ILwA 191 - Tiffany Kaloustian
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Julie Michelson: [00:00:00] Tiffany, welcome to the podcast.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Thank you so much for having me. It's wonderful to be here.

Julie Michelson: It is. I'm excited to, to interview you because I know as often as the case we have overlaps in, in story, um, you are a little. Quicker on the uptake than I was in my healing journey. But I'm excited for you to share your story with listeners, um, so that they can get to know you better.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Definitely. Thank you for asking. Oh, my word. It's like sometimes when you are talking about your healing journey, you always wonder how far back to go. Right? Um, but when I first noticed symptoms, I was quite young. I was about 17. Um, I had just entered college. For the first time in my life, I noticed mysterious pain, um, you know, joint pain, joint inflammation that I never had before.

I'm born and raised in Hawaii and I went to [00:01:00] school in California college and, uh. When I went to see a physician, I usually was told, oh, you're young. It's just college stress, so don't worry about it. Um, you're fine. Just try not to stress. And I'm thinking, okay, try not to stress. I'm in my first year of college.

I'm away from my family, my boyfriend, like all my friends. Like what? So I, I took that advice as, yes, it's, it was stress. However, over the course of the four years. Um, my, I, now I know that they're called flares, but they would happen periodically. I had no idea what a flare was, so, um, I would just go through it and saying, oh, the inflammation they say will go away.

Don't, don't worry about it. So I ignored it. Uh, it wasn't until after college I was like, this, something's not right. I'm just not feeling like myself. And I started to, um. Then, um, seek more answers with [00:02:00] rheumatologists, and as most people, as most listeners under know, is that the first time you see a rheumatologist, you're rarely diagnosed with something right away.

Sometimes you fit the profile for a certain diagnosis, but I was always, I, I don't wanna say dismissed, but I was always told, you're okay. You have a few markers. I never really asked what those markers were. 'cause you know, I was like, well, I. Okay. I have a few markers, but Sure. Oh, well, I, I, I don't have anything.

Right. So I'm healthy. I must be fine. I must be fine. Right? Yeah. Because they're telling me I'm fine and they're like, you're young and you're healthy and you're fit and nothing is wrong with you. And they, oh, it kind of almost got to me feeling like, oh, they're kind of telling me it's in my head. Mm-hmm.

And that I was a little offended sometimes, you know? I'm like, sure, I'm not making my symptoms up. I, I, I, I can tell you, I don't feel well often. I feel fatigued and drained, and I'm 21 years old, [00:03:00] you know? Right. So, eventually though, I kept pushing, um, I kept going back and I said, okay, run my blood again, because I'm actually feeling worse than I was last year.

So, over the course, oh, my word, I, I can't even count. Maybe four years. Finally I was given a diagnosis. It was like the doctor explained it like, oh, you, you, that last drop in that cup made everything blow over. So now you have, so now we waited until you're sick

Julie Michelson: enough to, to tell you what's wrong. Yeah.

Tiffany Kaloustian: And the thing is, like I really had to press for answers, right?

Um, I feel like if I didn't keep making the appointments, now keep in mind at that point, I didn't know what functional medicine was. I just knew the western medicine route. However, when I was finally

Julie Michelson: share, share with listeners what your diagnosis was.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Oh, yes. So I was officially diagnosed with systemic lupus, so [00:04:00] lupus, SLE, um, where in a brief description is that is where your immune system is mistakenly attacking your tissues and joints.

And my organ, every, every

Julie Michelson: autoimmune disease mm-hmm. Fits that description.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Right, right. Yeah. And, and the thing is, um, it was actually ravaging my, it was, it was affecting my body so much that I was close to organ failure. My, um, it, it, the doctor put me on a quick, um. Chemo, uh, about three or four doses of, um, high dose chemo, just like methotrexate to kind of calm my immune system down.

Um, and then he didn't tell me what an autoimmune disease was. He didn't tell me what systemic lupus was. Um, and he said, go to the pharmacy tonight and go pick up these medications. I rotated over the few, over a couple of years between Prednisone, [00:05:00] chloroquine, um. And, uh, just different, just different medications that, um, and plaque milk, excuse me.

Julie Michelson: Yep. Very, all, all very common in the autoimmune world. Yeah.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Yeah. I, I had no idea what autoimmune disease was. I asked him, I said, did I catch it from someone? Am I contagious? I mean, nothing really made sense. How could I be so young and be diagnosed with what I heard was a death sentence, right? The way it was presented to me.

