The topics I write about on my website are personal to me, as they may be to you. I hope sharing all the research on these topics and my personal experiences with these health challenges could positively impact your journey to optimal wellness.

Since I was a kid, I had migraines and gut issues; later in my teens, I started having sensitivities to some foods, sunlight, odors, noises, and air pollution, which aggravated my migraines and gut problems. In my late 20's, I had many UTIs. And at 33 years old, I was diagnosed with IBS. At 44, rosacea came along. At 45 years old, I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. Finally, my gut problems were resolved for the first time in my life when I adopted the gluten-free diet, but not the migraines.

I was living and working in NYC near the World Trade Center when 9/11 happened; all of the toxic fumes that were lingering in the air for many months after the collapse of the towers aggravated all my symptoms. I was having migraines almost every day, and my sensitivities were magnified. Still, I was working and functioning in the world until I couldn't anymore.

At 45 years old, I had to stop working. I couldn't breathe in the world as I knew it without a face mask. The slightest exposure to any chemical, such as gasoline, perfumes, cigarette smoke, cleaning products, pesticides, and air fresheners, could, within seconds, cause me cognitive impairment, confusion, migraine, and profound fatigue, to mention some of my symptoms. No more going to the movies, shopping, restaurants, the gym, my family and friends' homes, vacations, or flights to Argentina to visit my mother, family, and friends. No one could come to my house if they didn’t do a strict detox from all scents, perfumes or other chemicals on them and their clothing. I had to isolate myself. I have missed many birthdays, weddings, Christmas, New Year's, and other friends and family celebrations for the last two decades. And, of course, they missed me being around them. It was a nightmare. The losses were immense.

In 2007, I was diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivities. My husband and I decided to move to Florida near the ocean, looking for better air quality where I could breathe. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and EMF sensitivity came in 2010. These diagnoses aren't easy to process and accept. I was lucky then to have had great specialists who understand these health challenges' complexity: Frank Lipman, MD, Albert F. Robbins, DO, and Dan O. Harper, MD.

Back in those years, it was a big challenge for me to resolve the gap that I was encountering between the diagnoses, the protocols, and how to apply and sustain all the lifestyle changes I needed. My love of learning, curiosity, background in health as a speech pathologist and audiologist, and a natural positive frame of mind helped me with that. I became a tenacious researcher. I have read so many scientific papers and books that I could think of since my first diagnosis. I participated in three different support groups. I watched thousands of hours of functional medicine webinars and summits to help me navigate those difficult times.

The most important things I learned that impacted my healing journey are about the limbic and vagal system, histamine intolerance, the DAO and HNMT enzymes, and the genetic polymorphisms linked to it. Addressing all of them and my compromised detox and methylation pathways was a massive step toward my recovery.

Recently, in 2024, I was diagnosed with MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome). And now, all of the previous diagnoses make sense under the umbrella of MCAS. My excellent doctor, Emily Rowe, MD, AP, IFMC, is working to determine the underlying root cause or causes of it. So far, I have tested positive for mold toxicity and started with the proper treatment. I am so grateful to have landed in the care of such a unique, caring, intelligent human being. Thank you, doctor Emily!

After modifying my lifestyle, the foods I ate, my belief system, doing brain retraining, vagal tone exercises, breathing work, meditation, light exercises, stabilizing the mast cells, and supporting with the needed supplements, I can say that I recovered from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue; I am managing my chemical and EMF sensitivities, histamine intolerance, migraines, and MCAS, and hope for a full recovery shortly, as I started the treatment with doctor Emily for the underlying root causes of MCAS.

I wish I had had a health coach with knowledge in functional medicine back in those years to help me understand and guide me through those tremendous challenges—someone who could listen and understand me without judging. It would have been easier for me, and I would have recovered faster! So when I heard that there was this new and only Functional Medicine Health Coach Academy in collaboration with the IFM (the Institute for Functional Medicine), I knew this was my calling and opportunity to help others.

As a functional medicine certified health coach (FMCHC) and with my experience with these complex chronic health challenges, I will bridge that gap for you and be your ally. I will help you and guide you to make and sustain those changes. I will help you discover your wisdom and provide a space where you will feel heard, understood, and cared for.

Contact me; it will be an honor to hear your story!