Thrive with RA
Thrive with RA
From Surviving to Thriving: How RA Can Be The Catalyst That Transforms Your Future
Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and feeling like your future has been hijacked? This powerful episode reveals why you were made for so much more than pain, fatigue, and limitation.
Dawn unpacks three compelling reasons why 2025 should be the year you finally say "YES" to investing in yourself. First, she explains how understanding the science behind your condition can transform your perspective on healing. Drawing on Dr. Alessio Fasano's groundbreaking "three-legged stool" autoimmune theory, she breaks down the critical relationship between your genetics, gut health, and environmental triggers in a way that's easy to grasp and immediately actionable.
You'll discover why intestinal permeability (leaky gut) represents a critical piece of the autoimmune puzzle and how addressing this single factor can dramatically reduce symptoms. Dawn's explanation of how hormones, trauma, stress, and infections serve as potential triggers delivers those "aha moments" that connect seemingly unrelated health challenges to your RA symptoms.
Most importantly, this episode challenges the narrative that autoimmune disease only leads to decline. Instead, Dawn shares how addressing the modifiable factors can not only improve current symptoms but actually "future-proof" your health against other concerns like frequent illness, difficult menopause transitions, and elevated heart disease risk. From her perspective as someone stronger at 54 than ever before—despite having RA—she offers tangible hope that you too can move from merely surviving to genuinely thriving.
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*This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any illness or disease. The information provided herein is for general educational purposes, has not been reviewed nor approved by the FDA and is not intended to take the place of advice from your medical professional, licensed dietitian or nutritionist. You are solely responsible for your health care and activity choices. Your decision to try this formula does not constitute a client-coach relationship. For my full disclaimer, please visit: https://dawnlaflin.com/disclaimer/
You were made for more, and understanding how your body got to where you are today empowers you, enabling you to make decisions and to focus on the legs that need attention and truly be able to show up better. To show up more for yourself, show up better for others the way that you want to and start to have that freedom from pain and fatigue. I'm Donna Lassland, certified health coach and fellow RA warrior. It wasn't all that long ago that I was in this place where I was fearful of the uncertainty of my future, wondering when my next flare would come or wondering when the pain would let up. Fast forward through many trials, errors and lessons learned and you'll find a gal who is stronger, healthier and more confident in her future than ever before. Yes, I still have RA, but RA doesn't have me. I believe our lifestyle, food choices and mindset greatly impact the way our bodies handle rheumatoid arthritis. I created the Thrive with RA podcast to explore the science-based ways to realign your health. Through these three pillars and so much more, we'll be navigating both the messy and the blessings that come from living a life with RA. Each week, you'll get a good dose of education, inspiration, encouragement and hope as you take small steps to improve your health and overall life.
Speaker 1:If you've been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or are still trying to figure out if the symptoms you're feeling are indeed rheumatoid arthritis, you are in the right place. My friend, let's get started. Have you ever gotten frustrated because you want to show up and love on those people in your life so much and yet you barely have the energy to take care of your basic needs, let alone serve others? Do you find yourself dreaming of adventures or starting a new hobby, only to know that you won't have the stamina to see it through? Do you feel that RA keeps you from doing and enjoying so much in life? If this is you, then this episode is for you. I'm going to be sharing three reasons why 2025 is the year to say yes to you, to invest in you Now. The first of those reasons is that you are made for more. You were beautifully and wonderfully made and you were created to live a purpose-filled life.
Speaker 1:Likely, when you were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, you were feeling all the feelings, the emotions that come with wrapping your head around this disease that you had no idea was coming your way. You feel all of that on top of the symptoms that you're already feeling that sent you to the doctor in the first place. You're feeling the joint pain and the fatigue, and it can be so easy to get lost in that place, to the point where it starts to increase anxiety, to increase depression, to leave you feeling like you're alone in this journey and really start to make your future look very grim. Sweet friend, I need you to hear that RA is a part of your story. It is not the end of your story. In fact, it has the potential to be a catalyst to improve your health for the good.
Speaker 1:Now, I love the word catalyst because it can feel so empowering. Catalyst is when something arouses an action or activity to change where you are. And so, when you think about you have RA, you are in this unhealthy state and, though it may feel like you came to this place out of nowhere, all of a sudden this happened to you the joint pain, the fatigue, the diagnosis. It didn't happen overnight. There have been numerous things in your life, points in your life that have led you to this point where you were diagnosed. It's so important that you understand that, that you have an understanding of what brought you to this point, so that you can step into action and truly create a rebalance in your health. Our bodies were meant to live in a balanced state, but thanks to Western culture and living in 2025, it is anything but, and that's where RA can become the catalyst that changes your health for the good. Now, in order to do that, it's important, like I said, to understand how you got to this point.