I would die if I didn't take these medications. And I'm

Julie Michelson: like, yep,

Tiffany Kaloustian: are you? It blew my mind. So I obviously had, you know, a moment of panic and grief. You know, I felt like my life, part of my life was over, but I would never be able to get back. And I think that's the really hard thing when you're in your twenties to hear that the life that you know, that you knew and that you [00:06:00] expected to have no longer exists.

So, and the way that he explained it to me was very professional. I guess. He was doing his job. He was very, he's your diagnosis. Here's your medication. Come and see me in three weeks. Sure. That was it. And then I was left going, I need to do all this research. What is lupus? SLE, right? Uh, what, what does it mean?

How, how in the world could I have possibly, um, how could that have overtaken the body? So

Julie Michelson: yeah, that led me to, 'cause they ignored it for so long when you were looking for answers

Tiffany Kaloustian: and that's the thing. Yeah. You know, and you, I know that you can understand because you've lived very similar circumstances, but.

It's like my goal now and what I do is I wanna help my clients identify markers early. So that we can kind of reverse the progression of any autoimmune disease that could happen.

Julie Michelson: Yeah, [00:07:00] absolutely. And I want, I wanna change the conversation in traditional Western rheumatology is my ultimate goal, so that nobody else has to receive the death sentence without.

The, the full education and the options and the knowledge that it doesn't have to be a death sentence. You know, if I can feel better in my mid fifties than I did in my mid thirties, well, I'm not special. I'm not doing anything magical. You know, I, I just took a different approach. Um, and, and so, you know, that's why I so appreciate you sharing your journey because it is still.

Today, you know, I live in this little bubble functional medicine bubble where we're all on the same page. We all know it's reversible. We all know it's I provable. Um, yes, we all know it's preventable. Um, and, and then I step outside and I remember that, that every [00:08:00] day people are going to the rheumatologist and they're given their quote unquote.

Sentence. Um, right. And, and so the more we have these conversations, the more people can move through that process or hopefully, eventually, you know, just avoid that process. Um, and, and so, and, and it is a process regardless. I mean, I, I think whenever we, when life starts to get smaller, um, you know, we have to.

Acknowledge, feel, and move through those emotions. Um, or we can eat the perfect diet. We can execute the, the perfect, whatever that means. Mm-hmm. Um, and if we're still stuffing emotions, we're not gonna heal anyway, so.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Oh, absolutely.

Julie Michelson: Yeah. And I, I, I want to. Kind of pull that thread a little bit with you. I know dance has always been an important part of your life and, and there [00:09:00] is that emotional component with dance.

Mm-hmm. So tell me how dance has been useful for you in your healing journey and, you know, advice for listeners who maybe didn't grow up dancers, but I, I do believe music dance movement.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Can do

Julie Michelson: the same for even those of us who don't need to do it in front of people.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Right. No, absolutely. I mean, truly, um, that analogy, um, it, it's so powerful because I was able to transfer what I've been through as a child, growing up as a dancer to my practice name because every dance has a story, um, whether it is hula, I dance, hula, and ballet.

Since I can remember, um, remember I'm from Oahu, I'm from Hawaii, so that just a huge part of my life. And you tell a story, it's a beautiful story, but not every dance and not every story is happy, right? Not every story is [00:10:00] joyful. Not every story has a happy ending and not, not every story, you know, has the same trajectory, right?

So, sure. I had to embrace my diagnosis. In order for me to begin to heal, I had to understand what was happening in my body before I, you know, could take the first steps to healing because I knew the medication was keeping it at bay, but it wasn't solving the issue. It wasn't solving the underlying issue what was going on in my body.

So embracing the dance of healing for me, I've, I embrace every day of my healing journey, whether it's a hard day. Whether it's a day, I feel phenomenal, and people with autoimmune conditions understand when I say this, when you have a good day and you feel wonderful, you never want that day to end. Um, sometimes you don't really wanna go to bed because you feel so great that day and there might be a day or the next day you wake up and you don't feel that great.

So [00:11:00] I just remember embracing every moment. If, if it was a hard day, I was like, you know what? Tomorrow's gonna be a better day. And if today was a great day, it's okay. If tomorrow's not as great, I'm gonna push, push through, work through it. I'm gonna learn as I go. I'm gonna keep making progress. Um, so what I did is I embraced it.

I embraced every emotion, every tear, every meltdown, um, every, everything that I felt. Um, and I had to feel it. I had to feel it to nurture my nervous system. I had to feel it to allow those emotions to flow through me. And if I didn't embrace every dance of my journey, I don't think I would be here.

Julie Michelson: Wow.

