Add Us On GoogleAdd as a preferred source on Google
(Aging Untold) — When something goes wrong with your health, the instinct is to find the right specialist for the right body part. But what if that’s not the right approach for you?
Viewing the body as one connected system — not a collection of separate problems — may be the key to finally feeling better a board-certified <a href="https://healthylife7.com/how-data-guides-ochsner-healths-physician-well/” title=”How data guides Ochsner Health’s physician well”>physician
“I always tell people that the only thing that is compartmentalized are the doctors. The body is not,” Rogers said. “So while we are sent to different specialists, thinking we’re going to get something happening here in that system — it really can be coming from another system.”
Rogers points to the gut as a prime example
If bacteria are out of balance and the gut is inflamed, the body can’t properly absorb nutrients. Without those nutrients, it can’t produce hormones, metabolism suffers and the immune system takes a hit, she said
“So people come to me thinking it’s hormonal issues,” she said, “and it’s really their gut. They can’t make the things that they need because they can’t make the nutrients.”
The ripple effects don’t stop there
Rogers described patients who came to her as a gynecologist and mentioned symptoms
Then she’d asked about other symptoms and patients would tell Rogers that they didn’t think that they had to do with her field, so they didn’t tell her
Rogers challenges the idea that symptoms are the problem
“What if your brain fog and your pain — what if that’s your body having a language and trying to talk to you?” she said. “If that’s the language, you have to figure out what it’s saying.”
That detective work matters even more as people age
More years often mean more diagnoses, more specialists and more prescriptions — each written without full visibility into the whole picture
“You see an older person and they have more and more medical issues,” Amy O’Rourke, an aging expert, said. “So, as you get older, it gets more challenging to step back and say, ‘All right, this is who I am. Where did this start?’”
Then, it comes down to which type of medical professional to consult
O’Rourke also raised a systemic barrier: Medicare tends to cover disease management, not whole-person care
“The issue is like the whole body as a system,” O’Rourke said. “They support disease, not the whole person.”
Katherine Ambrose, an aging-well coach, offered a direct challenge: “You have to be your own best health coach, your own best advocate. You’ve got to put energy into it. You’ve got to put thought into it.”
Her advice — stay curious, stay out of judgment and keep asking questions
“Don’t think you know what it is, or that maybe the doctor you talk to knows what it is for sure,” Ambrose said. “Keep looking for solutions and just puzzle it out — because you could end up feeling better, and it could be something that could be nipped in the bud.”
O’Rourke added a practical tool: write everything down
“Even the little things, like waking up in the middle of the night, or my right toe is swollen — just every little thing, keep track,” she said. “When you go into the doctor, have them look at it, because that might help them forensically get to what’s going on.”
And if a doctor dismisses your concerns with your age? Don’t accept it, Sam Cradduck, a gerontologist, said
“Do not take ‘Well, you’re 85, what do you expect?’ Do not take that as an answer and a solution,” Cradduck said. “It’s not normal to live in pain. It’s not normal to live unhealthy, so if you have an issue, don’t take ‘It’s just because of your age.’”
“I always say, if you weren’t born with it, find your why,” Rogers said
- Be your own best health coach. Katherine Ambrose urges patients to stay curious, ask questions and not assume any single doctor has the full picture
- Don’t accept pain as “Just Aging.” If you weren’t born with a condition, ask for an explanation — and a path toward feeling better.
- Find your “why” or root cause. Rogers encourages patients to think of symptoms as the body’s language, not the final word on what’s wrong. A problem showing up in one area — brain fog, joint pain, hormonal symptoms — may be rooted in a completely different system, like the gut.
- Write down your concerns, no matter how small. A written log of symptoms — with dates and details — can help a doctor connect dots that might otherwise go unnoticed.
This program is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have seen on this program. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. No physician-patient relationship is created by this program or its use. Aging Untold/Gray Media, nor its employees, contractors or agents, nor any contributor to this program, makes any representations, express or implied, with respect to the information provided herein or to its use.
Copyright 2026 Gray Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
