The results are in...

And much to my relief everything's NOT normal! ;) My suspicions of some kind of imbalance have been confirmed and now we can finally move foward with things!

So, here's the cliff note version of my appointment...

1. Progesterone deficiency, most notably during the luteal phase which leads to a diagnosis of Luteal Phase Deficit Type III (whatever that means??).

2. Estrogen dominance, which is very common in women with endometriosis and is the likely explanation as to why we haven't been able to get pregnant. She said by the time my body actually ovulates my eggs are shot (specifically something to do with the corpus luteum) and therefore fertilization is extremely difficult, if not impossible.

3. TSH (Thyroid) out of normal range. Right now it is not horribly out of range, but enough to indicate that my thyroid is not functioning like it should be. That combined with my low Basal Body Temperatures, leads her to believe that it is the early stages of Hashimotos Disease.

4. My Cortisol levels are out of normal range (too high). Cortisol is supposed to be higher in the morning and lower in the evening and my peaks at night.

5. My fasting insulin is low. This could be do to a number of factors, but more than likely is related to the high cortisol.

6. My SIgA is depressed. This also has something to do with Cortisol and is the explanation for my inability to get healthy these past several months. SIgA is the bodies first defense to viruses, bacterias, etc. and when it is depressed your body can't fight things off as well as it should be able to.

So with all of that information she created a treatment plan for me that looks something like this...

1. Take a supplement called Pregnancy Prep to help support normal ovulation.

2. Use a progesterone cream to treat the luteal phase defect.

3. Take a supplement to for thyroid health. Like I mentioned before, she thinks if I start now I can get my thyroid back to it's healthy functioning state without having to deal with the major symptoms of a thyroid disorder.

4. One more supplement to help with the Cortisol rebalancing itself.

# 3 and 4 she listed as "secondary suggestions" so I won't start those for another month or so. Right now we are going to focus on the fertility stuff and add the rest down the road.

5. Acupuncture which will last for 2-3 months.

So, if your head is spinning after all of that, don't worry, mine is too. And like I mentioned in the beginning, this is the cliff note version. ;)

All in all, I feel really good about things. I've said it before, but my biggest fear was going in and having her say, "everything looks normal". Now that we know there's something wrong, we can work to fix it and hopefully attain our goal of a healthy pregnancy. She is so optimistic about everything and is certain that this will turn things around for us. The really good news is that I only have to be on this regimn for 1 month before we can start actively trying to get pregnant again. I thought for sure it would be at least 3 months, but she said 1 month should do it!

Now on to the fun part. I had my first acupuncture today! Like I've heard so many people say, it really isn't that bad! I was pretty nervous going in and just kept praying that it didn't hurt too bad. For those of you who like details, here's how it works...

First I changed into a gown and laid down, face up on a table with a pillow under my head and one under my knees. She came in, took my chinese pulse, looked at my tongue and then used an alcohol swab to clean the areas the needles would go in. After that she started in my left hand. I felt a little prick the first time, but it didn't really hurt. After that she moved to my legs and went back and forth between my arms and legs. After she was done there she put 2 needles in my belly (right in the middle) and one last one right between my eyes (bridge of my nose). When she was done she turned the heater on and moved a heat lamp over me and told me to try to sleep. She came back in after about 15 minutes, stimulated the needles a little and then left me alone for another 15 mintues or so. After my time was up she came in, quickly removed the needles (I didn't feel a thing), rubbed some essential oils on my feet and hands and left me to get dressed. With the exception of 1 needle in my right leg which she said aches on every women she puts it in I would say that the entire thing was essentially painless. I will say that it was a little weird to look down and see needles sticking out of my body, but it didn't freak me out as much as I thought it would. And as pathetic as this sounds, if I have to get needles stuck in me to get 30 minutes of uniterupted rest during the day, I'll do it! ;P

She is obviously a bit biased as a Oriental Medicine Doctor, but she kept going on and on about what great results acupuncture has with fertility issues. Most of the points she did were dealing with my "conception vessel" (Chinese Medicine lingo), but she also did some to help with the endometriosis. I guess only time will tell, but after today it's definitely something I don't mind giving a chance!

So, that's about it. I've been waiting a loooong time for this information and feel so good to finally have it. I feel like we have a plan and something to work towards. I am excited about getting my body back to it's healthy state and hopefully reaping the rewards of optimal health (not just pregnancy).

I will of course keep everyone updated, but for now, this is where we stand!