In this episode, Dr. Jane Levesque, a naturopathic doctor and natural fertility expert, sits down with Dr. Greg Mongeon, a chiropractic doctor specializing in functional medicine. They discuss the importance of having a supportive inner circle and the willingness to make lifestyle changes for better health outcomes. Dr. Mongeon shares insights on the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of dealing with chronic illness and infertility. They also explore the significance of mindset, the impact of past traumas, and the role of curiosity in healing. Tune in for practical tips and heartfelt conversations aimed at optimizing fertility and overall well-being.

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Key Takeways

00:6:03 Stories Behind Infertility

00:13:42 Supportive Role of Men in Wellness Journeys

00:24:04 Negative Self-Talk

00:27:02 Mental Frameworks

00:39:27 Book Recommendation

00:47:00 Stomach Acid and Digestive Health

00:54:46 Social Media Presence

Memorable Quotes

"Patients need our ability to look into the future. They need our experience. We know the body is designed to heal and responds appropriately to its environment. Giving them hope is a huge nutrient that can allow the nervous system, mind, and spirit to believe healing is possible."

"In functional medicine, we believe the body responds appropriately to its environment. Instead of saying your body's bad, we say, 'Hmm, I wonder why your body is doing this?' This curiosity changes our approach from blaming to understanding and finding solutions."

"Men need to think of themselves as bowls—predictable, safe, and secure. This allows women to 'splash' and feel safe. When a woman feels supported by her partner, it significantly increases the success rate of their fertility journey."

Connect with Dr. Greg Mongeon

Website - www.vitaefm.com 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-greg-mongeon-ab57a647/ 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/drgreg.health 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drgreghealth/ 

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@drgreghealth?lang=en

Connect With Dr. Jane Levesque

Website - https://www.drjanelevesque.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drjanelevesque/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DrJaneLevesque/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@dr.janelevesque7319

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Dr. Greg Mongeon

0:00 - 0:27Ignore this for outputs

But we need to have what I call rider dies in our life. We need to be able to have that person. And I have those men in my life where I can. There's no judgment, there's no guilt. And you can just be raw and real and have a place to dump. So to have that, that inside circle is really is super, super important, then the second thing is, and this sounds goofy, right? It's the willingness to make change. Now, I've never had a patient in 22 years say, doctor Greg, I want to get better, but I'm not going to change anything. That sounds crazy.

Dr. Jane Levesque

0:27 - 1:52

Dr. Greg Mongeon

1:52 - 2:02

Doctor Jane, it's always a pleasure. Since we crossed paths here, what, a couple months ago, we connected like two kids at the Crossfit gym and here we are. Right? So fun to chat with you.

Dr. Jane Levesque

2:02 - 2:15

You had such a charismatic personality at Eco. Like, I just remember watching you and being really drawn to your personality. And when you said at the end, like, hey, you guys can come and talk to me after. I'm like, I will come and talk to you after.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

2:15 - 3:05

Yeah, I probably had. I had a lot of clinicians come and talk to me. And doing this for 22 years now. Like, there's so many clinicians out there that have such good knowledge, but they may not know how to communicate with a patient. They may not know how to make a journey understandable, how to run a business, those types of things. So, yeah, I had some really colorful conversations post my speaking engagement. But, yeah, it's an honor to. Cause we all have different gifts in different places, right? Like, you take couples from hopeless and wanting babies to giving them hope and giving them a journey. That's understandable. It's algorithmic. You're good at it. And that's. I mean, that's fantastic. I mean, as a parent myself, I love my babies. We have five of them, so we're pretty good at it. And it's super important. So I applaud you because I also know that the work that you do is not easy.

Dr. Jane Levesque

3:06 - 3:17

No, it's. I mean, sometimes I talk to my patients, I'm like, I don't know why I picked this field, because it can be the highs are high, but the lows are low, you know, and what are the things that go ahead?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

3:17 - 4:35

Well, I was going to say, I think the part. And there's a great Christian psychologist named Doctor John Townsend. And he talks, he's got this thing called 22 relational nutrients. And actually, I have a patient that's actually going through his master's program right now, and she actually inquired to me to talk about hope the other day. She's like, I want to like, what is hope? And I think the thing inside of Doctor Townsend's book, it's actually called people fuel. It's sitting right here because I'm like, I'm going to read this thing. So what patients need from us is our ability to look into the future. What they need from us is our experience. And I use the word like we have a spyglass, right? Like, we can see into the future. And we know that, number one, the body's designed to heal. Number two, it responds appropriately to its environment. And if we come alongside of them and give them that hope, then we know that hope is this huge nutrient that can allow the nervous system, the mind, the spirit, to say, oh, this is possible to happen. Because I'm sure a lot of the work that you do is not, take this, stop eating that. Take two of those. But it's like, let's get your mind in the right place. Let's get hope on our side here. So that's one thing that I need to applaud you, because you're probably three, four social worker, therapist, and three fourths clinician at the same time.

Dr. Jane Levesque

4:35 - 5:25

I mean, I draw it as a scale, right? Like, there's hope and there's despair. And with every cycle that you have, you're just going closer and closer towards that scale of despair. And after years of nothing happening, it's hard to find that, you know, that glimmer of hope. And I often say, like, hope isn't enough. And, you know, and sometimes I'll have patients come to me and it's like, I don't, should we be hopeful? And I was like, well, you are hopeful because you're here. If you weren't here, you wouldn't be, but you'll see that you're. I think most people want to have hope anyways, you know, and have hope, but to, in order to get them back to that scale, right, from despair to hope, they actually have to start feeling good in their body. They actually have to start trusting their system and seeing progression in their journey, in their healing journey in their bodies. So then more and more hope can come back, right?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

5:25 - 6:03

Yeah. By the time they find you, they've tried every probably thing out there and they've seen a bunch of people. And so, yeah, they want to have hope, but they're also like, but let's be realistic. But that part realistic says, like, but really, I'm in despair right now and I want that. So. So I applaud you. I think that's, I mean, like, there's a ton of emotion around it. And I actually think part of my brain is that's why, like, ob gyns probably have some of the highest malpractice insurance in the medical world because there's so much energy and emotion around it that if they happen to do something that even looks wrong or is wrong, then, wow, lawsuit city can come about for sure.