Speaker 1:So I want to share with you about a doctor, a pediatric gastroenterologist and researcher. His name is Dr Alessiano Fasano, and I hope I'm saying that name right. He has done extensive research on studying the molecular mechanisms of autoimmune disorders and through his studies, he discovered three different connections that really create a platform for autoimmune disease, and I wanted to share it with you pictorially because I'm a visual learner and I'm thinking maybe some of you might be as well. So if you wanna see a picture of this this is not my theory, but this is one that Dr Fasano created I'm gonna draw it on my board and you can see that over on YouTube. I'll have the link down in the show notes. Otherwise, I'm gonna explain it just as well here, but just so that you know you've got a couple of options in learning about this.
Speaker 1:So Dr Fasano created this theory that there are three legs to a three legged stool, and the first leg is your genes. This is your DNA. This is what you were born with. You were pre-wired, it's what you got from your parents. It is what it is, but I want to implore upon you that you understand that your genes do not determine your fate. While you can go and get testing to see if you have the genes for certain conditions in life, it doesn't mean that you're necessarily going to go, that you're necessarily going to have those. We've learned a lot through the study of epigenetics that have taught us that our genes are one piece of the puzzle, but it's our behaviors and our environment that we're living in that can trigger them to go different ways. It can really impact how they react, and so it's important to know that your genes are your genes, but they are not your fate. So we have our genes.
Speaker 1:The second leg of this is your leaky gut. Now, leaky gut is the gut alone has been something that has had a lot of interest over the last 15, 20, 30 years, and scientists are uncovering so much of how powerful this system within us truly is in our overall health, and there's a lot to discuss, there's a lot to discover, but for today's conversation, we're going to keep it high level and I'm going to just talk about the components that relate to this, so that it's consumable and you're able to gain from this conversation. So leaky gut is also known as intestinal permeability in the medical world, and when it comes to your gut, there is one particular area that I want to discuss and that is your gut lining. Now, if you're like me, when I was first diagnosed and first learning about what's going on in my body, I didn't have a second thought about my gut lining. I didn't even know there was a gut lining. I didn't think anything of it. So, if that is, you know that you are not alone, and once you know, you will not not think about it, because it's so important that we are doing everything we can to protect our gut lining, because it is critical.
Speaker 1:What happens is you have your gut lining and you've got two pieces of, or you've got your good lining. That comes together with these tight junctions. These tight junctions are key because they keep things where they're supposed to be. Okay. The first part of your gut lining is it helps with your nutrient digestion and absorption it lets through these tight junctions. Only the smallest of small particles, the smallest of small proteins get to go out into bloodstream. That then go out around the rest of the body.
Speaker 1:What happens when you have leaky gut is these junctions become loose. And when you have loose junctions then you have partially digested proteins that are able to escape through those openings in that gut barrier. And when that happens, you can have your partially digested proteins getting through. You can have pathogens and viruses, proteins getting through. You can have pathogens and viruses, things that are not supposed to be out in the bloodstream, out in your bloodstream, causing havoc in your body. When that happens, your immune system, doing what it does so well, responds by ramping up the antibodies and goes after these foreign invaders. So that's what's creating that pain and that fatigue when that goes on for a long time. So understanding that leaky gut and the workmanship of the joints, whether they're tight or loose, is so important. And that is that second leg of the stool. Now the third leg are your triggers. Right, triggers can be a lot of things.
Speaker 1:We're going to talk about a few of the high top level ones, the first being hormones. Hormones play a big role in your autoimmune journey and a lot of us don't know that because we just don't ever think about it. It's not something that's talked about at the doctor's office. But the more they are learning about the gut and then the more they're learning about hormones and how all these pieces come together they all work together the more we're understanding how important hormones are. When you think about hormones, think about take, for example, pregnancy. Many pregnant women that have rheumatoid arthritis find that they go into remission when they have pregnancy and they feel really good for those nine months and then they go and have their baby and postpartum sets in. All those high level hormones crash out of the bodies, as as they do with menopause, and they are left in the with a more susceptibility of having flares. And some find out that they have an autoimmune disease when they go through postpartum because their body is in this other altered state.
