Lab Testing: Another Opportunity For You To Change The View

In my 30′s when I was blindly going through my infertility fiasco, I didn’t think to ask about my test results or how they used them to determine my course of treatment. Why didn’t I do this? I don’t know except my brain along with the rest of my body was in a tsunami due to the prednisone and massive doses of hormones I was taking. It’s not like I hadn’t already experienced other health issues that had taught me to ask questions and be an active participant.  I guess I still needed more training to earn the title, the Hormone Lady.

Heck, all I could think about was food 24/7. If you have been on prednisone (synthetic cortisone) or experienced extreme stress you know what I mean. I could have eaten the cardboard box along with all the Wheat Thins I ate everyday.

AFTER the effects of all this craziness, which resulted in hip surgery among many other complications, I decided to request my records and see if I could glean a few answers for myself on why all these treatments didn’t work.  How brilliant? What a novel idea?

The receptionist hemmed and hawed when I asked to have all of my records mailed to me. This was not a good sign or maybe it was a good sign to get involved. After weeks of not receiving my records, I drove 2 hours to get them in person. It was time to be an active participant. Ha, Ha, Ha.

Much to my surprise, I discovered the artificial insemination treatments had been done when the tests clearly showed my antinuclear antibodies were back up to the higher levels. This was the proposed reason I couldn’t get pregnant and the reason for being on prednisone.

To make a long story short the prednisone wasn’t working except for testing my self-esteem with a moon shaped face, 45 pounds of excess fat and getting me primed for hip surgery. And the extreme amount of hormones being pumped through my body were no match for the high level of antibodies.

The bottom line-the artificial inseminations were useless treatments. With a name like that how could they work? The whole experience was artificial!

The Test Result: A Real lesson on being an active participant BEFORE and DURING your treatment.  If you don’t take charge somebody else will!!!

Roz’s Lab Testing Tips:

Get involved. Participate in the testing decisions. If your practitioner doesn’t recommend testing -you recommend it. I have done this for years. If they didn’t put what I wanted on the script I added it myself (after I left the office of course).

Age Is Not The Issue. Many times physicians won’t test your hormones if you aren’t in the age category they think you should be (whatever that’s supposed to be). Insist you want it done no matter how old you are. In fact, the younger you are the better. Then you will have a baseline to go by throughout your lifetime.

Get a full panel of hormones tested. A basic panel should include Estradiol, Progesterone, Testosterone, DHEA and Cortisol. Ideally, a thyroid panel should also be included. For thyroid you would start out with TSH, Free T3, Free T4, TPO (thyroid peroxidase) and thyroid antibody. Check out the HORMONZ profiles.

Always get a copy of your test results. It is your information. How will you know what is going on if you don’t see it yourself?

Get Your Results BEFORE you see your healthcare practitioner or definitely before treatment.

Read Your Results. It isn’t rocket science. Look at your results. Look at the ranges. Where are you in the range?

Just because the results are “in the range” doesn’t mean it is normal for you.

If the range was 1-10 and your results are 1 or 10 this is a big difference.

If there isn’t an L for low or H for high next to a result many practitioners skim right over it.  Your results are considered “normal”.

Ask Questions. If you don’t understand what the results mean ask.

If your results are considered “normal” and you have all the symptoms of hormone imbalance most likely you do have hormone imbalance.

Know your body. What is “normal” for you?

Learn to trust your gut. If you know something is wrong most likely it is. Be persistent.

It’s your body. It’s your life. Only you know how you feel.

Take Care of YOU,

Roz