From stressed executive to healthy and empowered
Last year, Ellie Nazemoff was living what she always thought was her dream. She was the owner and operator of a firm with contracts with the federal government. She hobnobbed with the political elite and knew her way around the D.C. metro area. She had raised two beautiful children who were now working toward their own successful careers.
However, inside, Nazemoff felt her body was screaming. “I was incredibly sick. I was tired all the time. My blood sugar was out of control. I was overweight. I didn’t know what was wrong,” said Nazemoff.
She had a vacation home in Bayside – Selbyville, so she decided to take some time off, come to Delaware, and try to get to the root of her health issues. While at Bayside, she saw a notice about an upcoming talk featuring Beebe President & CEO Jeffrey Fried. “I decided to go and see what it was all about,” she said.
During the talk, Nazemoff learned about Beebe’s services and facilities expansion plan, which included a new South Coastal Health Campus near Millville. She also learned about Wellness Week, a partnership between Beebe and Bayside that brought a week full of health and wellness seminars and activities to her community.
“After the talk, I went up to Mr. Fried and told him how I had been so sick that I didn’t know any doctors in the area that could help,” Nazemoff said. “He introduced me to Rachel Mavity, who immediately helped connect me with Dr. Sam of Beebe Endocrinology – Millsboro.”
Nazemoff began seeing Dr. Sam (Samaneh Dowlatshahi, MD) and for the first time in a long while, she started finding answers. “I was suffering. A lot of it was stress, but there were also medications I was on that weren’t working for me,” she said.
Throughout her health journey, Nazemoff knew she needed to take the reins, so she earned a doctorate in integrative health with additional studies through Arizona Integrative Health Center, founded by pioneer Andrew Weil, MD. “While we do depend on our doctors and care providers to help guide us, we also need to be the maestro of our own health symphony,” said Nazemoff. “I learned that so much about our health is about our mind-set – you need to take care of mind, body and soul.”
During her time in Delaware, Nazemoff began focusing on herself. She walked every day, started golfing more, and focused on taking care of her whole self. When she returned to D.C. recently, a colleague remarked on how great she looked. “She asked me what I was doing, and I told her – I am spending more time in Delaware. She told me, you need to keep doing that,” said Nazemoff. “And it made me think. Why am I going back to my old life where I was so sick? It is time for me to find my new life – a life where I am healthier and happier.”
“Many of my patients do not realize how the stress in their lives also affects their health,” said Dr. Sam. “Ellie was one of those patients. The first time we met, I knew we would be great partners in improving her health because Ellie had already done a lot of the work. She was ready and willing to take steps to regain her health.”
At first, Nazemoff needed to focus on getting the stress under control while Dr. Sam worked with her to sort out her medications. She stopped taking a few medications right away and then worked with Dr. Sam to adjust the others as she started to feel better. After several months, and working to lose some weight, Nazemoff is happy to report she is off most of her medications.
“It is a whole new world for me now. I do not have to be so focused on taking this medication at this time or that one with food or whatever,” said Nazemoff. “I am back to being me, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the good people at Beebe. Everyone really cares about my health and works with me; my thoughts and research are taken into consideration.”
Dr. Sam agreed. “In our practice, we really strive to help our patients feel better. It is not always about more medication; sometimes it is about less medication. It is always about doing what is best for each individual,” she said.
Nazemoff is continuing to explore ways to support balanced living as she passionately helps others with their journey to living an intentional, happy and healthy lifestyle.
For more information about Beebe Endocrinology, go to www.beebehealthcare.org/endocrinology.
