I have been told I am “super healthy” more times than I can count.
“I wish I could tell you something was wrong,” my doctor said, looking at my labs, “but you’re super healthy.”
I was standing in that office exhausted, 40 pounds heavier than I’d been just two years earlier, barely sleeping, and feeling like a stranger in my own body. And my doctor was telling me nothing was wrong.
This is the story of the decade I spent being dismissed — and the hormone health provider who finally listened.
It Started With a Miscarriage and a Diagnosis I Refused to Believe
In 2016, I had a miscarriage. Out of nowhere. And when it was over, my doctor looked at the imaging and told me I had PCOS — polycystic ovary syndrome — because of the cysts surrounding my ovaries.
I didn’t believe him.
But, I got pregnant almost immediately (the NEXT month!) after with my fourth child. So when the doctor suggested I might have trouble conceiving again, I pretty much told him he was out of his mind. PCOS? Not me. I moved on.
But PCOS doesn’t disappear just because you refuse to acknowledge it. It waits.
What is PCOS? Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age. It involves irregular periods, elevated androgen levels, and/or polycystic ovaries. It is also closely tied to insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction — something researchers are now examining more closely than ever.
The Vegan Years: When I Thought I Was Doing Everything Right, But in Reality I Was Just Wrecking My Hormone Health
In 2017, my family went fully plant-based. My husband had ulcerative colitis, and a vegan diet was the path we believed would heal him. We committed completely. I even enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and graduated in 2019 as a certified health coach, well-versed in the seven pillars of holistic wellness: food, relationships, movement, social life, environmental, vocational and spiritual health.
I knew about nutrition. I cared deeply about our health. And yet — something was quietly going wrong inside my body.
We stayed plant-based for five years. What started as clean, whole-food eating gradually shifted out of necessity. Cooking three full meals a day became unsustainable after the year of being locked indoors for the pandemic. Processed vegan convenience foods crept in. High-lectin foods became part of our everyday. I now believe those five years — particularly the latter half — set the stage for much of what was to come. My body was depleted in ways I didn’t yet understand or even feel and my hormone health was tanked.
2020: When Everything Started to Fall Apart
I was 38 years old, my youngest was three, and I was still nursing. I told myself the exhaustion was just part of motherhood. Of course I was tired. Four kids. A pandemic. A nursing toddler. Who wouldn’t be?
But when I weaned cold turkey, everything changed.
I started waking up at 3 a.m. — every single night. I’d lie there for hours, mind racing, body exhausted, unable to fall back asleep until around 5 a.m. Then I’d drag myself up to start the day. I was running on empty every single morning, and no amount of sleep, supplements, or sheer willpower was fixing it.
Why do women wake up at 3 a.m.? Waking between 2–4 a.m. is often linked to cortisol dysregulation, blood sugar instability, and hormonal shifts — particularly declining progesterone and estrogen. In perimenopause or post-nursing hormonal transitions, this pattern is extremely common and frequently dismissed as stress or poor sleep hygiene.
Two Years of “Normal” Labs and 40 Pounds
In 2022, we stopped being vegan and started eating meat again. I noticed a shift. But the weight kept climbing. Over the course of two years, I gained 40 pounds. I went to doctor after doctor. I had labs done again and again. I spent thousands of dollars — on supplements, dietitians, nutritionists, health coaches, gym programs, meal plans. I tried everything I could think of.
Every single time, I was told the same thing: Your labs are normal. Nothing is wrong with you.
It is a particular kind of suffering — feeling broken in your body while being told, medically, that you are fine. It makes you question yourself. It makes you wonder if it’s all in your head. It makes you want to give up. Especially when your weight was now MORE than your last pregnancy (which was the heaviest of all).
I didn’t give up. But I came close.
The Provider Who Finally Saw What Others Missed: My Hormone Health Reality
By 2024, I was at my absolute breaking point. Then someone introduced me to Tim Anderson PA-C from My HealthMatrix.
Tim didn’t just run the same standard panel everyone else had run. He did comprehensive, in-depth lab work that looked at my hormones, my liver function, my metabolic health, and markers that most conventional doctors never even check.
What he found told a completely different story than “super healthy.” He spent two hours explaining every single test that he ran and what the implications were on my body. This was the most in-depth conversation with a provider I’ve ever had in my entire 42 years of existence.
I had severe hormone imbalances across the board — estrogen and testosterone dysregulation, thyroid conversion issues, high cortisol, inflammation, insulin resistance, liver stress, and critically low DHEA.
