Personal Case Study: Postpartum Labs

So I was 9 months postpartum, with continued breastfeeding (1-2x still at night, I know… I know) and still no period. Aside from not getting great sleep (even though I usually clock in 8+ hours, those hours are not consistent, and I would wake up feeling hungover)

• My libido stunk

• My brain was scrambled & brain fog was back in FULL swing

• My memory was trash (like my husband tells me regularly, “you already told me that”)

• My energy was pretty poor

• My motivation waxed and waned

• My bowel movements were subpar (but no GI symptoms... YAY)

• BUT!!!! my mood is good, my skin was clear, my hair was not falling out & overall despite feeling eeek, I felt grateful & very happy to be a mom, and was loving motherhood.

After giving my body some time to regulate on its own, I decided it was time to see my doctor for an annual well visit & get some blood work done. 

I mentioned this before, but my doctor only ran the basics (CBC with differential, CMP, and Lipid panel). She said since my lipids have been good, I can skip this one, but I wanted it all done. I also asked for fasting insulin & HbA1C and for a thyroid panel which she said yes to, but unfortunately in conventional medicine this usually only means a TSH and reflex T4, with many of the other thyroid markers missing. I decided to fill in the gaps, pay out of pocket, and make my own blood panel with markers I wanted. 

I added in all of the markers I would regularly check with my clients including: CRP, HsCRP, Ferritin and full iron panel, full thyroid panel with antibodies, GGT, uric acid, etc. See the full list below

Low and behold, both of my thyroid antibodies came back positive, my HsCRP was high (inflammatory marker), & my bloodwork showed patterns of hypothyroid, inflammation, dehydration, nutrient deficiencies like protein, B vitamins, selenium, zinc, magnesium, iron & oxidative stress.

My blood sugar, cholesterol, liver markers all looked great, so that was a plus.

Fast forward to today, 11 months now postpartum, still breastfeeding with having 1 period, but no ovulation, I am feeling so much better. 

I had implemented a few things over the last 2 months to help support my body. Some of the things I implemented (not medical advice, this was just what I did for myself based on my personal blood markers). I started going gluten free again (this is BIG for anyone with thyroid issues/antibodies), I swapped my morning yogurt with a smoothie, including Brazil nuts for selenium, minerals, MCT oil, grass fed protein powder, banana, Reishi/cordyceps/lion’s mane mushroom blend, frozen coconut, and water. Reishi & cordyceps are super supportive for immune health & thyroid support. My body needed selenium and more minerals so that has been a great help. I also started doing red light therapy (this is my favorite RLT, get $250 off with this link) every night to my thyroid. I already take other supplements like my prenatal by WeNatal which I am low key obsessed with, beef liver by Smidge vitamin D, zinc, magnesium, BodyBio PC (GAME CHANGER) and digestive supports (I take digestive enzymes & HCL) (you can find these at my fullscript dispensary).

I ALWAYS focus on the foundational pillars (movement, hydration, stress management, nutrition, sleep) as best as I can. I have worked hard throughout the years to make most of this my lifestyle.

• Walk 10k steps a day

• Drink 100 oz of water with electrolytes (Relyte or Pickleball by Jigsaw), are my current favorites)

• Get myself to bed by 930 pm

  • My sleep is usually 8+ hours, but very broken up (not terrible, not great)

• Eat ~100 g of protein a day (starting with 30 g in my smoothie, snacking on beef sticks, biltong, eating lots of red meat & animal products, pasture raised eggs, etc)

• Eating mostly Whole Foods like fruits, vegetables, root veg, basmati rice, with occasional eating out, minimal processed foods (I do love a good GF Bread or almond flour wrap)

• I also do some breath work

  • Breath of fire in the morning

  • Deep diaphragmatic breathing at night or as needed

• Yoga/pilates when I can (my goal is to really get better at exercise in the next few months)

• Getting together with my community, sharing stories with other parents, collaborating with other practitioners

• Getting outside in nature for a few hours a day (2 for 1 when you walk outside). I try to get my feet or butt in the grass/sand/earth daily

  • Love doing this for myself & for my son. There's so much amazing research out there about the benefits of grounding.

All of this to say, it took me years to develop many of these practices into my lifestyle and it has become second nature to me. However, after giving birth, it took me a while to incorporate some of these back into my life. The hormones postpartum really were wild and took a lot out of me, so I learned to have grace with myself and do what felt good at the time, knowing life was different now.

One of the key take aways to this case study is I felt like crap for a while and I chalked it up to postpartum/mom life, but when I got my labs back, another story unfolded. My thyroid was under a ton of stress and needed some TLC, and will most likely need to support my thyroid for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, my doctor didn’t think to run certain labs that I had to run on my own, so I always recommend advocating for yourself and if you don't get the help you need/want, look elsewhere and find it. I also looked at my labs personally, from a functional range perspective, looking at it differently than conventional labs, which helped to uncover the additional imbalances.

I work with clients 1:1 to help them uncover imbalances within their body and begin to support healing. Please reach out if you have questions or are interested in working together!