Dr. Jane Levesque

6:03 - 7:24

Dr. Greg Mongeon

7:24 - 9:42

The world truly is small, and when we hang around people and we collaborate with people that are good people, then there's something to that. And I believe that. I believe people are good, and I believe the world is good. And so, yeah, I'm hopeful. Right? Like, I'm hopeful to when my kids find their right people that I'm like, wow, it's serendipitous how that came about. And too, like, I mean, even my wife and I, our very first pregnancy was a miscarriage. So I can empathize with your people that have had miscarriages or they've tried things. Like, I literally remember being like, are we ever gonna have kids? Like, I know that feeling in my gut, and then. But for people to go through that over and over and over again, like, that is despair, and that is that tough thing. One thing I wanna say, you had talked about, like, the volume of patients. What I would say to a clinician is, if you don't, like, shed a tear in those conversations, you might need to check your soul, right? Like, are you in this for the right thing? Are you doing the right thing? Or have you become calloused to people's hearts, souls journeys? And the older I get, and I've got girls, so I've learned the art of crying, and I'm grateful for it. And yet that's the heart, right? Because, again, as a clinician, and if you're a patient listening to this, like, you've probably thought, like, I connect with that person, or there's something about that person or what they've said, like, I seem to connect with them. Like. Like, so if you're a mom of that or wants to be a mom or you're in that journey and you're trying to figure out, like, who do I work with and. And how do I know the right person that's out there? Like, what I would tell you is bend an ear to as many people that do this type of work. And if someone seems to resonate with your soul, if they seem to, like, be talking straight to you, if they seem to not only know their stuff, but have a heart, then I would say, trust your gut. Like, that's the person. Take the next step. Ask the tough questions, because it's a big decision, and it's a journey. And especially when you work with couples, which I love your philosophy and your rule of, like, if y'all are gonna get pregnant, it takes two. And by the way, you both have a role in it. And even for the guys, like, regardless of what tests you've ran so far, like, medical tests, we probably don't know the whole reason of your contribution or lack thereof. So. So I just want to, like, in.

Dr. Jane Levesque

A huge connection with, like, erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease, and men don't want to talk about erectile dysfunction, but, you know, the female partners will bring it up and be like, it hasn't happened often, but sometimes it happens. And then, sure enough, I'll run the homocysteine, the cholesterol, the triglycerides, the inflammation, the blood sugar, and it's just, like, through the roof, you know? So essentially, I'm sitting there being like, hey, like, obviously we want to fix the erectile dysfunction, but there's a bigger problem going on here, which is cardiovascular disease. You know, it's like, you want to have a kid, you don't even know if you're going to be able to actually enjoy that kid with the rate that you're going at.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Yeah, that's. And the thing that I want your listeners to understand is that your partner's probably been checked, and they've probably been told they're normally and just, like.

Dr. Jane Levesque

And by checked, you mean like, just.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

A sperm analysis or even they've had labs ran. Right. And, like, you just used an h word that 90% of America doesn't even know anything about. Right. Homocysteine. Or even looking at, what does triglycerides mean? Or how do you break down those components? Now, respectfully, for most guys, like Ed, it will get their attention. But if. But a lot of guys are like, no, everything works good. And then, therefore, I'm well, so the thing I need to say to the listeners is, if you've ran labs on yourself or your partner and you've been told you're normal, or he's normal, or she's normal, but you're not normal, right? Like, just because your numbers are normal does not mean that you're normal. If you were normal, a healthy body does. Can get pregnant. So one of the things that I think that they need to understand is that we look at numbers very differently than, like, the allopathic world. Like, allopathic world is looking to say, do you have a disease? And do I use a pharmaceutical intervention to approach your disease? And in functional medicine, we believe that the body responds appropriately to its environment. So we're like, huh. Instead of saying your body's bad, we say, hmm, I wonder why your body is doing this, right? And that's where I've used the term upstream for many, many years. Like, we have to go upstream. Just because you have. Just because these markers are off does not mean you have bad genes and bad luck. But there's probably something happening. Is there something in your environment? Do you have a crazy, stressful job? Do you live in a toxic house? Do you have underlying infection? Like, we have to get curious with these things. And then that curiosity changes our approach. As opposed to looking something to blame, we get to go, oh, that's interesting. Hmm. What can I do about it? As opposed to, you're damaged, you're broken, best of luck. And probably a family may not be in your future. So that's, I think hopefully, if I can just like, hopefully that lands to a listener that they're like, I knew it. Like, I love when we get labs back in our clinic and someone's like, I knew stuff was going on. Like. Like, the feeling of validation, in my opinion. There's, like, no stronger emotion when conversation is had about what you're actually in the middle of right now.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Yeah. And there's relief, right? Like, when you've been searching for answers and you feel like you've been crazy and been told, no, no, no. And then all of a sudden, here's the lab, here's what's going on. And I. You're just like, oh, my God. Thank God. Like, you might get a little bit of anxiety. Cause there's a lot of stuff that comes up, but for the most part, people are like, oh, I knew something was, you know, was wrong. It had to be.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Yeah, I love that. What would you say? I'm gonna ask you some questions today, too. So, like, from, like, a relational standpoint. Cause I typically, I treat mostly females and then I have. I love when, like, the guy is a part of the conversation. They're not required to in my practice, but I typically give the guys, like, tasks. I always, I love you. I say, boys are like puppy dogs. Tell us what to do when we do it right, pat our head, and then we'll do it all day long. So what are some of the things, like, if there's a woman listening to this podcast and she wants to feel supported by a guy, and guys are fixers, which isn't always the best part of us, but what tasks could a woman give her guy that could actually make her feel safe, secure, supported through a wellness journey?

