ELM Endocrinology and Lifestyle Medicine

06/12/2026

As healthcare professionals, we're often rewarded for being agreeable, available, and self-sacrificing.

Then some of us decide to build something and suddenly the rules change.

At the Women's Entrepreneur Network at Venture Café Phoenix, one message kept showing up in different forms:

The version of you that got good grades, earned the credentials, and became the reliable one everyone counts on may not be the version of you that builds the life and career you actually want.

A few takeaways that stuck with me:

✨ Say yes strategically and protect your non-negotiables.
✨ Find examples, not just inspiration.
✨ Mentorship compresses timelines.
✨ Rest is a business strategy, not a reward.
✨ Stop building a life around everyone else's expectations.

One of the biggest surprises of entrepreneurship has been realizing how many talented clinicians are trying to navigate these transitions alone.

You don't have to.

Whether through mentorship, community, or simply having people around you who are building differently, the right room can change the trajectory of your career. If you've been looking for the right people to keep in your room, let's chat.

What's one piece of advice you had to unlearn to grow?

06/08/2026

For nearly 2 years, this move beat me.

I tried. Failed. Tried again. Failed again.

Instructors gave feedback. Friends gave advice. My husband tried to help. Yet every time I attempted the Butterfly, I couldn't get it.

Eventually, I started avoiding it.

I would hang back in class. Skip it when I could. Try once just so I could say I "worked on it."

Sound familiar?

So many people approach their health the same way after enough disappointments.

Maybe it's nutrition.
Maybe it's movement.
Maybe it's sleep.
Maybe it's stress management.
Maybe it's diabetes management.

When something feels hard long enough, we start believing the struggle is who we are.

But struggles are experiences, not identities.

So I stopped letting that inner voice write my story.

I kept practicing.
I strengthened my body.
I prioritized sleep.
I focused on nutrition.
I worked on stress management.
I leaned on my support system.

I strengthened my pillars.

Then one day, I did it.

Not perfectly. Not consistently. But once.

And once was enough to prove I was capable.

Today I can finally do the Butterfly. It's still not perfect. It's still challenging. But it no longer owns me.

Your past struggles don't define you either.

Sometimes progress starts with one small step.
Sometimes it starts by strengthening the foundations that support the next step.
And sometimes it starts by deciding that the voice telling you "you can't" doesn't get a seat at your table anymore.

Your struggles are part of the beautiful story on the way to who you are becoming.

Keep going. 💚

06/06/2026

"Should you really be eating that?"

It's a question many people living with diabetes have heard before.

The problem? Diabetes is far more complex than most people realize.

Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease, not a result of someone's dietary pattern. Type 2 diabetes is a complex metabolic disease influenced by genetics, biology, environment, and factors that go far beyond willpower or what's on someone's plate.

Perhaps the most important problem with this question: We rarely know someone's full story.

Before making assumptions about someone's food choices, glucose levels, or diagnosis, let's lead with curiosity and compassion.

Diabetes doesn't take a day off and neither does the mental burden that often comes with managing it.

In this video, we break down misconceptions about diabetes.
💚 Save it for the next time you're asked about what you are eating.
📲 Share it to help spread truth, compassion, and curiosity over judgment.

In our next series, we'll tackle something that doesn't get enough attention: diabetes and mental health.

❔️Whay misconceptions about diabetes do you wish more people understood?

❔️What questions do you have about diabetes and mental health?

👇Drop them below. Your true self is welcome here.

06/01/2026

"My medication went from $25/month to over $800/month." 🫣

Sometimes people may wonder why ELM was built as a direct pay clinic. This is one reason why.

Healthcare has a secret that we talk about out loud at ELM:

Choosing the right treatment is often the easy part.

The hard part is helping patients actually access it.

Prior authorizations.
Insurance requirements.
Pharmacy barriers.
Administrative hurdles.

The gap between knowing what a patient needs and helping them get it is where too many people get left behind.

So we got to work.

📞 Pharmacy coordination
📋 Prior authorization submission
💻 Insurance and medication access coordination
📄 Additional documentation and verifications

More than 2 hours of work outside the appointment.

The outcome?

🎉 Medication approved for one year! Worth. Every. Second.

This is the part of healthcare most people never see.

In many traditional models, providers are expected to move from one appointment to the next with little time left for advocacy, problem-solving, and follow-through.

That's one of the reasons I built ELM differently.

We don't just prescribe care.

We stay with it until it becomes usable.

Because access shouldn't be an afterthought.

Because patients shouldn't have to navigate these barriers alone.

✨️Because advocacy should be expected, not exceptional✨️

Imagine a healthcare system where providers have the time and brain space to keep working on the problem long after the appointment ends.

That's the future we're building at ELM, one patient at a time.

