Why I run a Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis on ALL of my clients!
A blood lab panel in itself may or may not give you the information that you are looking for! In fact, I would say that 90% of people who go to the doctor for lab work get told that EVERYTHING IS NORMAL when you are feeling far from normal or even remotely close to “functioning”, let alone optimal! Let’s face it, we get our labs done because we want information, we want to know why we are not feeling good, we want answers!
In defense of all of the great practitioners that are out there, I will say this - it is impossible to know everything about everything! How much or how little we rely on lab work for information, really has to do with how much testing we have at our disposal to form a complete picture and how much we as practitioners really understand what we are looking at. In fact, individual markers don’t always tell us a whole lot but when we look at all of the markers as a whole, a skilled practitioner will notice patterns and trends that will start to tell us your story!
“Tell us your story!”. Sounds a little like a psychic reading or a fortune telling? Well, it kind of is!
Let me share with you a little about my own functional blood chemistry panel/story!
But first, I will tell a bit about my symptoms…
A year after the birth of my second child, I was exhausted! And not your typical kind of “tired”, I was constantly out of breath, dizzy and unable to move around the house without instantly feeling like I needed to lie down.. This would last for about a week and then it would morph into the most unbearable brain fog, nausea and a migraine that was so intense, I could barely see as I drove my daughter to school. I would reschedule clients, I was miserable to be around, and I felt like a total failure! I often worried that my daughter was going to grow up with a mother that for two weeks out of every month, couldn’t function. I didn’t want her to see me sick and defeated, I wanted her to see me thrive! My relationship felt like it was falling apart (I couldn't give myself permission to not always have to be “perfect”). My partner barely recognized me, I barely recognized me! As a last resort, I spent $1000 on a 30 minute consultation with a very well known, somewhat famous Naturopathic doctor. She told me that my adrenals were taxed and to take a glandular. Not true, it didn’t work. I felt hopeless.
FINALLY, I ran my own labs and here is what showed up…
I had reactive hypoglycemia. No surprise here although I would have denied it had someone suggested it! My blood sugar was becoming more and more imbalanced and in consequence my adrenals, thyroid and liver were all taking a huge hit!
My thyroid hormones were all LOW! Note that if I had done my thyroid labs through an allopathic doctor, I would have been told that my thyroid was normal based on my TSH alone. However, when we see a normal TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) it doesn’t always tell us much about our actual thyroid hormones and whether those are optimal (why we always need to run a full thyroid panel - Total T4, Free T4, Total T3, Free T3 and Reverse T3).
Note: In my case, the pituitary (which is responsible for producing TSH) had gone offline (most likely due to excessive stress and HPA axis dysfunction). In other words, the feedback loop wasn’t working correctly and therefore wasn’t trying to up-regulate thyroid hormone production by increased thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).
I was constantly constipated and so I wasn’t clearing excess estrogen or toxins and because as estrogen climbs, thyroid hormone production goes down, I was caught in a vicious, vicious cycle! In fact, around Day 7 in my cycle, when estrogen naturally starts to climb, my DAO enzyme production was going down and my histamine bucket was starting to overflow (headaches, sinus issues/jaw pain, insomnia) and thanks to many unfortunate genetic SNPs, my cortisol was also staying high, my liver was getting backed up, I was in estrogen dominance, the list goes on.
Homocysteine: my homocysteine was also wiped out! Rarely do you hear practitioners talk about low homocysteine, which is a huge mistake! What this tells us is that the body’s requirement for sulfur is up regulated due to an increased need for glutathione, usually due to inflammation and oxidative stress. This can be due to chronic gut issues, heavy metals, free radicals - mold! I needed to find out why I was using up all of my glutathione!
MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW: all elevated! I won’t get into each of these markers individually but what they tell us together, is that there is a need (or an absorption issue) for B12, Folate and/or B6. There is definitely some type of anemia going on and I needed to find out why!
Uric acid: low. Once again, another sign of oxidative stress!
