Let’s get back to trusting our bodies again.
About Chelsea
Chelsea was born and raised in Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Soon after, she moved to Iowa where she earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from The University of Iowa – College of Pharmacy.
After school, she went on to complete her Post Graduate Year 1 in adult and pediatric acute care from UCHealth Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs and her Post Graduate Year 2 in pediatrics specialty from Children’s Minnesota.
Since completing her residency training, she has worked as a clinical hospital pharmacist for the past 7 years, specializing in adult oncology. She has been helping patients within the confines of the current health care system. Her life-long passion continues to be teaching and educating others, whether that be pharmacy students and residents, her patients, or her kids. When she isn’t working with patients, you would find her spending as much time as she can with her husband, two children, and bernedoodle pup, making sourdough baked goods, puzzling, or reading a good book.
Certifications, Licenses, Trainings:
PharmD
Instant HTMA Professional
Root Cause Protocol Consultant (RCPC)
Master Your Minerals
Freely-Rooted
A Pharmacist’s Viewpoint on Western Medicine
Our current healthcare system has many policies and procedures that restrict the way care can be provided. Since working as a hospital pharmacist, I have witnessed how alternative practices do not fit in this confined system. Prescriptions, insurance companies and doctor’s appointments have their limitations and should not be the only solutions offered to patients. The view that relying on medications for optimal health is engrained in our society.
As I researched and experienced more holistic alternatives for myself, I discovered that many Western medicine practices don’t see the body as a whole. “A pill for every ill” perspective has become the normal prescribing practice. It became clear to me that most standard treatment plans were designed to create long term customers through prescribing medications without an end date. Many of these drugs are designed to provide temporary relief of symptoms and not actually treat the underlying cause of illness.
Pharmacy school taught me to emphasize medication compliance and prioritize this. I thought that helping patients meant teaching them not to trust their instincts regarding their medications. When it came to my patient’s health, I thought I knew better than them. School also taught me to stay away from supplements and vitamins due to lack of efficacy and safety data, but this way of thinking is outdated and reinforces a bias towards pharmaceuticals as superior.
As a drug expert, I felt I was missing a piece of the puzzle.
As a drug expert, I felt I was missing a piece of the puzzle. I was not taught how to taper patients off medication methodically. There are no guidelines that exist regarding weaning medication safely, only that it is recommended to do so for certain drugs. I concluded that drug companies are not interested in finding a drug that will cure, but instead finding a drug that will create a long-term customer. The clinical trials for new drugs typically only last between 3-6 months long, if not shorter. And, after approval of a medication, there is even less data published that reveals any long-term side effects of continuing a medication for years, or an entire lifetime. As part of my practice, I set out to change this. I researched and taught myself more about helping my patients come off medications safely.
Pharmacists rank high on the list of the most trusted professions. A patient’s trust in their provider, including pharmacist, has become disproportionate to a patient’s trust in their own body’s healing potential. In contrast, my hope in working with my patients is to bring this back into balance. My hope is to empower my patients to begin to trust their own bodies again, to understand my patients’ story, their needs and goals.
Whether you are feeling defeated or burnt out or stuck, know that I’ve been there too. Using tools, I have learned from both Western medicine and holistic alternatives in a healthy balance, I am here to help you feel better in your body again.
My Story
In my childhood home, I grew up with two parents who worked as respected healthcare professionals. My mom, a pharmacist, and my dad, an optometrist. All I know comes from a Western medicine background. At home, we had a cabinet full of medications and I learned how to manage every symptom or illness using something from that cabinet.
Deciding to study science, chemistry and eventually go to pharmacy school were proud moments in my household and were the easy choices I made. It has always been my intention to help people and to work in healthcare because it felt meaningful to me. It wasn’t until my personal journey into motherhood when my perspective on healthcare changed and my interest in an alternative lifestyle began.
I was never coached or guided on how to taper off my medication
After the birth of my first child, I struggled with postpartum anxiety, postpartum depletion and rage. The only solution offered to me from my provider was anti-anxiety medication, and so that’s what I tried. While I felt immediate relief from my anxiety symptoms, I also felt numb, lost a lot of my hair, and still had unprocessed emotions. I was then lost to follow-up and had to start over with a new provider, which made the process even more defeating. It wasn’t until 6 months later that I asked my provider to get off my anti-anxiety medication. Her response was that I wouldn’t need an appointment to discuss it further and to let her know if I needed a refill if I decided to go back on. I was never coached or guided on how to taper off my medication, so I did it on my own and as a result I experienced horrible withdrawal symptoms.
It was then I started to seek out alternative healthcare. I utilized many holistic methods including acupuncture, energy medicine, chiropractic, HTMA, dietary changes and supplements, talk therapy, grounding, light therapy and cranial sacral therapy. It wasn’t until I leaned into my body again and my mind-body-spirit connection, that I healed myself through these practices. It was truly transformative for me. My second pregnancy, birth and postpartum were completely different experiences than my first. I had more energy, healed quicker and felt more gratitude towards my body.
It is from this place where I created Healing from Scripts. It is a space I hold, outside the restrictions of the healthcare system, to help guide patients back to their deeply-rooted health while minimizing their reliance on medication. It is a space to envision a future that is free of dis-ease and full of vibrancy. While I am a pharmacist by training, I am ultimately here as your health advocate, to instill hope and empower you on your journey.