Lab work Results

I feel so inadequate writing this post because I really don't fully understand the labwork results.  Anyone who thinks that chiropractors are quacks should meet with Dr. Jared Nielsen.  He is the smartest physician I've ever met and explained things we've been wondering for the past 5 years but no one has either known how to answer or run the correct tests to answer.  We are so lucky that he hired Dustin.  Of course smart people hire other smart people so... of course he would hire Dustin. :)
The results of my bloodwork showed some pretty serious things.  I might be saying them all wrong, but here's what we understand:
1. I have Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism.  We already knew I have hypothyroidism, but Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid antibodies (which had never been tested in me before).  The thyroid antibodies attack my thyroid, which is why it doesn't work right. 
2. My liver isn't doing it's job very well.  It's not filtering the toxins or something like that... which it makes me insulin resistant.  Which leads to...
3. I am hypoglycemic.  My body does not process insulin correctly.  I have too much insulin but my body doesn't respond to it and process it to get rid of the sugars.  Instead it just pumps out more insulin and stores the sugar.  So even if I were to live on a teeny tiny calorie diet, I would still gain weight.  It causes me to crave sugar because my body thinks it's low. Because it is low...
4. I am microcytic anemic.  Which means I'm not anemic because I have plenty of red blood cells, but they are very small in size.  Because of this they don't absorb iron or oxygen.  I have poor oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange which causes me to fatigue quickly with exertion. 
5. These things together cause me to be estrogen dominant.  In a normal cycle, there are 4 waves of hormones releases.  It starts with FSH in the beginning which signals the ovaries to start growing a mature egg.  Then estrogen rises before the LH surge which triggers the release of the mature egg.  After this, progesterone takes over to keep the uterus from shedding it's lining.  If the egg is fertilized, it will burrow it's way into the lining, releasing HCG and the corpus luteum will keep pumping out the progesterone until the placenta can take over.  If this doesn't happen, the corpus luteum dies and you get your period.  In my case, instead of having an LH surge, my hypothyroidism also produces an increase in prolactin which inhibits the surge and progesterone, and I don't ovulate.  But somehow I still have a monthly period so really, that's not fair. 
6. My body is in constant stress due to high cortisol levels from my Reverse T3 Serum that is high.  This explains why I get anxiety and overwhelmed at times. 

The good news is that all of these are treatable.  There are some supplements Dr. Nielsen would like me to be on to help treat my liver, which we think might be the main cause of insulin resistance and would help everything else out.  But since I am currently mid cycle on a round of clomid, he would like to wait until after we find out if this cycle is successful or not.
We are currently waiting on a blinking smiley face OPK which indicates  my estrogen rise and we are hoping to get that solid smiley face in the next few days to show that the clomid worked and I am ovulating this cycle.

In the mean time, I have started on some other supplements.
Nattokinase is to help with an antibody that is hanging out in my body from previous pregnancies.  This can cause scar tissue to build on my uterus, preventing a placenta to be able to attach. 
AdrenaCalm is a gentle, soothing cream with herbs and nutrients to support stress response through adrenal management.  It should help with my high cortisol levels and calm me down. 
Chaste Tree/Vitex is to help regulate my cycle and help with ovulation.
Inositol is used for treating conditions associated with PCOS including failure to ovulate, and high triglycerides.
X-Viromin is to increase the performance of white blood cells which will help with my autoimmune disorder.  Also, my blood worked showed I have systemic inflammation and this will help with that.
Glutathione is an antioxidant shot I'll get once a week for 6 weeks to help my liver and systemic inflammation.
Vitamin D, Fish Oil, and Glutathione are things I'll need to take for the rest of my life with Hashimoto's.
And of course, a daily prenatal.

The other big part of this solution is diet.  And guess what is recommended?  No sugar or caffeine, and eating lots of veggies, fruit, and meats.  Basically Whole30.  So at least we are happy with that and have seen the benefits from living a Whole30 life.  We were going to wait until after the holidays to get back onto a hard core Whole30 routine, but i guess this means we'll be starting back on it sooner than later.  I also need to eat breakfast every morning and should not be fasting due to the hypoglycemia.  It causes my body to stress, shake, and get really fatigued.  So, sorry first Sunday of the month... Doctor's orders. 

If the clomid doesn't take this month and we don't get pregnant, we will hold off on doing another round for a few months while we get my liver in check and everything else in check too so that I can be the healthiest me for a successful pregnancy.  Hopefully it doesn't take too long. :)

Giving it up

Today on facebook I posted a question asking for advice, tips, tricks, and favorite recipes for going gluten free.  While I received mostly helpful comments, I received a few "why are you doing this?" responses. Don't worry if you were one of them who said it in your mind or out-loud on facebook, my own mother was one of them (i love you mom!).  But to be honest, it shouldn't matter to you why I'm doing it, unless you're looking at going gluten free too and are also looking for good suggestions. 
Up until last week I have been the kind of person who says "I will NEVER go gluten free unless medically needed!" or "I'm on a gluten ONLY diet" (which definitely has never been true, but I have jokingly made that comment).  Well, after researching gluten intolerance, I have found enough evidence that has given me a change of heart and a desire to give it a go.
After a personal message from a friend who shared her experience with clean eating after experiencing infertility, I sent her a response and figured I could share it here too for any who feel they need an explanation for my personal health choices.  So here ya go:
I am going gluten free for a couple different reasons. I ran into a friend the other day who has hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's to be exact) and infertility, and is now happy-healthy-baby pregnant.  I asked her how they found success and she shared her story with me about going gluten free. The only change they made after multiple failed IUI's and a previous miscarriage was their diet.  Gluten can have a strong connection with hypothyroidism, and she is now off her meds. You can read a brief article on the connection here.  She knows that I also have hypothyroidism and infertility, and recommended that I look into it as well.
So of course I started researching everything about going gluten free, and I noticed that I have a lot of the symptoms associated with a gluten intolerance: Itchy, scratchy rash, Foggy Brain and trouble focusing, Depression, Anxiety, and Irritability, slight dysfunctional digestion (I get random episodes of burps after eating- yep, TMI, but hey, you asked why I'm doing this!), and of course, unexplained infertility and miscarriages.  Go ahead and google "gluten free and infertility" and you will find many articles that address this issue. 
While I'm not sure my symptoms are necessarily from gluten, I figured I could try it for 6 months (that's what my friend recommended as was recommended to her) and see how I feel. The only way to know if you have a gluten intolerance is to cut it out 100%. We aren't trying any other fertility treatments right now and if this does happen to work, it will be a whole lot cheaper than seeing a specialist again.  If it can work to treat hypothyroidism, that will also save the expense of medication and doctor appointments to retest every six months.
The more I look into eating gluten free, the easier I see it becoming. Knowing that corn, potatoes, and quinoa are okay (I've been clueless about what all gluten is in, I always hear how it's in everything), it makes it easy for me to give up pastas and breads. The things I'm worried about the most are baked goods. I have a huge sweet tooth.  I know that a "no sugar diet" would also help with any systemic inflammation, but I'm not ready to give up sugar.  I've already tried out a gluten free peanut butter cookie from Our Best Bites here and I loved it.  I hope to be able to ease out sugar gradually though as we start eating cleaner. 
I have no idea if eating gluten free will help my infertility--that's one of the big problems with unexplained infertility AND miscarriages, we have no idea what's causing them-- but I think it's a worth a shot.  Don't you?