Yeah. And I can feel there's so much in what you just shared first for any listener that might not already know this healing is not a straight line. Um, and information isn't all we need. To heal. Uh, and so I love that, that you [00:12:00] so vulnerably shared. You know, it, there is this up and down, um, and what I see all the time with clients as they're starting to heal and they have, this is typical.

I mean, I did it at. And we, we have to learn for ourselves like where that boundary is. But as you have a good day and you haven't had a good day in so long, the tendency is to overdo it, right? Because you feel well, and I can, I can do these things and I'm not in pain. And, and so that learning of like, okay, you have a good day, you overdo it, then you, the next day is not usually a great day.

You know, and, and I love that you said, but, but those, there's, those are healing too. And then you actually do find that ground of, okay, I can enjoy and embrace the good day without pushing my body too far for where it is now and have another one tomorrow and tomorrow. And, you know, and something may happen and you may have one [00:13:00] that's not great.

Um, but the, the resilience I remember. Oh goodness. A couple years into my healing journey, but before I was really rooted in functional medicine, um, I had, I remember having a, a chat with my functional medicine doctor, and I was feeling better than I had felt in a decade. So I was happy, but I was like super rigid.

Diets e everything was rigid and small, you know, but I felt. Better than I had in years. And so I was thrilled. Like if you, if you told me in that moment that I had to live like that for the rest of my life, I would've been like, great, no problem. And he said that, he just kept saying, but true wellness is resilience.

And so I'm glad you feel better than you used to. But you're, you're, you need to create resilience. And, and so some of that, [00:14:00] almost like testing barriers, um, 'cause, you know, I feel great now. I feel better than I have probably ever felt. Um, there are foods that, aside from there, are what I would call healthy foods, good foods that I do better when I avoid, but.

I know I'm always healing, my cells are always turning over and so, you know, you better believe I'm gonna try the tomatoes out of the garden again this year and see how it goes. Last year actually it went fine. Um, I, you know, but those are, it. It. Who knows why. Not necessarily. It's not something I keep in my diet, but I'm always checking like, maybe now nightshades aren't a big deal for me, or, you know, whatever, whatever that is.

Um, maybe now I can dance harder, right? Or ride my horse longer, or go for a, a bigger hike or. Um, and sometimes your [00:15:00] body's going to answer with a, Nope, that wasn't a great idea. Um, yeah. And so I love that you, you share that up and down. 'cause that na I mean, the reality is everybody has good days and bad days even if they've never had chronic illness or autoimmunity.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Correct.

Julie Michelson: We have the gift through our healing journey of really reconnecting with our body. I, I believe most of us as a survival skill disconnected from those signals, right? To get through the day and, and not, you know, necessarily acknowledge the pain on a regular basis or whatever it is, pushing through the fatigue.

Um, and so I can like just see how. When you're dancing, you have to be in your body for dance. Mm-hmm. And so I can see that gift, that dance can be in the healing journey [00:16:00] because we need to learn to reconnect with, with what our body's trying to tell us. Um, and so I love, I love that that is just a, a wonderful tool that you use.

Do you help clients that way as well? Like through dance? Yeah.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Uh, yeah, not physically, um, but mainly a lot through imagery and, you know, um, having them visualize what that feels like in their body. Um, most of my clients are over zoom, so, um, Uhhuh, but, but a lot of my clients do physically embrace dance.

You know, they're like, I'm gonna be in my living room for an hour. Uh, you know, uh, wherever they are, where they just feel at one and at peace with themselves. And like you had mentioned. When we have those harder days and we feel like, oh gosh, it's my fault because I pushed myself. It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop.

Yeah. It's not your fault. It's never your fault. It's information. Give yourself, give yourself that grace. You know, give yourself that grace and just that love and [00:17:00] nourishment to your soul because it's so easy with an autoimmune condition to be hard on yourself with words. Um, it's, it's easy to feel like you're not enough anymore or you're not worth what you used to be.

All these negative thoughts that. It's really, uh, your mindset, truly. You have to work on shifting. And I worked on that for years and it's a lot of nervous system regulation, um, because it is traumatizing to be diagnosed with, how do you say? Yeah, to me it was a death sentence, but a life sentence of, uh, chronic health condition is not easy to hear, nor, um, something that you ever want to embrace.

So I never embraced my diagnosis, but I embraced the journey that I was walking through with.

Julie Michelson: I love that. And I know I've heard you say, what I say all the time is so many of us, you know, receive a diagnosis and then wear that as our bad, you know, identify with the illness. Mm-hmm. And so I, I, I love [00:18:00] that idea of embracing the journey.

