Laura Powers | When Doctors Say, "We Don't Know" Podcast | Episode 104

Welcome to the show. My name is Eva Vennari, a founder of the Elevate Institute, and I'll be your host for today's podcast. When Doctors Say We Don't Know is an inclusive conversation, and so many are craving to share their stories and experiences. Today's guest is no exception. Today's honored guest is Laura Michelle Powers. Laura is an entertainer, celebrity psychic, actress, model, host, singer, very talented writer, speaker. She is the host of the popular film and television podcast Behind the Scenes with Laura Powers her top 100 podcast on Apple Podcasts, Healing Powers Podcast, which I was a recent guest. So thank you, Laura. Welcome to the show.

Thanks so much for having me.

Absolutely. And I love that you raised your hand to be a part of this conversation because not everybody is aware of your journey. So tell us, when did you receive that answer back of why we don't know from doctors?

Yeah, so I was at a time in my life where I was just having a really hard time as a whole. I had moved to Seattle from Colorado with my ex-husband, my husband at the time, and right when we got there, I just started to have low energy. I had trouble sleeping. I had started to gain weight, and no matter, you know, counting my calories, working out, it just couldn't stop the weight gain. I also had started to have a little bit of hair growth on my face and, and like chin, you know, something no woman wants, of course. And at the time, I wasn't connecting that with anything. In fact, there were women in my family, older women who had basically whiskers, you know. And so I just kind of thought, well, that just kind of happens with age. You know, I didn't really like it, but I didn't think too much about it, medically speaking. And I started to go to doctors, try to figure out what's going on. And the answer I got from the regular doctor that I went to was, you're just depressed. Oh my goodness. And I basically argued with her. I said, look, I mean, maybe I am depressed, but I don't think that like my physical things are the cause of that. Like, I, you know, I'm just not in a good mental space because I'm not having a good time and not sleeping and all these things. But that was, that was her solution. And I really was not pleased with that. I didn't feel that was correct, but I didn't really have much else to say except for it just didn't sit right with me. And so I started to do my own research and I actually started to read the book You on a Diet by Dr. Oz. Ah, yes, I've heard of that book. Yeah, it's a great book. I do love Dr. Oz. And, you know, that was a real issue for me. I, I'd historically been pretty thin without having to really work at it. And so it was strange to me that I suddenly was gaining weight without seeming to be able to control it, you know, with my lifestyle in terms of exercise and calories and whatnot. So I was reading that book and he had this little section in the book where he said, if you have these symptoms, and it was like all the things I was experiencing— weight gain, you know, trouble sleeping, hair growth— and the hair growth was the one that really caught my eye because it's, you know, it's definitely unique. And there were a few other things, but, you know, skin problems. And I was like, check, check, check all the, all the boxes. He said, you know, you might have PCOS. And I was like, I think I have PCOS. And I went to my OB-GYN and my, you know, my symptoms were not strong enough for that, for me to be diagnosed with that initially. Like she even said, you have weight gain, but not enough for me to automatically diagnose you with that. But she felt my ovaries and then she felt the cysts. And so she's like, yeah, you have it. And It was confirming for me, but, you know, still very frustrating. And I was frustrated that I had to self-diagnose. And even then, basically their answer was just, you know, go on the pill to regulate your hormones. And I have never responded well to synthetic hormones. So I reluctantly tried it and basically, you know, very quickly was like, well, this is not a solution for me. I get crazy on the pill. So— Yeah.

And you're not, you're not alone with that one. That was my same experience. So you're, you're, you're going through and describing exactly my story. It's very, very funny.

Yeah. So for me, the healing of this very much kind of tied in with just the overall aspect of health. And I went to nutritionists and, you know, sort of alternative health practitioners and started to understand my sensitivity to wheat and sugar. And also that I had Candida, which I think is probably a result of some of that as well. So I changed my diet and that was really key for me to heal this. And I believe that I've healed it. Every time I've had my ovaries checked recently, they don't have the cyst and I don't have all those symptoms that I had for years. So I believe that I've healed this in terms of don't have that anymore, but it was really a long journey and it really, for me, involved understanding the lifestyle aspect and my—

Yeah.

and, um, need to reduce sugar and insulin resistance, handling that and all of that, instead of like, you know, here's the pill.

