If I had a penny for every time a client had told me that they're struggling to fall pregnant even though all their test results are 'normal' when they first came to see me, I'd be lying on a sunny beach and sipping a watermelon shake right now.
The thing is, it's not their fault. Because when a GP says that the test results are 'normal' or 'fine', why would they be questioning this?
That's where I come in. I'd say 8 out of 10 times a client's 'normal' test results are not where I'd want to see them in the context of fertility. A 'normal' result means that it's a result that is expected for your specific demographic, but it doesn't mean that the results are anywhere near optimal.
I'm not ok with 'normal', I want optimal.
I'd love to tell you the story of one of my lovely clients. She intuitively knew that her thyroid wasn't right, she just KNEW it (thyroid issues are extremely common in women with PCOS which is why we run through thyroid health in lots of detail in my PCOS Pregnancy Plan).
She had a thyroid panel done by her GP which came back as 'normal'.
Fast forward a month or two to when we started working together. I asked her to send through her latest blood tests so I could review them. Not only were her thyroid levels way out of the optimal range, but she also had elevated thyroid antibodies which is a key indicator for Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease in which the body makes antibodies that attack the thyroid and prevent it from working efficiently.
Now I'm not a medical doctor which means that I'm not in any position to diagnose a condition. But I knew that these elevated antibodies were not to be ignored and required further assessment so an official diagnosis could be made if appropriate.
Are you ready for a happy ending? My lovely client went back to her GP and was put on levothyroxine, a thyroid medication, which resulted in increased energy, less headaches (which she suffered with quite a lot) and just generally feeling better in herself. She is also currently pregnant!
It definitely wasn't easy, my client had to be a major advocate for herself and her own health, but we got there in the end.
Why am I telling you this? I'm telling you this because I want you to question every single result you get. And I'm here to help you on your journey.
Got some test results you'd like me to have a look over? No probs! Just drop me an email at hello@sarahnash.co.uk
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