Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a very private person, but I wanted to share this in case it can help someone else. For years now—almost a decade—I've been dealing with chronic fatigue, poor exercise recovery and a general feeling of blah... like I couldn't experience joy or love as deeply as I knew I should. I frequently woke up with anxiety and was always very reactive and short tempered.
I've been to so many doctors to try to find out why and my lab work always comes back good with the exception of low estrogen. I had leaky gut/ dysbiosis and multiple viruses at one point which I worked with a doctor on and felt better for a while. Well, my gut felt better but my energy, recovery and mood never improved.
Over the years I tried to incorporate bioidentical estrogen hormone because I know how important it is for mood, brain health and heart health, but each time I did, I felt so bad, bloated and irritable within a few days that I just gave up on it. I was beginning to think this was all in my head.
Then I did a genetic test for mutations in DNA and the results cleared it all up for me! For one, I have the MTHFR gene variant which affects methylation, detox, mood and brain function. I also have a COMT gene mutation which affects levels of stress hormones (I have the 'worrier' version). It also means I can't detox efficiently, especially estrogen. I did the test on my own, not through a doctor. I ordered the kit online through SNIP Nutrigenomics and it’s as simple as a quick cheek swab, ship it back and get the report online in a few weeks. The reports are easy to read and give you all the information you need to make changes, including lifestyle changes, nutrition advice and they even create custom CODE Complex supplements with all the nutrients YOUR body needs according to your DNA. (And if you need help interpreting the reports, they even offer a consultation with their nurse.)
Armed with this new information, I made lifestyle changes to support detox and stress and started on the CODE Complex supplements. I even gave the estrogen therapy another try because now my doctor knew what supplement to use with it to help my body detox the excess. (Make sure to find a doctor that is versed on this kind of DNA testing).
It took some time to build up to the full dose of supplements (if you jump in too fast, you can get a Herx reaction with flu-like symptoms), and I was beginning to feel a littler better. But within a week of starting the estrogen therapy I was a new person! I've been happy, joyful, feel love on a whole different level and my relationship with Joe has been better than it's been in almost a decade! He actually told me (with a little tear in his eye) that he finally felt like he got his wife back.
Maybe you or someone you know feels the same and isn't getting answers from doctors. My advice is to start with testing your hormone levels then consider the DNA test to see what’s going on genetically.
This has been a long journey for me but having all this new information has been a game changer for me! I'm still working through the energy and recovery issues but I'm confident that with this new knowledge I will be 100% in no time. Health is a lifetime choice, not a one-time act. And I can’t think of anything better I’d rather put my time, effort and resources into than feeling great. Cheers to your health!
Here's the link to the DNA test I did >> SNIP Nutrigenomics Use code CARE25 for $25 off (you have to use this link to get the discount).
I go to Dr. Terese Harris in Newport Beach, CA for my hormones and she has knowledge of treating the DNA variants.
Full disclosure: I believe in the test and supplements so much that I contacted the company for a referral program to give you a discount, and for sharing their info with you, they reward me as well—it’s a win win 😉