It sounds like a cluster of symptoms that all came up, and, and rather than saying PCOS goes with these other imbalances, it kind of went backwards for you. So you, you track down the PCOS, the polycystic ovarian syndrome, and then Said, oh, wait a minute, what I'm eating could be the cause of this.

Yeah, it really bothers me that this isn't something that's addressed early on or that you could— because I think looking back, this is something that was basically in development for years. So when I was in high school, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. And so basically they're like, yeah, you don't process sugar well. You're sensitive to sugar. And it's not like I even— had a very sugary diet compared to most Americans, but I ate, you know, as the average person. I would have, you know, dessert every now and again, um, but I would eat sandwiches and things like that. So I think my— the biggest thing for me was not as much sugar as it was the grains and the wheat specifically that were real triggers for me. But I also, uh, had been a vegetarian for a while, and as a result of that personal choice, I was eating a lot of grains. I was basically eating more grains probably than the average person for years. And by the time I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, I wasn't a vegetarian anymore and I was eating meat, but I think I had put a lot of strain on my body for years eating a lot of grains that really weren't aligned with my body.

Well, and grains too, they have a certain amount of both simple and complex carbohydrates, which processes in the body the same way sugar. So this is no surprise to me, just, you know, working with minerals and seeing all of that. And the link between sugar and the calcium that is affected by not able to be produced or not produced but processed out of the body, all of that's related to the calcium and magnesium in the body. I see this. So it's when we ask the doctors, why am I getting lumps? Why is this cyst forming? And they say, we don't know. I mean, same thing for me. I raised my hand. I said, hey, to all these different doctors, why Am I getting lumps in my breasts and my ovaries and my uterus? And they're like, well, all 3 of those specialists were saying, we really don't know, it's normal for age. And I hated that answer. So I love the idea of saying, you know what, I'm not going to accept this answer. I took the birth control pill and me too, and it made me crazy as well. So I didn't like that at all. So just going back on that, circle back to it, it's like, what was that? Do you remember the crazy? Do you remember how that made you feel to be on the birth control pill? Oh my gosh.

Yeah, I had gone on the pill once in college as well, and I tried a couple of different like brands and types just to, you know, see if there's one. And I become extremely emotional, easily upset, and I have weight gain, which I also— one of the reasons I was trying to take the pill for PCOS was to help with the weight gain. So like that didn't make any sense on that level. But basically, you know, just extremely irritable. Weight gain just didn't feel good in my body. And I just, you know, after that, I think it was the third type of pill and that time with dealing with PCOS, I basically was like, yeah, I just can't take this hormone type of thing. It just doesn't work for me. Yeah.

The last thing you need is to add crazy on top of these other symptoms. It makes you feel like you're out of your skin a little bit, if memory serves. It's like, this is not me. I don't feel normal. There's no access to a way back to normal either. And then coming off of it seemed to be the only relief. A lot of women who experience PCOS and have cysts, they end up in the hospital for pain management while the cyst is going through its process. Did you ever have moments where it was scary like that and painful enough to have to go to the ER?

No, I never had any issues with it. cysts kind of developing in that way. Thankfully, I mean, I'm very grateful for that. For me, the biggest things were just feeling kind of depressed, low energy. The trouble sleeping was a big one, obviously. I mean, if you can't sleep, it's really hard to feel good. And the weight gain, just, you know, those were all really big for me. And of course, it hit a time in my life where I was also— my marriage was falling apart and the recession hit. So it was definitely like a culmination of a lot of things. And it just felt like adding fuel to the fire of my already kind of messed up life. But the interesting thing was once I started really emotionally healing, I felt a really big shift immediately. And then figuring out the dietary pieces for me were really crucial. And wheat in particular seems to be a huge trigger for me. Like once I released wheat, I had some pretty massive shifts in how I felt, my energy level, immunity. And one thing I'll share, which I just think is amazing, is I, in high school, uh, basically, I've, you know, have been my same size since 8th grade. And then in high school, I gained a shoe size. And I remember thinking, this is so weird.