Dr. Jane Levesque

Yeah, I think it's actually when my patients ask me, like, what determines the success rate? And I'm like, when the guy is on board, when I see the guy participating on all the calls and jumping on and asking questions and trying to help her figure out her cycle as well, and participating, that's a huge factor of, like, I know that this couple is going to be successful on this journey because she already feels supported. So a lot of the times the guy doesn't have to actually do anything but show up and actually, like, participate and want to be there. It sounds silly, but how I get the guys on board, though, is data. I think, like you said, guys are puppies, but guys are also, like, they love the data. They don't. Women are more based around feelings. Like, I feel like this is happening. I feel. And even I have to remind them to be like, it's good that, like, we want to process these emotions, but at the end of the day, we have to look at the hard facts, right? Because you're like, I feel like I've done everything and I feel like my cycle is getting better. It's like, well, is it getting better or is it not? And so guys can really relate to that. That's why I use a lot of data. And then I'll go, I'll help the guy create more discipline in his routine because the women will anchor into that. So the women are, we cycle more, so our motivation will fluctuate based on what's going on with our hormones. Of course, you as males have a cycle, but it's daily versus monthly. And yes, you'll have periods of time where the motivation is high, but for the most part, you don't have this other internal source that's always trying to pull you out of discipline. So if I can get the males really disciplined and really on their routine. The women can come in and out of that as they need to, to heal. So that's kind of how I look at the, you know, the picture.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

I've heard that men need to think of themselves as, like, bowls. Right? A b o w l. It doesn't change. It can hold space. It's predictable, it's safe, it's secure. And then a woman can splash a bit. Right? Like, it's okay for her to come in.

Dr. Jane Levesque

We splash a lot.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Yeah. And that's okay. Right? That's. And what I tell women, what I tell guys is when your female partner splashes, that means that she's safe and secure inside of your ability to hold space for her. So now some of the guys might be listening to this, and, like, oh, my gosh. Like, that sounds exhausting, and I'm not sure how to do that. And I'll also say, like, that's something that you can dig into, and that's something that you can learn. You know, keep in mind that a lot of us guys are wired to fix. And a lot of times when our women talk to us, we have solutions spinning in our head when many times the woman just needs us to hold space. And I've even learned at times with my wife, I'll be like, would you like a solution for this conversation, or do you just need me to listen to you right now? Right. And it's surprising that we just very well trained puppies. Well, I'm learning. 25 years into this game, I'm learning. But it's that ability to. And also, I think it's important for women to. For guys to like, again, Brene Brown talks a lot about vulnerability. And vulnerability is, like, I see you, and I see the real you, and I see the struggle that you're in. And I may not fully understand it, though. I value you, and I want to give you a space and a place that is safe because I think a lot of guys, and I'm speaking as a guy, are just saying, like, how do we fix this? And when a woman hears, fix this, she says, oh, I'm broken. And then there's this, like, you're broken, I'm good. You take care of you. When you're good, we'll come together, we'll make a baby. And, like, that in and of itself, could almost make a woman's mental, emotional, spiritual side say, like, is it safe to have a baby with this guy? Like, is that. And then again, the body can shift those hormones or those chemicals in a way that says, like, mmm, I'm not sure inside of that. So hopefully we can love on the.

Dr. Jane Levesque

I mean, when I look at. Right. Cause I get the tests for both, and I always ask, like, where's your stress out of ten? And if the female is, like, a ten out of ten and the guy is a two out of ten, right away I'm like, well, something is not adding up because there's no way you can share a house and a bed with a person while somebody is in this, like, high stress mode and you're just chillin in, no issues, you know? So it's. I always say in relationships, it's like you. We have to take responsibility for our own stuff and recognize the role that we play in that relationship. So we, as women, have to take responsibility for some of the quote unquote crazy stuff we ask and do and some of the hormonal fluctuations that we have that we might feel that we don't have control of or maybe that we're holding onto because we have our own imbalances, so we can't expect our partner to fix some of these or, like, to be able to read our minds or whatever, and vice versa. Where I see the partners just kind of shut down and the woman is spiraling and they're just like, oh, it's okay. Like, the two out of ten. Like, she's just her, hey. Like, anchor her in. Ask her what she needs, what's going on. Play the role that you play in the relationship instead of, like, her just doing everything, and you're just kind of on the sideline, and everybody has their own little unique, right? Like, we're just playing out our childhood traumas in relationships.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

This goes back to me being seven years old and me having mom and dad that didn't talk about things, and yet it's okay, right? Like, again, just like, your health, be curious. And instead of be like, oh, this is just how I was raised. Like. Like, to me, that's a cop out. That's B's. Just because it's how you did it doesn't mean it's right. And that ability to be like, okay, like, what's obviously, what we're. What we've done isn't working, so let's shift into something different. But. But you're right. Like, there is. This is not. I tell people, like, if you're just looking for a pill, a potion, you're at the wrong place, because there. This is. You have to be all in. And, like, you. What we have found in our practice is there's really two nuggets that we've researched inside of our practice that become key factors to success. The first one is, what's your, who's your, who's in your inside circle? So that is so obviously, you require that partner to be a part of this. But we need to have what I call rider dies in our life. We need to be able to have that person, and I have those men in my life where I can. There's no judgment, there's no guilt, and you can just be raw and real and have a place to dump. So to have that, that inside circle is really is super, super important. And then the second thing is, and this sounds goofy, right? It's the willingness to make change. Now, I've never had a patient in 22 years say, doctor Greg, I want to get better, but I'm not going to change anything because that sounds crazy. Yet when it comes, when the. When push comes to shove and we're asking for lifestyle shifts or protocol shifts, will feel this resistance from them. And what it allows us, because we've talked about it, is we have the ability to notice that resistance and then be like, hey, kind of feels like you're maybe resisting this a bit. Now, remember we talked about, like, that one of the keys to getting better is to the openness to try things. And then again, it typically comes from when people get stressed. How do they respond? Right? And I think many people can become associated with their diagnosis or their ailment. And someday, Jane, I'm going to write a book, and it's going to be called the Poopy diaper syndrome. And because when we were potty training, our fourth baby, her name is Lynley. I love her. She's an amazing little woman, but she would refuse to poop in the toilet. The little girl would literally go in the corner and crap her pants. And then. But what she also knew was that if I quote unquote, caught her in that, I wasn't going to yell at her, I wasn't going to beat her. I would say, baby girl, where does poopy go? And she says, oh, daddy, poopy goes in the toilet. Okay, well, let's go put poopy in the toilet, and let's get you cleaned up. So she conditioned me to get attention. She conditioned me because she knew I wouldn't.

