get better health, whether that doctor is in Gig Harbor, Washington, or Dallas, Texas, or Naples, Florida, where I live, or Boston, or wherever the case may be. And this is this is where I think the government and the insurance companies really put a barrier between the doctor and the patient and
Sharon Lemoine (37:34.626)
Yeah.
Sharon Lemoine (37:38.466)
Yeah.
Sharon Lemoine (37:45.023)
yeah.
Murray Sabrin (37:46.52)
This is one thing that I am very passionate about is the doctor-patient relationship is paramount. Not the not the regulations that are in place that some bureaucrats in Washington or the state capitol think should be in place in order to quote protect the patient. Well, if if you're a ethical medical practitioner, you've taken an oath to do no harm. And so therefore, that should be the the the principle that guides you in dealing with patients. So
Sharon Lemoine (38:02.915)
Yeah.
Murray Sabrin (38:14.733)
Sharon, we're going to have you on. This was a fascinating conversation. There are so many things to uncover in the future. I'd like to have you back in the in next year to talk about some of the other things that we haven't covered today. so anyone who's listening, remember check with your health practitioner, your medical doctor, or your nurse practitioner about any things that you heard today in order to improve your health. Thank you for listening to Health, Wealth, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
I'm Maurice Sabrin. Until next time, keep questioning conventional wisdom, keep pursuing truth, and keep striving for a healthier, freer, and more prosperous life. Visit mafiusa.com. You can see the two Mafia hats in the background here. And please subscribe to our YouTube channels so you can hear experts like Sharon Lemoyne and others, Glenn Jarrow, Joseph Sansone, Larry Lapart, who's given us wonderful, wonderful insight into their particular expertise.
So until next time, stay healthy and we'll see you in in a few days again.