70: Normal Labs but Still Miserable - Why Symptom Driven Thyroid Care Changes Everything with Brandy Valentino, Jessica Strauss and Krystal Adams

70: Normal Labs but Still Miserable - Why Symptom Driven Thyroid Care Changes Everything with Brandy Valentino, Jessica Strauss and Krystal Adams

From Modern Thyroid and Wellness by McCall McPherson, PA-C

February 26, 2026 · 1h 4m · Episode 70

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of symptom-driven thyroid care and features interviews with three clinicians from the Modern Thyroid Clinic.

What if the reason many thyroid patients still feel unwell is not their labs, but how their symptoms are being interpreted? Today’s episode is the first installment of a multi-part clinician interview series on the Modern Thyroid Clinic podcast. Host McCall McPherson sits down with three of the clinic’s clinicians, Brandy Valentino, RN, WHNP, CNM , Jessica Strauss, DNP, FNP-C , and Krystal Adams, MSN, FNP-BC, LSO , to help listeners get to know the people behind the care. Together, they share their personal journeys into medicine, what led them to thyroid and hormone work, and why individualized, symptom-driven care matters so much for thyroid patients. You will also hear candid conversations about medical gaslighting, obesity bias, the limitations of TSH-only testing, and why many people with “normal labs” still feel miserable. Along the way, the episode brings plenty of personality and behind-the-scenes stories, including Brandy’s early inspiration from a care flight helicopter tour, Jessica’s love of travel and Disney, and Krystal’s surprising connection to a military dolphin trainer story. Episode Highlights Why this clinician interview series was created and what to expect…

People in this episode

Host: McCall McPherson

Guests: Brandy Valentino, Jessica Strauss, Krystal Adams

Topics covered

  • thyroid care
  • symptom-driven care
  • medical gaslighting
  • hormone work
  • individualized care

Keywords

  • thyroid patients
  • normal labs
  • symptoms
  • hormone protocols
  • medical bias

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Modern Thyroid Clinic

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