This week Alyssa and Nadia talk about the stuff that's easy to get and harder to trust, from pills at the 7-Eleven register to hormones you can order online.

It starts with a video Alyssa sent Nadia about two University of Mississippi students who died after taking kratom, something you can buy at a gas station. That leads to laced pills, and why taking something that seems harmless is riskier now than it used to be.

Then it gets personal. Kaiser runs out of Alyssa's estrogen gel with only a few days left, and friends suggest ordering it from a site called HRT Club. Alyssa's first thought is, who are these people? Nadia connects it to what she saw at a community health center, where patients regularly couldn't get the medication they needed. That's often when people start turning to online peptides and other gray market options.

Alyssa also does a mom check-in. Has Nadia ever walked into a party and seen people doing coke? Has anyone offered her something? The answers might surprise you.

Takeaways

• Being sold at a gas station doesn't make something harmless
• Laced pills are what make experimenting so much riskier now. Kids think they're taking Adderall or Xanax, and by the time they find out it's something else, it's too late
• When people can't get their medication through normal channels, online pharmacies and bootleg options start to look reasonable
• Parents get a steady stream of scary messages at every stage, and not all of them match what their kids actually see
• Where you live and who you hang out with shapes what you're exposed to

Chapters

• 0:10 – 2:24 Nor'easters, California winter, and the Instagram videos Nadia never opens
• 2:24 – 6:49 Kratom, energy pills at the register, and what Nadia actually sees on campus
• 6:49 – 9:42 Asking Claude about gas station drugs, tianeptine, and laced pills that resist Narcan
• 9:42 – 13:18 Kaiser runs out of Alyssa's estrogen, HRT Club, and medication gaps at community health centers
• 13:18 – 17:00 Peptides, the gray market, and red flags to watch for
• 17:00 – 20:53 Mom worries, party check-ins, dispensaries, and why it's different than the '90s

650.701.7686 (o)

650.332.2739 (f)

510.673.8712 (m)

Sports & Dance Rehab|Pilates| Group Classes

On the Move Physical Therapy

501-D Old County Rd.

Belmont, CA 94002

web - http://www.onthemovephysio.comemail - alyssa@onthemovephysio.comIG - https://www.instagram.com/onthemovephysio

Alyssa and Nadia are back after a long break, and Nadia is officially in her last semester at Northeastern. Most of her high school friends have already graduated, her roommate included, and she's still on campus with four classes left. It feels a little weird, but she's trying to hold on to the routine while she has it.

Nadia opens up about postponing her MCAT after studying all summer and hitting a wall. Now she's aiming for January with a new study schedule and a better mindset. Alyssa shares a friend's comment that the delays might mean Nadia doesn't want to be a doctor, and Nadia explains why that isn't true.

They talk about Nadia's final public health classes and her projects on maternal nutrition and food insecurity. Alyssa asks whether Nadia's interest in women's health is her own or shaped by social media.

They wrap up with ways to work in women's health without being an OB/GYN, a local women's health symposium Tanya helped organize, and an idea for this season about hearing people's good, okay, and bad experiences with healthcare.

Takeaways

• Watching your friends graduate while you're still in school can feel strange even when you saw it coming
• Postponing the MCAT is really common and says nothing about how much someone wants to be a doctor
• Having no hard deadline gives you room to take a test when you're actually ready
• Burnout is real, and a few days to reset can change how you see the whole thing
• Writing gets easier the more you do it, even when it's not your favorite
• Getting to choose your own project topics can show you what you actually care about
• There are a lot of ways to focus on women's health in medicine beyond OB/GYN, including family medicine and endocrinology
• Not loving going to the doctor yourself can be a pretty good reason to want to make it better for other people