🌿Welcome to a new era of healthcare

05/28/2026

05/27/2026

As someone with reactive hypoglycemia AND as an endocrine PA treating glucose disorders, I like to try out tech to learn beyond the label (as much as someone without diabetes can experience). Here is my experience so far with G7 15day.

What is reactive hypoglycemia? Essentially, my body doesn't know what to do with simple sugar.

Sometimes it causes a high blood sugar--as high as 195.

Sometimes my pancreas tries to "save me" by overproducing insulin and causes a low--this is called "reactive hypoglycemia" or a low caused by a body's overreaction to ingesting sugar.

Reactive Hypoglycemia = simple sugar ingested --> pancreas overREACTS --> causes a low

Treating lows from reactive hypoglycemia is very different from how a low in diabetes is treated! Lows from ✨️diabetes✨️ are typically caused by medication, so these are *not* reactive. Lows in diabetes are treated with 15grams of simple sugars.

But in ✨️reactive hypoglycemia✨️ that 15 grams of simple sugars make lows WORSE. The simple sugar caused the low, so we treat it with a complex meal. Treatment of reactive hypoglycemia = avoid the trigger (simple sugar) and make sure starches are paired with things that slow down absorption (fiber, fat, protein)

I have managed reactive hypoglycemia with nutrition for years.

What I've learned about my body so far on US G7 15day:

-The first 2 days showed artificial lows and some challenging overnight compression

-My body did very well with avocado toast from full of healthy (and not-as-healthy) fats, whole grains, and protein. Glucose stayed flat.

-However, my body did not do well with a homemade baked apple. Why is that?

In part, this is because of how the apple was prepared (or "processed"). The heat causes the fiber to break down and the starches get broken down into simpler sugars. Less fiber + more simple sugars = pancreas triggered to overreact. Thanks to the heads up Dexcom gave me about an impending urgent low, I was able to treat with a complex meal and prevent the low.

Fruit is one of my favorite sweet treats. This sensor showed me the importance of keeping those fruits low processed/unprocessed.

05/26/2026

"Don't give up on me."

A patient said this to me today and it has stayed with me long after our conversation ended.

So many people come in to healthcare carrying shame, frustration, exhaustion, or the feeling that they have "failed."

At ELM, we believe people deserve support, education, grace, and realistic evidence-based care, not judgment.

No matter where you are in your health journey, you are worthy of care that sees the human behind the labs, numbers, symptoms, and setbacks.

Welcome to a new era in healthcare 💚

05/26/2026

PCOS has a new name and it actually makes a LOT more sense.

You may start hearing the term PMOS: Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome.

Why the change?

Because PCOS was never just about ovarian cysts.

In fact:
• You can have PCOS without ovarian cysts
• You can have ovarian cysts without PCOS
• The condition involves hormones, insulin resistance, metabolism, ovulation, and much more

PMOS helps reflect the FULL picture:
✨ Hormonal changes
✨ Insulin resistance
✨ Metabolic health
✨ Ovulation + ovarian health

Common symptoms can include:
• Irregular periods
• Acne
• Facial hair growth
• Hair thinning
• Weight struggles
• Prediabetes or diabetes
• High cholesterol

One of the biggest underlying drivers? Insulin resistance.

When insulin levels stay elevated, it can affect ovulation, fat storage, hormones, and long-term metabolic health.

As an endocrine PA, I’m hopeful this name change helps patients feel better understood and helps providers treat the whole syndrome, not just focus on ovarian cysts.

Questions about PMOS/PCOS, insulin resistance, or metabolic health? Send me a message or schedule a visit at elm-health.com/book-online

05/22/2026

Reviews like this mean everything 💚

Feeling heard, supported, and not rushed should be the standard in healthcare.

Thank you for trusting ELM with your care.

If you’ve been looking for a different kind of healthcare experience, I’d love to support you.

05/21/2026

As a provider treating diabetes for 15 years, I wish more people knew about this diabetes supply share program by 💛

When someone needs a little bit of help accessing medication or supplies...

I've been there.
We've all been there.

Many people are struggling to afford diabetes supplies, insulin, CGM, and other essentials, while unused diabetes supplies often go to waste. Programs like this can make a real difference for people living with diabetes who need temporary support accessing care and supplies.

Closing care gaps is at the heart of what we believe at ELM.

👉 Going above and beyond for patients
👉 Helping people navigate barriers to care
👉 Connecting them with resources
👉 Making healthcare feel more human, accessible, and supportive

Sometimes the biggest impact comes from helping someone access the tools they need to manage their health successfully.

🙌 HUGE shoutout to Diabetes Network of Arizona for helping connect people with diabetes resources, community support, advocacy, and supply assistance 👏

Follow, like and share Diabetes Network of Arizona's page across your socials!

💚Save this post for the future when you might need support.

💚Share this post with someone needing a little bit of room to breathe.