My Most Vulnerable Blog Yet

One year ago this month, I hit the deepest rock bottom with my health that I had ever experienced before.  Prior to this, I certainly had my fair share of struggles and frustrations with weight, energy, allergies, ear infections and even skin cancer.  

But what happened last year really shook me, it took me to my knees in tears.

For months, every time I looked in the mirror, I felt disgusted. I barely recognized myself.  My emotions were running high and I felt like I had zero control.  It was a struggle every day to keep myself together.

I kept plugging away, pushing my symptoms to the side, until I just couldn’t take it anymore.

I will be the first to admit I am not perfect. Even health practitioners need help sometimes and this was one of those times for me.  My body literally stopped me in my tracks and forced me to pay attention to what was happening.

I finally woke up to what was happening on April 30th, 2016.

It was the morning after our best friend’s wedding.  I got up, went for a run, was back in my hotel room getting ready to take a shower and was shocked to find this when I looked in the mirror…

My right breast was inflamed, swollen, radiating heat and had a very visible red streak from the center all the way out towards my underarm.

My first thought was breast cancer.

For about a week leading up to this moment my breast had been very tender, painful even when rolling over in bed or when a seat belt brushed against it.  In the months leading up to this, I had experienced tenderness the week before my menstrual cycle but not to this extent.

The average doctor will say that breast tenderness leading up to a menstrual cycle is “normal” for most women, but I’m here to tell you it’s not (men hang in there with me this is important for you to know for all the women in your life, too).

What came next frightened me even more.

The pain, inflammation and radiating heat coming from my right breast continued for another 3-4 days followed by a 12 day period.  Needless to say, I was freaking out!

In this week’s video and blog I reveal how I got to the bottom of my hormone issues in 2016 and how one year later I’m symptom and PMS free!

I spent the first week of last May buried in research trying to find what in the world was going on with my body.  I contacted doctor after doctor, and practitioner after practitioner who supposedly specialized in women and breast health.  

But to my surprise no one was able to help me.

I had a mammogram, nothing showed up.  I considered a thermogram but heard differing opinions on what it could show.  Two conventional doctors told me they had never seen anything like it before and literally said they didn’t know what to do for me. I saw a “functional” and chinese medicine practitioner who couldn’t figure it out either, but wanted to give me progesterone cream for no good reason- why use something like that if we not even sure what we’re dealing with?

My frustration levels were rising and certainly not helping me in finding the answer.

I took a deep breath and decided I needed to look at myself as if I were my own client.  I took a step back, zoomed out my viewpoint and looked for clues.

What I found were a bunch of clues all pointing at estrogen dominance, poor clearing of estrogen from the body and an overloaded liver…

• Weight gain that had crept up on me
• Cystic acne when I had never had acne before
• Hot flashes in the middle of the night
• Feelings of depression and anxiety that would come and go
• Heavy, sporadic and long menstrual cycles
• Breast tenderness and overall intense PMS

I immediately did a DUTCH (dried urine test for comprehensive hormones) test to see what in the heck was going on with my hormones.

Just as I suspected, the test showed I was suffering from estrogen dominance, an imbalance between progesterone and estrogen, even though my total estrogen was low.  The test also showed that I was not excreting excess estrogen very well (likely from the mold exposure I discussed in last week’s blog).

This imbalance in my hormones likely would have never been caught on a typical blood test, or even a saliva test.  Blood and salivary testing for hormones only shows total values for hormones and not hormone metabolites which can show how the body is converting, clearing and utilizing hormones overall.

Once I knew exactly what I was dealing with, I was able get my hormones back in balance by creating a specific and strategic plan which included:

• Eliminating toxins such as plastics and mold that create xenoestrogens in the body
• Eating more estrogen neutralizing foods such as flaxseed, broccoli and brussels sprouts
• Taking a supplement called DIM Detox to support healthy estrogen levels and clearing
• Taking a supplement called Vitex to boost healthy progesterone levels
• Eating foods and taking supplements to support liver health

Once I had this support in place for a few weeks, I also decided to quit the birth control pill which had done a number on my hormones for over 17 years.

By the end of June I was already feeling more like myself.  The bouts of anxiety and depression disappeared, the acne started to clear and the breast tenderness never came back.

Here I am a year later and…

I’ve been acne free for months
I am in complete control of my emotions again
My period practically sneaks up on me because my PMS is so incredibly mild.

To be completely honest, I struggled morally for a long time about sharing this part of my story.  

Let’s be real, talking publicly about your menstrual cycle and sharing pictures of your breast isn’t exactly socially acceptable.  

However, I decided to share it to help empower you or someone you love. The key takeaway of my story is that you don’t have to suffer, and you don’t have to settle for anything less than you deserve when it comes to your health.

If your health is suffering, it doesn’t have to.
If you feel trapped and helpless, there is a solution for you out there.
If your doctor isn’t helping you get better, there are other health practitioners out there like me who can.

I’m curious, what part of my story resonated the most with you? What have you been struggling with that helped you relate to in my story? Submit a comment, I would love to know.