Like, that is weird. Yeah.

Grown. Like, why did just my feet grow? Like, it didn't really make sense to me, right? And then when I got off of wheat, after I think it was about a month, I went back to my middle school shoe size. And what I realized is I had just been super inflamed. to the point where my feet grew. Um, and at some point was even more than that. So a whole shoe size to even more. Like, I was buying sometimes as big as a size 11, and my middle school shoe size was a size 8.5. So one of the very strange things that happened when I changed my diet and started to feel a lot better was I had to get rid of all my shoes because they were big enough that they didn't fit properly, which was— Amazing. But also, I mean, it was really noticeable in the feet because a little bit of size difference makes a big difference in terms of sizing. But really, that was happening in my whole body. My whole body was super inflamed. And then I changed that dietary aspect and my inflammation went down big time.

And I'm curious to know what led you to the decision to make the dietary change. I mean, it sounded like a logical choice was made, but based on what? What was happening that made you say, I need to quit wheat?

Yeah, at this point I was starting to go to different practitioners. And so I found a nutritionist and she, for the first time, did muscle testing on me and basically was like, you really react to wheat. I recommend you start with going off of that and processed sugar. So no sugar added to things and no wheat. And it was huge. And I also had struggled with chronic sinus infections. Basically, it was almost like I had a cold all the time.

Yeah.

just didn't feel good. And I just remember after, it wasn't immediately, but after being off of it for a little while, say a month to 6 weeks, I was like, wow, I have so much energy. I don't hit that like afternoon slump. I don't, you know, feel like I need some kind of stimulant to keep going. And then after that, I continued the process and she basically told me that I was reactive to other grains. So then I eliminated, you know, corn and rice and other grains. And that proved to be a real game changer for me in particular.

That's amazing. And, and that's a short period of time too, to go so long feeling like the inflammation. And so it's like, say more about what the experience was of finally getting to some, some relief. Was it relief all of a sudden? Um, was it a slow progression? How, how was it in your experience?

It was pretty fast. I mean, like I said, within a month of giving up sugar and wheat, I experienced incredible positive shifts in energy. I just didn't feel like I was struggling in terms of my immune system all the time. So it was pretty profound. And as I went through this, I was already a podcast host myself with my Healing Powers podcast. And I just basically was like, this is so irritating. Like, I was glad to find, you know, a solution.

Yeah.

But at the same time, I was like, I can't believe it's taken me this long and I've had to search through and find, you know, different practitioners and things. When it was really just this simple thing, like, don't eat this thing that's triggering your body and you can not be sick. Yeah.

It seems like a very simple thing. So it's like maybe the diagnosis wasn't PCOS. Maybe the diagnosis is whatever is keeping your body in that state of being sensitive. So my next question is, are you able to go back to eating gluten today?

No, I still don't react well to gluten and I mean, I haven't tried to eat a significant amount of gluten in years, but even if, like, for example, I have something with like a little bit of flour or something in the sauce, I just, I get congested. So I just think I just don't personally react well. And it's interesting, I recently got a genetic test where they analyze your genetics as far as health goes. And it actually says in there that I have gluten sensitivity, like, or high likelihood of gluten sensitivity.

Yeah.

So I think it's just my genetic makeup just doesn't really tolerate it very well. And I'm also O positive blood type, which generally they say is better to not have grains.

Me too. Yes.

Yeah.