Dr. Jane Levesque

We're so smart.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

I know. Like, they're brilliant, right? So did she truly have motivation to poop in the toilet? Because it was actually kind of good. Now, take that analogy and fast forward it 30 2040, 50 years. And a lot of people are still walking around in poopy diapers because they've conditioned people around them to respond in their crap. Right?

Dr. Jane Levesque

Totally. Yeah. Oh, I'm sick again. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm gonna bring this over, or this happened to me. Let me send you some. Yeah.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

And what they don't know is, will that person still love me? Well, who will I need to be? What will my world look like if I let go of this thing that I've held onto for so long? And I know it sounds stupid, people are like, I would never do that. But the reality is, like, it's, we do it all the time. So I think that's, so as the listeners are going, like, let's take an inventory of who we're being and maybe how we've conditioned the people around us. And, like, where did that come from? How do we want to shift inside of that? So, I mean, I look at people financially, I look at people that are trying to lose weight. I look at people that are trying to have relationships. I look at patients that are trying to get well. And, like, I've tried everything.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Well, even trying to get pregnant. Unfortunately, there's a lot of women who get stuck in the infertility they have. I'm very educated about this. It's like, I support fertility. I don't work with infertile clients. Because if you've labeled yourself, and I see people on Instagram, like, some big names out there, infertility awareness, infertile for how. And, like, they literally have labeled themselves as that. So how are you? And you read that and you see that and your cells are listening and watching that. The. You're not going to be able to see. It's that whole, hey, nobody has an orange car. You buy an orange car, and all of a sudden everybody on the road has an orange car, right? So when you've labeled yourself with a diagnosis, you're not even going to be able to see what's available to help you with that because that diagnosis has now. And for some of the people on the social media followings, it's like, well, that's how you get views, and that's how certain companies will support you because you're supporting. It's like, that's a very dark road to go. Like, my heart aches for those women because it's like, whether you realize it or not, you have made a whole career around being infertile, you know, and, like, admiration for people supporting you through.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

That journey where similar but different. Right? Like, that's why I'm not a fan of, like, personality tests. Like, are you an introvert or an extrovert? Are you a driver? Because then you're gonna act as if. Right. If you claim a label.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Yeah, you could totally change, right?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Like, no. Like, there's times where I'm completely extroverted and I love people and I get charged by people, and there's times where you're going to find me out on a walk by myself with no one around, and I'm filling my cup, right? So I think so, I guess. So. The challenge I would have for a listener right now is what labels have you given yourself that have become a part of who you are? And number one, identify that label. And then, I mean, this is going to be obvious, but number two, is that a label you want? Is that truly a label you want? And if nothing, then how could you shift it much like you do? Like, you're working with people that are looking to become pregnant. You're not working with infertile people. Right? So there's that. I mean, and it might sound like we're mincing words, but respectfully, we're not. And we've done this a long time.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Well, words are huge. Words are really big. You know how you talk to yourself? I have one of my patients who's pregnant, getting ready to give birth, and then they had some bad news with her partner's parents are separating, which they, like, really didn't expect. And she's like, you know, and I'm useless right now. Cause I can't do anything. And I was like, stop right there. You're nine months pregnant. You're literally, like, at the end of. For somebody who's been infertile for three years, and now putting your body through something that you didn't even know was possible, and she was just like, oh, okay. But, like, you can't call yourself that. That's crazy, right? Like, if you're. What is the voice of inside of you talking and saying? And if you're like, oh, I'm useless because I'm not helping around the house anymore. So your worth is tied towards how much you. Money you make, how much you do around the house, how many friends you have, what kind of car. Like, you know, we paint a picture for ourselves, and it's hard to break it. We don't even realize it because, like, I said, this patient, she just said it, and I was like, oh, like, yeah, wait.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

If you just said that out loud to me, I know that you've probably said that to yourself a thousand times. You know, I mean, reality, probably something meaner, too. And that's just it. What I say to people is, if I said to you what you say to you, would I be your friend? And then I get this, like, uh, probably not unlikely, right? So sometimes we have people go through this little exercise of, there's actually a really neat form of psychotherapy where like, and actually there's a whole podcast with Tim Ferriss where the founder of this therapy, like, did a session with him. It was really cool. And he's like, we have different parts of ourselves. I've heard people say, there's a part of me that wants to, or there's a part of me that thinks I should. And I mean, what does the research say? We have 80,000 thoughts a day and 70% of them are negative. So what I've done with some of my patients is I've actually had them name this voice that is completely unnecessary in their world. And I think for some people, again, this might sound esoteric, but to identify that and then to call it out, right, like that ability to intercept all of that negativity and all of those negative thoughts. And that's a boundaries thing. It's interesting, like, we're good with maybe boundaries with our in laws or with friends, but this inner voice just doormats us. Like, just runs us over and we wonder why we can't, you know, why we maybe have a struggle with self esteem or self love or the ability to move forward. So, so again, if you're listening to this and you have that crazy inner voice, I would suggest that you give him or her a name, and then you tell him or her where to go, and you realize that she, he or she is probably not going to leave because they've ran the show for a very long time. And I think you're going to find freedom inside of that, and then you're probably going to find people in your life that you've allowed to do the same thing to you because, well, you do it to yourself. So why shouldn't my mother in law doormat me and do those things as well? So, and again, we're not, this is not necessarily a mental health conversation, but it's such a part.

