Dr. Sarah J. Zielsdorf, MD

12/23/2025

End of another year, hard to believe. Our Motivated Medicine team is grateful and thankful to all of our patients for making our practice so wonderful.

Motivated Medicine closes annually December 24th - January 1st to provide our team with protected time to rest, reset, and return refreshed for the new year.

We will answer only emergent messages during this time.

Wishing our patients and friends a joyous Christmas, peaceful holidays, and a happy New Year.

~Dr. Z

12/17/2025

Excited to share that I will be speaking in Canada, teaching compounding pharmacists about LDN, thyroid, hormones, autoimmunity and more!

They’re ready. Are you? 🙌

Meet our 2026 CONNEXT speaker superstars leading the way at our May 29-30 event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

This year’s program features 6 experts sharing real-world insights in clinical care, communication and compounding practice.

As the countdown begins, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧? Tell us in the comments!

Register today 👉 https://bit.ly/CONNEXT-2026

11/26/2025

Annual Thanksgiving post - the fall has flown by. Wishing everyone and their families a wonderful holiday season. I am grateful for all of my patients and my hardworking team. I am grateful for my family and for time to catch up with them.

We will be out of the office tomorrow and Friday (11/27 and 11/28). I will be on call to answer emergency messages only.

I will hopefully refresh a bit, then gear up for a VERY busy December.

15 years after my diagnosis of autoimmune disease, I still recommend Michelle Tam's menu items (of Nom Nom Paleo fame), including her umami gravy and roasted garlic autumn veggie mash.
Here's an updated round up of her recipes if needed:

Freaking out about making Thanksgiving Dinner this year? Well, I’ve got just the thing to help you through the entire process, from shopping to eating! In

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween, from your friendly neighborhood witch doctor.

09/24/2025

L’Shanah Tovah 5786 to all that celebrate Rosh Hashanah. It is the Jewish New Year, and I wish for it to be a sweet, happy, healthy, and hopeful one. I’m still getting back into the swing of things from our Big Trip - my family and I had the thrill of a lifetime adventure in Iceland.

08/01/2025

Happy Friday everyone! Some MM updates at the end of another week...

TL/DNR Summary: Welcome back to Roxana, Dr. Z out of office 8/15-9/1/25.

The long version here:
We are grateful to have Roxana back in the office seeing patients next week. Please give her lots of love as she settles back in to patient care. I know that her patients have missed her terribly, as we have as well.

I have been excitedly hearing about all of my patients' summer travels as I work toward my own yearly break. For the last 5 years my family and I have camped for close to two weeks around the end of August -- a huge privilege and a daunting responsibility to plan.

We started camping trips with our kids during COVID - they were 3 and 7 years old. That first year Jack hiked more than 3 miles in Mammoth Cave, and many miles in Moab and Arches/"Candylands" NPs [Canyonlands]. We got to see Eva triumphantly scramble up her first rocky desert trail. The US/Canadian national parks have been a huge passion, to see our beautiful country and the things my husband and I never did as kids.

We've been out west to Carlsbad Caverns/White Sands, Mount St. Helens in WA, and the epic "big trip" to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons/Glacier/Badlands/Theodore Roosevelt and many more parks. Two years ago we circumnavigated Lake Michigan and one of my favorite memories was my son biting it and sliding face first laughing hysterically down the Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes NP. Last year we circumnavigated Lake Superior, where my son and I got epically seasick on the crossing back from Isle Royale to Copper Harbor. It's really funny now. And because of the boat delay due to the rough seas, we were treated to the northern lights while we set up our campsite in Minnesota at 2am.

Three years ago I must have seen something on social media about renting camper vans in Iceland and I decided we were DOING THAT to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. So two years ago I rented a van and last year I bought plane tickets. Suddenly the trip is 2 weeks away. We will be camping the Ring Road and Westfjords. So. Much. Planning. Packing a portable toilet in a checked bag because kids. And very excited!

Mostly, I am excited to wake up before my kids and find a place to be alone on a fjord and think. Alone. 🤣

I spend all of my days being with people, talking intensely and listening intensely to people and working to solve complex problems. It's a bit sad that I have to wait for twice a year to get away and have a little solitude but, such is life. A good problem to have.

So, this is my official two week notice to patients to please check meds, check needs, check appointments, labs etc so I can take care of everything possible before leaving. As always, urgent messages will be answered and I will be notified about emergencies. Otherwise I will sign off and reboot for September.

Thank you very much for all of your help so I can come back (maybe not refreshed as this is a TRIP and not a vacation), with a renewed spirit.

*Photo credits: Jason Zielsdorf
- 2022, Devils Tower, WY
- 2024, Pancake Bay, Ontario
- 2024, Peninsula State Park, Door County, WI

07/17/2025

I recently sat down with my friend, pharmacist Steve Hoffart from Magnolia Pharmacy to discuss all things thyroid! Please share!

Blog link:
https://magnoliapharmacy.com/blogs/the-trusted-pharmacist-podcast/dr-sarah-zielsdorf

Apple podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-your-doctor-wont-tell-you-about-fixing-your-thyroid/id1804101083?i=1000717640803

Podcast Episode · The Trusted Pharmacist · 07/17/2025 · 57m

06/08/2025

June is Men’s Mental Health Month. As a physician, I am acutely aware that men are less likely than women to seek help for mental health problems, and they are also more likely to die by su***de. We must end the stigma. It starts by affirming and supporting our little boys.

https://www.nami.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Mens-Health-Month-2025-1-pager.pdf?utm_source=nami&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=MENH2025

06/08/2025

Every time I leave the Midwest I can’t believe I was born and raised in Ohio. Ohio?!? Seriously?!? And coming home to the cloud decks and rain and construction I get sad and pine for blue sky and mountains.

But I am a Midwesterner.

And I still love the Cleveland Browns, who have broken my heart for over 40 years.😣💀

06/07/2025

LDN 2025 Conference Day 2! Woke early, had a full body weight workout with weights and a BAB (Big Ass Breakfast) to fuel my day, and finished packing. Gave final lecture on autoimmune small fiber neuropathy with a Q+A, some LDN press and then a hustle to catch my fight home. Adding some action shots from yesterday’s talks.

06/06/2025

Day 1: LDN Conference 2025 - Portland, OR
Due to the 2 hour time difference, I was able to have an amazing early morning of getting in research prep for my talks, meditation and prayer, a workout, and extended time to get ready! My topics I spoke on were S*x Differences in Opioid Receptors, and ULN for Opioid Weaning.

06/04/2025

It's LDN Awareness Week! Tomorrow I fly to Portland for the 2025 International LDN Conference! I am excited to teach and learn with some of my favorite thought leaders in personalized and precision medicine. I am proud to be the volunteer Education Director and one of the Research Advisors to the Trust. Every speaker and advisor does so on a voluntary basis. None of us gets paid for our published chapters, guidelines, conferences or other work. We do it because we believe in the science of Low Dose Naltrexone and the hope of supporting the innate healing ability of humans with chronic illnesses. I am one of the authors in the LDN Book 4 (Case Studies).

~Dr. Z