Jake Berman

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Fertility: 5 Things Your Doctor may not be Looking at

Jenni Berman |

Fertility Concerns – Infertility – Unexplained Infertility – Secondary Infertility – Recurrent Fetal Loss – Recurrent Miscarriage – Fetal Loss – Spontaneous Abortion – Ectopic Pregnancy – Amenorrhea – Secondary Amenorrhea – Hypothalamic Amenorrhea – Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

 

Do any of these words hit home? I understand. They did (and actually still do) for me, too. If you haven’t listened to our Podcast Episode 84: go check it out. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q-wkRX0tHc

 

Prior to getting married, I didn’t have a menstrual cycle for a few years. I lost it sometime in PA school, though I had already been on birth control for many years. I started birth control when I initially got my menstrual cycle at the age of 16 (Yes, I was late) because of very, very heavy bleeding. I have a bleeding disorder called von Willebrand’s Disease and bleed more than an average person. The cure for that in the 2000s was to start birth control. Many times, that is still the “cure”. Anyway, fast forward many years, I stopped getting a menstrual cycle. Meanwhile, I also had a significant jump in my liver enzymes, GI distress, lost an immediate thirty pounds, hospitalized, and so on. This is a journey and story itself which is explained in my book – https://www.amazon.com/Listen-Your-Gut-Ultimate-Imbalances/dp/B0BHL3M3DK

 

I was on quite the journey figuring out many health related concerns which are actually very common.

 

After Jake and I got married, I came off birth control and STILL didn’t have a cycle. Several months went by and I saw my Gynecologist. She wanted to try more hormones to stimulate my cycle. Being naive and Western Medicine Trained (through Physician Assistant school), I agreed. After several rounds, still no luck. I was referred to an Infertility Specialist.

 

After MANY tests, scans, MRI of my brain, and more tests – I was diagnosed with Secondary Hypothalamic Amenorrhea. Excuse Me? What does that even mean? Beyond this, I had several losses even if we did have the opportunity to get pregnant. Heartbreaking.

 

As explained in the podcast, we did follow through with several rounds of medications and procedures with the Infertility Specialist. Meanwhile, I teamed up with a local Functional Medicine provider who was showing me how to think outside of the box. Through this, I actually was successful at getting pregnant, holding onto the pregnancy, and having healthy babies.

 

So, this is where I want to help you. I want to help you avoid the emotional rollercoaster and heartbreaking journey that I went through.

 

Five Things to work with a Functional Medicine Provider on to make your Fertility Journey more successful:

GUT HEALTH

– Have you actually assessed your food sensitivities and gut microbiome (environment)? Traditional practices typically won’t even talk about this, though this is bottom line the most important thing to be able to balance your hormones for optimal ovulation AND to hold a healthy pregnancy.

Even if you absolutely cannot ovulate or must have IVF for another reason… you still need a healthy gut to be able to HOLD a healthy pregnancy and to provide the nutrients to the baby.

Vitamin Levels –

Do you need Vitamin B12 or Vitamin D? What is your Cortisol level? Is your Ferritin (Iron Storage) level optimal? Knowing these numbers and understanding their role is vital.

Sure your AMH level is important. Your progesterone level is important. But, there is more…

Thyroid

– is your thyroid actually optimal? I have said this word a couple of times – but there is a difference between optimal and normal!! We need to be looking at more than just the TSH and even the T4. We need to look at the Free T3 and thyroid antibodies.

Blood Sugar Stability –

this is more than just looking at your fasting blood sugar number through a morning test. There are 5 different ways to evaluate for blood sugar instability through blood test. Wearing a continuous glucose monitor can provide us even more information about your daily glucose readings.

Blood sugar is SO important to hormone balancing, energy for our cells, vitamin absorption, and more.

Proper Supplementation – Does your body need Inositol or L-Theanine? Do you actually need more protein or more calories in general? Do you need more amino acids to support methylation? We need to look deeper into your body!!

 

Don’t forget the Emotional Support – this may be the toughest one as we all just want it to be successful, over, and a happy ending. We cannot take the outside stress of this away, but how can we lower the internal stress response? It is actually possible to break the stress response through our nutrients, supplementation, exercise, and other emotional support mechanisms.

 

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Listen to more of our Podcasts: https://www.bermanpt.com/podcast/

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Jenni Berman

Jenni Berman

Jenni, owner of Berman Health and Wellness, works alongside Berman Physical Therapy to help individuals get back in shape, improve their gut health, and to stay feeling young so they can stay in the game! After graduating from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, she went on to obtain a Master’s of Physician Assistant Studies. She has a passion for helping individuals to feel better than they thought imaginable through natural approaches, nutrition, and whole body treatment. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Specialist. When she is not working with patients or with clients, you can find Jenni on the boat, in the sun, enjoying time with her husband, Jake,her daughter Stella June, spending time in Jacksonville with her family, or playing with her [CUTE!] pups!!
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