August 24, 2011

My Hormone Update – Part II

I know that many of you read my story about my hormonal health in my prior blog and I promised an update. If you didn’t read it, click here to get the first part of the “saga” -hehe.

Well to give you the update, I finally got all my remaining blood tests back and boy was it torture waiting. I started on some bio-identicals about 2 weeks ago after my first visit to see Prudence Hall, and I wasn’t feeling any better. Trust me, I know that this stuff takes time, and I’m willing to give it time. I had a follow up call scheduled with Cynthia, the amazing practitioner at the center who was to read me the results of my bloodwork and to check in with me to see how I was doing. I quickly told her I wasn’t feeling any different and she giggled, as I knew she would, and said, “I know honey, these things take time.” Isn’t that what I just said? Anyway, she thoroughly went over my test results with me and I was presented with the FACTS (finally) of what is happening in my body, hormonally, which ultimately leads to all balance in the body.

Now, you all know I eat healthy, I exercise, I don’t put any white sugar, animal products or other “bad” stuff down my hatch, yet I was feeling so unhealthy, tired and run down, and quite honestly, like a fraud. Well, I am happy to report that now I finally have ANSWERS to all of these symptoms and am on the road to balance and “recovery”…

Here is what my progress report showed when I had all my hormones tested:

LOW, LOW, LOW!!!

  • Testosterone – super low – supposed to be between 50-100 – Me: 17 (WHAT?). Yes, women have testosterone in their bodies and if it’s not properly balanced we can’t build muscle, or produce energy, or even have a healthy libido. Basically we have no energy TO DO ANYTHING! And we age quickly!
  • Estradiol or Estrogen – Ideal: 150-250 – Me: 102 – YIKES – this is responsible for healthy female ‘time’ – sorry to any dudes reading this..but it’s a fact of life!
  • DHEA – Adrenal Hormone – again responsible for energy, growth, skin elasticity, healthy aging, etc. Ideal: Above 200 – Me: 144.4
  • Pregnenelone – Adrenal Hormone – Ideal: 100-150 – Me: 81 (YIKES)
  • Cortisol – responsible for blood sugar, energy, etc – Ideal: 15 – Me: 9.3 (my cortisol being so off is why I cannot sleep at night. My body is releasing cortisol in the middle of the night, when it’s not supposed to, only to protect me, and it’s wreaking havoc on my sleep cycle – UGH!)
  • HGH – we all know what this is, and it’s responsible for energy, healthy aging, beauty and fantastical-ness (is that a word?) oh, that reminds me, I just took my HGH spray (all natural/homeopathic) – Ideal: above 200 – Me: 149
  • Vitamin D – The Sunshine Vitamin – responsible for our sunniness, literally our happy from the inside out – ideal: 65 – me: 28.8 WHAT??? I Live IN LA for crying out loud. Apparently almost every American is severely low in this Sunshine Vitamin, so make sure you take a supplement unless you are George Hamilton!

So there you have it, not only am I low in everything, as you can see, but my adrenals are completely out of whack, which happens when we are under a lot stress, but come on…really?

I cannot tell you how happy I am to have a solution to help heal what has been going on in my body. I have only been on my natural hormones to help rebuild for about 6 days and already I feel a major difference. Monday night I had so much energy I thought I was going to explode..in a good way. I recently started another round of P90X and have been working out pretty hardcore and I can’t tell you how good it feels to have the energy to do this. I was jumping through the roof during Plyo at Tony’s house and my dear friend Phil told me how strong I am looking these days..I am only on week 3! Thanks Phil!

I’ve also received a few comments about how much younger I look, and only in 6 days (and I haven’t even been wearing any makeup.) Whoa there is something to this. I will continue with my regimine and pray that each day will bring more and more balance to my life. Yes, I have to swallow some pills and dab on some creams, but I know that they are doing my life and my body a major service. I am so happy to have found my energy again, to be sleeping a little bit better than I was, and to feel more balanced emotionally. Oh yea, that’s something else that has changed; my emotional state is a lot less dramatic…when stuff comes up, I can move through it quicker withough diving into the poor me doldrums..yes, I have a tendency to go there, but who knew that it was my hormones, or lack thereof, taking me there.

So, that’s my update. I hope I didn’t bore you and I hope that maybe this will help someone out there that is having issues with tiredness, lack of energy, low libido, sallow skin, bad sleep! Please do yourself a favor and see an endocrine specialist that knows what they are doing. They will tell you all the appropriate bloodwork you need done. A regular blood test read by a doctor will not tell you anything! Hall Health & Longevity Center is my place here in LA, but there are tons of places out there, just do your research! I am so grateful that I took these positive steps for my health and vitality. There is no price that we can put on our health, ever, so it’s extremely important that we take excellent care of our bodies while we are here on this earth, and that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun while doing it!

Just look at some of the delicious recipes on my site that you can make and eat that taste good and won’t leave you feeling deprived! Until next time…

 

Melissa Costello

Author, Speaker, Culinary Plant-Based Nutrition & Health Empowerment Coach | Cleanse Expert

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