SPEAKER_00: 0:02

Welcome to Hormone B Roses, where I share testimonials from real people who have experienced bioidentical hormone therapy. Men and women share the symptoms they have experienced and the difference proper hormone replacement has made. I'm your host, Dr. Kelly Hopkins, and I have been in the functional medicine space for over 30 years, with a focus on hormones for 20 years. Please keep in mind this podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please consult with your physician or practitioner for medical advice. Let's get started with today's guest. Hello and welcome to the podcast. Today I'm very excited and honored to have Ms. Devia DeWan. She is with us all the way from Dubai, which is exciting. And she is a functional diagnostic nutritionist, and she is the Shogrand's Queen. Her website is shograndsolution.com. And welcome, Devia. Thank you so much, uh, Kelly. I'm very excited to talk to you as well. So tell us a little bit about, I know you lived in Texas for a while, but now you've moved to Dubai. Tell us a little bit about that journey.

SPEAKER_01: 1:20

Oh, yeah, for sure. I'm a trailing wife, really. So wherever my husband gets, you know, a job, I'm moving with them. We've we've moved several times, like I would say maybe 14 or 15 times across the world. So this is one of them. Wasn't very exciting because it when you cross your 50s, you don't want to move. You want to stay put in whichever place you're living. But I guess when you accept the challenges, growth happens. So I think I'm just happy about that and you know, welcoming all the growth that's coming my way.

SPEAKER_00: 1:48

Yeah, it's an adventure. And your husband works in oil and gas, is that right? That is correct, yes. Yeah. And you have two children, two grown children or adult children, or college-age children still in Texas?

SPEAKER_01: 2:02

Yes, I have adult children. One is working, one is in college, but pretty much empty nesters now. We also have two dogs, so dog mom as well. Uh they followed us here uh in Dubai, so we have them here. And yeah, I love having them over with us.

SPEAKER_00: 2:19

So when they got off the plane, were they like, where are you taking us?

SPEAKER_01: 2:23

Yeah, but they were very confused and very distressed, I would say. Uh bet. But I think you know, the good thing about dogs is they just so quickly get over even the trauma of we're getting into a thing like a plane all alone in a big cage. As soon as they see their owners, they're like, now we're fine. Yes. Get everything, and then they're pretty normal after that. Our people are here, so we're fine. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 2:50

So you are the Shogrin's queen. And for any of the listeners that don't understand exactly what chogrin's is, can you describe that disease process to us?

SPEAKER_01: 3:01

Yes, absolutely. So this is an autoimmune disorder. It is called chogrin's. The hallmark symptoms for this disorder are uh dry mouth, dry eyes, and many times dry vagina, also for women. And it is also linked with you know the hormonal changes that happen. But even young girls like in the ages of 20s can have it. I have clients who have had it since the 20s, so it's not something that only happens to women in the old age. Now it is a systemic disorder. So the which means that if you know nothing is done about it, it does start affecting all the organs in the body, the lungs, the entire digestive system, the kidneys, the liver, all of it. But the only thing that I feel very deeply about is that most women who do get this disorder are not diagnosed for more than almost like 10 to 12 years because the antibodies don't show up in their blood bulb, or lip biopsies don't show positive results for the biopsy. And so they're not diagnosed. And so they are left suffering for you know all these years without any answers. And then, you know, they're just pleading their doctors, like, tell me what's happening, because you know, I have these symptoms, I have this extreme fatigue, I have this dryness that does, you know, keeps watching me all the time. But the only answers they get is that, well, your labs are normal, so you're fine, you know, and that leaves them suffering for so long. So my passion is really to help them see that even if they do not have diagnosis, they still have imbalances in the body which are not being unfortunately addressed by the conventional medicine. And so there is this support system, which is the alternative medicine called the functional health coaching area, where I can actually do the functional laps for them, help them with the diet and the lifestyle, and address those imbalances and correct them so that they can actually start feeling some relief from these symptoms.

SPEAKER_00: 4:52

Before we dive into all of those specifics, tell us a little more about your personal journey with chogrin's.

