Fertilehealthy

Now that we know what is wrong with me and how it affects my health, weight and fertility, we can tackle the major issues.  Because everything is connected, an improvement in one area will impact many of the other conditions in a positive way.

None of these problems require medication or surgery, so there was no need to see a doctor.  Apart from a few vital natural remedies, the treatment consists of sound nutrition and good lifestyle habits.  We are letting the body heal itself, something it is designed to do when given the right tools.

I was very pleased to hear that nutritionally I was on the right track.  I should indeed be eating a predominantly plant-based, dairy-free, whole-food, high-raw diet.  The reason why improvement has been slow in the past is because of my poor absorption of nutrients – I need the nutrients to get everything working perfectly again.  I need the enzymes from plenty of raw food and vegetables and I need plenty of essential fatty acids in the form of nuts, seeds, avocados, olives and flax oil.  This is no time to cut calories – I should be feeding my body well so that it can get better.  Then the weight will come off, because my appetite, metabolism, blood sugar, liver, etc. will be working properly.

Of course, having been eating this way for a while is an enormous bonus.  I would have continued to improve on my own, albeit very slowly.  The problem with that is that I used to get frustrated and flame out from time to time, which of course slowed down my progress even more.

Remember that I mentioned flaccid arteries?  Well, that is because I have been slack with regards to cardio.  If you want your arteries to be toned, you have to raise your heart rate for at least 20 minutes most days.  Exercise will also greatly improve the functioning of the lymphatic system.  And did you know that cardiovascular exercise stimulates 18 different hormones in the body?  It is especially beneficial to the thyroid gland.  So, I’m back in the saddle as far as exercise is concerned.  I’m not going to kill myself  – it’s all about sustainability for me.  And having fun of course!  Thanks for the music recommendations – I’m loving my iPod and it will go a long way towards keeping me active.

She was very pleased that I was taking barley grass powder.  I think I’ll do a post about the benefits of green juice powders in the near future, but for now just now that it’s probably the healthiest thing you can put into your body and it goes a long way towards helping maintain the acid/alkaline balance in the body and preserving the bones.  She made me double up my dosage.

For the low progesterone I had been using a natural progesterone cream.  She kept me on it.

For both the pituitary and the liver she prescribed specific herb and enzyme preparations, available from select pharmacies.  They are designed to restore their normal function, so I won’t have to take them for a very long time.  My friend T also had very poor pituitary function, but showed significant improvement after one month.  In fact, she fell pregnant in the second month she was using the product.  I think in my case it may take longer, since I’ve had these problems for many years.

The parasite infestation is probably the easiest to treat.  Did you know that an estimated 90% of people have intestinal parasites?  We get them from poorly washed produce (even if it’s organic!), meat, our pets, soil (when gardening), inadequately treated water, etc.  A diet consisting of lots of animal products, refined sugars and flours and processed foods will cause them to multiply out of control and affect your health in numerous ways.  For instance, they steal your nutrients, which is why I hadn’t been benefiting as I should have from my nutrient-dense diet.  I wrote a post about parasites and the implications for our health and weight two years ago.  I did a parasite cleanse in January and I’m curious to see how effective the product she recommended was when I visit her again.  I am now soaking all produce in an organic fruit and vegetable wash before using them.

As for the infections, I was not going to opt for antibiotics under any circumstances and she agreed with me.  Instead we are working towards strengthening my immune system with nutrition and a herbal and enzyme preparation that acts as a natural antibiotic.

There are a number of smaller issues which we will address in time.  To start with we concentrated on the major problems – parasites, liver and pituitary.  Sorting these out should go a long way towards clearing up the others (everything is connected, remember), but I’m sure she will have solutions if they are persistent.

I am seeing her again on Monday morning, so stay tuned for a progress report and an account of my experiences and observations over the eight weeks since starting the treatment.

Have a great weekend!

Shortly after I got married in 2006 I joined a local (South African) fertility message board.  I learned so much there, but more importantly, I “met” so many interesting people.  One such person was T, who like me was holistically minded.  Although we live in the same city, we never met, but had several long and interesting phone conversations.  After trying for a number of years, T eventually got pregnant and had a baby boy.  We sort of lost contact.

Then, early in December I got a text message from T, announcing that Baby #2 was on its way.  I congratulated her by return text and she replied that she had to speak to me.  What she told me on the phone has changed my life.

Last year her sister, who had had recurrent miscarriages, was referred to a holistically minded biochemist, who diagnosed her problem and treated her with enzymes and sound nutrition.  She conceived within two months and must now be close to term.

T herself had been worried that she might take years to conceive her second baby too.  She had also been struggling to lose her baby weight from the first pregnancy.  Off she went to see this woman.  As she suspected there were some serious hormonal and other problems that had not only been affecting her ability to lose weight, but would have hindered conception.  In her second month on the enzyme therapy she conceived.

This biochemist works closely with a lot of doctors (general and specialist), who refer their patients to her for diagnosis and therapy.  When a health problem needs medical attention, she’d send a client to a doctor or specialist.  T’s husband, for instance wasn’t reacting well to his statin drug, and she picked it up and sent him back to his doctor.

T had referred a number of friends, with a wide range of health issues, some severe, to this lady and they had all made huge progress with their healing.  So, here she was telling me all that.

Of course I was intrigued. I made an appointment.

Before we got to the diagnostic part, we chatted about my health history, what medication, potions, lotions, supplements, etc. I was taking and what my diet and lifestyle was like.  She said that she strongly suspects that I have problems with my pituitary gland, given the way I carry my weight.  I wondered what that meant…

She also scolded me about neglecting to go to the dermatologist for regular mole checks, given my history.  I had to let her know when I’d made an appointment.

The test itself was conducted with a BEST machine, although she also refers people for lab tests if needed.  I want to say here that anyone out there can buy a BEST machine.  That doesn’t mean that they know what they’re doing.  I’ve since heard stories of laughable therapies and practices by some practitioners.  This woman’s best tool is her years of experience in biochemistry, especially in the field of fertility, and her knowledge of both allopathic and natural medicine, nutrition and lifestyle factors.  In other words, she’s a professional, who knows how to interpret, and prioritize in terms of treatment, the results from the machine.

So, after all these years, I found out what was wrong with me.  The list was alarmingly long:

- Very poor pituitary function

- Poor liver function

- Massive parasite infestation, predominantly giardia, but also others

- Low progesterone

- Rather flaccid arteries

- Water retention

- Chronic bacterial infection, probably from my botched appendix operation in 2004

- A rheumatoid infection

- Insulin resistance

- Severe dairy intolerance

- Slight fish intolerance

- Poor absorption of nutrients

- Poor functioning of the hypothalamus

- Sluggish lymphatic system

- Poor quality sleep (not deep enough)

I also happen to carry all the markers for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  That explains a lot!

I was amazed about the things the machine could pick up.  For instance, she could tell that I’d  had measles in the last decade (it was in 2003).

The good news was that my Follicle Stimulating Hormone levels indicate that I still have plenty of eggs available.  In fact, with weight loss and improved progesterone levels, I should be able to conceive in the not-too-distant future.  Of course I’m going to send my hubby to her, along with an updated sperm analysis.

In tomorrow’s post I will go into detail about what all of the above means, what the implications are for my health, weight and fertility and what we are doing to get me better.

As you can imagine, the emotional impact of finally knowing what is going on in my body is huge.  I came away from this appointment with a sense of total relief.  And a lot of …