I tried the Eat Right for Your Blood Type, the O positive blood type, and it was sustainable only while on it. I mean, I guess once you go off of what's recommended, you still— it doesn't heal all the way. So I wasn't able to completely heal the gut on just that diet. So it's like this hunt and kill method, um, in the searching at the same time as the what's the holistic issue behind it all. And so I'm glad that you found the wheat. Have you ever gone overseas to where we don't have genetically modified grains? And how's theirs? Yeah. Did you have the same reaction to the wheat there?

Yeah. So first of all, I was actually born in France and moved to the United States when I was a girl and have traveled extensively in Europe. I studied in London in college for part of college, and I lived in China as well. I've traveled all over, and I think that I maybe don't react as strongly when it's not modified, but I still don't react well.

Mm-hmm.

So I still can't go and like eat a croissant or something. Like, it's still, you know, it's basically I'm like, if I want to feel good, I need to avoid this, period. Got it.

Yeah, and that's, that's a good thing to note if you're going through any of this. The inflammation doesn't just go away when you stop eating it. There is underlying, um, instructions, I guess, in the body. Like you said, the DNA reflects it, minerals, imbalances, all these things that can affect your intolerances to certain foods. And that doesn't just go away overnight because you stop eating. It's always there. People say, oh, do I have to go off of this food forever? I hear that a lot. I'm restricted in what I eat. Well, possibly. If we can heal it, then maybe not. But you just never know. And you're describing a process of maintenance, of constantly being aware of what's going on in your body. And I'm wondering if that introspection, if that focus and awareness on your, your health and what you put into your, your body has— what other things came about as a deeper healing on your journey?

Oh my gosh, so many things. And so I'm a professional psychic for a living, so I do readings for people. I also teach psychic development. And one of the things I realized pretty early on through communication with my spirit guides was, you know, if your digestion is messed up, you're not going to be able to intuit very well because one of the physical mechanisms for your intuition is your gut. You know, we all talk about that gut feeling or, you know, gut reaction. And then there's this, you know, brain-gut connection, and your third eye is housed in the brain. So another major mechanism for your intuition is in your third eye, which is believed to be housed in the pineal gland. So if you are not functioning properly in your digestion, then you are going to have a hard time with your internal compass, with navigating properly in your life to have a better life. So for me, this had a huge impact on my ability to navigate and then also with my work. I mean, I think my abilities as a psychic increased dramatically as I shifted my gut health because that's one of the ways that we receive information is through the gut.

Yeah, the intuition, right? The knowing, right? Having that sensation of knowing. I agree wholeheartedly knowing that minerals as opposed to toxins, they're able to conduct energy much more efficiently in the body. And what a cool thing. So they block the spiritual gifts, they blossom. Did you notice any new gifts that came in as a result as well?

I just think everything really sharpened for me. And I went from, you know, searching for information psychically, so doing reading, and it just, it would take me such less time, like just Significantly easier and faster for me to get information. So I would go from, you know, taking an hour to get certain information, and now that same amount of information will come in 10 minutes, just like supercharged, you know. So I mean, obviously that had a huge impact in terms of my business and also my ability to better navigate for myself. So it wasn't that I think I had new gifts, it's just that they were just really so much sharper. than they were before.

Nice.

And I feel like really shows like, and that's not just intuition. I think it's everything in my life. I just had more energy. I was better able to focus. I just had more motivation because I had more energy, you know. So it was just multiple factors. And also, you know, physically I improved and visually I improved. I, you know, had been struggling with things like joint inflammation and pain and skin breakouts and Just, you know, not having a lot of color in my skin and things like that. And as I shifted my diet and therefore my health, all those things improved quite dramatically as well.

Yep. That makes complete sense to me. And it makes me wonder too. So when it came to your, your work and the work that you do, how did, how did that shift in your ability to grow your business?