The diagnosis is just information anyway. Like it's not. The diagnosis really is, is a label for your group of symptoms. Like that's all it is. Mm-hmm. Um, and, and so I love the, the, but at the same time when you get to a place where you receive a diagnosis or you're looking for one, you're trying to figure out what's going on, you know?

Mm-hmm. It, it's the. Embracing that journey and the healing journey and figuring out, you know, what are, what are the shifts I need to make? And I, I love that you said, I mean, mind mindset and nervous system regulation are, are huge. You know, I remember when I was first coaching, we would work on mindset at some point, and I finally one day was like, what am I doing?

We need to start with mindset, so everything else works. Yeah. Exponentially better and [00:19:00] faster. Um, yeah. You know, and it, it may sound woowoo or, or, or feel strange for people. Um, but it is, you know, some people can get away with eating things that, that may not actually support their bodies, but nobody can get away with not doing the mindset work for sure.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Absolutely. And I'm glad you touched on diet. You had mentioned things that you eat and things that you don't eat. I mean, that was truly something that when I was first diagnosed, I asked my doctor, I said, oh, you know, I heard gluten could be contributing. I heard nightshades could be a problem. And they're only trained, bless their hearts.

I mean, I'm only here 'cause Western medicine saved me in my early stages. But, uh, they don't know how, they don't, they're not trained on how diet affects the immune system and, uh, autoimmune diseases. Right. So I was told, eat whatever you want. It's not gonna change your symptoms. It's not gonna change your medicine, your diagnosis.

Yeah. Take your meds. Yeah. I [00:20:00] stopped the meds after and I, and I, I, I'm speaking personally, I'm definitely not saying that, you know, this is, should be the story for everyone, but personally speaking. I was tanking on meds, medications were all these side effects were just coming to surface. And I wasn't thriving, I was declining.

I was down to 85 pounds. I mean, I was already lightweight to begin with. And then I was barely surviving. So I, that's where I really turned to prayer. And I was like, okay, where do I go? Like, this isn't for me. And that's where I found functional medicine. Um. Learned about diet, learned about nutrition, learned about, uh, systemic, uh, root causes of most autoimmune conditions, and it just was.

So eye-opening for me. Um, and I began to get certified and then at the same time, applying the things that I was learning in my life. Sure. And guess what? I saw dramatic shifts and I'm like, whoa. These [00:21:00] functional medicine doctors and practitioners are, they've got something because it's working for me.

Right, so the testing, and that's empowering,

Julie Michelson: right? You go from this powerless person who was given, you know, a death sentence to actually, these changes are helping, empowering. Then you get it. It does become a little bit addictive for those of us that are like, okay, let's learn, learn, learn. Because it's like, Ooh, what else can I do?

What else? You know? Yeah. Um, but it's, it's a good, it's a healthy addiction. It's a, it's a good thing

Tiffany Kaloustian: because you learn so much more about your body, right? You learn. What is systemically happening in your body? You know? And when you understand the reasons why your immune system is overactive, is getting confused.

Yeah. You understand what could have caused it? The things that could have contributed to it, right? And things like, for example, gluten. How, uh, that for a lot of people with [00:22:00] autoimmune diseases, they, they feel much better without it in their diet. And I, that's a whole nother story of, you know, a whole nother podcast about gluten.

'cause I've done so much research on that. And, uh, I'm, I'm actually now in that class with Dr. Sam Yanick. Um, he is a famous, he's a well-known do, um, in North Carolina and Cogents immunology learning so much about. Our immune system and how these dysfunctions can happen and how we can repair it without relying on the western medicine drugs for the rest of your life.

So I just, like you said, it, it, you know, earlier on it's like, you know, you, you are ever learning, right? You're ever growing and your body's ever changing. Right. You know, I don't even, I'm

Julie Michelson: not even made up of the same cells I was made up of when I was sick. So. Why, why would we ever think we can't change [00:23:00] and, and improve stuff?

And I, you already said it, but I, I wanna underscore and listeners know, I say it all the time, I am not anti-Western medicine just like you. Right? Like for acute anything. That is where I'm going for acute care. Um, there, it's just the approach that, that compartmentalized. Narrow specialty approach doesn't work for anything systemic or chronic.

It just doesn't. Absolutely. And, and so, um, you know, and nor am I, I'm not anti-medication. I went through phase when I was, when I got off of my 10 prescriptions where I was like, nobody should take me. And now I'm like, you know what? There is a time and a place like you said, like sometimes we need to actually.

