Meet Stephanie

Hello!

My name is Stephanie Harrod. I am a physical therapist and certified women’s health coach. I graduated with my doctorate from Regis University in 2019 and began post-doctoral training and mentorship in women’s health right away. Prior to this I received my Bachelors degree in Human Physiology from Gonzaga University. Most recently, I completed my Women’s Health Coach certification through the Integrative Women’s Health Institute.

My journey towards health and wellness has not always been easy. I had my first period in 6th grade. It started heavy and over time only got heavier and more painful. It was humiliating at first when I bled through my pad and jeans and had to be picked up from elementary school by my friend’s mom (shout out to Lisa Gimmestad for coming in clutch for your girl). Little did I know though, that it would go from humiliating to debilitating. Throughout high school the first few days of my period were horrendous. I missed school at least 1-2 days a month and spent those days either writhing in pain in the fetal position or with my head draped over the toilet vomiting. It was not uncommon for me to have to leave school in the middle of the day because of pain… often making a pit stop to vomit out the door of the car on the way home. One time I even pulled over on the side of the highway because I couldn’t focus on the road. I woke up 2 hours later not realizing I had passed out from pain.

When I was staring down one D and one F, failing 2 of my 6 classes as a college freshman, I realized it was time to do something different. I couldn’t waste any more of my precious life curled up, naked and sweating on my dorm room floor, trying to get my uterus to stop feeling like it was being ripped out of me. At the time the only option I knew was the pill. It took time but it did help decrease the pain and make my periods more manageable. I fortunately didn’t experience any of the negative side effects that many women do on it. During this time, I also made a lot of lifestyle changes. I began exercising regularly and became a vegetarian with a very diverse intake of whole, plant based foods.

Knowing what I know now about the pill I don’t know if I would choose that path again. But, like I say to a lot of my patients when discussing medication options, it bought me a window. I didn’t have to skip any more classes, allowed me to graduate not only from college but from a doctorate program and it gave me time to implement life style changes that moved me towards addressing the the underlying causes of my pain. It also bought me the first few years of my career with more control over my fertility and menstrual cycle.

Fast forward 7 years and I was ready to start a family. My husband and I had done all the things; gotten married, bought a house, survived a global pandemic and traveled the world.

So I came off birth control. Initially my periods were so much better than they were in high school. I was elated. I had ‘grown out of them’ like the doctors said I might, and my new diet and lifestyle likely played a big role.

But overtime, like is so common for people with endometriosis, they started to get bad again. The vomiting came back as did the pain.

And, after 2 years of being off the pill and 1 year of trying, we still weren’t pregnant.

The second winter of trying to conceive I knew in my gut something was up.

I decided to ask for more testing and imaging to try and get some answers. One thing led to another and I finally found myself in the office of a surgeon who said ‘you check several of the boxes for endometriosis, I think I would be hard pressed not to find this if we did surgery’.

And girl, I can’t begin to tell you how validating those words were.

I was able to have excision surgery to confirm our suspicions and recovered from that really well.

My periods are now better than they ever were, even on the pill and I feel overall so much better.

As of today (December 2024) we still have not been able to conceive but are looking forward to taking the next steps for that in 2025!

So that’s my story! It’s not perfect, and it’s not over yet but it’s what has inspired me to start this business. I’ve learned a lot in this process that goes beyond the clinical expertise and education.

It’s personal.

It’s our lives and I don’t want any other woman to find themselves frustrated and angry because of things happening in their body that they don’t understand.

Supporting women in living lives that are full, active and vibrant is my freaking jam. Being able to walk alongside your journey with you is what gets me out of bed in the mornings and keeps me up scheming and researching at night.

So girl, go off! Invest in yourself! Spend the time, take the risks, do the work. You are worth it and deserve to know and understand your body so intimately and so intuitively. You deserve to have to tools and knowledge to be your own health advocate, to feel good and to thrive in all aspects of your life. I’m so happy you found this corner of the internet.

If you’d like someone to walk your journey with you feel free to schedule a free discovery call by clicking here.