Oh, hugely. I mean, I experienced massive shifts in a very short amount of time with my business. So much so that I think a lot of people were kind of shocked. Yeah, you know, especially because I had started my business, I had been in government and politics before. So like, it was a huge 180 for me to go into being a psychic. And for a lot of people, I think they thought like, hmm, that's weird. And yeah, didn't necessarily think much about it until I started to have some pretty dramatic things happen. So I, in the period of a year, I moved from my hometown of Lafayette. I expanded to Denver, Colorado, and, you know, quickly got well known there as a psychic. And then I moved to Los Angeles. So this is all in a year, and also pretty quickly gained traction there, you know, was booked by BuzzFeed, was featured by BuzzFeed. So everything happened very quickly, and my business shifted dramatically and improved dramatically as a result of that. And then, you know, I think if I was still struggling with a lot of these health issues and my diet, then I wouldn't have been able to manifest and create a lot of things I created. So like recently I was on Will Ferrell's Ron Burgundy podcast, and I know from my experience with diet and, and the things that I've received psychically that there's a huge connection with our ability to manifest our dreams, goals, and desires and our physical health.

Mm-hmm.

Or there can be anyway. And so anything that brings your energy down is going to limit what you can bring and create for yourself. So For example, one of the changes that I made after I gave up wheat and sugar was I was guided to give up alcohol. And, you know, it's a sugar alcohol. So if I'm sensitive to sugar, it makes sense. But as soon as I gave up alcohol, I booked BuzzFeed and I also booked a television pilot, which didn't get picked up, but still it was a big thing for me to have a television pilot that I was shooting. So, you know, it just was very clear to me that my physical health has a huge impact on what I'm creating in my life in terms of my bigger goals, dreams, and visions for myself.

And how amazing that journey is compared to a place where you could have been had you just listened to the doctors with, well, take— here's a depression medication, take this. And every time you have a cramp, just take a pill, take your birth control pill. Can you— like, I didn't even want to get into imagining what life would be like if you had stayed there. And yet it was a place to start.

I think I would have chronic illness. Yeah, absolutely. No, there's just no doubt in If I were even still alive, like, because I honestly feel like if I had kept going down that path, I think I would have probably gotten cancer or something. I just feel intuitively that some very serious things would have probably developed very quickly because the level of dysfunction in my body was so strong at that point.

Wow. Yeah, not surprising to hear. But also at the same time, I wonder how many people are stuck in that space of, well, doctor said it's just, you know, I need to take this birth control medication, so I'm going to go ahead and take it, and they stop the journey right there. So this conversation opens up the possibilities for people. And so thank you for sharing this very, very personal story, but I think it needs to be heard. So that's fantastic.

I'm just really passionate about getting this message out there. And I talk a lot about this on my podcast as well, because for whatever reason, I think polycystic ovary syndrome is something that isn't really talked about very much. And it's really more of a symptom of some bigger things going on in the body, but Even for symptoms, it's still not really addressed very much. And I see women where I'm like, I can see that they have hair growth or whatever. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, they definitely have some hormonal things going on. And most women just, they just don't even know. Like, like I think about my great aunt who had the whiskers like really strongly. And I'm like, you know, that's not a normal thing. Like it's kind of been normalized and it's pretty common, but I don't think that we have to have that. And just because something is common doesn't mean that it's a natural part of aging. And I remember when I was 30 years old, which isn't even that old, right? That I remember feeling, well, I guess like this is just what it's like to get old because my joints hurt and I couldn't sleep. And I, you know—

At 30?

I know, right? The ripe old age of 30. It's all downhill from there.

Yes, and I know the feeling all too well, all too intimately well. I remember my complaining some very similar things to my parents, and, and they'd say, Eva, you're just way too young to be having these problems. And I said, yes, thank you, not helpful, but I, I know that.

Yeah.

So it was good to find a solution. Um, so switching back over to career, tell— I want— I'm really curious about your psychic work. So describe that. What is it like to, to work with you, and, um, who do you help the most?

Yeah, so I love my work. I just feel so blessed to be able to do this for a living and be able to help people and use my gifts in this way. So I work with people on a variety of topics. I do work a lot with business owners, although you don't have to be a business owner to work with me. I can look at, you know, business, finances, relationships. I do look at overall kind of wellness and energy blocks in the body.

