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Our Fertility Journey – Our Test Results & How We’re Preparing For Our Next Pregnancy

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So if you haven’t read my last fertility update you should definitely start there! It’ll give you the run down of our plans, our Dr., and the tests we had done. If you want to start from the beginning and catch yourself up on our fertility journey, read about our miscarriage experience here!

I’m just going to jump right into our test results!

Comprehensive Bloodwork

I don’t even know where to start with this test because it covered SO much. All these tests basically came back clean. There were a few small out of range results that are probably a symptom of other problems that I’ll go over in this post. One of those things was low Iron. Interestingly though, my iron storage was totally normal. Dr. Noel explained that this is likely because I’ve lost a lot of blood during my miscarriages over the last few months, but isn’t something to be concerned about. It can be easily corrected!

Wheat Zoomer

This test told us quite a bit. It tested my reaction to gluten and my intestinal permeability which test for leaky gut syndrome.

We already knew I had a sensitivity to gluten based on my EverlyWell test results, but I had no idea just how much my body hated it! My test results were off the charts in this area, even though I’ve been off gluten for about a month already! Eating gluten when your body can’t digest it has pretty heavy side effects and has been linked to a lot of fertility issues in the past. I’ll go over what we’re doing about this later in this post.

My leaky gut test came back with a raging positive. I have nearly no barrier between my gut and the rest of my body which means several things. My body isn’t absorbing any nutrients from my diet. It also isn’t digesting most of what I put in my body. Yikes.

MTHFR Gene Mutation

This was the test I was most afraid of. I knew in my deepest gut that this test would be positive. Unfortunately I was right. Of the four mutations (2 kinds from each parent), I have two. The same mutation, but from both parents. I was crushed when she told me this. I totally cried. My eyes have scanned some pretty terrifying words in my previous searches on this subject and it really felt like a death sentence. Luckily Dr. Noel was so calm and confident about this that it helped me stay grounded and focused. More on this later on…keep reading.

Micro Nutrient Tests

This tested all of my vitamin and mineral levels. Turns out I have quite the laundry list of deficiencies to fix! Likely due to my leaky gut and inability to absorb any nutrients. Deficiencies can cause all kinds of imbalances and less than optimal function of the body. A balanced body is important for a healthy pregnancy. So these will need to be balanced and corrected over the next few months.

The Problem

Overall my health is in much better condition than I was expecting! Which is great news. After all this bloodwork, it looks like the suspected culprits of my miscarriages are the following:

  1. Leaky Gut Syndrome
  2. MTHFR Gene Mutation
  3. Gluten Allergy

The Solution

Dr. Noel has gathered up a combination of different supplements to correct some of the issues I’m having. We’re starting with one at a time to see how my body reacts to each, and to not overwhelm my with 12 new vitamins all at once! I’ve also started walking 30 minutes a day no matter what. Everyday. I never miss a day. It helps with stress management and overall health!

I’m completely off gluten as I was before, except now that includes cross contamination as well. Which, sadly, means no french fries…bummer. Worth it for that tiny face one day though! She also game a supplement to take when we go out to eat just in case I get accidental contamination. It’s supposed to help my body process the small amount without such intense side effects.

For the next two weeks I’ll be doing the low FODMAP diet..which if you haven’t heard, basically leaves me with meat and SOME vegetables. So it’ll be a pretty bland week. Luckily Sprouts has a whole line of FODMAP friendly sauces and condiments which makes life easier right now. This will hopefully give my gut a chance to begin the healing process. I’m also considering meeting with their in house nutritionist so tackle it more head on…will keep you posted on that!

We will also start working on finding the right combination of B vitamins to support my gene mutation and support pregnancy in the next few weeks.

In December we will retest all my levels and hopefully get the green light to start trying again…I’ll keep you guys updated here and on Instagram!

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October 2, 2020

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A photographer of all things life & love. Dog mama to two tiny pups that have my whole heart, and married to my best friend of 13 years. Together, we share a little house on Lemon St.

I’m Shannan Leigh.

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