What Happens in Vagus

What if parasites are affecting more than your gut?
In this episode of What Happens in Vagus, Dr. Stephanie Canestraro sits down with Kim Rogers of RogersHood Apothecary, better known as the Worm Queen, for a wide ranging conversation about parasites, mold, Lyme, environmental exposures, the nervous system, and the experiences that led Kim to explore these topics in the first place.
Kim shares her personal health journey, including years of complicated health challenges, her experience with Lyme and suspected parasites, and how her approach to wellness evolved through her own search for answers.
The conversation also explores an idea that comes up again and again in the world of chronic symptoms:
What if nervous system regulation isn't always the whole story?
Dr. Steph and Kim discuss how physical and environmental stressors may intersect with the nervous system, and why some people may feel like their body is stuck in a constant state of alarm.
In this episode, they talk about:
• Kim's personal journey through chronic health challenges and what led her to explore parasites and plant medicine
• Parasites and the different ways they can affect the body
• Why the conversation around parasites is often more complicated than people realize
• The connection between parasites, mold, Lyme and other environmental stressors
• Why nervous system regulation may feel very different when the body is also dealing with physical stressors
• Kim's experience with parasite cleansing and what she says she noticed along the way
• Biofilm, binders, herbs and the approach Kim takes with parasite protocols
• Amanita and other mushrooms and plant based remedies Kim has explored
• Why two people can respond very differently to the same nervous system or wellness strategy
• The importance of feeling heard when you've been dealing with unexplained or unresolved symptoms
• Kim's approach to supporting the body through what she calls the “bigger picture”
A conversation about the bigger picture
One of the central themes of this episode is the relationship between what's happening inside the body and what the nervous system is experiencing.
Dr. Steph shares her own perspective on what it can feel like when the body is under significant physical stress, while Kim shares the experiences that shaped her approach to parasites, mold and other environmental factors.
Rather than looking at the nervous system in isolation, this conversation asks a bigger question:
What else might be worth looking at when your body doesn't seem to be responding the way you expect?
Meet Kim Rogers, the “Worm Queen”
Kim Rogers is the founder of RogersHood Apothecary and is known online as the “Worm Queen.” Her work and personal health journey have led her to explore herbalism, mushrooms, parasite protocols and other approaches to supporting the body.
If you are interested in trying her ParaFy Kit product, use code VAGUSCLINIC for 10% savings.
Let us know your thoughts on this episode here
For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com.  Our team is happy to help.  We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.

In this solo episode of What Happens in Vagus, Dr. Stephanie Canestraro gets personal about the health journey she has experienced over the last several years and what she has learned about long COVID, mast cell activation, dysautonomia, stealth infections and the complex cascade of symptoms that can happen when the immune system becomes dysregulated. 
Dr. Steph shares why someone can be healthy and functioning normally for years before an infection or another stressor suddenly brings underlying issues to the surface, and why symptoms such as unexplained anxiety, panic, tachycardia, brain fog, swelling, digestive issues, sleep disruption, fatigue and exercise intolerance may have deeper physiological drivers. She explains the connection between the spike protein, ACE2 receptors, mast cells, histamine, blood flow, endothelial dysfunction, microclotting, mitochondria, electrolyte imbalances and the nervous system, while emphasizing that calming the nervous system alone may not address the underlying problem. 
Dr. Steph also walks through some of the foundational strategies and tools that supported her own recovery, including electrolytes and minerals, compression, lymphatic support, nutrition, mitochondrial support, binders, nervous system regulation and addressing the infections and other factors contributing to the overall picture. Most importantly, she shares a message she wishes more people struggling with these symptoms would hear: this is not your fault, and feeling unwell does not mean you are weak. 
Your symptoms are messages from your body, and understanding the bigger picture can be an important part of finding a path forward.
Let us know your thoughts on this episode here
For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com.  Our team is happy to help.  We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Dr. Steph sits down with Christina P. Kantzavelos Gameiro, LCSW, MSW, MLIS, an Integrative Lyme, Chronic Illness/Pain, Neurodivergent, C PTSD Psychotherapist and Coach.
Christina brings a unique perspective to chronic illness because she has lived it herself.
After years of unexplained symptoms, countless medical appointments and eventually becoming so sick that she could no longer work, Christina was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Her own healing journey led her to explore the nervous system, trauma informed care and the mind body connection, ultimately inspiring her to help others navigating chronic illness.
In this episode, Dr. Steph and Christina dive into the often overlooked layers of chronic illness and Lyme, including:
• Why the nervous system can become stuck in fight, flight, freeze or fawn
• The connection between chronic illness, trauma and the window of tolerance
• Why some people become incredibly sensitive to supplements, foods and their environment
• Why building safety and nervous system capacity can be an important part of the healing process
• The complicated relationship between Lyme, chronic illness, environmental stressors and the body
• Why there is no single protocol or one size fits all approach
• The emotional experience of losing your health and wondering if you will ever feel like yourself again
• Learning to trust your body instead of living in fear of every new symptom
Most importantly, this episode is a reminder that your body is not your enemy.
It is constantly trying to protect you, adapt and keep you safe.
As Christina says, we don’t get sick in isolation, and we don’t heal in isolation.
This is a conversation about chronic illness, nervous system regulation, trauma, resilience, hope and learning to work with your body rather than constantly fighting against it.
Let us know your thoughts on this episode here
For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com.  Our team is happy to help.  We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.

