From Perimenopause to Surfing at 60: Functional Medicine Transforms A Practitioner's Life

In the inaugural episode of the Akina Pharmacy Speaker Series, we sit down with Donna Figueroa, Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner and founder of Midlife Midwife Functional Health, to explore her remarkable journey from healthcare burnout to biological age reversal.

About Donna

Donna Figueroa is a certified Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse Midwife with a passion for empowering people to transform their health and reclaim vitality. With a holistic and personalized approach, she guides them on a journey to uncover and address the root causes of their symptoms, whether related to hormonal imbalances, cardiometabolic health, toxicity, genetics, or nutrient deficiency. Her expertise lies in blending evidence- and scientifically-based functional medicine principles with the compassion of midwifery care to create sustainable, lasting results.

The Unexpected Journey to Functional Medicine

Healthcare wasn't Donna Figueroa's first career—it was her calling that emerged in her 40s. After spending 20 years in higher education, a transformative pregnancy experience led her to become a certified nurse midwife. "I fell in love with being pregnant, fell in love with my midwife and decided that's what I want to do," she recalls.

But it was another life transition that would ultimately reshape her entire approach to medicine: perimenopause.

"I hit the brick wall called perimenopause in my late 40s, early 50s," Donna explains. "I had all the things you hear about—hot flashes, joint aches, inability to sleep well. My digestion was off for the first time in my life. Everything was dry and brittle and lackluster. I was falling apart."

When Traditional Medicine Falls Short

Despite her medical background, Donna found herself frustrated with the conventional healthcare system's response to her symptoms. "The system was not designed to deal with the natural process of menopause in a woman's body," she reflects. "Our system is designed for basically sick care and not really designed for well care."

Primary care physicians dismissed her concerns with vague generalizations: "What do you expect? You're getting older. We start to get aches and pains. Go to bed earlier. Don't drink so much wine. Eat better." Lab results came back "normal," but Donna knew something deeper was going on.

This experience led her to seek care outside the traditional medical model, eventually finding herself in a functional medicine practitioner's office within a chiropractic clinic.

"I didn't realize it was functional medicine or personalized medicine at the time. I just knew it was different and I was getting help and getting better."

The Functional Medicine Difference

What sets functional medicine apart from traditional healthcare is its integrated approach. "Functional medicine sees the body as one system with many different functions, as opposed to a body with siloed systems," Donna explains. "All the functions are integrated. It's very holistic."

This approach considers both internal and external factors affecting health:

• Modifiable factors: Diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, environmental exposures
• Non-modifiable factors: Genetics, certain environmental circumstances

"We look at how the outside forces act on the body," she notes. "We can modify a lot of things about our lifestyle, about our diet, about how often and when and how we exercise, about how we sleep, how we support our sleep, how we manage stress."

The Four Pillars of Transformation

Through her research into what drives lasting health transformation, Donna identified four essential elements:

1. Purpose or Goal: Clear understanding of what you want to achieve
2. High Stakes: Something meaningful at risk if you don't succeed
3. Container: A defined timeframe for the transformation
4. Personal Contact: Ongoing coaching and support

"I can't heal you or fix you," she tells her patients. "We're gonna do this together. I'm gonna guide you and you are going to do the healing yourself. But you're not by yourself."

Remarkable Results: Turning Back the Biological Clock

Donna's commitment to functional medicine principles yielded extraordinary results. Through lifestyle changes including dietary modifications, detoxification, and addressing underlying health issues, she:

• Lost 40 pounds without going on hormones
• Eliminated chronic joint pain that had her scheduled for double hip replacement
• Improved sleep quality after years of relying on pain medications
• Enhanced hair, skin, and nail health
• Even improved her eyesight

Perhaps most remarkably, laboratory testing revealed she had set her biological clock back by 14 years. "I went surfing on my 60th birthday to celebrate," she shares with a smile.

Understanding Biological vs. Chronological Age

The concept of biological age represents how well your body is functioning compared to your chronological age. "Biological age is measured through an algorithm of different markers—mostly inflammatory markers that look at how the body is managing stress and how inflamed the body is," Donna explains.

These markers assess:

• Inflammation levels
• Detoxification capacity
• Cardiovascular risk factors
• Oxidative stress
• DNA damage propensity

The most precise measurement involves telomeres—the protective end caps of DNA strands—though Donna's testing used comprehensive inflammatory and metabolic markers.

The Foundation: Nutrition and Lifestyle

Donna's transformation began with dietary changes, initially undertaken to support her son's health journey. Key modifications included eliminating:

• Sugar: "There's sugar in everything—pasta sauce, salsa, even guacamole at Whole Foods"
• Inflammatory seed oils: Safflower, sunflower, and canola oils
• Refined grains and processed foods: "If you can't pronounce it, or it's not something your grandmother would have had in her pantry, you probably shouldn't be eating it"

Her shopping philosophy is simple: "Stay on the perimeter of the supermarket, stay out of the aisles. Everything in there is packaged."

For animal products, she recommends: "Pasture-raised and wild-caught. You want the animals that are closest to nature, the ones that are pastured that have not had a stressful life in the commercial farming industry."

Advanced Testing for Personalized Care

Functional medicine's "test, don't guess" philosophy involves comprehensive laboratory work far beyond standard medical panels. Donna's practice includes:

• Expanded basic panels: 50-70 markers instead of standard 10-15
• Thyroid function: 9-10 markers versus just TSH
• Lipid analysis: 20+ markers including particle size and density
• Specialized functional tests: Gut microbiome, food sensitivities, heavy metals, organic acids
• Hormone comprehensive analysis: DUTCH test examining the entire HPA axis

"When you look at general labs from your primary care, those 'normal' ranges are not really normal—they're average," she clarifies. "In functional medicine, we look at functional optimal levels."

The Detoxification Journey

Testing revealed several underlying issues requiring attention:

• Heavy metal toxicity: High mercury levels from childhood dental fillings and growing up above an old coal mine
• Gut infections: Multiple pathogens requiring targeted treatment
• Mold exposure: Currently addressing mycotoxins from corn and wheat exposure

"It's really important to know your history," Donna emphasizes. Environmental factors from decades past can continue affecting health in the present.

Sustainable Success: The 80-20 Rule

Once healing occurs, Donna advocates for sustainable long-term practices. "I believe that once you get to where you can be healthy and well, you can live your life. You can go out to a restaurant, you can order your favorite dish."

She follows the 80-20 or 90-10 rule: strict adherence most of the time with occasional flexibility. "I try to be really strict 90% of the time and 10% of the time, it's a party. But it took me a long time to get here."

A Call to Healthy Action

Donna's message to those struggling with chronic health issues is both compassionate and direct: "It's not your fault we are living in a toxic world, but it is your responsibility. If you want to take your life back, you got to take your life back."

She emphasizes the urgency: "We all have cancer cells that live in our body all the time and our immune system keeps them at bay. It's when we get overloaded that cancer starts to form. If you want the best insurance policy against that, it's about strengthening your body, healing, strengthening that immune system and being as healthy as possible."

The Ripple Effect

Donna's transformation inspired her career pivot from delivering babies to what she calls "delivering health transformation." Her practice now serves anyone seeking to optimize their health, regardless of age or gender.

"I shouldn't be the only one surfing at 60. It'll be very lonely," she says with a smile. "I want to see others walk the cobblestone streets of Europe and travel to volcanoes and pyramids while we're still healthy. I don't want to spend my 70s and 80s decrepit, dependent on someone else to take care of me."