A journey to healing: Finding hope with integrative health

At 20 years old, Julie Orbeck Hulst and her then-fiance moved to Duluth from St. Cloud. As they were embarking on their new adventure together in 2020 and enjoying the Northland's beautiful outdoors, her health took a turn for the worse. 

"I would wake up every day feeling sick and tired," Orbeck Hulst explained. "I couldn't drink anything, eating made me sick and medicines didn't work." 

Her symptoms were so bad that she often had to miss work. Despite trying countless over-the-counter remedies, nothing helped. 

“I was always nauseous after eating and there was no rhyme or reason to it,” Orbeck Hulst said. “It was so bad that oftentimes I couldn’t even function.”

With the help of her primary care doctor, she was referred to a gastroenterologist, which led to countless tests, lab work, pelvic floor therapy and an endoscopy. Despite these efforts, her condition did not improve, and she felt like she was hitting a wall. 

“The frustration and hopelessness grew as I continued to wake up sick,” said Orbeck Hulst. “Over six months, I lost about 40 pounds due to my inability to eat.”

Desperate for answers, she turned to Essentia Health’s integrative health specialists. This team offers a holistic approach to health care that combines conventional medicine with a combination of therapies and lifestyle changes to help find a solution for patients’ health concerns. In the summer of 2022, Orbeck Hulst was connected with Dr. Teja Dyamenahalli.

They found a shared goal during their first visit – to make sure Orbeck Hulst was feeling better by her wedding so she could fully enjoy her big day.

“Dr. Dyamenahalli was very thoughtful about her suggestions, and it was clear during our conversations that her approach was evidence-based,” Orbeck Hulst said. “She took the time to explain everything to me as a patient, providing a level of thorough diagnostic testing I hadn’t experienced before.”

“In my integrative health practice, I focus on understanding my patients’ life stories — from birth to the present — to identify all potential contributing factors to their current health issues,” said Dr. Dyamenahalli. “This comprehensive approach guides my recommendations for testing and evaluations and allows me to offer a multifaceted treatment plan that builds on previous care.

“Ultimately, my goal is to support health and healing by combining conventional and integrative approaches.”

Dr. Dyamenahalli was able to give Orbeck Hulst a concrete diagnosis: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) as the underlying cause of her irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. 

“Through a holistic approach, Dr. Dyamenahalli treated me as a whole person, not just my ailments,” Orbeck Hulst said. “We started with herbal treatments, including probiotics and herbal tinctures.”

In order to achieve full resolution of symptoms, the treatment plan also included antibiotics.

They tackled Orbeck Hulst’s diet with the aim of finding an eating pattern that fit into her life and would support overall gut health. They also discovered that she had dairy and gluten sensitivities. There were other simple remedies, such as increasing water intake and finding ways to include more movement, that were embraced by Orbeck Hulst. By the spring of 2023, after moving through the full treatment protocol, she was back to her old self. The nausea that plagued her every morning had subsided, and she could finally eat and function normally. 

“Dr. Dyamenahalli and the integrative health team were incredibly supportive and responsive,” Orbeck Hulst said graciously. “Whenever I had questions or concerns, they were quick to respond, making me feel valued and cared for.”

“It is really gratifying to help see someone through a really tough time to a place where they feel well again,” said Dr.  Dyamenahalli. “Julie gave me her full trust, which I try to never take for granted, and really embraced the process, even though it wasn’t always easy. I was especially happy that, in the end, we were able to make this happen in time for her wedding.”

“To say that Dr. Dyamenahalli is one of the best doctors I have ever worked with would be an understatement,” Orbeck Hulst said. “She is personable, easy to talk to, non-judgmental and genuinely invested in finding solutions for her patients.”