Dr. Jane Levesque

I'm so excited that we're talking about this because I think, like, a lot of the issues that we have do we live it out as our patterns for my family. And so, like, what I was going to layer on to what you said is it's not actually your voice. You know, a lot of the times we were dropping our kid off at summer camp, and, you know, it was like, a young kid, five years old, and his dad, Washington, just like, well, you already used up all this sunscreen. Where did you think it went? And it was just like this, you know, like this sarcasm, which obviously kids don't get at five years old. And I'm like, what do you think that kid's day is going to be like now, right? Like, his dad just literally blasted him with this, like, really negative, like, you're an idiot. Can't believe you did that.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

You're not married to a perfect man. Is that what you just told me, doctor?

Dr. Jane Levesque

Jane wasn't my husband, believe it or not.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

So let's go there for a second. Like, how do you. How would you come alongside your husband? Cause I don't think any guy. And I'm guilty of all of this. I never think of a comment to say to my wife or my kids, and I'm like, I want to chop their legs off. Like, I want to just demean them. Yet things come out, and yet what I've found is if we can interject, we have an ability to come around, then there can be a softening. So, like, how have you and your husband kind of come to an agreement around some of those things?

Dr. Jane Levesque

I think we're just aware. Like, I think we're just aware this was actually just, like, an instance we overheard.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Oh, okay. It wasn't your husband doing this? I thought this was someone else.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Oh, it wasn't my husband? No, no, no. I think there's times where we, quote unquote, lose it because we actually just had an incident where my husband is like, listen, I gotta go upstairs. Like, I need a minute. I'm just getting triggered. And my oldest daughter looks at him and goes, do you give up? He's just, like. He almost flipped her off. Just like, yeah, I give up. Like, I've given up five years ago because she knows she's pushing his buttons, you know?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

I think it's important you used a word called triggered. And I think. I think that it's important self awareness, for someone to know that they are triggered. And then I think it's important for someone to do what they need to do inside of being triggered. And if I can speak to guys for a second, right? Like, if you're in a conversation and you're. And you know, you're triggered, right? Your heart is racing, your chest is tight, your face is red, you are triggered. By the way, it's okay to be triggered. It's not like you need to be, like, triggerless, but when you are triggered, you need to have a back door. You need to be like, hey, I need to pump the brakes for a bit. I'm. Give me five minutes. I'm just going to go for a quick walk. I just need to breathe through this. That is so much better outcome than, like, leaning into the trigger, because we don't make good decisions when we're triggered. We don't. It's so highly emotional.

Dr. Jane Levesque

States are never good to make decisions from.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

But I do love the wittiness of your daughter asking if dad was tapping out. That is amazing. So.

Dr. Jane Levesque

He was. She knew it. She knew it. She's. But I mean, we, us parents that we've gotten a lot of counseling, like, together and separate, and we also, like, genuinely are trying to raise, you know, good humans. And I'm not saying I think everybody is doing the best that they can. The point that I was making is that a lot of us are unaware the kind of the sarcasm and the things that we put on our children because they were put on us. And so when, like, I think that our generation is now trying to unpack that trauma because it was just. It was put on us, and it's not really yours, right? Like you ask. Well, my dad was like that and my grandma was like that, or my grandpa was like that. So we're just literally passing the same behaviors and the same quote unquote environment onto our kids and then wondering why they're not turning out any different, right? Or feeling like, oh, I'm different than my parents. And a certain amount of time goes by and turns out you're not at all. And the thought, the little voice, it's like when you were born as a baby, you didn't have that voice. And when did that voice come, and why does it become right? Because I had a hypercritical mother. I still do, but the way that I react with her is very different. But I had that voice inside of me for a really long time. Like, you're not good enough. Whatever you do is not enough. You're not gonna. And it's when I look at her story and her history, then I'm like, it makes sense why she's like that. So I can have compassion and love and forgiveness for her, but I can't heal her, you know? And then I can let go of this perfectionism and say, oh, I just picked that up from her because she has. And so, like, understanding family history, I think, and talking to your parents and getting to know them, if you have that capacity, is really powerful because you'll realize that, like, oh, there's no reason as to why we're doing this. It's just some, like, we're just doing it without, like, pump the brakes. I'm getting triggered. Why? That takes a lot of awareness. You know? Like, we. This is six years into parenting. We're, like, now saying, pump the brakes versus the first couple years.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

You're like, yeah, yeah, no doubt. You know, the thing that. To lean into that just for a little bit, you know, so many of us in the western world, we define our identity. We define our worth by. By what we do, right? So many of your clients are like, when I give birth to a baby, when I do this, then I. And I mean, I don't blame my parents necessarily, though. I had this understanding as a boy that my worth came through my performance. And honestly, like, I remember going back to our miscarriage. I remember calling my dad and telling him, I'm sorry. I had this underlying. I owe it to my dad to make him a grandpa. Like, what the heck? And my dad was like, that's really profound.

