LISTEN TO THE PODCAST – Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
In this episode of the Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations podcast, I interviewed Melissa Schreibfader, a registered nurse, board-certified functional medicine practitioner, and founder of the Functional Nurse Academy. Melissa shares her powerful personal healing journey from debilitating fatigue, postpartum thyroiditis, Hashimoto’s, and chronic Lyme disease to fully reclaiming her health and helping thousands of healthcare professionals learn functional medicine.
What I loved most about this conversation is Melissa’s honesty about both the conventional and functional medicine systems. So many people with chronic illness feel dismissed by conventional practitioners – only to later feel overwhelmed, financially drained, or unsupported in wellness spaces. Melissa brings such a grounded, compassionate perspective to navigating chronic illness while helping people identify true root causes.
We also dive deep into chronic Lyme disease – one of the most misunderstood and overlooked triggers for autoimmunity and chronic symptoms. If you’ve been dealing with persistent fatigue, neurological symptoms, thyroid dysfunction, unexplained inflammation, or you feel like your “check engine light” has been on for years, this episode may open up some important new possibilities for your healing journey.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why many people with chronic illness feel failed by both conventional and functional medicine. Melissa shares how she was repeatedly told her symptoms were “just anxiety” before eventually being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and chronic Lyme disease. She also opens up about feeling preyed upon by expensive wellness protocols that focused heavily on supplements, without identifying the true root cause of her symptoms.
- How postpartum hormone shifts can trigger autoimmune disease and chronic infections. Melissa explains how pregnancy and postpartum immune system changes may activate underlying infections or autoimmune conditions that were previously dormant. We also discuss how nutrient depletions, inflammation, sleep deprivation, and hormonal shifts can create the perfect storm for thyroid issues and chronic illness after pregnancy.
- Why Lyme disease is often missed – even by functional practitioners. Melissa shares that many chronic Lyme patients never recall a tick bite or the classic “bullseye rash.” She explains why standard Lyme testing can miss up to half of chronic cases and why more advanced testing methods may be necessary when symptoms persist despite doing “all the right things.”
- The surprising symptoms chronic Lyme disease can cause throughout the body. We discuss how Lyme can mimic countless conditions, including chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, joint pain, neurological symptoms, cardiovascular issues, nerve pain, autoimmune disease, and chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS).
- How Melissa finally got her health back after years of chronic illness. Melissa shares the therapies that helped her recover, including herbal protocols, ozone therapy, and a treatment called LymeStop. She explains how healing Lyme often requires supporting the immune system, calming inflammation, replenishing nutrients, and helping the body recover after years of chronic infection.
- Why nurses and healthcare professionals are uniquely positioned to change the future of chronic illness care. Melissa discusses how functional medicine allows practitioners to focus on prevention, root causes, nutrition, stress, sleep, and early dysfunction – rather than waiting until patients become severely ill before intervening.
Free Webinar
- Discover how the Christian Functional Medicine Academy can help you to launch your own functional health business!
Check out this free webinar to learn more and register.
Guest Resources / Connect with Melissa Schreibfeder
- Explore the Christian Functional Medicine Academy (CFMA) – Use code WENTZ10 for $100 off registration!
- Check out the Functional Nurse Academy Website
- Follow Melissa Schreibfader on Instagram and Facebook
- The Functional Nurse Academy Podcast
Supplements We Discussed
- Selenium – Melissa discusses selenium as an important nutrient commonly recommended to support thyroid health and thyroid antibodies. Consider Rootcology Selenium + Myo-inositol, or Pure Encapsulations Selenium if you are looking for a standalone
- Zinc – Mentioned as a supportive nutrient for thyroid function and immune balance. Consider Pure Encapsulations Zinc 30.
- Herbal Lyme Protocols – Melissa shares that herbal therapies can play a powerful role in addressing chronic Lyme disease.
