ME/CFS and Long COVID don't fit the medical model of one problem, one organ, one treatment and that's exactly why so many patients stay sick. Dr. David Kaufman joins Dr. Eric Gordon to make the case that these illnesses are better understood as seven overlapping, constantly interacting pathologies: connective tissue disorders (hEDS), POTS/dysautonomia, gut dysmotility and SIBO, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), autoimmunity, chronic and reactivated infections, and cranial cervical instability. Knowing how to identify them, and in what order to treat them, changes everything.

Episode Highlights:

• Why ME/CFS and Long COVID are virtually the same illness and what that means for treatment
• Why mast cell activation, POTS, and SIBO should be treated before tackling chronic infections
• The role of tick-borne infections and EBV reactivation as hidden drivers of chronic illness
• Post-exertional malaise (PEM) and mitochondrial dysfunction, the hardest piece of the puzzle
• Early rapamycin trial findings showing autophagy upregulation may improve fatigue and cognition
• Emerging therapies on the horizon: GLP-1 drugs, plasmapheresis, and exosomes

Listen in to learn more :

• [0:02:55] Long COVID may be the breakthrough that finally unlocks answers for chronic fatigue illness
• [0:07:20] Up to 80%+ of patients may have mast cell activation causing widespread, confusing symptoms
• [0:19:22] Feeling worse on treatment doesn’t mean it’s wrong—it may just be the wrong order
• [0:41:00] New therapies like rapamycin may help “reset” the body by turning cellular cleanup back on

Gordon Medical Associates

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gordonmedical.com/

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/gordonmedical/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GordonMedicalAssociates

Gordon Medical Forum

Website: https://gordonmedicalforum.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gordonmedicalforum/

Plasmapheresis at Gordon Medical

Website: https://plasmapheresiswest.com/

About David Kaufman, MD

Dr. David Kaufman is an Internal Medicine physician whose career has been defined by taking on the illnesses medicine hasn't figured out yet. He spent decades at the forefront of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City, caring for patients and contributing to research at St. Vincent's Hospital when it was at the epicenter of the outbreak.

In 2017, he turned his focus to another underserved population, opening the Center for Complex Diseases to treat patients with ME/CFS, dysautonomia, MCAS, tick-borne infections, and related conditions. He is a member of the ME/CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford University and an active participant in several national clinician networks focused on complex chronic illness.

Learn more https://www.centerforcomplexdiseases.com/

💬 Text us your feedback and future show ideas! (Please note we can't respond to texts - email questions to info@gordonmedical.com)

Interested in Becoming A Patient?

Find out if working with Gordon Medical is right for you. Set up a complimentary discovery call with our new patient coordinator at www.gordonmedical.com.

** This information is not to be taken as medical advice. Always consult your practitioner before making any changes to your treatment.

Bioregulators are short-chain peptides preserved across all life forms that restore proper genetic expression and cellular rejuvenation.

Dr. Nafysa Parpia sits down with Nathalie Niddam to discuss bioregulators, which were developed in the Soviet Union to preserve physiological function and resilience in aging populations and high-stress occupations. This includes military personnel, submariners, Arctic workers, and astronauts, by supporting organ-specific repair and adaptive capacity under extreme conditions.

• Natural bioregulators from animal tissues provide holistic effects, and synthetic versions offer a cleaner application for sensitive patients
• Bioregulators seal the gut and calm immune dysregulation, creating space to address infections and toxins
• Peptides require proper sequencing based on hormonal balance and terrain to avoid adverse reactions

Listen in to learn more :

• [0:00:36] Nathalie’s journey from food-as-medicine to epigenetic peptides
• [0:05:00] Russian military roots and Kavinson’s discovery of bioregulators
• [0:07:44] Cross-species short-chain peptides as nature’s conserved signals
• [0:07:44] Natural food- and organ-derived bioregulators vs synthetics
• [0:10:00] Ethical use of animal tissues and reframing sacrifice as reverence
• [0:10:00] Supporting depleted vegans/vegetarians with bioregulators
• [0:11:30] Nervous system state, mindset, and receptivity shaping outcomes
• [0:15:00] Mechanism: gut transport to DNA and precision gene modulation
• [0:17:00] Bioregulators for both hypo- and hyperthyroid, even with autoimmunity