SPEAKER_01: 4:58

Yes, absolutely. And that is something I love talking about. Only because that gives people the hope that, you know, once you have an autoimmune diagnosis, it is not all loom and doom that life is not all life's intense. Because I was diagnosed with chogrin's almost 12 years ago, about I think it was the spring of 2013, when my kids were like 15 and 10. And uh I had some viral infection happen to me, which I didn't pay very much attention about. And by the end of it, I started having really bad flare-up of chauvin's, of course. My eyes were all swollen up and big, my mouth was dry. But what was most concerning was that I was completely debilitated because all my joints, all my muscles were hurting, and I just simply couldn't move low. So, just to give an example of how it was like in that time, if I had to sit in a car, I had to literally pick up one of my thighs, which was outside. So I was sitting on the passenger seat to write thigh, of course. I had to pick it up and put it inside the car because the muscles were stiff. I couldn't, I just couldn't function. Uh, if I sat on a couch, I needed someone's support to sit on the couch. And if I had to get above the couch, I again needed someone's support to help me get up because I just couldn't do it myself.

SPEAKER_00: 6:15

How old were you when you were going through this? I was about in my late 30s, I think. Okay. Yeah. So you were starting to experience all these symptoms, and how long did you allow all these symptoms to progress before you started looking for help?

SPEAKER_01: 6:33

Yeah. So the couple of things here. And this is the first time actually I'm going to openly, I'm telling this in the podcast. I had the similar flare in which I was completely debilitated. Probably did not have the dry eyes and dry mouth at that time, but it was something like an arthritis flare-up that happened, which I I never had arthritis, but this happened about when I was like in my late 20s. And what got me out of it was exercising and taking Ayurvedic medicine. Everything was fine. I had no health issues. But a couple of years uh before this real flare-up happened in 2013, maybe like 2012, 2011, I started having these dry eyes where my, particularly my right eye actually, would get so dry that I could see on my cornea there was like an ulcer come up. Uh-huh. And I went to so many doctors, right? No one had any answers from me, and everyone was just scaring me. It could be lymphoma, it could be something else. And it went away on its own in a couple of days. So it was like maybe it's some kind of infection. But that was really my body giving me the signs that something is wrong. You need to take care of it. And I, you know, I I never did. And so this flare-up happened in the 2013 when I actually had my complete shutdown of my body was happening. And then, you know, I took, I think, steroids for I would say like three, three months. I took the steroids, I took the placanelle, nothing was happening.

SPEAKER_00: 7:57

Nothing was helping.

SPEAKER_01: 7:58

Yeah. And then the diagnosis itself wasn't very easy. I was lucky. I would say I was lucky than most of the women. And I my blood work turned out positive. The SSB antibodies were positive when I was diagnosed. So after about five or ten doctors, I would say like eight doctors, I was finally able to find a rheumatologist who was able to diagnose me with Chogren's.

SPEAKER_00: 8:22

Before we move on, can you list the blood tests that someone might need to ask for specifically that would show definitive Shogren's disease?

SPEAKER_01: 8:32

Yes, absolutely. So it is called the Chogren's antibody, and there are two Shogun's antibody A and Chogren's antibody B. And then for some people that doesn't come out positive. So for them, a lip biopsy is done and also a Shimer's test for the dry eye. But I think lip biopsy is what confirms that you they have chogren's.

SPEAKER_00: 8:52

Are you saying lip biopsy?

SPEAKER_01: 8:55

A lip biopsy. Yeah. So go inside the lip, take a portion of the slivery gland and do the biopsy and find out. Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 9:01

I think there might be a lot of listeners that might need to have that list when they go into their doctor. Absolutely. Okay, so you finally had the correct testing done, a definitive diagnosis, and then what happened?

