Let’s chat’s about my client JH….
She came to me after coming off the pill to try and prepare her body for pregnancy but lo and behold her period went MISSING.
She was:
- eating whole foods
- avoiding processed foods, seed oils, etc
- exercising 6+ days a week (HIIT workouts, weight lifting, treadmill, & lagree)
She went to a functional medicine doctor who ran a DUTCH test on her and no shocker…. all her hormones were low!
He told her her chances at getting pregnant were extremely low which shocker left my client feeling scared. hopeless, and just confused at what her next steps were to get pregnant!
Now here comes a slight intermission regarding my beef with DUTCH tests…
has become increasingly popular in the functional medicine space but I am not a fan.
Why? Because:
- I can likely tell what’s going on with your hormones from your cycle chart. For example this client is a pretty clear example- if you aren’t cycling, then you aren’t ovulating→ if you aren’t producing estrogen or progesterone
- You can reliably test other hormones like DHEAS and testosterone much cheaper via the blood/serum.
- And most importantly → IT DOESN’T TELL YOU THE WHY
Let’s get back to our case…
When we ran blood work + a GI Map as well as evaluated her diet & lifestyle journal with JH we found….
- A pattern that indicates need for liver support
- AED elevated liver enzymes, elevated bilirubin, poor fat digestion/breakdown (via her high steatocrit on her GI Map), elevated cholesterol
- Things that impact liver:
- nutrient deficiencies (especially B vitamins, which get depleted when taking birth control)
- lack of available amino acids especially taurine & glycine (needed to breakdown cholesterol into bile)
- inflammation
- blood sugar imbalances
- increased toxic burden
- Overall, a pattern of UNDER- EATING calories/macronutrients + over-exercising
Overall- her body was under a lot STRESS from:
- nutrient deficiencies
- under-eating
- poor detoxification
Here is a list of stressors I am always assessing for in clients when it comes to optimizing their hormones & fertility:
My protocol consistent of:
- decreasing exercise to only 5x per week
- increase her calories determined by calculating them based on her specific height, weight, & activity level
- add foods that can support liver health / bile flow so she can actually digest her fats
- add specific supplements to fill in nutrient gaps, bile flow/liver
So after 3 Months on this protocol and working together she….
GOT HER PERIOD BACK AND GOT PREGNANT
This is why I can’t stress ENOUGH the importance of GETTING TO THE ROOT CAUSE and not just focusing on hormones.
She needed the proper testing so we could identify the actual problem that was leading to her missing period/ low hormones.
Hope you enjoyed this Case Study!!
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