Chapters

• 0:10 – 1:50 Back after a long break and Nadia's final semester at Northeastern
• 1:50 – 3:50 Still in school while high school friends and her roommate have graduated
• 3:50 – 8:12 Working at Vuori, postponing the MCAT, and coming back from burnout
• 8:12 – 14:50 Alyssa's friend questions whether Nadia really wants to be a doctor
• 14:50 – 20:54 Last semester classes and choosing topics on maternal nutrition and food insecurity
• 20:54 – 23:00 How past co-ops and projects kept pointing her in the same direction
• 23:00 – 26:29 The gymnastics gym assistant and whether women's health is a natural interest or a trend
• 26:29 – 30:04 Family medicine, endocrinology, and Tanya's local women's health symposium
• 30:04 – 33:18 Planning this season and why good and bad healthcare experiences are worth talking about

650.701.7686 (o)
650.332.2739 (f)
510.673.8712 (m)

Sports & Dance Rehab|Pilates| Group Classes
On the Move Physical Therapy
501-D Old County Rd.
Belmont, CA 94002

web - http://www.onthemovephysio.com
email - alyssa@onthemovephysio.com
IG - https://www.instagram.com/onthemovephysio

This week Alyssa and Nadia get into something personal, what it actually feels like to navigate the healthcare system when you're not sure you'll be taken seriously.

It starts with an Instagram post about a woman who showed up to her appointment in heels and still got dismissed. A neurosurgeon decided her back pain couldn't be that bad if she was wearing them. The medical student in the room started wondering if she'd dressed up just to be believed.

From there Alyssa shares a story Nadia was actually part of. A contact lens appointment when Nadia was nine that went sideways fast, and how a healthcare provider can make a patient and their family feel small. Alyssa talks through the moment she caught herself trying to prove her own credibility to a stranger, mentioning skiing and snowboarding to signal that she was the kind of mom worth listening to. She's still a little embarrassed thinking about it.

Nadia brings in what she's been learning in her public health classes about unconscious bias, cultural competency, and why one size fits all thinking in medicine causes real harm. They get into pain scales, Spanish speaking patients, what it means to truly listen, and why in-person translators matter more than most people realize.

There's also a funny detour involving Eric and a misheard medical diagnosis in Colombia, which ends up making a pretty solid point about how easily misunderstandings can happen when language gets in the way.

Takeaways

• The way a patient dresses can say more about what they've had to survive in the system than what they're actually feeling that day

• Unconscious bias shows up in healthcare whether providers are aware of it or not, and awareness is only the first step

• Trying to perform credibility for a healthcare provider is exhausting, and it shouldn't be necessary

• A nine year old putting in contact lenses for the first time just needs someone patient, not someone with a point to prove

• Pain is personal and cultural, a 10 out of 10 doesn't mean the same thing for everyone

• The best providers use whatever time they have to actually listen

• Speaking a patient's language, literally or figuratively, changes the quality of care you can give

• In-person translators aren't a luxury, they're part of decent care

Chapters

• 0:10 – 6:08 Ambulances, city noise, and growing up in a quiet suburb versus Boston
• 6:08 – 10:21 The Instagram post about a woman in heels, a dismissive surgeon, and what dressing up at the doctor might really mean
• 10:21 – 19:24 Alyssa's contact lens story where a cold fitter left them both feeling small and how she caught herself trying to prove she was worth listening to
• 19:24 – 24:18 What Nadia's public health classes have taught her about bias, cultural competency, and the gaps in how providers are trained
• 24:18 – 29:59 Pain scales, Spanish-speaking patients, and what it looks like when someone just needs to be heard
• 29:59 – 34:07 Colombia, Eric's misdiagnosis, and the case for in-person translators
• 34:07 – 37:23 Which languages would actually help, and finding your footing as a new provider when you can speak someone's language

650.701.7686 (o)

650.332.2739 (f)

510.673.8712 (m)

Sports & Dance Rehab | Pilates | Group Classes

On the Move Physical Therapy

501-D Old County Rd.

Belmont, CA 94002

web - http://www.onthemovephysio.com

email - alyssa@onthemovephysio.com

IG - https://www.instagram.com/onthemovephysio