Dr Michaelia brings a rare combination of clinical expertise and lived experience to complex invisible illnesses. As both a medical practitioner and someone who has navigated her own healing journey with invisible illness, she understands the frustration of seeking answers in a healthcare system that often overlooks autonomic and immune dysfunction.
Dr Michaelia's approach to medicine was profoundly shaped by her own experience with chronic invisible illness. As she describes it: "I was tired of trying to fix myself. I was tired of being my own doctor." This journey taught her that healing requires more than diagnostic precision—it requires hope, empowerment and a nervous system that feels safe to recover.
Her dual perspective as both clinician and patient creates a uniquely empathetic therapeutic relationship. She recognizes the exhaustion that comes from endless testing, the disappointment of treatments that don't deliver lasting relief and the isolation of symptoms that others can't see or understand.
Dr Michaelia combines medical insight with compassion and practical daily rhythms to help others restore balance and create the conditions where true healing can unfold.
Working within biio.'s Dysautonomia pathway, Dr Michaelia brings expertises in POTS and autonomic dysfunction where circulation, breathing and neural regulation interact in complex ways. Her approach goes beyond symptom management to address the underlying mechanisms driving orthostatic intolerance, tachycardia and the cascade of symptoms that can make simple activities feel overwhelming.
She understands that POTS rarely exists in isolation, often intersecting with immune dysfunction, histamine intolerance and post-viral complications. Her assessments investigate these connections holistically, allowing for more precisely tailored interventions.
Dr Michaelia's special interest in histamine intolerance and the gut-brain-immune axis reflects her understanding of how these systems continuously influence each other. She recognizes how intestinal permeability can trigger systemic inflammation, how bacterial overgrowth affects neurotransmitter production and how immune activation directly impacts autonomic function.
Her approach integrates lifestyle changes, dietary interventions, gut repair protocols and immune stabilization while addressing the nervous system dysregulation that often perpetuates these conditions. She works collaboratively with biio.'s dietitians to ensure comprehensive care.
Within biio.'s Immune pathway, Dr Michaelia focuses on post-viral conditions including long COVID, ME/CFS and persistent immune activation following infections. She understands how viral illnesses can trigger ongoing autonomic dysfunction, immune dysregulation and the debilitating post-exertional malaise that characterizes these conditions.
Her approach addresses both the physiological drivers—viral reactivation, mitochondrial dysfunction, autoimmune responses—and the nervous system sensitization that can perpetuate symptoms long after initial infection.