SPEAKER_01: 9:16

So, well, uh, after that, my first question to my doctor was, All right, so now we're fond of children's. Now what's my cure? How do I get better from it? I was excited. I was like, Yes, you know, I have an answer now. And to my utter dismay, the answer that I got was, Well, you know, we don't have any cure for it. This is just your body attacking your cells randomly. And uh, we really can't do anything about it. You have to live like this for your whole life, and we can only manage your symptoms. And I was like, Oh, what? No, I'm not even like this for my whole life. Right. Because the three months were like a hurricane inside my house, inside my family, right? Because my kids were always crying looking at me the way I was, which I've I've never been like that. And so my husband is well, and I could not cook, I could not clean, I could not do any of the basic things that I've wanted to do for my family. There used to be piles and piles of laundry sitting around for the weekend, so that you know, when the weekend comes, my husband does that. And I feel felt bad because you know he worked hard the whole week. Right. So, no, I said, no, this is not how I want to be. So, to answer your question that you asked me previously, how long did it take for me to take a decision to take health in my own hands? I think it was about these three, four months when I was finally when I was given that diagnosis after three or four months. That is when I decided, you know what, this is not how I'm gonna live. And this was um, I still remember that day. It was I was sitting on that couch, it was like that recliner that we had. So I I used to sit on the recliner, take my painkillers. Of course, I also used to be taking a lot of ibubrufen at that time, taking my painkillers and then waiting for that pain to go away so that I can do some work before the next prayer started. And no, I will still sit on the couch again. Ah, business. Yeah, that was my life. And if someone is being told that that's going to be your life for the rest of your life, this is what you're going to do. I mean, no, right? And I have a science background. So I haven't done my bachelor's in science in botany and zoology. Uh-huh. So I had that mind and scientific mind. So my question to my doctor was, okay, well, how does this work? Like, why does the body start attacking itself? So the answer was we don't know why this happens. I was like, I don't think that can be an answer, right? So I started doing my own research, and of course, I believe a lot in Ayurveda, which is the, I think, from my point of view, yes, it is sort of the parent of all holistic medicines in the world.

SPEAKER_00: 11:44

Do you mind describing that in detail, what that kind of medicine is?

SPEAKER_01: 11:49

So it is a very, very holistic form of medicine in which if you go to an Ayurvedic doctor, which is in traditionally called a Vadhya, and tell them, you know what, I have this autoimmune going on, right? So they will not, they're not going to give you medications for treating you of symptoms. What they do is they look at their entire body. And the concept in Karveda is that there are three elements that really are flowing in the body. So one is the pitta, which is which which I'm not a very good expert on this, but I can give you a little bit of an overview. And pitta means the fire, that fire that actually helps fuel that metabolic activities in the body. So pitta is that energy, that is one. Then there is kufa, which is the earth sort of material, and then the there is air, which is called vata. Okay. And this all three have to be in balance where you know when free and you look from the Ayurvedic perspective. And so, for example, if someone has a lot of acid reflux, that means that they have elevated pitta. So that metabolic fire is too active.

SPEAKER_00: 12:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_01: 12:55

So just to give an example, but I believed in that. And the reason is because when I was in ninth grade, so that was going back, I don't know how many years, probably 20 years ago, 20, 30 years ago from when I got sick, my mom had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, and she was to the point where her fingers started deforming. And we found a very, very good Ayurvedic Vadya in Delhi. And uh just using that medication for the amount of time you know the Vadya said you should be taking it, she did it, and you would not believe her deformed fingers actually came back to shape.

SPEAKER_00: 13:31

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01: 13:33

Wow. Which in modern science is not possible.

SPEAKER_00: 13:36

Not possible. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_01: 13:38

So that was a that was a miracle for me to see my mom get completely better. At that time, I think the medication that was being prescribed to her because all the steroids stopped working, all the painkillers had stopped working, so now she was being suggested to take gold injections. And of course, we did not want that. So she went that route. Now that became really my foundation of believing that you know what, there's something that I'm missing, you know, I have to find out. And so I started doing my research, going into the Ayurvedic concept and understanding what is going on. And according to Ayurveda, lo and behold, what functional medicine believes in this day and age is that everything starts from the gut, right?

unknown: 14:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01: 14:22

Everything starts in the gut. That was my aha moment. Oh wow, okay.

SPEAKER_00: 14:29

You know, that is what is happening. So, how did you go about uh testing your gut? Or was that the next step? Did you start assessing what you were eating and gut health?