Like, pause the process with a medication while we make changes, right? Like, so, you know, for, for listeners, there is no one size fits all. [00:24:00] Um, I, I've had so many people come to me and say, well, I've heard your story and I wanna get off my meds. And I'm like, don't you just wanna feel well? Like, let's start there.

And as we make those changes, the chances are really good that your physicians are going to take you off your medications 'cause you don't need 'em. Oh.

Tiffany Kaloustian: And not only that, but I changed rheumatologist by the way. Uh, once I stopped medication, I, I found someone else. I found another rheumatologist before I became certified, um, in my practice who actually looked at me and she said, Tiffany.

Your markers look great. Like what are you doing because you're not on this. That's tell me that's what're doing what need.

Julie Michelson: Yep. The more we can get our rheumatologist to ask if we still have 'em. I haven't had one in years, but I know, but the more I hear. I, I had a client who literally had eight autoimmune diagnoses and she went to her rheumatologist and he, you know, said, how are you feeling?

Expecting, you know, he thought he knew the answer already. And she said, [00:25:00] actually, I, I'm feeling really well. And he goes, what do you mean? And she said, well, I don't have any pain anymore. And, you know, she went through like her symptoms that have improved and, and he actually, instead of, what are you doing right?

Share, I wanna learn. He put his hand on her forehead and said, are you, do you have a fever? Are you sure you're okay? And I, I was like, please don't ever go back to him. Please. Like, don't, that's not okay. And he was an older gentleman in a kind of rural area. Um, but the more we can get doctors asking Yep, yep.

What are you doing? Because maybe what you're doing will work for some of my other patients. Right. That's how we change it. Right.

Tiffany Kaloustian: That that's, and that's the thing, when western medicine and functional medicine come together, what a beautiful dance that is, right? Yeah. I mean, how, what a beautiful relationship.

I think now, um, I think the Western some, [00:26:00] some p some western medicine doctors are more open-minded because they are seeing, uh, people like you and I and so many other, uh, others who have just, who are thriving and who are no longer dependent on medication and. Here's an example. I was told in my twenties that I had premature ovarian insufficiency.

Are you kidding me? Because my, my, the lupus was attacking my reproductive organs. So when you're, when you're quote unquote not well, and you're, you're in the fight or flight trying to survive, you're not gonna reproduce resources. Yeah. Right? So when I was told, oh, you know, this is it, you know, you, you, you're pretty much not gonna be able to.

Have another baby. Have a baby. It's like, wait, I guess you could try to, I, I was like, okay. I wasn't being like, sarcastic or anything, but I was like, okay, I am, I'm gonna figure this out. I'm gonna, I'm gonna get my body healthy again. I'm gonna find the right [00:27:00] resources, that right education, implement the right things.

Um, and over time. And then I, I, I have a 4-year-old walking around. Right. You know, so it's like, wait a minute. You know, it's like, like you said, our bodies then are not. What they, our bodies now, excuse me, are not what they were Yeah. A year ago. Yeah. Two years ago. We're ever changing. And I think it's, it's those different things.

You know, like in our practices, we, a lot of times we identify with lab testing, we remove, we bind, we balance, we restore, you know, and oftentimes people think, oh, that's the sequence. Not necessarily right. You know, there's, that's not the same trajectory and not everyone's going to have the same outcome.

Oftentimes, it's truly listening to your body's feedback, how, you know, listening and giving yourself that, that nourishment and encouragement and grace. And also realizing, you know, it does take sacrifice like it is. It's, it's hard sometimes to be, you know, to stick [00:28:00] to, uh, for example, avoid foods that you used to love but don't love you back.

I, I, I, I, I am, I give credit to Dr. Wil Cole for that. You know, he always talks about eat foods that love you back, you know? 'cause it's like when I, I found that I would instigate flares when I would overdo gluten, for example, or other, other things. And I, I kind of knew, but I was just kind of being You didn't wanna know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But then, and then I, I would feel the joint pain and I would have a flare and I'm like, oh. I heard the gluten's not loving me back.

Julie Michelson: Best thing in a Terry Walls group. For listeners who aren't familiar with Walls protocol. Um, is another fantastic protocol for autoimmunity. Yes, specifically for ms.

Um, but again, works, you know, people will say to me, you know, um, 'cause I have an RA program, and [00:29:00] I, and I'm like, I don't care. It, it don't, it's the same approach is individualized for you. And I know I don't need your labels, it doesn't matter. Um, but. Somebody in, and this was just, you know, people in the group, right?