Dr. Jane Levesque

That's giving me goosebumps. Wow.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Like, not sure what to say yet. I think so many of us have this. Like, my worth comes through what I can give, what I can provide, whether it's a living or a baby or a family. And, you know, again, going back to that psychotherapy, like, there's a true self of you that regardless of what you do or what you produce or what you accomplish, you're good. And for so many of us, we have to. Sometimes we have to have things taken from us. Sometimes we have to fall flat on our face to get to that place of, like, I am just fine where I am and who I am. And that's a profound reality inside of it. So I think I would even for the listeners, like, if you meet somebody and they say, tell me about yourself. Are you, like, I'm a this, and I do this because then you define yourself by your accomplishments, and I'm no different, right? Like, I would love to say I'm a Christian. I'm a daddy, I'm a husband. But I typically, like, I'm a doctor. I help sick people. And, like, huh, that's interesting. So that's my identity. And that could be stripped from me, but the fact that I'm those other things is a part of it. So then the question is, are those enough? Does that give you that sense of those things. So, again, there's just. I think it's really important for us to really get that there can be kind of a story behind the story. There can be like, even, you know, like Tony Robbins would say, if you can't spend ten minutes by yourself, with yourself, you've got issues. And I'm not saying we all have issues yet. Like, what is that inner talk? What is that? And even from other people. I had a woman in the clinic here last week. She was, like, 70 years old, and she was not all that overweight. She's like, I'm here to lose weight. And I'm thinking, like, really?

Dr. Jane Levesque

At 70? Yeah, I know, it's great.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

And I was like, time out. Like, who's the first person that told you that you were overweight? She was like, oh, my mom. I was like, I'm sorry to hear that. And then I was like, well, you're married, so how does he talk to you? Oh, he gives me snide comments all the time. And I'm like, well, that sucks. So you've been told I will be good enough for my mom, for my husband when I have a certain size.

Dr. Jane Levesque

I said, you know, in reality, like, that's what it is. But when you say it like that, it sounds like, that's terrible. Nobody would. But it's like, but that is the record that you're playing. That has been played.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

And then I think you could take the weight loss conversation, and I think you could magnify it by probably a thousand with the story behind the story for your clients that are trying to have a family and all of the conversation and the energy and the emotion around that. So, again, I've said it, like, probably three times. Like they say in the south, bless your heart for loving on those people, because it's truly a calling. Right? I mean, if someone's doing it for the money and you, I mean, you probably know this figure, but, like, how big is the infertility world? The IVF? IVC, like, all that stuff? I'm sure it's like hundreds of millions of dollars, right?

Dr. Jane Levesque

No, it's. Yeah, it's really high. 39 million, I think, was the projected now. And the projected is to go to 64 in the next five years. That's just the IVF route.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Wow. That's crazy.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Yeah. There is money to be made, unfortunately. And I do feel like, obviously, a lot of people take. Get taken advantage of, but I do think that it's interesting, the energetics of every disease. Like, I don't know how much you look into that. But even with fertility, I'll notice, and even within infertility. So, for example, someone has premature ovarian failure versus PCos versus endometriosis. They have different energetics and stories that have happened to them. So, like, with premature ovarian failure, I see a lot of stress, and not just like, oh, I went to college, and it was stressful in this usually really high stress during the first menarche. So the first menstruation, whether it's divorce, moving, high intensity sports for a really long time. So something that kind of helped that disconnect between the brain and the ovaries or, like, came on birth control really early, so that connection never really happened. And then if I take it even further to the zero to five in the womb, usually, like, crazy stress, whether it's like the dad was alcoholic and he tried to attack the mom, or the mom was always stressed and moving, and there was a lot of, like, military stress or something. It's never just the one thing, but I'm almost, like, making a list of these. When someone has premature ovarian failure, all I'm looking for is, like, when were the big stressors? How bad were they? And what can we reverse, you know, and heal and their persistence? Because then. And by the time they're 15, 1618, they go into really stressful jobs because they thrive in stress, right? And so then it's like, yeah, but I've always been like that. It's like, that's part of the problem, right?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

That's. It's interesting, right? Because our level of chaos is our level. And sometimes once something starts to look peaceful, but all we know is chaos, then we want to create chaos because our nervous system is like, even it's bad for us. That is so interesting. We've talked a lot about mindset. We've talked a lot about past trauma and all these things. Do you have resources? Like, whether it's other podcasts or authors or books, like, do you have some go tos that you have people kind of dig into? Because obviously, you're not a psychologist, you're not a social worker. What are some of the tools that you'll refer your clients to to help through that?

Dr. Jane Levesque

So, I had an interview with Doctor Gabe Roberts on the podcast, and his podcast was, like, a really huge hit. So he has his book, from pain to purpose. It's a little bit more like PTSD. So that's not one that I recommend to everyone, but sometimes it is the right fit, but just the way that he talks about, like, mental and emotional health. And I'll refer patients out to see him. I have counselors and therapists that I'll refer out to as well. But there is a really great book, and actually, one of my patients found it for me. And it's called, it didn't start with you by Mark. Mark Wallen.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

I think I've read that one.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Yeah. It's like, it just resonates with me because it's like, it's in your DNA. And until you really understand the family history and the family line and where you came from, and the question that people ask always is like, well, what do I do with that? It's like, there's what. That's the fixer, right? That's the, like, what do I do? And it's like, nothing. You do nothing with it. You literally just learn about it and absorb it and let it, like, just sit with you. There's nothing that you need to fix. You just need to be present, and it will help you. Right. Connect those dots. Like, oh, I'm like this because of this.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Because there's this thing of, like, okay, I've identified a problem. How do we fix it? And that's kind of the whole mental health thing. At times, we just need to sit in it. And then you need to potentially empathize with, like you said with your mom, right? Like, wow. Like, that was a gnarly upbringing. And I'd be curious what your grandma's upbringing was like. So this thing has been passed down. And then I think, like, in some of the work that I've done, we've gotten, we've used the term, like, becoming clear. Like, are you clear with your mom or your dad? And maybe you're not always fully clear, but what that means is there's no emote. The only emotion towards that person is love.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Yeah, right? Like, mom, it's hard to get to that place. It takes a while.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

