Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Genik.
Hi Elena, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a pharmacist for over 15 years. For most of that time I was the person behind the counter who knew every medication inside and out, and I loved being that trusted, accessible healthcare professional people could just walk up to and talk to.
My own health journey started while I was working as a pharmacist in NYC through the pandemic. That’s when I was diagnosed with PCOS/PMOS. Then in 2022 and 2023, I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and Thyroid Eye Disease, and everything changed at once. My heart was racing, I was exhausted and foggy, and my eyes changed so much that I didn’t recognize my own reflection. I knew the prescriptions I was being handed better than almost anyone, but nobody was asking the question I couldn’t stop asking: why was my body so out of balance in the first place? And whenever my labs came back “in range,” I felt dismissed, even though I knew something was still off.
So I became my own health advocate. I dug into functional medicine and root-cause testing, and I started looking at my gut, my hormones, my stress, my nutrient levels, and the triggers that had been building for years. Healing didn’t come from one pill or one protocol. It came from answers, from community, and from a lot of mindfulness. I had several infections in my gut as well as leaky gut and it was triggering my immune system. When I addressed that along with my nutrient deficiencies and stress, remission came easily to me. Slowly, I started getting my sparkle back.
Along the way I realized how many women were going through the same thing and feeling just as alone and unheard as I had. That’s how Thyroid Love Club was born. It started as a free monthly support group where women with Graves’, Hashimoto’s, and Thyroid Eye Disease could talk openly and feel understood, and it has grown into a brand with educational guides, functional lab interpretation resources, and a six-month Functional Medicine Thyroid Care Program where I work one-on-one with clients alongside a functional pharmacist in their state.
Today I’m a PharmD and a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and I describe myself as a functional health practitioner. I help people find the root causes of their symptoms so they can transform into the powerful, energetic, radiant beings they know they are within. My work bridges the two worlds I’ve lived in: the precision of pharmacy and the curiosity of root-cause care. I still believe in conventional medicine, and I also believe women deserve someone who looks deeper than “your labs are normal.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. The road has had a lot of twists, and honestly, the struggles are a big part of why Thyroid Love Club exists.
The first struggle was my own health. Working as a pharmacist through the pandemic was exhausting on its own, and then I was dealing with PCOS/PMOS, and later Graves’ disease and Thyroid Eye Disease. Thyroid Eye Disease was especially hard because it changed the way I looked. I hid from the world. I didn’t want anyone to see my face or my eyes, and it took a toll on my confidence in a way I never expected. I was depressed and isolating myself, when I’m generally a happy, social butterfly.
On top of that, I experienced medical gaslighting. I cried in doctors’ offices more than once. Being told my labs were “normal” when I knew my body was telling me otherwise was frustrating and isolating, and it was even more jarring because I work in healthcare. If I was being dismissed, I could only imagine how many other women were going through the same thing without the knowledge to push back.
The second struggle was building something new while still healing. Starting a business is hard enough, but doing it while managing symptoms, working, and figuring out my own root causes meant learning to pace myself and give myself grace. I had to learn marketing, content creation, tech platforms, and sales, none of which they teach you in pharmacy school.
There was also the challenge of sharing my story publicly. As a pharmacist, I was used to being the professional with the answers. Going from hiding my face to showing up online as a patient, posting before and after photos of my eyes and talking openly about what I’d been through, felt incredibly vulnerable at first. But that vulnerability is exactly what connected me with the women I now serve.
And then there are the practical hurdles of working in the health space. Healthcare regulations, licensing across different states, and advertising rules around health topics all add layers of complexity. I’ve had to get creative about how I reach people and structure my programs so they’re both compliant and genuinely helpful.
Every one of those challenges taught me something. They made me more compassionate, more resourceful, and more committed to making sure other women feel heard and supported in a way I wish I had been from the beginning.
As you know, we’re big fans of Thyroid Love Club. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Thyroid Love Club is a functional medicine health brand and community for women navigating autoimmune thyroid conditions, especially Graves’ disease, Thyroid Eye Disease, and Hashimoto’s. I also support women with gut health, hormone imbalances, and women’s health concerns, because so often these are all connected.