Hmm.

And I get information on what's going on as well as how to shift it. So that's one of my favorite things to do I'm not just like, here's your future, you know, kind of fortune telling, which is what a lot of people think about with a psychic.

Yeah.

To me, I believe we have free will. And so we have the ability to modify, you know, our life or our trajectory and to manifest and create what we'd like to. So I work with people to look at what's currently going on, address the patterns, address the things that need to shift. And then, you know, what is it that you want to create instead? Like, where do you want to go? And how do you create that? So I work with people frequently on longer term versus just one-offs, although I also work as a medium and do animal communication and things like that, which tend to be, you know, less frequent. And then I also teach psychic development, which is tapping into and helping others connect with their own spiritual gifts and abilities.

Oh, that sounds juicy right there. So if somebody wanted to say, hey, I'm making myself— I'm aware that I'm a little bit different, I have intuition, but I don't know how to focus it or to mature it. Would that be your ideal person to talk to?

Yes, I love that. And it's so fun and exciting for me to see people discover their own abilities. And then the thing about this type of work is it's not just about like, hey, I'm doing psychic work. It's just, it helps you make massive positive changes in your life. So when people work with me and connect with their own abilities, there's usually incredible positive massive shifts that happen in their lives. So I love to do that. And I do like one-off, you know, if you want to just kind of play around and explore with it, one-off classes. I do typically one a month. I'm actually about to teach one after this call. And then I'm about to launch a 6-month training program as well for people who really want to dig in and explore on a deeper level.

Wonderful. Well, in listening to you and hearing all of this, and someone might be attracted to the work, how best can they get ahold of you and touch with you, connect with you and find out more? Sure.

So my email address is bookings@laurapowers.net. And my website for the sort of healing wellness space is healingpowers.net. And it's tied in with my last name Powers, so Laura Powers, so healingpowers.net. And then I'm also quite active on social media. So Instagram @laurapowers44. You can also feel free to send me a DM there and then at Facebook at Healing Powers. as well.

Awesome. And now Healing Powers, is that a group or is that your—

That's my company name.

Yeah.

So it's, it's a, it's the page. And then I do like create groups for different classes and things that I teach. So in January, I'll be launching a 5-week manifesting course. So that'll have a group and then my 6-month training course for psychic development will also have its own Facebook group.

Wonderful. And we just rattled off a bunch of different ways to get in touch with you, bookings@laurapowers.net being the primary. And all of that information will be listed on the show notes page. So don't worry if you didn't get a hold of that right away or hit the replay. I will have that written down for you. So we are coming close to the end of our show. And I always ask my guests the final question. What do you feel is the most important thing to remember when searching for answers?

Gosh, don't give up until you really feel right about it. I mean, I'm so grateful that I kept searching for answers and just didn't accept this pretty unsettling idea that like, this is just kind of how it is. You're just going to feel terrible, you know, just kind of deal with it. So yeah, if it doesn't resonate with you, if it doesn't sit right, keep going. And it might mean finding a different practitioner or a different approach. Um, and I also think that's so important to listen to your body, you know, because Basically, your body in one way or another is trying to tell you something and you just have to decode it. So I think it's important to medically look into that and then also look at the sort of emotional and spiritual aspects of that. So sometimes to heal something physical, it's— we need to do some deeper emotional, spiritual work in addition to making physical changes.

Yeah, it really is a holistic journey. Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing those words of wisdom, and thank you, Laura, for being on My pleasure. Yeah, it's been great having you, and thank you also for listening to When Doctors Say We Don't Know. This has been yet another engaging conversation, and I'm hopeful that those of you listening will hear that message of hope so you too can turn your experience of pain into triumph. If you're driving or simply can't click on the links right now to the show notes, remember you can always hop on to theelevateinstitute.com, follow the podcast links for today's show. There's more to talk about, so tune in next week. For another episode of When Doctors Say We Don't Know. This is Eva Vennari reminding you to question everything.