SPEAKER_01: 14:40

Yes. So I did not do any testing at that point, you know, 2013. What I did was I did a lot of lifestyle changes. I was very bad, you know. I was this typical American and even Indian people, you know, who will sit and watch those uh episodes on Netflix, which was pretty new that time. Something like cost or you know, all those cereals which you can just binge watch the whole night and then get them in the morning with a headache because I couldn't sleep properly, of course, because my circadian rhythm is now messed up. Or I would not eat properly. I would just eat something that has been in the fridge for like five days and then keep eating that, which according to Ayurveda, has lost all of its life force. So it is dead food that I'm eating that is not giving my body anything. So my body was fine. My body was deprived, really, right? Uh-huh. And then also there was a lot of toxins in my body because I did a lot of yoga and mind body practices. I was like head-on into it, all of it. Yeah. So in one year, actually, I was able to get off all the medication and completely symptom-free as well.

SPEAKER_00: 15:44

So you were able to heal your gut by changing your eating habits. And so can you kind of describe what you moved towards food-wise?

SPEAKER_01: 15:55

I've moved towards more freshly cooked food, towards more fruits and vegetables. And it was like a mental faculty opened up for me, which was closed for such so many years. So I started looking into things like, you know, the commercial breads, what do they have? What are the chemicals that are present in all the food that are being is being sold to us? And I started shifting from eating all that processed food, highly toxic food, to really going into just food that is going to nourish me and my family. To the point where I even changed my salt. Because the regular table salt, I found out in this whole process that it's doing more harm than good, uh, than any good to us. Because yes, it is iodized, yes, it is salt, but it is factory manufactured and it does not have any minerals in it that our body needs. Are you a fan of sea salt? Is that what you use? So I'm I mix and match. So I'm in my house, I always have Himalayan salt as well as sea salt. And so I'll probably use one can of that sea salt, and then that's when if I use the Himalayan salt. That way I keep you know getting all the minerals.

SPEAKER_00: 16:59

So you healed yourself from chogrins with dietary changes and yoga exercise.

SPEAKER_01: 17:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 17:07

Am I missing anything?

SPEAKER_01: 17:09

Hot yoga.

SPEAKER_00: 17:10

Hot yoga, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 17:12

And I know that's not for everyone. So that doesn't mean that I'm asking everyone to do that, but definitely movement is huge for the body because that is how psychopatic system will remove all the toxins which are actually stuck in the body, otherwise.

SPEAKER_00: 17:26

I'm sure you're a human and you probably slip up every now and then. If you eat processed food or something that you know doesn't give you the best health benefits, do you feel it in your body?

SPEAKER_01: 17:40

Oh, yes, absolutely. And this is something that I've been uh you know discussing with my uh family, my kids, my husband as well, that now that when you eat the more healthy food, like and sometimes we do eat the pizzas and burgers and stuff like that, right? Right. Maybe once in 15 days though, but but still we do. And then the body feels it because you don't feel satiated, you feel bloated, you feel like there's something missing in the food.

SPEAKER_00: 18:07

Yes. So uh let's move towards how you went from healing yourself to wanting to help others. How did you make that transition?

SPEAKER_01: 18:18

Yeah, absolutely. And that transition came. I never thought of you know doing something like health coaching, but you know how universe has a way of sending you messages? Oh, yes. Yes. So that started happening with me. So I would I would meet friends who would come and tell me, well, I have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, and you know, I've been told that I cannot cure myself. And I would just look in their face and just think and think to myself that no, that's not the reality you need to accept. Because after my journey, I realized that you know, the a big portion of staying sick is that we believe the lies that we're being told. Uh-huh. Because when our mind believes that no, that is not the reality and we can change it, our body enables that. So that big started becoming a you know repeated theme in my life. People used to come to me and keep telling me about this, and I would suggest some things, but of course, I understood that I do not have to be giving advice when they don't need it. But then at some point after a few years, you know, it just became very clear to me that that is what my calling is and I should be doing it. So that's how it happened.

SPEAKER_00: 19:27

Was it at that point you went and got your further education in functional diagnostic nutrition or have it?