So people with autoimmunity, real people with their real day-to-day struggles. Um, and somebody was talking about the, like, I'm going, I'm going to a birthday party tomorrow and you know, how am I not gonna eat the cake? And somebody answered, tastes like wheelchair. And I have never forgotten that. I am like.

Brilliant because it's true. And I'm not saying cake isn't delicious, but that cake at that party, definitely. You know, and, and I, I think again, it's a journey, right? When we, when we get far enough into our healing journey. Where the needle has moved [00:30:00] and we're able to, I just had this conversation with a physician yesterday explaining like, I love lab testing, one of my favorite, and I am one of those people, uh, who really does believe, if you know you have autoimmunity or predisposition for autoimmunity, gluten is not your friend.

I don't care. I don't care what you say, there's too much science. Right. You know, you do all this work to heal your gut back up. And then if you put gluten back in your diet full time, you're gonna get leaky gut again. So. Mm-hmm. But I said, but people aren't gonna care that I said that 10 years down the road.

I want them to eat the gluten and feel the flare that they're gonna remember. Yeah. And so, you know, it's really hard in the beginning. I'm not picking on people who are finding it. Hard. Um, it's harder to live in that place where I was, where Tiffany was, which is my kids aren't going to grow up with a mother.[00:31:00]

That's hard. Yeah. Skipping the cake at a birthday party really isn't that hard. Exactly. It's a skill you can learn and practice and exercise well, and

Tiffany Kaloustian: it's a mindset shift

Julie Michelson: because instead of saying, I can't have that cake, I don't wanna feel like crap.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's like, how about focusing on all the things that you can eat and Yeah.

And how good you feel when you eat other, you know, other things, and how much more present and lovable you are as a mom and as a wife, and as a friend. Yeah. Because you feel great in your skin instead of just, this was me before I began to heal. I was on the couch at six o'clock. I couldn't move.

Julie Michelson: Sure. I 20 something years old.

Are you kidding? No energy. I was in my thirties. I was, I was literally resting while my kids were at school, so I could make it through that after school. Like I get it. Um, and so for listeners in kind of the more [00:32:00] beginning place of their journey, we're, we're not saying it's not a big change and it isn't hard, but, but Tiffany's, it's gold.

Like it is mindset. That's where mindset. Matters. The other thing I encounter a lot with clients, especially women, you know, oh, like people, it, it's that self-consciousness of, you know, people are gonna ask why I am not eating it, or, um, I don't want people to have to cook for me. You know, the, the over polite, why you got sick in the beginning, you know, to begin with.

Yeah.

Tiffany Kaloustian: People pleasing, Uhhuh.

Julie Michelson: And now it's fun to like watch that progression with my clients. How, you know, six months later they're, you know, I have one client who was like, miss. Polite. Polite and she's like, you know, she, she can go to the local Mexican restaurant and she brings her cassava chips with her.

You know, somebody who would've never dreamt like, oh my gosh, carry food in my [00:33:00] purse. You know, like, um, and, and we just have to figure it out for ourselves. But avoiding participating in life isn't healing. Like that's what happens when you're sick 'cause you're too sick to do the things. So, um, wherever you guys are in your journey, find that way to participate that.

Isn't gonna make you, you know, backtrack slide. You have a backslide or a flare or a fill in the blank, you know? Exactly. Because then you get into that, then there's the mindset of, then I've been beating myself up 'cause I had the cake, and now I feel, you know, like,

Tiffany Kaloustian: oh my gosh, they can, you can just go down a rabbit hole and it can just spiral.

I mean, when I, I, I knew I've reached, I reached a huge pinnacle, a huge point of my healing journey when, um. I found out I was pregnant because when you're told something, whether it's a diagnosis or whether, oh, [00:34:00] you can't have, you know, you won't be able to have children. Um, it, it, you hear that in the back of your mind.

Sure. You know, it's almost like. Oh, well, remember Tiffany, you can't get pregnant again. Remember Tiffany? You know, you're not, you're not ever going to live the life that you dreamt of, but it's like, whoa, where are those thoughts coming from? I mean, you know, so when I, when I got pregnant, I was like, wow, my body finally feels safe enough.

Yeah. I, I'm safe. I, my body is, is whole. It's, it's renewed. Um, it's healthy, it's nourished. And, and then what happens? I'm pregnant and I'm like, I'm gonna lose a baby. Yeah. Don't bring that into reality. Right, right. So those ne I constantly, and I still work on my mindset. I still work on my nervous system. I, anybody who thinks

Julie Michelson: they're done working on that just gave up because

Tiffany Kaloustian: Yeah.