And that's not, that's way easier said than done, because love is. You're not perfect. I don't expect you to be perfect. And yet I love you. And what I will tell people is, if you can't give it, it's tough to receive it, right? So there's so inside of some of that. A lot of times people, like, sometimes when I get to know people better and I compliment them and they're like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, I was taught years ago that that's actually pride and ego. That response wherever, like, thank you for some people to receive because they don't feel like they're able to receive a compliment or a gift. I mean, like, how many times do we do something for someone? They're like, okay, now what can I do for you? You're like, no, it was a gift. You don't have to. The definition of a gift is, I thought of you, I care for you, and I got this for you. And then some people are like, do you like it? Well, now you've got a connection. Like, no, the gift is, I thought of you, and here it is. It's yours, and your response is on you. So many times we tie our emotions to other people's responses as well. So it's. I mean, it's. This is the web. And what I tell, what my coaches, I work with a lot of health coaches in our practice, and, like, the term that we use in our clinic is the people that deal with their stuff, like, the ones that do the dive into the mental, emotional, spiritual journey are the ones that then when we're doing parasite lime mold strep a work, their body just seems to receive it better and they have better results inside of it. So that's where. But, yeah, a lot of people don't like to talk about it, right? They're like, oh, I've got this magic pill. Just take this pill and you're better. And just doesn't work that way.

Dr. Jane Levesque

It's a good segue because I was going to ask you, like, what kind of things are you seeing in your practice right now? Like, what's really prominent? And I always connect the mental and emotional stuff because I think, like, Gabor mate has been really great at educating people on, like, the function of the immune system and basically how it's supposed to set boundaries for pathogens and then, you know, protect us. And so a lot of people who have autoimmune disease or any immune system conditions usually have a lack of boundaries or those boundaries have been broken at some point in their life. So you have to look at that component. I think that's any good practitioner would do that, but we also have to get in there and get rid of, you know, the infections and the toxins and all that jazz. So I'd love to hear what you're seeing in your practice is coming out. Like, what are people, what are people dealing with in your world?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Let me give you a little personal story, because I think that sometimes God gives us things that we get to deal with on our own, and then we start to see those things. So I would say, so a little health history. So when I was born, I had pyloric stenosis. So I was the projectile vomiter as a baby, my mom didn't know about maybe modalities, so I had surgery as a one month old. And then kind of through my life, I've always had kind of gut ish stuff. And then when I started running labs on myself, I always had, like, altered, like, altered liver markers. And then probably about ten years ago, my wife is like, bro, there are some nights when it. Your breath is like someone climbed inside of you and died, and it's effervescing out of you. And I'll tell you what I she.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Said, it's so lovingly.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

Oh, my wife has candor, and candor is the ability to call the pot black. So, of course, at first, I'm triggered because I feel like I'm being judged. Like I'm doing a fast or I'm doing carnivore. And then once I finally, like, got over myself. So in the last five years, I've had my tonsils removed because the ENT is like, oh, I think you're making tonsil stones, by the way. No grown human being should have their tonsils removed. It's like the most painful recovery in the world. I had my uvula worked on. I've been to three biological dentists. I've had cone beam scans. So I did a podcast a couple of years ago with Doctor Michelle Jorgensen. Who's this? You should get her on your podcast, by the way. She's a biological dentist from Utah. She is an angel. So I literally sent her an email, and I think it was like, horrendous breath was the thing. I'm like, michelle, I need your help. And she, of course, shes like, are you tongue scraping? And are you using the right rinses? And then shes like, you probably know this, but theres this real strong correlation with low stomach acid and your bodys not digesting things. And I was like, okay, so shes like, theres this old gods and grandmas test called this baking soda challenge, and you should give it a go. And so, obviously, your stomach is supposed to be a ph of, like, one to three. Speaking of your immune system, it should kill most things that come into your body. Well, baking soda is a very strong base. So if you remember back to grade school, you put baking soda into vinegar, and the volcano happens. So you take a quarter teaspoon of aluminum free baking soda in 4oz of water. You drink it, you start the stopwatch. If you burp before two minutes, you actually are probably making too much stomach acid. Two to three is kind of like proper. And if you burp after that, well, I've done it a couple times, and I have yet to burp, so. Hmm, that's interesting.

Dr. Jane Levesque

So, still waiting for a year later.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

So then you go in with the protocol of re acidifying the stomach. And this is really common in some of our older patients, are actually, our stomachs lose the ability to produce stomach the older we get. So now I take, like, really high power stomach acids, and I've only been doing it for about two weeks. My wife's. The verdict is still out because she's, you know. But what I can tell you is huge change in bowel consistency. So I would be the guy that things would usually pre, be pretty loose. Definitely some undigested stuff inside of there. And then when I did things like maybe a higher fat or a higher protein approach, it just didn't work well with me because I didn't have the things that are needed.

Dr. Jane Levesque

So you don't have stomach acid to actually break down the protein, the high protein content.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