SPEAKER_01: 19:35

So we 2019, when we were right at the beginning of the co of the COVID, because that came in March, right? March 2020. I started my certification in um integrative nutrition health coaching from the Integrative Institute of Nutrition, II. And uh I started doing my coaching. I helped a lot of people, people in that process as well. But I started realizing that there's something missing, you know. I started feeling like what I'm doing is more like counseling. You know, that's not really helping them a lot. So what I want to do is go deeper, find out what's going on, and help them. And that is when I went for my functional certification at FDN and became an FDN practitioner.

SPEAKER_00: 20:16

And then if someone goes to your website, which is shogrinsolution.com, I see something here called the Shogrins Reset Method. Can you walk our listeners through what would happen once they come to your website and are ready to get started? What happens next?

SPEAKER_01: 20:34

Well, the first thing that I would suggest for them to do is to book a call with me. You know, you'll probably put it in the show notes as well. So after booking a call, I can walk them through the whole process. But what broadly happens is that when they sign up with me, I the first thing I do is order all the tests for them, depending on what the what tests they need. Broadly speaking, I definitely go deep diving into the gut health. I also work on um the minerals in the body because for people who have chogrins, they have a lot of dryness everywhere. And if the tissues are getting dry, the cells are getting dry, and if the cells are getting dry, it means that there is not enough water in the cells, and there's not enough electrolytes in the cells. And so we work on that. That also means that there are a lot of nutrient deficiencies in terms of like vitamins, etc., that also we test. And then we also I definitely do suggest testing for the metabolite toxins that accumulate in the body, and the test for that is mosaic organic odds.

SPEAKER_00: 21:37

Got you. So you're you're talking about stool testing. Do you do some urine testing? Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 21:44

So the mosaic testing is really the urine testing. And the other one that I test for the minerals is the hair tissue mineral analysis. All of them are non invasive, easy to do at home tests.

SPEAKER_00: 21:56

Do you do any serum testing or blood spot testing?

SPEAKER_01: 22:01

Well, yeah, so for example, if if my soft any of my clients wants to find out more about the food food sensitivities that they have, then I do that, and that needs the blood spot testing, right? No, everyone doesn't want that, and I don't want them to want to actually confuse them more because there's a lot of confusion out there regarding what they should eat, what they should not eat, you know, the flectin-free diet, you know, the AIP diet, the carnivore diet, the vegan diet. It is just also confusing. My focus is always once I do the testing, I find out what's going on in their body, what are the imbalances that we need to address. And then around that, I create a diet and a lifestyle protocol. Now I call that the dress protocol, which means the diet, the rest, exercise, stress, and then the supplementation. So if you notice, the S comes last. Uh the S for supplementation comes last. So although supplementation is very, very important, it is not the most important thing because if you do we do not improve the lifestyle and the diet, you know, the supplements won't do anything because as the name goes, they are supplements. So I work around that and make personalized protocols for them based on the test results that I get for them. And we work for four months and they get one-on-one coaching with me throughout this process.

SPEAKER_00: 23:17

That's wonderful. And before we started the podcast, you mentioned there's a free 15-minute call or describe what happens there.

SPEAKER_01: 23:26

I call it the Chograns res uh roadmap call. And in that we do exactly that. We create a roadmap for them. I understand what's going on with their health, and what is the testing that they should be going for? Or, you know, if they they are on a budget, then what is the smallest thing they can get started with? And based on that, what is what are the pillars that they need for their healing? And basically just create a roadmap for them so that they understand what's going on with their bodies.

SPEAKER_00: 23:52

And what would be needed testing-wise and what they can expect after the results come in, all those good things.

SPEAKER_01: 23:59

All of that. Uh so uh they get all the information that they want. Uh this call is completely about these people who sign up, who come to get this call with me. So it's about helping them understand what's going on, what are the next steps, and what could be the next best step for them as well if they feel like they want to sign up with me. And if they don't, there's absolutely no pressure. But I'm always there to support them through this call.

SPEAKER_00: 24:24

I see here on the show grins reset method, limited seats available. What is that?