Well, I mean, and hello, I got [00:35:00] pregnant during Covid. So talk about anxiety already. Like you get covid, you're gonna die, your baby's gonna die. All these like, okay, turn off the news, Tiffany. Stop. Focus on your body. You know, you're healthy, your baby's healthy, and oh, thank God, you know, he was, he's healthy, he's strong, he's vibrant.

So we, we, we can never doubt ourselves. We can never, ever doubt how strong we are. Yeah. Um, never doubt how strong our bodies are, how resilient we

Julie Michelson: are. Well, and, and the, the inte innate intelligence our body has. Um, I just wanna like highlight. Because I knew what you were saying and I was like, yes, yes, yes.

You know, no, we can't get pregnant when we don't ha, when we're in a, a stress state, you're, you know, that is not the time to be reproducing when you're running from the tiger. Right. So, you know, we're not digesting, we're not getting pregnant. We're not de, we're not doing anything that we don't need to do if we don't outrun the tiger, like it's just not gonna happen.[00:36:00]

You know? But, but not, but, and. It's so fascinating to me how, you know, thousands of years ago, physicians, doctors, Chinese medi, like you pick a a you know, before modern Western medicine, everybody knew the body could heal. Right? And even, I don't know if, if you were told this when you did get pregnant, it's really common for autoimmunity, especially lupus, to go into remission during pregnancy.

Well, wait a minute. If the body's smart enough, you know, to differentiate baby from, you know, that's a whole nother thing. The fact that we can carry a baby, we can create, have a human living on in us, right? And so it's like, well, we see all these things all the time. Why? Why is it news to people who went to medical school that the body can heal?

Exactly. I don't [00:37:00] understand. I don't get it. And it's, and it's really interesting, like in our clinic, how, um, I, I, I love and, and, and I love all different approaches too. Both of the physicians at our clinic have happened to be dos, so they were already. Like, you know, they went to medical school, but they were whole body minded.

Anyway, getting into it. They were both, both practiced as family medicine physicians, so they both from deliveries to end of life, right? Like that whole, and so it makes perfect sense that they would be phenomenal functional medicine practitioners because they have that whole person, whole body, whole life, whole community, whole family.

Approach. Mm-hmm. Um, and I love, I was, I was smiling to myself as you were talking our value statement for the clinic. I mean, the whole reason we have the clinic is [00:38:00] to make that impact, right? If we help people feel their best. They are better, you know, partners, parents, children, friends, employees, employers, community members, they can then give back to community.

It's hard to give back when you have nothing to give, right? So it's our little way of creating that ripple of how do we make the world a better place? Well, people are better people when they feel better.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Exactly.

Julie Michelson: And also I love that you said that, 'cause I was like, yes, that's why we do it. Yes, exactly.

Tiffany Kaloustian: 100%.

Julie Michelson: So amazing. So we're, we're coming close to the end of time, but I do wanna, I wanna, because I'm curious, um, you, you know, kind of entered into functional medicine through health coaching and then you decided to become a naturopath. How, [00:39:00] why, what

Tiffany Kaloustian: I, I honestly started as a health coach, right? Through, um, I, IN and I was so intrigued.

I mean, that got me, I was like, I wanna keep learning. And then I, I, I, IN ended and I was like, now what? Right? Because I began to see the shifts in my body already. And then, um, I turned to studying, um, holistic health and functional and integrative nutrition. And, um, then I got certified as a functional integrative health practitioner.

And then I'm like, you know, I'm one step closer. And so hitting that naturopath was something that to me was just like, okay, this is it. This is, this is something that I felt was my story led to it. I felt like my journey and um, everything that I've been through was for a greater purpose. Because I, like you said, I just wanna help people.

I wanna help people feel better. I wanna give people hope, and I wanna let them know I was in the darkest of trenches. Yep. And didn't think that I was going to have the life that I ever dreamt of having. And look at, you know, [00:40:00] I, I, I'm not saying my life is perfect, no way, but I'm saying I'm thriving. I feel the best I ever have.

And my lupus markers no longer exist. The only marker that I have. That could be autoimmune related or not is a positive a NA. Okay. But, but many people have positive AANAs. But the point that I'm making is every other marker, I could go down the whole list and I won't have normalized. And um, like you said, when I was pregnant, my eye felt I did not eat gluten.

I didn't want to even test that, you know? Yeah. I was like, I'm pregnant. I, I don't wanna. You know, I don't wanna go there. Sure. But I didn't have any symptoms. I didn't have any flares, and I hadn't had flares for a while, actually, before I got pregnant. And then I ran my own labs, um, after my son was about a year.