Low phosphorus, Alkaline Phosphatase, Magnesium, Vitamin D: all low! I want to be thinking about: low HCL, absorption issues, hypothyroidism, low protein (or absorption), low zinc (either I am using it all up or more absorption issues).
Albumin and globulin: low. This tells me that there is likely infection/inflammation, liver disorders/liver congestion, chronic immune activation, etc.
WBC (white blood cells): low. We see this with chronic bacterial/viral infections, parasites, B12, B6, Folate deficiency, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, etc.
Ok, so these are just a few of the markers that showed up imbalanced in my blood chemistry panel. However, the biggest takeaway that I received was that I was under a lot of oxidative stress! And since I perceived my diet as already being impeccable and on all the “right” supplements, this led me to more testing and here’s what I found…
I had extremely high levels of H-pylori. Note: I had my general physician test me for this twice and both tests came back negative. Don’t rely on these tests just because they are covered by insurance, it’s not worth it! I always recommend a GI map for ruling out H-pylori.
I had a raging Blastocystis Hominis infection (in the billions)- worse than any of my colleagues had ever seen and a huge contributor to Hashimoto’s.
My Organic Acids Test showed that I had a severe Candida issue (note: I have never experienced a vaginal yeast infection) and I was full of toxic mold!
I was under extreme oxidative stress and therefore was using up all of my glutathione.
I was full of heavy metals such as aluminum and mercury.
My diet may have been perfect but I was not able to absorb or utilize the nutrients!
I was unhappy! My lab markers showing major indications of oxidative stress wasn’t just due to mold, chronic infection(s) and the resulting digestive dysfunction but I wasn’t resourced enough to truly prioritize my sleep and wellbeing. I had a toddler, I was breastfeeding, I was stressed with work and I was spending most of my time in a sympathetic dominant state and it was most definitely showing up on my labs! In order to heal the body, we have to address the nervous system simultaneously!
Guys and gals, I really want us to pay attention to this last one because when we prioritize stress management and sleep, our bodies tend to not be so overcome by these additional stressors and here is why…
H-pylori oftentimes is only able to take hold due to low stomach acid. In fact, H-Pylori is a normal part of our stomach’s natural environment and can even be protective but when the environment becomes imbalanced and it is in overgrowth, it can destroy parietal cells, lead to ulcers, cancer, significant absorption issues, malnourishment and one of the biggest ways that H-pylori is able to take hold is due to stress! During the lockdowns, almost 90% of my clients tested positive for elevated levels of H-pylori.
Blastocystis Hominis: again, our first line of defense is our stomach acid. Inadequate stomach acid allows B. Hominis to take hold. Not to mention, Blastocystis Hominis is one of the leading causes of Autoimmune Thyroiditis,
The body's ability to counteract the effects of toxic mold and candida has to do with the energetics of feeling “overcome” by other stressors in our life. I was overwhelmed, feeling unsupported and the mold was a mirror to the parts of myself that had felt lost. This is quite common for mama’s with small children who aren’t getting the love and support that they need.
We have to be in a parasympathetic state, rest and digest state to effectively detox! Please stop running around searching for that magic wand, the entire YOU needs to be addressed to heal.
What I did!
I optimized my stomach acid with HCL supplementation.
Tons of bile support to ensure that I could clear excess hormones and toxins.
I added in binders to aid in clearing the mold.
I started on mitochondria support.
I eradicated the H-Pylori and Blastocystis.
I implemented a robust protocol targeted at nervous system support as well as prioritized my sleep, this allowed me to efficiently detox.
I worked on my mindset. I stepped into a place of agency, empowerment, gratitude and love!
Within 3 months:
My energy was back!
The migraines were gone.
The bloating and gas that I had suffered from for nearly a decade was completely gone!
I had zero depression or anxiety.
I felt alive, empowered and energized as I was finally digesting, absorbing and utilizing my food.
In every moment of every day, we have a choice about how we are going to perceive our experience. Give yourself permission to witness yourself and to witness others without thought, judgment or the need to move into action. Breathe!
Let’s figure out what is going on with your blood chemistry! Schedule your free 20 minute consult today!
