A Patient Case Study
How comprehensive testing and pattern recognition uncovered what conventional medicine missed—and why I want to help fix the system.
A timeline of symptoms, tests, and missed connections that reveals how fragmented healthcare fails complex patients.
Unexplained shortness of breath and malaise during a ski trip. Cardiopulmonary exercise test showed "moderate exercise impairment" attributed to musculoskeletal issues. No further investigation.
Early signalDiagnosed with POTS after tilt table test. TSH was elevated at 8.6—but when it "normalized" to 2.27 five days later, it was dismissed. Family history of Hashimoto's (aunt and sister) was noted but antibodies were never tested.
Missed connectionMultiple ENT visits for chronic sinus issues and eustachian tube dysfunction. MRI showed "sinusitis." I noticed symptoms worsened with gluten—a connection no provider explored for autoimmune implications.
Siloed treatmentFinally eliminated gluten on my own. Felt the best I had in years. The system didn't guide me here—I had to connect the dots myself.
Patient-drivenInfected tooth requiring root canal. First cavities in 15+ years. Worst symptoms ever: severe GI distress, anxiety, brain fog, debilitating fatigue. ED visit yielded nothing. Endoscopy normal. Nobody connected the dental infection to systemic inflammation.
Missed connectionComprehensive testing reveals elevated TSH (5.7) and high Thyroglobulin Antibodies (123)—clear markers for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis that had been dismissed for 3.5 years. Officially diagnosed and began treatment.
Diagnosis #1Working with a functional medicine DO, cytokine testing showed inflammatory markers consistent with post-viral damage. The POTS that started in 2021 finally had a potential mechanism—but standard protocols (nicotine, Patterson protocol) provided limited relief.
Pattern identifiedSpecialized testing revealed positive results for Lyme antibodies, Babesia antibodies, and Bartonella (FISH positive). Chronic infections that can cause POTS, neurological symptoms, and autoimmune triggers—never once tested for in 5 years of conventional care.
Diagnosis #2 & #3Now on antimicrobial protocol for tick-borne infections while stabilizing thyroid. Low-dose naltrexone has helped improve capacity from ~20% to ~50%. For the first time, treatment is addressing root causes rather than managing symptoms in isolation.
In progress"It took 5 years and stepping outside conventional medicine to discover I had three overlapping conditions—none of which were ever tested for by the specialists I saw."
Patterns and systemic failures that data-driven healthcare could solve.
A single "normal" test doesn't mean normal. My TSH fluctuated from 8.6 to 2.27 in days, then from 0.3 to 4.2 throughout 2025. The system saw isolated points, not patterns.
Cardiologist sees POTS. ENT sees sinusitis. GI sees nausea. Nobody asks: what if POTS, autoimmune thyroiditis, and neurological symptoms share a common infectious root cause?
Tick-borne infections like Bartonella can cause POTS, anxiety, brain fog, and autoimmune triggers. I saw over a dozen providers before anyone thought to test for them.
My aunt and sister both have Hashimoto's. Despite documented family history and elevated TSH, thyroid antibodies weren't tested for 3.5 years.
Chronic dental infections can drive systemic inflammation. My sudden cavities and infected root canal coincided with my worst symptoms—a connection no one explored.
Function Health found in one panel what years of fragmented testing missed. When you test broadly, patterns emerge that narrow testing can never reveal.
I'm an Industrial Engineering graduate with a Biomedical Engineering minor—trained to see systems, identify inefficiencies, and optimize processes. I never expected to apply that training to my own healthcare.
After years of navigating a fragmented system, I've become deeply passionate about how data and AI can transform diagnostics. The tools to prevent what happened to me already exist—they just aren't being applied at scale.
I believe in a future where comprehensive testing, pattern recognition, and cross-domain analysis are the default—not the exception you stumble into after years of suffering.
I'm looking to join a team that's serious about using technology to transform how we diagnose and prevent disease.