Being a Holistic Medical Detective for Hard to Solve Health Problems

Holistic Practitioner Spotlight with Chyrl Mosley, Functional Medicine Provider

We are speaking with Chyrl Mosley, FNP-BC,  on the topic of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and how she approaches this very challenging issue.

Tell Us a Story About a Patient with PCOS and How You Helped Her to Return to a Happier, Healthier and  More Balanced Version of Herself

Kim was feeling like an emotional basket case and was fatigued all the time. She had experienced hair loss, weight gain, and had begun to grow hair on her chin and chest, making her feel like she was becoming a man. Her breasts were sore and over all she felt terrible. All of this had effected Kim’s life to such an extent that she was too embarrassed to socialize. She was stressed on many levels over how she felt and looked. As a result, she had lost intimacy in her relationship.

What had the Kim tried before seeking you out?

Kim had seen both her primary care doctor and her OB/GYN who diagnosed her with PCOS. They had tried several different forms of birth control and Metformin – an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels – although no one was looking at her diet closely.

Kim, on her own, was trying to follow a low carb diet. The problem is that these actions were aimed at treating symptoms and were not guided by sufficient information. There were almost no labs drawn. And no one had explored how her body was metabolizing hormones and how they were being converted. There were many unanswered questions.

How did you arrive at your course of treatment?

We first needed to thoroughly explore Kim’s history and learn more about her condition and lifestyle. We conducted an investigation including an in-depth interview/exam using the functional medicine timeline and matrix to find patterns.

I ordered a panel of labs including a Complete Blood Count (CBC), a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP), a full thyroid panel, vitamin/minerals, insulin, glucose, 2 hour fasting insulin, serum hormones, lipid panel, and inflammatory markers. We also ordered a Dutch Plus test (assesses hormonal imbalances), and a stool analysis (assesses digestive tract condition).

What Did the Tests Reveal?

The laboratory testing we conducted revealed that Kim had the following:

• Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
• Low Vitamin D levels
• Insulin resistance
• Estrogen dominance – converting most of her hormones to androgens (male hormones).
• An imbalance of the microbiota (organisms of the GI tract) related to leaky gut and autoimmune responses.
• Cortisol levels spiking at inappropriate times causing her to have insomnia at times and at others to wake after a couple hours with difficulty falling back to sleep.
• Elevated inflammatory markers

We looked at the overall picture seeing these things all tied together, making some connections that guided our approach to her treatment.

What modalities or therapies did you implement and what was the outcome of the services you provided?

Even before we got the labs back we started immediately making modifications to Kim’s diet and lifestyle. We focused on sleep hygiene, stress management, and my PCOS diet which is an anti-inflammatory, hormone friendly, primal plant strong Keto-ish diet.

After her labs came back, we addressed things slowly – tweaking her treatment many times addressing the following:

• Initially  – her microbiome with our 7R GI Protocol
• Cortisol issues with an adrenal support protocol that included meditation.
• Vitamin D
• Thyroid hormone therapy (for Hashimoto’s) and nutrition supporting her thyroid.
• Elimination diet to fully address her autoimmune mitigated inflammation. We uncovered a sensitivity to several foods including gluten and adapted the PCOS diet.
• We repeated her stool test and labs a couple different times tweaking our approach as needed.
• We started her on a low dose of compounded bio-identical progesterone and tweaked this many times to reach what seems to be the perfect balance of progesterone for Kim’s unique biology.

This whole process was a long and tedious one with many adjustments along the way. We watched Kim’s hormones carefully to continuously adjust things as they changed and we could see how her body was metabolizing hormones.

Slowly we were able to return Kim to a happier, healthier more balanced version of herself. She has lost 32 lbs at her last visit and radiates a vivacious feminine energy we definitely did not see when she first came to the clinic. And Kim enthusiastically reports that her relationship status is “back in business!”

Why and When Did You Choose the Holistic Path?

I personally began leaning toward a holistic path when my father was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer and then a few years after, when I nearly died of MRSA. Conventional medicine was failing us both and turning to a more holistic approach not only felt authentic, it resonated on a biological level too. My fathers story is amazing and inspiring and my own experience of MRSA solidified my desire to swim deep in the waters of holistic and functional medicine.

I always try to use a holistic path. I believe it is always safest to start with simple interventions that have the least side effects. Then if necessary, we can implement more aggressive measures. There is certainly a time and place for more conventional approaches and I don’t hesitate to turn there when its appropriate.

We need to first use those things closest to nature because over millions of years… this is what our body knows! Sometimes we have to get outside the box to make things work and that is part of being a medical detective. You’re constantly looking for what’s at the root and what will best achieve balance and health. It’s a process of fine-tuning what you need.

What Lessons Have Your Work and Personal Experiences Taught You?

My personal experiences have shown me that there is nothing more important when you’re unwell than having a provider in your corner who will listen to you and hear what your saying and even what you’re not saying. This is paramount to creating a partnership that will achieve results.

Also… it’s never one thing that gets us there and it is never one thing that will fix it. Often times it is years of exposure to toxicity on multiple levels that got us where we are. It could be environmental, lifestyle, relational, nutritional, or genetic. There is no magic pill that can return us to health. We have to remember that we are complex biological beings and approach healing in that way.

Biography

Chyrl Mosley is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She holds three degrees and is beginning course work on her PhD in Functional Nutrition and Body-Mind Medicine.

Chyrl is a candidate at the Institute of Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. She has been studying functional nutrition and medicine for eleven years.

Chyrl is interested in metabolic hormonal syndromes such as PCOS, as well as cognitive medicine and functional mental health, and exploring treatments such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), Ozone Therapy, Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), Stem Cells, and Body-Mind medicine.

Chyrl Mosley, FNP-BC
Functional Medicine Provider
The Fork Functional Medicine
Franklin, TN, USA

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