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Gordon Medical Associates

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gordonmedical.com/

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/gordonmedical/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GordonMedicalAssociates

Gordon Medical Forum

Website: https://gordonmedicalforum.com/

Insgram: https://www.instagram.com/gordonmedicalforum/

Plasmapheresis at Gordon Medical

Website: https://plasmapheresiswest.com/

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About Nathalie Niddam, CNP, BPC

Nathalie Niddam, holistic nutritionist and longevity educator, is dedicated to helping us all live joyful and vibrant lives well into our 50s, 60s, and beyond. She shares strategies, from health tech to ancestral health to peptides and more, on her podcast, Longevity Podcast with Nathalie Niddam.

She speaks internationally, sharing her deep expertise on bioregulators, leading-edge compounds with the power to awaken the body's innate rejuvenation systems.

Learn more: https://natniddam.com

💬 Text us your feedback and future show ideas! (Please note we can't respond to texts - email questions to info@gordonmedical.com)

Interested in Becoming A Patient?

Find out if working with Gordon Medical is right for you. Set up a complimentary discovery call with our new patient coordinator at www.gordonmedical.com.

** This information is not to be taken as medical advice. Always consult your practitioner before making any changes to your treatment.

The central nervous system plays a crucial role in controlling the body and setting the stage for chronic illness development, with trauma being a key factor in illness persistence. Dr. Eric Gordon sits down with Dr. Aimie Apigian to discuss how trauma is not just the event itself but the five physiological steps that create lasting changes in the nervous system and cellular biology.

Dr. Apigian explains how the body transitions from startle response through stress physiology into trauma shutdown when capacity is overwhelmed, why sensitive children with biochemical imbalances like zinc deficiency or undermethylation are more susceptible to trauma responses, and how unresolved trauma keeps the nervous system stuck looping between sympathetic activation and shutdown states that block healing and detoxification, preventing recovery from chronic illness.

Episode Highlights:

• Trauma response has five steps from startle to shutdown, creating lasting cellular changes
• Adrenaline release matches perceived danger size; shutdown occurs when capacity is overwhelmed
• Zinc deficiency and undermethylation increase nervous system sensitivity to trauma responses
• Healing requires simultaneous somatic work, inner child therapy, and biological nutrient support

Listen in to learn more :
[0:03:52] Five-Step Trauma Cascade: From Startle to Shutdown

[0:08:54] Adrenaline Scale and the Capacity Cutoff

[0:31:20] Zinc, Undermethylation, and Super-Sensitive Nervous Systems

[0:25:00] Three-Pronged Healing: Somatic, Inner Child, Biology

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Resources

Gordon Medical Associates

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://gordonmedical.com/

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/gordonmedical/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GordonMedicalAssociates

Gordon Medical Forum

Website: https://gordonmedicalforum.com/

Insgram: https://www.instagram.com/gordonmedicalforum/

Plasmapheresis at Gordon Medical

Website: https://plasmapheresiswest.com/

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About Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH

Dr. Aimie Apigian is a double Board-Certified Physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine, with Master's degrees in Biochemistry, Public Health, and specialized training in Functional Medicine. She is the founder of The Mind-Body-Biology Institute and trains practitioners in The Biology of Trauma®, a lens that addresses how the body holds fear, pain, and overwhelm, which make one sick and stuck.

Learn more about Biology of Trauma https://www.biologyoftrauma.com/

💬 Text us your feedback and future show ideas! (Please note we can't respond to texts - email questions to info@gordonmedical.com)

Interested in Becoming A Patient?

Find out if working with Gordon Medical is right for you. Set up a complimentary discovery call with our new patient coordinator at www.gordonmedical.com.

** This information is not to be taken as medical advice. Always consult your practitioner before making any changes to your treatment.