Made for Health | Medical Gaslighting | Lyme | Chronic Infections | Metabolic Syndrome | Insulin Resistance | Mystery Illness

🔥 What if being told "everything looks normal" has less to do with your symptoms... and more to do with the limits of the healthcare system? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, overlooked diagnoses, and why asking better questions can change lives.
What if medical gaslighting is preventing people from getting the care they truly need?
In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski continue their series on medical blind spots by exploring one of healthcare's most damaging challenges: medical gaslighting.
They discuss how patients with chronic symptoms are too often told that "everything is normal" or that their symptoms are caused by stress or anxiety, even when an underlying medical condition has yet to be identified. The conversation highlights why unexplained symptoms should be viewed as unfinished science rather than dismissed as imaginary, and why listening carefully to patients remains one of the most powerful diagnostic tools in medicine.
Through examples including fibromyalgia, perimenopause, POTS, mold-related illness, neurodivergence, autoimmune conditions, and chronic pain, Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski explain how curiosity, expanded testing, and a root-cause approach can help uncover conditions that conventional evaluations may overlook.

About the Guest
Dr. Christian Jenski is a triple board-certified physician specializing in emergency medicine, obesity medicine, and functional medicine. He works alongside Dr. Aaron Hartman to help patients uncover the root causes of complex chronic illnesses through a systems-based, evidence-informed approach that integrates lifestyle medicine, metabolic health, cardiovascular prevention, and personalized care.

Key Topics Covered
What medical gaslighting is and why it happens
Why unexplained symptoms should not be dismissed
How chronic illness is often misunderstood in conventional healthcare
The relationship between fibromyalgia and neuroinflammation
Why perimenopause symptoms are frequently overlooked
The connection between hormones, chronic inflammation, and nervous system health
Why POTS continues to be underrecognized
How mold-related illness can mimic many chronic conditions
The impact of neurodivergence and connective tissue disorders on health
Why environmental exposures and toxic burden deserve greater attention
The importance of listening to patients and validating their experiences
How functional medicine approaches complex, overlapping symptoms
Why curiosity and continued learning are essential for better healthcare
The role of patient advocacy in navigating chronic illness

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine
🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/
📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if recognizing hypermobility early could change the course of someone's lifelong health? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, connective tissue health, and the root causes that often go unnoticed.
What if identifying hypermobility is about much more than checking joint flexibility?
In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series on hypermobility by explaining how clinicians evaluate connective tissue health beyond the traditional Beighton Score. He discusses why physical examination, body proportions, medical history, and connective tissue findings often provide important clues that standardized screening tools can miss.
Dr. Hartman also explores why hypermobility is fundamentally a connective tissue condition that can influence nearly every organ system, including the nervous system, digestive tract, immune system, cardiovascular system, and musculoskeletal system. He explains how recognizing these patterns early may help guide nutrition, lifestyle interventions, and personalized care strategies that support long-term health.
Key Topics Covered
What the Beighton Score measures and its limitations
Why hypermobility requires more than a screening questionnaire
How physical examination helps identify connective tissue differences
Body proportions and physical signs associated with hypermobility
The relationship between hypermobility and scoliosis
Why skin texture, stretch marks, and connective tissue findings matter
Childhood signs that may suggest hypermobility
The connection between hypermobility and recurrent joint instability
How connective tissue influences the nervous system and immune function
The relationship between hypermobility, mast cell activation, and chronic pain
Why hypermobility may contribute to gut dysfunction and SIBO
The importance of nutrition and connective tissue support
How early recognition may improve long-term health outcomes
Why personalized care plans should account for connective tissue health

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine
🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/
📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if some of the biggest health challenges people face today are not caused by bad medicine... but by blind spots in the system itself? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on overlooked diagnoses, chronic symptoms, and the importance of asking better questions when answers are hard to find.

What if some of medicine’s most trusted beliefs have unintentionally harmed the very people they were meant to help?
In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Dr. Christian Jenski begin a new series exploring medical blind spots, outdated assumptions, and the unintended consequences that can occur when healthcare systems become overly attached to prevailing beliefs.
Using historical examples and modern patient experiences, they discuss how medicine has repeatedly evolved by challenging accepted ideas. From handwashing and infection control to hormone replacement therapy and chronic illness, they examine how some widely accepted medical assumptions have later been proven incomplete or incorrect.
The conversation also highlights how women have often been disproportionately affected by these blind spots, particularly in areas such as autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, hormonal health, fertility, and complex chronic illnesses. Throughout the episode, Dr. Hartman and Dr. Jenski emphasize the importance of curiosity, humility, patient advocacy, and continuously questioning assumptions in the pursuit of better healthcare.

About the Guest
Dr. Christian Jenski is a triple board-certified physician with expertise in emergency medicine, obesity medicine, and functional medicine. He works alongside Dr. Aaron Hartman to help patients uncover root causes of chronic illness through a systems-based and personalized approach to healthcare.