- Cat’s Claw – An herb commonly used in Lyme protocols for immune support and antimicrobial effects. Consider Cat’s Claw Elite.
- Artemisia – Discussed as part of herbal approaches for Lyme disease support.
- Andrographis – Used in herbal Lyme protocols to support immune modulation and microbial balance.
- Prenatal Vitamins – Melissa shares that high-quality prenatal nutrients have helped support her energy and recovery postpartum.
- Pasture-Raised Organ Meat Supplements – Melissa mentions these nutrient-dense supplements as one of the few products she consistently notices an energy benefit from.
Other Tools and Resources
- IGeneX Lyme Testing – A specialty lab often used to identify chronic Lyme disease more accurately than standard testing.
- Vibrant Wellness Tickborne Disease Panel – A comprehensive blood test that evaluates exposure and immune responses to Lyme disease and multiple tick-borne co-infections.
- Vibrant America Gut Zoomer Test – A comprehensive stool test that evaluates 300+ gut markers, including beneficial microbes, potential pathogens, inflammation, digestion, and intestinal permeability.
- Ozone Therapy (10-Pass Ozone Therapy) – A therapy Melissa used to support immune modulation and reduce Lyme symptoms.
- LymeStop Therapy – An alternative therapy using magnetic and energetic techniques intended to help the immune system recognize and address Lyme disease.
- Functional Medicine Lab Testing – Discussed as a valuable tool for uncovering nutrient deficiencies, inflammation, gut dysfunction, and hidden infections.
- Buhner Protocol – An herbal approach developed by Stephen Harrod Buhner to support the body’s response to Lyme disease and common tick-borne co-infections.
Books and Articles About Lyme Disease, Hashimoto’s, and Functional Medicine
- Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols and Healing Recipes to Take Charge of Your Thyroid Health by Dr. Izabella Wentz
- Toxic, 2nd Edition: Heal Your Body from Mold Toxicity, Lyme Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, and Chronic Environmental Illness by Dr. Neil Nathan
- Healing Lyme: Natural Healing of Lyme Borreliosis and the Coinfections Chlamydia and Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis, 2nd Edition by Stephen Buhner
- Lyme and Hashimoto’s
- Infections as Hidden Triggers for Hashimoto’s
- Could a Virus Be Your Hashimoto’s Root Cause?
- Selenium: The Nutrient That Can Reduce Thyroid Antibodies by 40%
- The Surprising Effect of Zinc Deficiency on Hashimoto’s
Get the Full Episode Transcript
Let’s Connect!
- Follow me on Instagram: @izabellawentzpharmd
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Got questions? Drop them in the comments! 🙂
About Our Host
Dr. Izabella Wentz
Dr. Izabella Wentz is a compassionate, innovative, solution-focused integrative pharmacist dedicated to finding the root causes of chronic health conditions. Her passion stems from her own diagnosis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in 2009, following a decade of debilitating symptoms.
Dr. Izabella Wentz has written several best-selling books, including the New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating the Root Cause, the protocol-based #1 New York Times bestseller Hashimoto’s Protocol: A 90-Day Plan for Reversing Thyroid Symptoms and Getting Your Life Back, the Wall Street Journal bestseller Hashimoto’s Food Pharmacology: Nutrition Protocols and Healing Recipes to Take Charge of Your Thyroid Health, and Adrenal Transformation Protocol. Her latest book, IBS: Finding and Treating the Root Cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, is now out in the world, and available here!
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About Our Guest
Melissa Schreibfeder BSN, RN, BC-FMP is a seasoned registered nurse, approved provider of continuing nursing education, and board-certified functional medicine practitioner. After overcoming her own health challenges, she built a successful functional medicine business helping others heal through root-cause, lifestyle- and nutrition-based approaches. Driven by her
success in practice, she established the Functional Nurse Academy to train nurses nationwide and later launched the Christian Functional Medicine Academy to extend functional medicine training to all other healthcare specialties.
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