If you've been doing everything right and still not getting better, this episode was made for you.

Dr. Stephanie Canestraro sits down with her colleague and friend, Dr. Christine Schaffner, a naturopathic doctor, bioregulatory medicine expert, and founder of the Sensitive Stack.  She has spent her career on the cutting edge of what it actually takes to heal the patients who fall through every crack in conventional and even functional medicine.

At the center of this conversation is a concept that changes everything: sensitivity is a symptom, not a diagnosis. The rising epidemic of mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), histamine intolerance, long COVID, and chronic multisystem illness isn't happening in a vacuum. It's a signal from the terrain, the extracellular matrix, the autonomic nervous system, the fascia,  that the body's innate intelligence has been blocked. Dr. Christine explains the foundational principles of bioregulatory medicine, which emerged from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, and why its approach to regulation, terrain theory, and interference fields offers a roadmap that functional medicine alone often misses.

One of the most overlooked and most impactful areas they cover is the dental connection. Root canals, amalgam fillings, cavitations, and hidden jaw infections are among the most common interference fields Dr. Christine sees in chronically ill patients. A dead tooth is a chronic infection, and that infection has direct access to the vagus nerve, the lymphatic system, and the organ meridians mapped on the dental chart. Dr. Stephanie shares her own experience supporting a close family member who went from severe anxiety and heart palpitations to calm and functional — simply by removing one infected root canal. Both doctors discuss how to approach dental interventions safely, why preparation and the right biological dentist matter, and how to mitigate the healing response that can follow.

The conversation goes deep on hormones, the menstrual cycle, and chronic illness, territory that rarely gets the clinical attention it deserves. Dr. Christine explains what she calls the "luteal phase flare," the week before a woman's period when progesterone drops, prostaglandins rise, and the immune system wakes up to everything it suppressed during the potential implantation window. For women with Lyme disease, mold illness, parasites, or MCAS, this is often the hardest week of the month and it doesn't have to be. They also cover estrogen dominance, beta-glucuronidase, zearalenone (the mold mycotoxin that mimics estrogen), and the liver's central role in hormone metabolism and detoxification.

Dr. Christine also shares her own deeply personal journey, navigating a lawsuit, rebuilding her practice, and facing a diagnosis of a 3.2 centimeter pituitary macroadenoma that required brain surgery. In the two weeks between diagnosis and the operating table, she leaned entirely into energy medicine, coherence healings, meditation, and intention work. Her surgeon later told her he'd be studying her tumor for a long time because for its size, it came out unusually easily. Her story is a testament to what's possible when you apply everything you teach.

