They called her "the napper."

Through college, 2 pregnancies, and 13 years as an ER nurse, Holly learned to live on fumes. 

Six shots of espresso a day. Three-hour naps between shifts. 

She thought the exhaustion was just part of who she was. 

Every doctor she saw agreed.

"You're just a student." "You're just hormonal." "You're just a new mom."

But Holly knew something was off. 

She worked out 5 days a week, ate clean, and took her medications. 

And still, her body wouldn't respond. The fatigue never lifted. The weight wouldn't budge.

"I'm medically educated," Holly says. "I knew something was wrong. I just didn't have the data to prove it."

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The tests that weren’t ordered

After her second baby, Holly was determined to avoid another round of postpartum depression.

She asked her OB-GYN to run comprehensive labs.

Her OB-GYN explained that results would likely be abnormal after pregnancy and recommended focusing on rest and sunlight.

Her primary care physician eventually agreed to test her thyroid—but only TSH, a single marker.

TSH alone can miss important thyroid conditions. A full panel—especially with antibodies—can offer a more complete picture of thyroid health.

When the results came back, Holly stared at the elevated TSH.

"No one had ever checked it," she says. "Not in college. Not during either pregnancy. Not once in 13 years."

Even then, her doctor still dismissed it as postpartum hormone fluctuation.

But Holly had seen enough.

She started researching thyroid dysfunction and recognized every symptom.

The stalled weight loss. Constipation. Brain fog.

And that bone-deep exhaustion that never went away.

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The data that finally told the truth

A friend told her about Function. Holly signed up immediately.

Through Function, she accessed over 100 lab tests including a complete thyroid panel with antibodies that traditional physicals don't include.

Multiple thyroid biomarkers were out of range. 

Her Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO) were 670 IU/mL, nearly 75 times the normal range. This extremely elevated level suggested severe, long-standing autoimmune activity against her thyroid. 

She brought her results to an endocrinologist for confirmation.

Her endocrinologist performed an ultrasound and said it showed a thyroid “like a shriveled-up raisin”—a sign it hadn’t been functioning properly for years.

The diagnosis: Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The leading cause of hypothyroidism in the US.

This is an autoimmune condition where the body attacks its own thyroid tissue. It often progresses silently for years before it’s discovered. 

Suddenly, everything made sense. But it also revealed what had been at risk.

Untreated hypothyroidism during pregnancy raises the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and developmental issues in babies.

“The fact that I had 2 healthy babies without medication is a miracle.”

Her endocrinologist also noted that thyroid dysfunction can affect cardiovascular health over time.

Her LDL Particle Number was elevated at 1,981 nmol/L and her LDL Small was above optimal range at 263 nmol/L, both markers linked to increased cardiovascular risk.

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Her body finally responds

After this diagnosis, Holly started thyroid medication and began an autoimmune protocol diet, a therapeutic eating plan aimed at reducing inflammation and supporting immune regulation.

Within 2 weeks, she woke up without an alarm for the first time in years. 

Her TSH dropped from 5.13 mlU/L to 3.31mlU/L, now within normal range.

“I feel unstoppable,” she says. “For the first time, my body is actually responding. I don’t need a 3-hour nap to get through the day.”

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From exhaustion to empowerment

Today, Holly is clear that knowledge is power.

"This changed everything," she says. "Not just because I have more energy—but because I finally know why. I spent over a decade being told I was fine when I wasn't."

As an ER nurse, Holly now shares her story with colleagues and patients.

She encourages other women, especially mothers, to advocate for comprehensive testing.

"So many women think they're dealing with depression or anxiety when it could be their thyroid. Don't accept feeling ‘off’ as normal. Don't let anyone tell you it's just stress or just hormones."

Holly's story is more than one of recovery. 

It's proof her instincts were right all along.