When First Coast Integrative Medicine opened in 2019, I was looking for magic. Running a practice for 3 ½ years was exhilarating, challenging, exhausting, fulfilling, and emptying all at once. And then COVID happened. People began to question the foundations of science upon which I was trained and believed. The functional medicine paradigm felt like it was taking over. I wanted to use it as a tool at the bottom of the toolbox, and clients wanted the magic supplement and the magic expensive blood test instead of the magic prescription pill. I heard, “You’re my last hope” just as many times and for the same reasons as I did in conventional medicine: lifestyle changes are hard and hard lifestyle changes are harder; addressing trauma is heartbreaking and mind-bending; few people are following their soul purpose (or know where to begin to find it); and adjusting to healing rather than curing is the sharpest turn one might take.
This may be hard to hear, but not all disease begins in the gut. Food sensitivity that scares you into disordered eating is not good medicine. Genetic testing that has you searching for disaster is not good medicine. Staying in destructive relationships, moldy houses, and piles of ice cream, alcohol, and French fries is not good medicine. Check your heart, your spirit, your soul…my opinion.
Starting a practice like this when my son was not quite 2 years old was probably not the best move. Working round-the-clock took the cheer out of “I can take vacations whenever I want!” pretty quickly. So, while the practice was successful, the toll it took on my health was not. And, even though I was practicing integrative medicine, I was not fulfilling my soul purpose. If I am completely honest, I didn’t have the guts to practice the way I really wanted to. So, I went back to my comfort zone. Sometimes a person needs that to have energy to find their way back out.
With the relaunching of First Coast Integrative Medicine, I jump out of my comfort zone again and back into the magic. My heart is in education and helping people make simple decisions to improve their whole health. Over the years, I have spent countless hours researching and using products that claim to support health. What you will find on this site will provide you with a foundation to cleanse, balance, build, and detoxify your body, mind and spirit!
This site comes with a dose of honesty, too. Investing in your health includes nutrition, moving your body, good sleep, healthy relationships, challenging your mind, and stress reduction. Without those (and that includes baby steps in the right direction), you’re dumping water out of a boat with a big hole in the bottom. I will never tell you that a product will solve all your problems. You’ll have to be taking some of those baby steps towards where the magic happens. I will use the blog to provide education about innovations and innovators in neurological health, holistic healing, and well, a few of my favorite things that bring me joy, and these should help.
I am so excited to give you access to products that
support whole health on firstcoastintegtrativemedicine.com!
Here is an excerpt from my bestseller, “Monday Mantras with Megan” that explains my intentions with this site:
Each of us has a cup that we hold and can handle. Our cups fill with all sorts of exposures and stuff as we get older: illnesses, traumas, toxins, crappy food, bad air, toxic stress. These things are chronically inflammatory to our bodies—and inflammation is bad for our health. There will come a point when your cup will overflow or even tip over if all you do is put stuff in it. Overflow looks like a breakdown, a major medical illness, a smoldering problem that finally gets your attention, or any number of other life-altering events.
Are you ready to empty your cup? Take a peek around the site, try some new products, and let me know what you think! Send me an email if you need some help. While I cannot provide medical advice, I am more than happy to hear your goals and make suggestions. Always check with your medical provider before starting any new supplement because of the risk of drug-, disease-, and supplement-supplement interactions. Cheers to pure healing!