✦ In this episode:
• Bioregulatory medicine explained and why it goes beyond functional medicine
• Terrain theory vs. germ theory, and what Louis Pasteur said on his deathbed
• The extracellular matrix, lymphatic stagnation, and where disease actually begins
• Interference fields: scars, hidden infections, and dental toxicity blocking your healing
• Root canals, cavitations, and amalgams as chronic infections connected to your organs
• MCAS, histamine intolerance, and why sensitivity is a symptom, not a root cause
• The luteal phase flare: why women with chronic illness feel worse before their period
• Estrogen dominance, zearalenone mold toxin, and beta-glucuronidase
• Long COVID, post-vaccine immune dysregulation, and TH1/TH2 immune imbalance
• 5G, EMFs, voltage-gated calcium channels, and cell membrane destabilization
• Motherwort, hawthorn, and lemon balm as natural calcium channel stabilizers
• Dr. Christine's pituitary tumor diagnosis, brain surgery, and healing journey
• The Sensitive Stack: Dr. Christine's new program for sensitive, hard-to-treat patients

✦ Find Dr. Christine Schaffner:
Website: drchristineschaffner.com
The Sensitive Stack: available at her website and on Instagram
Instagram: @drchristineschaffner

✦ About Dr. Stephanie Canestraro:
Dr. Stephanie is a chiropractor, functional medicine practitioner, and chronic illness survivor. What Happens in Vagus explores root-cause healing through the nervous system, bioregulatory medicine, and the extraordinary intelligence of the human body.
Let us know your thoughts on this episode here
For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com.  Our team is happy to help.  We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.

What if your body already has everything it needs to heal and unresolved trauma is the only thing standing in the way?

In this episode of What Happens in Vagus, Dr. Stephanie Canestraro sits down with Peter McLaughlin, a certified hypnotherapist who put his chronic lymphocytic leukemia into remission in 2003, without chemotherapy. Peter's journey began in the wreckage of a life running on pure adrenaline: a demanding Wall Street career, a two-hour daily commute, three young children, and an office one block from Ground Zero on September 11th. When his body finally gave out, his leukemia diagnosis became the catalyst that set him on a path toward subconscious healing, hypnotherapy, and a complete understanding of the mind-body connection.

Together, Peter and Dr. Stephanie explore one of the most overlooked truths in chronic illness: that emotional trauma, including small, seemingly insignificant moments from childhood, gets stored in the subconscious mind and continues to drive the body's stress response for decades. Because the subconscious has no concept of time, a humiliating moment in third grade or a cry left unanswered in a crib can still be activating a fight-or-flight response in your body today. This chronic activation of the autonomic nervous system suppresses immunity, disrupts hormones, stalls digestion, and creates the environment in which disease takes root.

Dr. Stephanie also shares her own healing journey from a Lyme disease and Bartonella infection that attacked her nervous system and went undiagnosed for over a decade, to the functional medicine interventions, precious metal IVs, and reconnection with her body's inner wisdom that finally brought her back. Together they connect the dots between nervous system dysregulation, frequency medicine, and the extraordinary capacity of the human body to heal when given the right tools.

✦ In this episode:
• How chronic stress and emotional trauma directly contribute to serious illness
• Why childhood events your conscious mind has "forgotten" are still running your nervous system
• What hypnotherapy actually does and how it clears emotional toxins from the subconscious
• Why you cannot heal in fight-or-flight mode and how to shift into rest-and-digest
• How cortisol signals your body to hold onto fat
• 432 Hz healing music, binaural beats, and frequencies that regulate the nervous system
• Applied kinesiology, muscle testing, and pendulum work as tools for inner wisdom
• Peter's work with professional athletes and how childhood trauma shows up on the field
• Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum) and their role in healing chronic infection
• The placebo effect as proof of the mind's power to heal the body

✦ Find Peter McLaughlin:
Website & healing tracks: blueskyhypnosis.com
YouTube: @blueskyhypnosis

✦ About Dr. Stephanie Canestraro:
Dr. Stephanie is a chiropractor, functional medicine practitioner, and chronic illness survivor. Her practice and this podcast are rooted in one belief: that the body is designed to heal, and that the vagus nerve is the master key to making that happen.
Let us know your thoughts on this episode here
For any further information, feel free to email us at info@vagusclinic.com.  Our team is happy to help.  We offer 20-minute complimentary health calls, and you can sign up for one here.