Photo Credit: Kaylee Garrett
I want to take some time to address several factors that we don’t normally put into the category of "fertility" but are important to consider.
1. Treating both partners
Historically, we are really good at concentrating all of our medical attention and treatment on women, as it relates to fertility. After all she’s the one who gets pregnant, carries the baby and gives birth. However, when it comes to doing the work of conceiving, she’s only 50% of the equation. Health of both partners should be considered. If you’ve been reading the other blog post series you have noticed a pattern: healthy gut = healthy hormones, toxicity impacts our hormone balance, hormones are directly unbalanced by irregular blood sugar levels and so on. This relates to BOTH people.
If you only treat one partner, and the other one has the issue, you will be forever chasing your tail. You need two to tango, quite literally in this case. You need a normal ovulation cycle, a viable healthy environment for conception (healthy Fallopian tubes where sperm meets the egg), normal hormone cycles in order to support proper implantation and growth of the embryo and normal, healthy sperm to penetrate the healthy egg. You need normal adrenal function in both sexes to have proper hormone balance. If any one of these steps breaks down by functional deficiency, lack of minerals, unhealthy hormone balance, etc., no fertilization or viable implantation occurs. If your male or female partner does not have healthy adrenal functions, and the adrogens don’t convert to testosterone/estrogen, healthy fertility levels do not occur. If you're emotionally taxed and do not have a healthy sex drive, guess what suffers? Yes, your fertility status.
You would be shocked to learn how many couples who "want to have a baby" do not have normal sex drive or are not having sex regularly. You know it’s a process, people. You have to have sex to have a baby. Help me out here!
2. Why do I feel so bad with completely normal blood work?
This point relates to all types of health issues, not just fertility. It is very common for me to see patients come in with absolutely normal-looking lab work who feel terrible. They can’t sleep, they can’t digest, they are constipated/have chronic diarrhea, they have skin issues, joint pain, chronic headaches/migraines, they are angry/sad/bitter/depressed/VERY anxious, they are sick ALL the time and, often times, we also see infertility.
So how does this make sense?
Because blood work only demonstrates disease. You need to be pretty far along, with about 60-70% loss of function, in order for blood work to pick up a "problem." Blood work is also just a snapshot in time of what's going on in your body; it changes hour by hour. It’s a relatively reliable snapshot, but its not everything. So, if you feel terrible and have normal blood work, join the group. There are many people out there with the same issue. Often times they’ve been told "it's all in your head." Most of the time it's not! That’s why simply treating off of blood work will never get you true health. That is why people who suffer with normal blood work are so frustrated and feel hopeless!
This is why I love muscle testing and treating acupuncture points. It allows us to identify issues in function (NOT pathology) at about 2% deficiency. That's fixing the problem as or before it starts. Compare that with 60-70% deficiency that is finally recognized by blood work and the contrast is staggering.
Function and disease are two different issues. If we identify the issue in your body, we can often bring your body back into balance long before a problem ever shows up in blood work. Don’t wait until you have a "disease" to do something about your chronic symptoms.
Often times, using these methods, I’m able to identify issues with patients that they've been struggling with but never told me about. They give me a "how did you know that?" look. Your body doesn’t lie! Through the use of muscle testing and acupuncture systems, we're able identify and treat underlying disturbances. It is a very powerful system.
So, if you are struggling with your health, with fertility, with joint pain, with hormone balance, with headaches, whatever else, you are NOT alone and there IS a better way. You don’t have to continue to be part of the opioid epidemic that our country is struggling with. You can choose health by identifying your individual issues.
3. Subclinical infections, allergies, mental/emotional trauma.
There are other factors which should be addressed when looking at the health of any patient. These include infections. Often times our bodies hide underlying infections. For example, you can get pockets of infection, even those that dental procedures cannot correct, because they are deep in your tissues and your immune system is constantly fighting. These can be addressed diet, supplements and other careful evaluation (including, of course, treatment).
Allergies can also impact your gut, raising inflammation, stressing out your gut lining and preventing you from properly absorbing nutrients (check out my gut post for more information). This causes malabsorption and the inability to rebuild the cells of the body, causing weakness in immune system function, hormone system balance, and overall physical health.
My final point in this section is about mental/emotional trauma. Let's face it, many of us have past mental emotional trauma/pain that we’ve not overcome (even if we don't think of it using a severe term like "trauma"). If you have any of that from your past, and we all do to some extent, it can trigger cortisol production (stress hormone), which then prevents normal hormone balance, proper sleep, digestion, and neurotransmitter production (happy chemicals your brain needs). We can, at times, see mental/emotional stress impact structural elements, causing joint pain of low back, neck, headaches, etc. Mental/emotional pain highly impacts our health. We often suppress our pain, but, even if it is from years ago and not consciously on our minds, it can resurface with physical symptoms. How does it impact us day to day? Just think of when you're under stress and your immune system suffers. Well, when you have mental/emotional trauma from the past, it constantly triggers your body. So, you're constantly under higher levels of stress, which prevents homeostasis (balance) in your body and true health.
As I mentioned in my first blog, there are a variety of methods you can use to address all of these problems. Here are some of the tools I use in my office:
1. Applied Kinesiology
Utilizing the tool of muscle testing we’re able to identify and address the underlying root of the issue, whether it’s physical, mental/emotional or biochemical. We quickly determine what is wrong and remove any barriers to care. Instead of chasing your tail, we identify the ROOT problem and fix it. It is an amazingly accurate and powerful tool.
2. Adjustments
Your body's nervous system (which is housed in your spinal cord and surrounded by the joints of your back) regulates all of the functions of your body, from gut health to emotions to moods and many, many aspects of your health including your hormones. If your spine isn’t moving well, the signals from your nervous system are not properly relayed to other systems of the body. This can lead to disruption.
3. Mental/emotional work - often times pain or trauma (both physical and emotional) from our past is a barrier that prevents us from healing, connecting with the outside world, and forming healthy relationships. Suppressed emotions impact different systems of the body. For instance, liver is highly sensitive to anger. Through a series of mental/emotional techniques we help your body to heal and move forward from past pain and trauma.
4. Supplementation/Herbs/Homeopathy
While we’re resolving underlying issues, it's often helpful to support patients with various vitamins, homeopathy or herbs to allow their bodies to heal from the inside out. Again, we use the tool of muscle testing to figure out your INDIVIDUAL needs. Not everyone needs the same supplements. We support your system in specific and precise ways that are right for YOU. In order to support your health, you need specific supplements. We’re all different and shouldn’t just be "taking a multivitamin." We can do better than that!
I hope you have enjoyed this series on fertility. If you are struggling with this issue, and want to come in and see how I can help (or receive a consult), I'd be absolutely happy to help. Thanks for following me on my series this week, and I wish you the best in your health journey!
For more on fertility see my other posts here: understanding fertility, working with hormones, fixing the gut and toxicity and fertility.
If you’ve struggled with infertility and would like a natural approach click the button below to schedule your appointment!
If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.