Let's Get Personal
A raw and real look at my story — and why I'm not the kind of doctor you're used to.
✨ I didn’t choose this path — it chose me.
Hi, I'm Amy. I help people who are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
If your doctor has told you "your labs are normal" but you still don't feel like yourself... you're not crazy.
And you're not alone.
Because I've been there too.
Chronic GI issues, recurrent infections, persistent joint pain, postpartum challenges, and a cascade of mystery symptoms labeled as “just stress” — for years, I was stuck in survival mode, desperate for real answers. The medical system offered none. That’s what led me to functional medicine — and changed everything.
👩⚕️ For over two decades, I struggled quietly with my own health.
As a teenager, I began experiencing intense stomach pain and upset. It took years—and persistence—to finally get a diagnosis of H. pylori infection. But even after treatment, the symptoms never fully went away.
My labs were “normal.”
My concerns were minimized.
And I started to believe maybe it was just in my head.
Fast forward to my 20s, I was diagnosed with chronic gastritis, despite not having any clear symptoms. Then in my 30s—after another scope—I was told it had progressed to intestinal metaplasia, a precancerous condition.
And what was the medical advice I received?
“Just keep doing surveillance. We’ll wait and see if it turns into cancer.”
No solutions. No prevention. Just a wait-and-watch approach to my health.
I didn’t settle for that answer.
But this wasn’t the only time I was failed by a system I was trained in.
🏃♀️ When Health Became a Burden
In my late 20s, I lost 25 pounds in preparation for my wedding through intense HIIT workouts. But soon after, I developed severe hip and SI joint pain that would go on to last for years. Despite seeing multiple specialists—my family doctor, sports medicine, chiropractor, physical therapist, kinesiologist—no one had real answers. Everyone was focused on strength and rehab from injury, even when that wasn't working.
Pain meds. Adjustments. Injections.
Temporary fixes.
No one asked what was driving the inflammation in my body.
Not even my own conventionally trained colleagues.
😤 “It’s Just Stress.” Sound Familiar?
Toward the end of my medical residency, I began experiencing random, terrifying episodes of shortness of breath and unrelenting headaches.
My labs? Normal.
Spirometry? Normal.
Chest X-ray and EKG? Normal.
Diagnosis?
“It’s probably anxiety. Try to calm down.”
I was prescribed multiple antidepressants—despite not feeling anxious or depressed. Years later, the symptoms returned, now with a globus sensation (that “lump in the throat” feeling). I was told I had “globus hystericus.”
Yep—“hysterical.” A diagnosis rooted in the idea that I was overreacting, emotional, dramatic.
I was given a PPI… for a year… and nothing changed.
👶 The real turning point came after motherhood.
I found myself pregnant during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic - isolated, anxious, and abandoned by a healthcare system in lockdown. No family allowed in the delivery room. And an OB who didn't even bother to show up for the birth.
Throughout my third trimester, I battled recurrent infections.
Antibiotics.
Anti-fungals.
Round after round — nothing helped, and no one had answers.
After birth, my baby developed colic triggered by severe food sensitivities and I was hit hard with postpartum anxiety. The pediatrician's advice? "Just switch to formula. He'll grow out of it." No timeline. No plan. Just more suffering - for both of us.
When my second baby was born with similar intolerances, I was again told to stop breastfeeding - "for your mental health". But I knew better. I trusted my instincts.
And I focused on healing our guts—together—and successfully breastfed my baby for two years, while navigating a strict elimination diet.
Both of my children are now thriving—no more food sensitivities.
And I’ve become the doctor I wish I’d had during those dark, uncertain moments.
❤️ Turning pain into purpose
I studied functional medicine and nutrition - not as a practitioner at first, but as a mom just trying to survive.
Through advanced testing and applying functional medicine principles to my own health, I uncovered the root causes of my chronic health issues. It wasn't one single problem, but a complex web of interconnected imbalances.
I had persistent gut inflammation with lingering H pylori that escaped conventional testing, yeast overgrowth and dysbiosis that drove my own food sensitivities, and subclinical hypothyroidism completely missed by standard labs - even during pregnancy. Add to that micronutrient deficiencies, toxic exposures, and genetic factors requiring specific nutritional support for my stress and anti-inflammatory pathways, and the picture became clear.
While healing is always a journey, today I'm no longer plagued by chronic joint pain, GI distress, or restrictive diets. I don't rely on prescription medications for "unexplained anxiety" or "permanent gastritis". Instead, I live and practice true preventative medicine - the way it should be.
This work became my calling. I've become the expert I once couldn't find. Everything I've learned - and lived - now allows me to be the voice, the advocate, and the support system I once so desperately needed.
🌱 My Philosophy
I no longer hand out bandaid solutions for deep-rooted issues.
I don’t gaslight people into thinking they’re “fine” because their labs are “normal.”
I look deeper. I listen better. I create personalized protocols built on your full story—not just your symptoms—and finally look in the places your doctor missed.
We remove what’s harming you.
We restore what’s missing.
We rebalance your body so it can finally do what it was always designed to do: heal.
I’ve been you.
I see you.
And I’m here to help you heal from the inside out.
Your health is your greatest asset. Let's optimize your health now so you can enjoy a fulfilling life spent with those you love most for years to come.
To your best health,
Amy Liu, MD, MPH, CPH, CCFP
