Superpower Stories: Rachel D.

There are 8.14 billion people on Earth. 8.14 billion unique bodies. 8.14 billion unique health stories. Most get dismissed. At Superpower, yours doesn’t.

Introducing Superpower Stories: an inside look at the people whose lives have been changed by Superpower. Whether it's discovering an overlooked diagnosis, uncovering symptoms traditional medicine missed, or feeling your best, Superpower is transforming health, one story at a time.

SUPERPOWER STORIES: RACHEL D.

Age: 36

Profession: Health coach 

Rachel’s health journey in one word: Roller coaster 

Rachel’s Superpower: Perseverance

Catching Hashimoto’s Early: How One Health Coach Took Control

The American medical system often takes a “wait and see” approach. When testing reveals isolated symptoms, abnormal blood work, or irregular results with no clear diagnosis or insurance box to check, our healthcare system is at a loss. 

Sometimes, “wait and see” works, and people return to baseline. 

But what happens when it doesn’t? 

For Rachel, that uncertainty wasn’t something she could afford to risk. As a mom of five, her health is foundational to everything - and everyone- who depends on her.

As a registered dietitian and a health coach, Rachel is someone who practices what she preaches. She does all the “right” things. She lifts weights four days a week, hits 10,000 steps, and focuses on a whole-foods, Mediterranean diet.

So when routine bloodwork came back abnormal, she did what most people would do: she asked her doctor for answers.

That’s not what she got.

“Let’s just wait and see.” 

When Rachel’s bloodwork revealed major concerns in her lipids panel, she immediately took note. As a 36-year-old with a family history of heart disease, she knew she needed to be proactive with her health. 

Her doctors felt otherwise. 

“They told me to exercise and eat a healthy diet,” Rachel tells us, “which is what I do for a living. I wanted them to dig a little bit.” 

But her doctors told her that since she was considered low risk, her insurance wouldn’t cover further testing. She would essentially have to wait until she got sick. “That just wasn’t acceptable to me.” 

Rather than accepting a reactive approach, Rachel decided to pursue more comprehensive testing through Superpower.

A Surprising Diagnosis

Superpower’s comprehensive testing revealed something her doctors had entirely missed: Rachel was exhibiting early signs of Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the thyroid.

”This was shocking to me,” Rachel says, “because there is no history of autoimmune disorders in my family.” 

She took the results to her doctor, but even then, she was dismissed. Her numbers weren’t bad enough. She wasn’t sick enough. Only once she got worse, in other words, would the system click into place.

Hashimoto’s is notoriously slow-moving. Rachel learned that it can take years for symptoms to appear, and once they do, treatment requires lifelong medication.

Faced with Rachel’s lipid panel and taking into account her symptoms and family history, Superpower made immediate, actionable suggestions for next steps, including identifying nutrient deficiencies (such as vitamin D and B12), and making key lifestyle adjustments: 

• Targeted dietary changes
• Gut health support
• Specific supplements to reduce antibody activity
• Ongoing monitoring instead of passive waiting

This preventative approach is aimed at slowing, or potentially reversing, the autoimmune process before damage occurs. 

And, most importantly, it has made Rachel feel like she’s actually doing something, rather than waiting for the worst. 

Feeling Limited < Feeling Empowered

For all that she’s been frustrated with her provider's “wait and see” approach, Rachel says she doesn’t blame her doctors. 

“Doctors are between a rock and a hard place. If you aren’t on fire, they aren’t going to pay attention to you. That’s just the way that our health care system - or, I would say, our sick care system - operates in the United States. But Superpower distinguishes between ‘fine’ and ‘optimal,’ and I want to be ‘optimal’.”  

Rachel describes her health journey as a roller coaster, but says she’s finally on the upswing. 

“Before Superpower,” Rachel says, “I felt limited. Now I can check what I want, when I want, and actually stay on top of my health.” She is able to revisit results, prioritize action items to avoid overwhelm, and retest over time to see whether her interventions are working. 

“Superpower opened up a new world of possibilities for me in managing my own health,” Rachel tells us. “I feel so much more in control. If I want to check something, I can do that and it’s not going to be thousands of dollars. It’s made me feel so empowered.” 

Her story highlights a growing shift in healthcare: moving away from waiting for disease and toward prevention, empowerment, and optimization.

‍

Do you have a story of your own? We’d love to hear it.
Share your Superpower Story