What is DHEA and why does it matter? DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a hormone produced by your adrenal glands that serves as a precursor to estrogen and testosterone. Low DHEA means your body is starting every single day at less than half its potential energy capacity. It affects mood, metabolism, immune function, cognitive clarity, and resilience to stress. Most standard lab panels don’t test for it.
Add in the fact that I also have ADHD — and suddenly the full picture started to make a devastating kind of sense. I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t weak. I wasn’t imagining things. My body had been running on fumes for years, and no one had thought to check the tank.
October 4, 2024: The Day Everything Changed
On October 4, 2024, Tim asked me something that no other provider had ever asked.
He asked if I would be willing to stop drinking alcohol — just for a while — to give my liver the chance to heal.
I said yes.
I haven’t had a single drop of alcohol since.
That one conversation, that one ask, changed the trajectory of my health. It wasn’t a lecture. It wasn’t a judgment. It was a provider who saw the full picture of my health and made a specific, thoughtful, individualized recommendation. That is what root-cause medicine looks like.
Where I Am Now: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint and Hormone Health is the Focus
I stopped gaining weight. That alone is a victory I don’t take for granted after years of watching the scale climb with no explanation. I sleep seven to ten hours a night… that’s because I make sleep a priority and go to bed as early as possible with my workout schedule (most days I am out the door for the gym at 4:30a)- that is intention.
Right now, my focus is on two key issues Tim identified: high cortisol and insulin resistance — both of which are directly tied to stubborn weight retention, fatigue, and metabolic dysfunction.
Why is high cortisol so hard to fix? Cortisol is your body’s primary stress hormone, produced by the adrenal glands. Chronically elevated cortisol disrupts sleep, promotes fat storage (especially around the abdomen), drives insulin resistance, and suppresses thyroid function. It cannot be fixed with willpower alone — it requires addressing the root causes: sleep quality, blood sugar regulation, hormonal balance, and nervous system recovery.
I’m also paying close attention to an important shift happening in the medical world around PCOS. The condition is being reclassified — and is now increasingly referred to as PMOS (Polycystic Metabolic Ovary Syndrome) — to more accurately reflect what researchers and integrative practitioners have long understood: this is a metabolic disorder, not just a reproductive one. That reframing matters enormously. It means more appropriate treatment, more targeted research, and hopefully, fewer women being dismissed for a decade before getting real help.
What My HealthMatrix Believes And Why It Resonates With Me
When I first read about the philosophy behind My HealthMatrix, I felt like someone had finally put into words everything I’d been trying to tell my doctors for years.
At My HealthMatrix, the belief is simple: women deserve to feel vibrant, strong, clear-minded, and fully alive — not simply “normal” on a lab report.
Their approach to hormone health is comprehensive and root-cause focused. They look at hormones, thyroid function, nutrition, lifestyle, stress, sleep, inflammation, and long-term prevention together — not in silos. They also recognize what many conventional doctors overlook: the critical role of testosterone in women’s health. When clinically appropriate, testosterone therapy can support sexual desire, energy, confidence, motivation, and overall vitality — especially for women struggling with symptoms that are too often written off as just “getting older.”
It’s also worth noting that the FDA recently began removing broad black box warnings from many menopausal hormone therapy products. This is a significant shift — one that’s helping move the conversation away from fear-based decision-making and toward individualized, evidence-informed care. Women now have more options than they may realize.
An Exclusive Offer for Orlando Mom Readers
My HealthMatrix is the exclusive Holistic Health Provider partner for Orlando Mom, and if any part of my story sounds familiar — the exhaustion, the weight gain, the “normal” labs, the feeling that something is just off — I want you to know there is another way.
Mention “Orlando Mom” on your initial call and receive $100 off your consultation.
My HealthMatrix also offers biohacking sessions that complement hormone and metabolic treatment:
- Red Light Cabin
- VibraGenix Frequency Machine
- ZeroBody DryCryo Bed
- Infrared Sauna
Orlando Mom readers can receive one complimentary biohacking session of their choice, or experience all four for just $49.
📞 Call: 321-321-6461 🌐 Visit: MyHealthMatrix.com
You Are Not Crazy. You Are Not Lazy. You Deserve Real Answers.
If there is one thing I want you to take away from my story, it’s this: trust yourself.
If you know something is wrong, keep looking. Keep asking questions. Find a provider who is willing to look deeper than a standard lab panel and see you — not just your numbers.
It took me nearly a decade. I hope it takes you a lot less time.
My hormone health journey with My HealthMatrix is ongoing. It is a marathon, not a sprint. But for the first time in years, I’m actually running in the right direction.
Eryn Vargo is the owner of OrlandoMom.com. My HealthMatrix is the exclusive Holistic Health Partner of Orlando Mom.
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