Key Topics Covered
What medical blind spots are and how they develop
Why science evolves and accepted medical beliefs sometimes change
The difference between scientific discovery and medical dogma
Historical examples of medical blind spots and unintended harm
The story of handwashing and infection prevention in medicine
How healthcare systems can unintentionally overlook important patient experiences
Why women are disproportionately affected by medical gaslighting
The relationship between chronic illness and missed diagnoses
The history and controversy surrounding hormone replacement therapy
How delayed acceptance of new evidence can affect patient care
The importance of intellectual curiosity in medicine
Why listening to patients remains one of the most important clinical skills
The role of functional medicine in addressing complex chronic illnesses
How chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, and hormone disorders are often misunderstood
Why advocacy and self-education can help patients navigate healthcare challenges

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine
🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/
📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if one of the most overlooked factors in chronic illness isn't an infection, hormone imbalance, or autoimmune condition... but the connective tissue you're born with? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on why seemingly unrelated symptoms may share common root causes.
What if hypermobility is the hidden link connecting many of today's most complex health conditions?
In this minisode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman introduces hypermobility, a surprisingly common but frequently overlooked trait that may influence everything from chronic pain and fatigue to POTS, mast cell activation, neurodivergence, autoimmune conditions, and digestive health.
He explains that hypermobility exists on a spectrum. For some people, it may contribute to athletic performance, flexibility, and enhanced physical abilities. For others, it can create vulnerabilities that affect connective tissue, nervous system regulation, healing, immune function, and overall resilience.
The episode explores why connective tissue plays a much larger role in health than most people realize and how hypermobility may help explain why certain individuals are more susceptible to chronic symptoms, environmental triggers, infections, and inflammatory conditions.
Key Topics Covered
What hypermobility is and why it affects far more than just the joints
The difference between hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
Why hypermobility exists on a spectrum
How connective tissue influences the nervous system, healing, and inflammation
The relationship between hypermobility and neurodivergence
Why hypermobility may be associated with ADHD, autism, and other neurological differences
The connection between hypermobility and POTS
How mast cell activation and hypermobility frequently overlap
Why hypermobility may contribute to digestive symptoms and gut dysfunction
The relationship between connective tissue health and chronic pain
How hypermobility may influence recovery from infections and environmental exposures
The connection between hypermobility, fatigue, and chronic illness
Why nutrient deficiencies are common in hypermobile individuals
The importance of protein, minerals, vitamin C, vitamin D, and connective tissue support
Why identifying hypermobility early may help support long-term health outcomes

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine
🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/
📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD

🔥 What if one of the biggest challenges with Lyme disease isn’t treatment… but getting the diagnosis in the first place? Read UnCurable to explore a deeper perspective on chronic illness, missed diagnoses, and the root causes that often go overlooked.
What if Lyme disease is often missed because the testing was never designed to catch every case?
In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman and Veronica Porterfield conclude their Lyme disease series by exploring one of the most controversial and misunderstood aspects of Lyme disease: diagnosis and testing.
They explain why Lyme disease can be difficult to identify, why negative test results do not always rule out infection, and how the bacteria’s unique ability to evade the immune system creates significant challenges for conventional testing. The conversation also explores the differences between antibody testing, Western Blot testing, specialty laboratory testing, and emerging diagnostic technologies.
Throughout the discussion, Dr. Hartman and Veronica emphasize the importance of treating the patient rather than relying solely on laboratory results. They also explain how co-infections, chronic immune dysfunction, environmental factors, and gaps in clinician training can contribute to delayed diagnoses and prolonged suffering for many patients.
About the Guest
Veronica Porterfield, PA-C, IFMCP, MS, LN, MPAS is a functional medicine practitioner specializing in Lyme disease, chronic infections, mold-related illness, autoimmune conditions, and complex chronic health challenges. She is known for her root-cause approach to patient care and her expertise in helping patients navigate difficult-to-diagnose chronic illnesses.
Key Topics Covered
Why Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose accurately
The limitations of standard Lyme antibody testing
Why a negative Lyme test does not always rule out infection
The differences between screening tests, Western Blot testing, and specialty testing
How Lyme disease can interfere with normal immune responses
Why antibody production does not always follow expected patterns
Understanding Lyme-specific antibody bands and Western Blot interpretation
The differences between sensitivity and specificity in diagnostic testing
How specialty Lyme laboratories differ from conventional testing
Emerging technologies used in Lyme disease detection
Why co-infections can complicate both diagnosis and treatment
The role of Bartonella, Babesia, and other tick-borne infections
Why clinician training and experience matter in complex chronic illness
The impact of environmental toxins and immune dysfunction on chronic symptoms
Why patient symptoms remain a critical part of the diagnostic process
How advocacy and education can help patients navigate complex diagnoses

Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine
🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/
📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD