Girls With Guts

Alanna Martella and Nicole Dambro

Follow the gutsy gals each week as they invite a featured guest do a deep dive into a challenging chronic illness topic. Each episode will provide insider tips and inspire you with personal stories of healing and perseverance, encouraging you to stay strong no matter your daily challenges.

  1. 07/05/2022

    Lauren Nichols: Fighting for Advocacy for Long COVID Patients

    On this week's episode, Alanna and Nicole are joined by Lauren Nichols, whom Alanna found on Instagram via hashtags, in the middle of COVID lockdowns. Lauren suffers from and is an advocate for Long COVID – in fact, she is one of the first persons known to be suffering from this disorder. In this episode, she explains her optimal health prior to having COVID (she was healthy other than having insomnia). She shares with us how she was one of the first people in the country to be infected with COVID – and doctors didn't take her seriously at first because she presented with severe GI issues and not respiratory symptoms. From there, she continued to get worse instead of better – and hasn't been "normal" since. Her symptoms didn't start there. As the conversation builds, we learn about the consequences of her lingering symptoms, including her stroke, how it takes her hours just to get out of bed each day, and so much more. Lauren also revealed to us details about the toll that COVID takes on the reproductive system, especially in women, which many tend to ignore. This is a timely episode with summer gatherings and barbecues here for the ne   If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast Twitter: @girlswgutspod Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast Alanna's Instagram: @alannamartella Nicole's Instagram: @thenikkidee   Lauren's Socials: Instagram: @laurenthemedium   Body Politic Socials: Instagram: @wearebodypolitic Website: www.wearebodypolitic.com

  2. 06/21/2022

    Leslie Jacobs Toole: I have the BRCA Gene - So I Got a Double Mastectomy

    On this week's episode, Nicole and Alanna are joined by Leslie Jacobs Toole, a local Cincinnati momma with a story to tell. She had actually followed Alanna for a while on social media and once she learned of GWGP, she reached out to share her  BRCA Gene story with the gals. Being a topic both Alanna and Nicole were not very familiar with, it was a no-brainer to have her on the show. In this episode, Leslie shares with us about her long family history with breast cancer - including her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of 34. After witnessing her mother's suffering, she recognized the very real possibility she could have the BRCA Gene and also develop cancer like her mother. Against her mother's blessing, Leslie got tested - and the test came back positive. Then, in 2012 at the age of 24, she took her own health into her hands and got a double mastectomy. We were so blessed that Leslie felt comfortable enough to share the vulnerable details of how cancer and BRCA has affected her life - and we think others who are in a similar position will feel comforted and seen by her kind testimony - including how neglecting her emotional healing led her down a path that eventually led to her sobriety (7 years now!) If your family has been touched by breast cancer and you're curious about the BRCA gene, then this is a wonderful conversation that you absolutely won't want to miss!   If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast Twitter: @girlswgutspod Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast Alanna's Instagram: @alannamartella Nicole's Instagram: @thenikkidee   Leslie's Socials: Instagram: @leslieajacobs   Bright Pink, A Supportive Community for Breats and Ovarian Cancer: Website: https://www.brightpink.org/ Instagram: @bebrightpink

  3. 05/24/2022

    Megan Marsiglio: Bathroom Anxiety and Breaking the Taboo on Poo

    This is probably the wildest episode yet. Truly. We get pretty raw about all things poop-related. It's even hard to type.....such a taboo subject! Alanna and Nicole are joined by Megan Marsiglio -- a mom, wife, entrepreneur, gut health advocate, and along with Nicole, a fellow Crohn-y.  This episode gets real down and dirty! For years, Megan felt extremely isolated and humiliated about having a digestive issue - feeling like she was the only person who was anxious about making it to the bathroom "in time." As she slowly began opening up about her Crohn's Disease and what she was dealing with, she discovered how many others dealt with the same issues, and how many kept it to themselves due to embarrassment. It was then that she realized she had to do something to increase the conversation and push awareness - and became the founder of The Gut Gazette.  In this episode we chat about bathroom anxiety when it comes to going at the workplace, when you're dating, when you're driving on a highway and have GOT TO GO NOW, etc. We even cross the lines of pooping your pants. This episode is not for the faint of heart, BUT it is so incredibly important to realize our bodies NEED to poop to survive and it should be something that is celebrated and not frowned upon!   If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast Twitter: @girlswgutspod Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast Alanna's Instagram: @alannamartella Nicole's Instagram: @thenikkidee   Megan's Socials: Instagram: @thegutgazette and @bloommagency Website: www.thegutgazette.ca

  4. 05/10/2022

    Lindsay Mitchell: Relief From Lyme & Other Symptoms Through Brain Re-Training

    This week's episode is amazing! Nicole and Alanna are joined by Lindsay Mitchell, the creator of Vital Side which is (as Lindsay puts it) an innovative approach to intentional brain re-training.  After successfully healing herself from crippling chronic symptoms from Lyme disease, Lindsay invested all of her energy into creating this four-step method in order to help others who are suffering to find relief and achieve long-term results from all kinds of chronic illnesses - including arthritis, Crohn's disease, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, depression, Hashimoto's and more.  In our conversation, Lindsay reveals the process that led her from her work as a certified physician's assistant to discovering and then fully investing in the power of neuroplasticity.  We discuss how she created Vital Side to focus on neuroscience, mental exercises and visualization, which in turn helps to regulate the nervous system and calm symptoms. If you're looking for relief of any kind of ongoing ailment, you're going to want to tune in - this episode truly illustrates the connection of the body & mind and how our trauma and mental state can really affect our physical state. You won't want to miss this! If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast Twitter: @girlsWgutspod Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast Alanna's Instagram: @alannamartella Nicole's Instagram: @thenikkidee   Lindsay's Socials: Instagram: @myvitalside Twitter:  @myvitalside TikTok: @myvitalside Company Website: vital-side.com

  5. 05/03/2022

    Amy Suto: Ghostwriting Around the World with Rheumatoid Arthritis

    On this week's episode Nicole and Alanna are joined by Amy Suto, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis during the pandemic. This conversation is extremely interesting, as Amy is in her 20s and most people with RA are diagnosed between the ages of 30 to 50. Like the common experience of many women with chronic illnesses, her college clinic doctors didn't take her early RA symptoms and pain seriously -- which caused her symptoms to go undiagnosed for several years until they became full-blown.  In this fast-paced, honest, motivational conversation, Amy discusses her early challenges in functioning and healing with RA. Besides inflammatory food, she also reveals the most common cause for a flare up -- you guessed it -- stress! (Being that Amy is always out conquering her business world, stress is something that is tricky for her to manage -- so she shares her tips with us!) She also shares how she handles her RA while traveling (she is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and founder so travels A LOT), the importance of having an understanding/supportive partner while battling a chronic illness, the reality of losing friends during the healing process, changing our relationships to food, and SO MUCH MORE! *Pass me the castor oil liver packs* This conversation is so interesting and you will learn A TON! If you're a productive go-getter who struggles with the daily handicaps of having a chronic illness... this episode is going to make you feel so seen. --------------------- Show Amy and the podcast some love by giving us a listen and downloading this episode! And don't forget to leave us a review on – we love to hear from you!    If you want to learn more about the podcast and the hosts, visit our website at www.girlswithgutspodcast.com.   Follow us on social media! Instagram: @girlswithgutspodcast Twitter: @girlsWgutspod Facebook: www.facebook.com/girlswithgutspodcast Alanna's Instagram: @alannamartella Nicole's Instagram: @thenikkidee   Amy's Socials: Instagram: @sutoscience TikTok: @sutoscience Blog: www.amysuto.com Amy's RA Website: www.letshealRA.com Bonus: Amy's Freelancer Course: Make Six Figures on Upwork Amy's Nutritionist, Katie LeBlanc: www.restoringautoimmunehealth.com/

5
out of 5
37 Ratings

About

Follow the gutsy gals each week as they invite a featured guest do a deep dive into a challenging chronic illness topic. Each episode will provide insider tips and inspire you with personal stories of healing and perseverance, encouraging you to stay strong no matter your daily challenges.