Speaker 1:There's also your perimenopause and menopause. Now, for me personally, I was about 44 when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and it was very early stages for perimenopause for me, and so a lot of that was transitioning and I knew there was some connection with hormones because every month, like clockwork, I would have an uptick in pain and fatigue. As I would go through making these changes, nothing else was changing, except for I would have these couple of days worth more pain and more fatigue, and I finally started putting those pieces together and started to dig and learn more about this. So you have your hormones. You also can have trauma. This can be trauma experienced through your childhood, through your adult years. Something that has been a negative experience for you can also be a trigger for you. There's also toxic stress. This can be toxic stress. It can be chronic stress. Stress that has left unchecked for long-term anything longer than three months can really do a number and trigger this third leg of the stool. And then you also have your hormones, your trauma stool. And then you also have your, your hormones, your trauma, your, your toxic stress infections.
Speaker 1:For example, some people that got COVID were then diagnosed with with an autoimmune condition because their body had this altered state. There was a trigger in their environment. And so some people, when they go in and they're talking to their doctors, they're like, all of a sudden, I have this thing, and when they think about that last event that happened, it's usually something in this realm, it's an environmental trigger that was the final straw to create that perfect moment. And so it's really important, as you look at this, that you have your autoimmune three-legged stool. When you have all these parts, it gives a platform for the autoimmune disease to stand on.
Speaker 1:That said, there are two there that you can do something about. Our genes are our genes, but these other two we can heal our leaky gut and we can go and deal with these triggers. We can take care of getting our hormones balanced. There's so much that can be done. In fact, healing your leaky gut can make a big impact on how your hormones are balanced in your body. Then you can take care of trauma. You can go deal with the past events that have stored up in your body, either in the mind or in the cells, and really release those so that you can start to improve this third leg of your stool. There are, you know, stress reduction, feeding your body, the right thing, moving your body. There's so many things here that you can do that will help improve this leg of the autoimmune stool. And the beautiful thing is is that when you take care of healing your leaky gut, that creates a two leg of a three legged stool, which makes autoimmune a little less stable and if you go and improve some of these other triggers you improve your hormones, you deal with your trauma, you reduce your stress and you take care of and clear infections then you're able to make that less impactful, maybe gone altogether, and that's when some people find that they go into remission because they took care of all the parts that could be taken care of. So it's so important to know that, even though this is a three-legged stool, there are two legs that you can take and do some work on. That will improve how you vastly feel in your day-to-day life. What you'll likely find is that those symptoms will improve and, again, some people find that they're able to go into remission.
Speaker 1:And the journey there looks different for everyone, because we all come to this point with different health histories, with different life experiences, with different triggers, and it takes each of us the time to look into that journey, to discover what it is that our body needs. You were made for more, and understanding how your body got to where you are today empowers you, enabling you to make decisions and to focus on the legs that need attention and truly be able to show up better to show up more for yourself, show up better for others the way that you want to, and start to have that freedom from pain and fatigue. You begin to have this new outlook on life that you're able to live that purposeful life that you were created to live. I believe with everything in my heart, through my own journey and my own experience, and through what I read in scripture and know to be true. Romans 8, 28 says it beautifully, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good and for those who are called according to his purpose. Now, this does not mean that we won't have trials and hard seasons and setbacks, but what I know with everything in me that not one second of that will be wasted. He will use everything for good and you were made for more. Now, the second reason that I think that 2025 is the year that you say yes to you is renewed energy.
Speaker 1:Let's face it, life is busy. It is so hard to show up as your best self even without RA, but when you add in RA, which really elevates your level of fatigue, it becomes very hard to do the things that you want to do day in and day out. But when you take steps such as working on your leaky gut and you heal that so that it's able to have a bigger capacity to then allow you to focus on these other areas, have a bigger capacity to then allow you to focus on these other areas, you're able to see improvement, you're able to have less of your symptoms, you're able to have more energy, which gives you more capacity to focus on these other areas that need to be focused on. When you do that, it truly unlocks this ability within you, this capacity to do so much more, to really start to re-engage in life. You get to go and have those spontaneous date nights. You get to go have your girl's trip that you've been talking about for years. It's time to go do the thing. Or you can plan adventures and start new hobbies, things that are going to light you up in life, because you have created the capacity for your body to do that. When you have rheumatoid arthritis and you have not taken and dealt with any of these things, you don't have the capacity to show up, because your body needs that TLC.