So that's number. That's one thing I'm seeing. And then about seven years ago, I went to a physical therapy seminar in Nebraska. There's this guy named Doctor Ron Ruska. He's, like one of the kind of the key players for, like, the University of Nebraska women's volleyball team. They're, like, usually top five in the nation. And he talked about this fascial plane. So we have a fascial plane that he saw in the cadaver lab. It starts in our left hip, it comes up across our diaphragm and then up into our right neck and shoulder, brachial plexus. And then he also stated that when the body gets stressed, it will actually change the tone or the tension of part of the diaphragm muscle. And what he'll say is, when the body gets stressed, it'll prioritize the left lung. And he said, because the heart sits there. So when the body gets stressed, it's like, all right, let's conserve energy here. So what happens then? So the term in neurology is. So your diaphragm is, it's one muscle, but there's two sides. So the right side of the diaphragm will lose tone or tension. And what happens inside of that is, yes, you can have left hip or mid back or right neck and shoulder pain, but also speaking to the digestive component. Well, there's a hole in your diaphragm where your esophagus comes down through. And years prior to this seminar, I would actually, like, do a manual therapy move for hiatal hernias. And it was horribly painful and it worked. Okay, so he has this. So his brain was all about shoulder, hip. And I was listening to this going, oh, my word. What about the stomach? And then as I've also learned about the tone of the right hemidiaphragm, your organ, your liver organ, rather, sits right up against your right hemidiaphragm. So if people think about this, when you take a big breath in, your diaphragm drops. When you breathe out, the diaphragm rises, and there's an appropriate motion that's supposed to happen. So I believe, and I joke with my patients, like, someday when I get to heaven, I'll get the final answer on this. But I believe that the liver depends upon the motion, the proper motion of the diaphragm from almost like a lymphatic standpoint to move its stuff. So I have seen crazy results with GeRD acid reflux, right upper quadrant issues. But also, for the women in this world, the top of your pelvic floor is your diaphragm. So there's a, so we've created several videos on. And it's not like it's actually a breath work technique where you try to go and reset the tone of the right hemidiaphragm. And then what happens is, because it allows your body to slide more into that, like, vagal tone component. So that's, I think it's important as well. So a lot of digestive stuff. I mean, we run lots and lots of labs. It's, I mean, I see lots of infection markers. That's really the norm for us. But when I. But again, if your neurology can't receive the work that we're doing or you're not digesting, I mean, you can kill parasites until the cows come home, but if you're not killing them in your stomach the way that you're supposed to, then you're never going to get ahead of it. So this conversation of kind of trying to go back to simple tools and simple ways is kind of what I'm seeing. So, I mean, yeah, we see lime and mold and all those kind of interesting things, but some of the kind of the thing we're seeing a lot of right now is more of this hypochlorhydric conversation.

Dr. Jane Levesque

So, yeah, it's super fascinating. And I think, you know, like you said, I'll get the answer, the final answer. You. Truthfully, when I'm looking at a case, and when something doesn't seem quite right, usually it's a piece of information, you know, that I'm missing. And then when you hear, and I always say, when the student is ready, the teacher will come. So then if you're open and curious to be like, hmm, I'm missing something here, and then you go to an event, and they're like, oh, look at this. And then it just unlocks this whole world for you. But it, like, I mean, everything in the body is connected and it works together. So for people who are just treating the thyroid, it's like, what do you mean you just treat the thyroid? Like, how does that. I've had patients come to me and they're like, oh, we've stabilized the thyroid, but not everything else. And it's like, that doesn't work, you know?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

No, that's. I love the cure. I think as clinicians, as hearts of healers, we have to remain curious. We have to remain hungry and not be like, oh, I guarantee you this is what it is. Right? Like, I love when I get labs back and I'm like, huh. I'd have never guessed.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Never. Yeah, I always. There's always something because my patients are always like, what do you find on the labs? You know? It's like, well, I always find something that I knew was gonna be there. And then always something that I had no idea was there. Every time, there's always the, like, yep. I'm not surprised. Huh. That's interesting.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

You know, that's so good. I love that. Well, thank you for being curious and thank you for serving that population. Do you know the current statistics on fertility struggles is. It's like, it's one in six. Holy Toledo.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Based on the World Health Organization. Yeah. Unfortunately, like, the rate is going to go down. And this is why, like I said, I love eco and meeting all these practitioners who are just have a heart of gold and we're out there doing the hard work. And, you know, I don't want to tell people that the water that they're drinking is poisonous and that everything that they put on their skin is making them sick. It's like, I don't want to do that, but if I don't, then things are not going to get better. And I know, I think you said that if I don't have. Have a target on my back, then my dream isn't big enough. Right. Because essentially that's what's happening. And so I. You know, I love connecting with practitioners like yourself because it's like, hey, we're doing. It's not easy, you know, and it's not easy to help people convince, because if you've been that way all your life, it's like. It's hard for you to believe it. But at the end of the day, I want a healthier world. That's my selfish reason. You know, I want a healthier world for my kids and to actually enjoy it instead of just worrying about being sick and scared and all that jazz.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

So good. Well, what a fun conversation.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Yeah. Thank you so much for being here. Is there anything you want to. Anything that we missed that you think is important?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

We definitely talked about a lot. Right. I think what I want to leave people with is the body responds appropriately to its environment. So change your mindset from blaming to curious. I also, many times believe the body doesn't need help to heal. It just needs nothing in the way. So then the question is, what's in the way? What can be in the way? It can be your thoughts. It can be your emotions. It can be relationships. It can be infection. It can be toxicity. It can be lots of things. And the goal is not to be fixed. The goal is to exude the full version of yourself. And, you know, what I tell people is, I don't guarantee cures for anything, but what I know is you can't stay where you are. So I think just to give people a dose of hope, because it can be, like you said, the opposite is despair. And people deserve, like, a. Wow, that was a. I hope someone's listening to this. And like, oh, my gosh. Like, this was a breath of fresh air. Like, I needed that. That's my hope that someone would say after they hear us today.

Dr. Jane Levesque

I think you provide that energetically, just you as a person. So it's like I said when I saw you on the stage, I'm like, we are going to have a conversation. So I'm glad that we did.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

That's awesome.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Thanks so much, Greg.

Dr. Greg Mongeon

My pleasure.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Hold on. Do you want to tell people where they can find you if they're interested, to learn more about who you are?

Dr. Greg Mongeon

So if you want to see more of what we're doing, you can follow us on Instagram or TikTok talk at Doctor Greghealth, and if you have any questions, reach out. We love getting to meet people and helping them on their journey there.

Dr. Jane Levesque

Thank you so much for listening. To read the full show notes of this episode, including summary timestamps, guest quotes, and any resources that were mentioned on the episode. Visit drjanelevesque.com podcast. And if you're getting value from these episodes, I'd love it if you took two minutes to share it with a friend. Rate and leave me a review@ratethispodcast.com. doctorjane the reviews will help with the discoverability of the show, and who knows, I might share your review on my next episode. Thank you so much for tuning in, and let's make your fertility journey your healing journey.