At the heart of what I do is root-cause care. Instead of only managing symptoms, I help women figure out WHY their bodies are out of balance in the first place, and how to bring balance into their lives, so they can be the most vibrant and magnetic version of themselves. That means looking at things like gut health, nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar and insulin resistance, stress, hormones, and hidden infections, often using functional lab testing to get real answers. I don’t see autoimmune disease as the body attacking itself. I see it as an immune system that’s dysregulated and asking for support, and that shift in perspective changes everything for the women I work with.
What sets me apart is that I live in both worlds. I’m a PharmD with over 15 years of pharmacy experience and a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and I’m also a patient. I’ve personally been through Graves’, Thyroid Eye Disease, and PCOS/PMOS, along with the medical gaslighting that so often comes with them. I understand the medications, the lab values, and the clinical side, and I also understand what it feels like to cry in a doctor’s office or hide your face from the world. I don’t ask women to choose between conventional and functional medicine. I help them get the best of both.
I also want wellness to feel joyful, not clinical. Our brand mascot is a little purple cartoon thyroid, and everything we create is meant to feel warm, hopeful, and a little whimsical, because healing is hard enough without feeling like a patient file.
Here’s what we offer:
The Thyroid Love Club support group is free and meets monthly. It’s a space where women can share openly, ask questions, and feel understood by people who truly get it. This is the part of the brand I’m most proud of, because it’s where everything started.
Our Functional Medicine Thyroid Care Program is a six-month, one-on-one program where clients work with me and a functional pharmacist licensed in their state to build a personalized, phased care plan, from investigating root causes through gut healing, thyroid support, and long-term rebuilding. This program allows me to work closely with people all over the US!
Our educational guides, including The Graves + TED Functional Master Guide, The Gut Love Guide, and The Thyroid Clarity Kit, give women the tools to understand their labs, explore their possible root causes, and advocate for themselves. One reader told me our master guide was the most detailed resource she had ever come across, another said her doctor was shocked at her transformation, and messages like that mean the world to me.
We also offer a curated supplement shop with professional-grade products and recommendations + protocols, so women can trust what they’re taking.
What I want readers to know is this: if you’ve been told your labs are normal but you still don’t feel like yourself, trust that feeling. Your symptoms are real, there are answers, and there is a path toward feeling strong, energetic, and radiant again. That’s what Thyroid Love Club is here for.
You can find us at thyroidloveclub.com and on Instagram and TikTok at @thyroidloveclub.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
So many things make me happy, and a lot of them are things I don’t take for granted anymore.
Traveling the world is at the top of the list. Exploring new places, trying new foods, and seeing things I’ve never seen before lights me up. What makes it even more meaningful is that I have the energy and stamina to actually do it and enjoy it. There was a time when my body felt so depleted that I couldn’t have imagined hopping on a plane and spending the day exploring a new city. Being able to travel while living with a chronic illness feels like a gift every single time.
The beach is my happy place. There’s something about the water and the sound of the waves that resets my whole nervous system. I also love living by the phases of the moon. It helps me slow down, set intentions, and stay connected to my own natural rhythms, which has been such an important part of my healing.
Time with my friends, family, and loved ones fills my cup too. After going through a period where I hid from the world, being fully present with the people I love means more to me than ever.
But most of all, my happiness comes from my dog, Kiki Moon. She’s a tiny 7.5-pound Shih Tzu with the biggest personality, and she’s truly my heart. Kiki has had her own health journey. She was once misdiagnosed with seizures and even had a reaction to the medication she was put on. So I did for her what I do for my clients: I looked for the root cause. It turned out she had a gut imbalance, and once we supported her gut, her symptoms improved so quickly. Watching her feel better was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and it reminded me that the root-cause approach works for every body, even the furry ones. She even has her own TikTok, @kikimoondog, if anyone wants to follow along.
One day I hope to grow my furry family with more Shih Tzus. A house full of little fluffy faces sounds like pure joy to me 🙂
Pricing:
- $329/monthly for 1:1 support
- $157 for the Thyroid Clarity Kit (full library of all guides)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thyroidloveclub.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thyroidloveclub
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thyroidloveclub/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThyroidLoveClub
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thyroidloveclub