A year. Mm-hmm. And, uh, uh, actually maybe he was about two, because me, and I was like, I literally [00:41:00] cried. I called my husband and I cried and I said, my markers are normal. I, I even had my interpret. My interpretation clinician through, uh, vibrant look at it and she's like, yeah, you have no sign of autoimmunity.

Like she's, I mean, I was like, I was crying, tears of joy and I'm like, it took so much work, Julie. Like it wasn't easy, you know, as you know. Right. It, it, there you've gotta put in the work. It's, well,

Julie Michelson: and I say this all the time, if I went back to living how I was living 30 years ago. I would be diagnosable with RA again eventually.

Like hundred percent. I have no doubt. You know, and I wasn't living anything crazy, by the way. Like, that makes it sound like I was having way more fun than I was. Um, but you know, if, if so, like, we just can't, you don't throw your journey out the window, right. We just keep. Keep adding and building and [00:42:00] learning and, and, you know, holding things a little gentler maybe sometimes, and, right.

Um, reassessing and, oh my gosh, well. You know, now I'm resilient that, oops, I really need to uplevel my exercise routine or whatever it is. Like, we're always need to have a little introspection and, and, um, you know, and, and I think like you're never done. We're just never done. Um, not in a way that it has to be a chore the whole time.

For sure.

Tiffany Kaloustian: No, I honestly find that it is, you know, seeing the results. Makes every step worth it. Yeah. Makes every dance worth it. Yeah. Seeing how far I've come, seeing where I was and where I am now, and where I'm going to be. Um, just like you said, we're ever growing, ever learning, ever evolving in our own skin and our own bodies.

And, um, that to me excites me and the progress, just like you said that I've made, I'm not gonna wanna go back. Right. Um, you know, I don't wanna go backwards. I wanna keep going forward.

Julie Michelson: [00:43:00] Yeah.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Um, so that's, that was, you be, you stated that beautifully, so Oh, thank

Julie Michelson: you. But lots of experience and fashion. So we're at the point where listeners are leaning in because they know I am going to ask you for one step that they can take today to start to improve their health.

Tiffany Kaloustian: One step that they can take today. You know, honestly, I'll just reflect on my first step is saying, okay, I have a diagnosis. Now what? What am I gonna do with that? What steps am I going to take so that I can own it and do the best that I can to make progress in the direction that I wanna go? So instead of, you know, taking a diagnosis or taking, um, something that you've heard and accepting it, hear what they have to say, hear what it is that you are diagnosed with, or, um, you know, [00:44:00] you know, it could disease, chronic pain condition, and turn it around and reframe it to what lesson is this trying to teach me.

What can I do with it? How can I make myself better through it? What can I learn? What can I gain? Ask a ton of questions. Um, advocate for yourself always. I mean, I know that's not just one step. That was a lot of steps

Julie Michelson: that, that,

Tiffany Kaloustian: well, to me, that encompassed my mindset of the first step. Okay? That's what I had to tell myself in my mind, in order to take a step forward and not curl into a ball and just cry.

Um, 'cause of course we do that, but how do you, and that's okay.

Julie Michelson: But then get up.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Yeah. And then what was it that made me take that step forward? Those were the things that went on in my head that motivated me to, to, to get up to press on and say, okay, I've got this. Um, you can do this. You know what's, let's research and take next steps.

Julie Michelson: Yeah. Ah, so good. [00:45:00] So, so important. So for those that are listening on the go and aren't going to check the show notes, tell us where the best place to find you is.

Tiffany Kaloustian: Okay. Um, so I have a website. It's, um, embracing the dance.com. Um, and you'll see, you know, a bunch of resources on there, a little bio about me and some of the, um, functional labs that I run.

And on Instagram it is at. Tiff, which is TIF, fco ra, which is a RA and underscore KAL. So I, that's an interesting name because I, before I became cer okay, be before my certification, my husband and I shared the same Instagram and I never really wanted to change the name, so I kept it. Um, uh, but yeah, that, that's where you can find more about me, my journey, a lot of things in my highlights.[00:46:00]

Um, and DM me, message me, Vinny, reach out anytime.

Julie Michelson: Amazing. Tiffany, thank you so much for giving us so much value today. I hope you keep dancing.

Tiffany Kaloustian: You're so sweet. Thank you so much, Julie, for having me.

Julie Michelson: For everyone listening, remember, you can get those show notes and transcripts by visiting Inspired Living Show.

I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.