Speaker 1:When I talk to most of the people in my DMs, through email and those that I sign on as clients when they come to me, fatigue is the one thing that they are struggling with the most. Many people can kind of muscle through the pain. We just sort of like accept it and our tolerance level goes higher and higher and higher. But it's the fatigue that really puts you on the sidelines. It's the fatigue that many people that I'm talking to working with are reaching a point where enough is enough. They are tired of canceling plans. They are tired of missing out on big, important things. They are tired of not being able to start new things and being held back, and so they are ready to do the thing and truly start working on these legs of the stool.
Speaker 1:Now we know that there's no cure for RA, but all day energy is possible. It doesn't happen overnight. Just like I said earlier, it's not something that happened to you overnight and it's not realistic to think that it's going to be all cured and taken care of in one night. But with the right inputs, when you have the right food and you have the right movement and you're reducing stress and you're prioritizing sleep, you're giving your body the chance to restore. You're giving your body the chance to replenish the cells that need to be replenished so that you can start to have more energy. Now, this is a lot of what I'm going to discuss in my upcoming five-day Get More Energy Challenge, where we are going to bust through some limiting beliefs. We are going to talk about the small steps that you can take that will start to make big impacts for you as you're seeking more energy. It puts you on the path to start having more energy in your day-to-day, and if you want to learn more about that, see the link in the comments below in the show notes. I will have that and you can go and learn more about that upcoming challenge.
Speaker 1:Now the third reason to say yes to you in 2025, future-proofing your health. What do I mean by this? Well, I mean that you are setting the stage for a healthier, stronger you as you age, and I'm saying that in spite of RA. I myself am almost 54 and I am stronger and healthier today than I have ever been in my life, and I grew up playing sports as an athlete on the fields and I have always prioritized health and movement. And yet I'm stronger today because of RA than I was before, and so when I think about future proofing the health, I really think about three things. Three things come to mind, and the first is that you have a better immune response, with fewer colds, fewer viruses and infections, and to me that's such a beautiful thing it's I've had since I've made the changes that I have made. I've had far fewer illnesses, even when other people in my family are sick. It really creates this extra layer of protection because your cells are in a healthier state so that they're able to work at a better capacity. They're able to work at a more optimal level, which is providing you more protection when you're around others that are sick or have infections.
Speaker 1:The second thing that comes to mind perimenopause and menopause. Thing that comes to mind perimenopause and menopause this transition that all of us women will go through is so much easier when you have future-proofed your health, when you have taken the steps to create the anti-inflammatory lifestyle that allows you to feel your best. The same foods that kick up your pain and fatigue and RA also kick up your symptoms and make them worse when you're going through those transition times in menopause and perimenopause. The third thing that comes to mind is decreased risk of heart disease. As RA warriors, we are at two times greater risk for cardiovascular disease. As women who will all go through menopause, we are also at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease, heart disease is the number one killer in women and I share this, not to scare you, not to make things feel more doom and gloom, but to impress upon you the importance of starting to make diet and lifestyle changes today.
Speaker 1:It's critical when you start to make these changes, we have the ability to just change the trajectory of our lifestyle, of our health, and we're able to show up better, we're able to love ourselves more, we're able to have better moods in general and we show up for others in this beautiful way. We move from surviving to thriving and we change the status quo, because most people think that as you age, you slow down, things start to hurt more and you don't do as much. But you have the ability to change that because you're going to have more energy, you're going to be able to show up bigger in life because you've prioritized these diet and lifestyle changes that are gonna help energize you in a way and help your body be in its healthiest state and stronger than ever before and allowing you to do your older self life in a better way. We, as women, literally have the ability to change the trajectory of our future health when we use RA as a catalyst. I hope that this episode helps inspire you and that it encourages you to really take action. I hope it helps put RA in a new light and that you are inspired to truly start to think about what could you do to start taking action. If you are ready for that next step, you are ready to dive in and do the thing that's going to get you started in this journey, come check out my get more energy challenge. I have a five day get more energy challenge coming up very soon. See the link in the show notes so you can learn more about what that looks like. We're going to bust through beliefs, all while taking small incremental steps that are going to lead to big impact.
Speaker 1:All right, my friend, this is all I have for you today. I hope that this episode has been helpful for you. If, my friend, this is all I have for you today. I hope that this episode has been helpful for you. If you found it helpful, would you hit like? Whether you're watching on YouTube or you're listening on a podcast, hit the like button. Doing so helps me reach other RA warriors who are searching for ways to feel better in their day-to-day lives. That's all I have for you today. See you next time. Same time, same place. Peace, thank you.