SPEAKER_01: 24:30

So I work with uh not more than five people in a in a month. And so that is why I say limited seats available, because you know, if if I get more than five, then I have to put them on a waiting list so that I can start with them the next month.

SPEAKER_00: 24:42

Got you. So there's some typical symptoms of chogrins, and you have it listed here: dry mouth, dry eyes, joint pains, muscle aches, unexplained fatigue that does not resolve by sleeping, fear of sex due to pain, fear of having children because of chogrins. So those are typical symptoms that if you are experiencing that as listeners, you might look towards chogrins and seek devia out to maybe get a better diagnosis and things like that. But something that really you kept referring back to, I think our bodies do have an innate ability to heal itself if we allow it to, and if we feed it the right things, give it proper rest and exercise. I mean, there's there's so much we do to ourselves that you know cause these disease processes. And then you go down this rabbit hole of pharmaceuticals, and we're told that's the only answer. And so it's a breath of fresh air to hear your perspective and your healing journey and just the fact that there's another way to do things.

SPEAKER_01: 25:52

Well, thank you so much. I would say that my aha moment came with my shobrins. So that was really my awakening from being sleeping and not being real not realizing what I'm doing to my body, and that what all I can do when I decide to do that and open up the doors for that, right? Because you also have to do the work. Right. But yeah, that is my passion. I absolutely want to bring this message to each and every woman in the world and even men who have children's.

SPEAKER_00: 26:20

So the fact that your body was attacking itself and your mother had rheumatoid for but was able to heal it. Do you watch your children to make sure they're healthy and they're doing their proper things? Genetically, there's things that we're going to be, you know, more predisposed for than other things. And was there anyone else in the family, sisters or brothers or anybody else that had to deal with anything like this?

SPEAKER_01: 26:48

No, actually. My sister uh did not have to deal with that. And yeah, we had two sisters, so no.

SPEAKER_00: 26:53

So genetically, there's things you you can watch out for and just know proper care and nutrition of your body can help. I do want to mention once again, chogrinsolution.com. Spell that for us, Debia. It'll roll off your tongue easier than mine. For sure.

SPEAKER_01: 27:12

So it is S-J O G-R-E-N-S, and then solution, S O L-U-T-I-O-N dot com.

SPEAKER_00: 27:22

Okay. And she's very easy to find. Her website is very friendly. And you also have a free Facebook group. I'm just going to read it facebook.com slash groups slash shogruns community. And then an Instagram page. Instagram is Instagram.com slash shogrunsqueen, which she's a beautiful queen. And then your Facebook page is facebook.com slash devia div y a dot dhn. And she's got some other LinkedIn and other Facebook. And you can also find her on YouTube. It's YouTube.com slash at devia healthcoach1391. And in the show notes, there's also going to be a link that will take you right to your website. And does that link go straight to a consultation page? Yes. It takes them straight to the page for consultation and they can book a call with me. Wonderful. Is there any closing thoughts you would like to leave our listeners with?

SPEAKER_01: 28:31

Yeah, the closing thoughts would be that we have been conditioned over a number of years, I would say almost like a century now, to believe that our bodies are incapable of healing and we need external help for the healing. But there are n number of stories around the world which when you start trying to look for them, you will find them, which are people being able to heal their bodies and even heal yet their mental issues, right? So everything inside our body is healable. Our body has an innate capacity to heal itself when we give it the right conditions and open up our heart to actually doing that healing. And that can really happen to every single one of us.

SPEAKER_00: 29:15

I think that's beautiful and so true. Thank you, Devia. I've really enjoyed our time. It is evening there and it's morning where I am in the United States. So I will let you get to your dinner.

SPEAKER_01: 29:29

Thank you. I had a wonderful conversation with you, Kelly.

SPEAKER_00: 29:32

Yes. Thank you, Devia. Thanks for listening to Hormone Heroes. Take a moment to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss the next episode. While you are there, help us spread the word by leaving a rating and a review. If you would like to share your bioidential hormone story or need help finding a physician in your area, please email us at drelly at hormoneheroes.org. That's D R K E L L Y at H O R M O N E H E R O E S dot org. We want you to be a hormone hero.