I Did a Hormone Cycle Mapping Test and Here's How It Went.

Okay, so to understand the hormone cycle mapping test and why it's important, you have to understand why I decided to do it.

At the start of 2018, Alex and I were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Our diagnosis came from the OBGYN that I was seeing at the time and after receiving this diagnosis we were basically told that the odds of us getting pregnant on our own were slim, but we had three choices in moving forward. We could continue to try (but may not have success) naturally or we could pursue fertility treatments like IUI or IVF.

Looking back now, it frustrates me that I was not given an option for a hormone panel or extensive bloodwork. Did they do bloodwork? Sure. Was it extensive? I really don't know.

Also, if at any point while you're reading this you feel like my tone is salty or full of disdain, you're probably right. I do feel frustrated with the fact that the education provided to me by trusted healthcare professionals was lacking. I will never forget when I went to my OB to ask about what I needed to know prior to trying to conceive, he said, "throw your legs in the air, have a glass of wine, and have a good time."

The general education to help women better understand their bodies is seriously lacking and even when you want to know more, it feels like the information is hard to find or you have to pay a bunch of money to get there.

THIS is why I created this space.

I want to make sure that women have the education and resources that weren't given to me.

Okay, now where was I?

So we had our diagnosis and now we were faced with what we were going to do. Very long story short, we started with IUIs. We did five of them and they all failed which then led us to pursue IVF. We had a successful IVF cycle that ended in us having 15 frozen embryos. We did two embryo transfers which were both successful and led to us having our boys- Aspen and Graham. I'm sure I'll go into that process at another time, but for now this is a very brief overview of our story in case you're new here or didn't know these parts of our journey.

In between our boys being born, we started really diving into living a more non-toxic lifestyle and began tackling like with a holistic approach. This is when I began telling Alex that eventually I wanted to have more tests done to have a better idea of what was happening with my body. I began seeing stories from other women who authentically shared their stories about hormone health and finding underlying health issues which impacted their fertility. It was encouraging to hear from others and this is another big reason why I'm choosing to share this journey so openly. Had other women not openly shared their journey, I wouldn't have had the confidence or education to pursue this journey for myself.

So I set a timeframe and said that after I was done breastfeeding Graham, I would choose to pursue an integrative health specialist to start this whole process.

I'm going to be honest with you- finding an integrative health specialist that I could trust was the most daunting part and for that reason alone, I put off looking into it for a long time. It was only by the recommendation of a friend that I found Triad Lifestyle Medicine and got connected with Tiffany.

I wanted to see how things would go and if we would be a good fit for one another so we had a brief meeting and there's no other way to say it than it just felt right. I told her about our history with unexplained infertility and the conversation we had was just so encouraging and amazing. It was a casual conversation and for the first time in a really long time, I felt like a healthcare specialist was actually LISTENING to me. That meeting lasted for about 30-45 minutes and we ended it with setting an appointment for an initial visit. I left their office that day feeling a wave of relief, knowing that we were on the right path with the right team working alongside of us.

My initial visit was a couple of weeks later and I can't wait to tell you about it. First let me tell you that this initial visit lasted for an hour and a half! LIKE WHAT. Coming from a world where doctor appointments lasted 15 minutes or less- this is massive. Tiffany's office is set up so you're able to sit comfortably on a couch across from her desk which already creates a more relaxing and inviting environment. She asked me to give her a breakdown of my health history (period, lifestyle, pregnancies, birth stories, etc.) and as I gave a detailed account, she took notes on her laptop.

We wrapped up the conversation by talking about my current lifestyle and what my overall health goals were- basically, what was my main focus moving forward. To which my answer was: I want my body to be operating at its best. We would love to have more kids down the road and yes, I would love to conceive a baby naturally, but that was not my main focus right now. I want to figure out what my body is doing right now so that it can be at its best before we even think about working to conceive naturally.

Based off of all of the information that I provided her with in this appointment, we decided that the best place to start was with doing an extensive panel of bloodwork to test an assortment of levels including my thyroid and pairing that with the cycle mapping hormone test. The results from both the bloodwork and cycle mapping test would help us to have a better idea of how to move forward with a plan that worked for me. The bloodwork was completed in the office before I left that day and Tiffany told me that if any of those results came back problematic she would let me know. If not, then we would meet back in a couple of months once my cycle mapping test was complete and the results were in.

The cycle mapping test was sent to my house and it was VERY easy to do. If you look at the photo at the intro of this post, you can see a brief overview of what the test kit looked like. It all came in a small plastic box and the directions were very easy to follow. It was a month long test that I completed throughout the course of my cycle and would show how my hormones were acting during my cycle. It began on the 7th day of my cycle and basically every other day (using my first pee of the morning), I would pee in a small cup and grab one of the test cards. There was a specific part of the test card that needed to be dipped into the urine and then hung up to dry before being closed.

And if you're like me- you're wondering how in the world you were going to remember which day you needed to take samples, don't worry- they've got you covered! There was a paper chart in the box where you could keep track of the date and time you were taking samples so that you didn't get confused or thrown off track.

The test came to an end when you either started your next cycle or completed all 15 sample cards. It was nice to know that there was a definitive end to the test one way or another and my test ended when my cycle returned, with one test card left.

After that, it was time to send it off! All of the test cards were labeled with my name and the date/time of the completed sample. They were then put in small plastic bags and put back in the box and shipped off to the lab for testing.

The ending of this test was weirdly emotional for me and I wasn't really anticipating that. The best way I can describe it is that I was ready to know, but I was also very nervous to know. I wanted the answers about what was going on in my cycle, but having information like this that I've never had made me feel uncomfortable and nervous. I remember feeling very similar feelings before I did some of the procedures at the start of our infertility journey. You want to know FOR SURE, but it's also really intimidating to pull back that curtain and look beneath the surface of what's really going on.

Tiffany never called me about my bloodwork which brought me some relief and once I shipped off my hormone test, I called and we made an appointment for about a month later to go over the results of everything. The cycle mapping test results took a few weeks to process so there had to be roughly a month between the test ending and me finding out the results. Talk about a waiting game, wheww.

I know this is a LOT of information and that's why I wanted to break this down into two different posts so that you could digest all of this at your pace. I think it's important to understand the test itself and why I went through with it before hearing about the results. The results of both tests blew my mind and are covered in depth in the next post:

If you've struggled to conceive or just want to have a better understanding of what your body is doing, I think a cycle mapping hormone test could be beneficial for you.

BUT

Please remember that I did all of this while working with an integrative health professional and would recommend that you check with a doctor or health specialist before you make any changes to your lifestyle or conduct any testing.

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message on my Instagram page. It will be a great place for us to connect and continue conversation.

In the meantime, please know that I am cheering you on- wherever you may be in your journey and above all else, remember that you're not alone. We are in this together, my friend. I hope this was helpful for you and gave you a good intro into this world of hormone health. Are you ready, let's dive in together.

I'll see you on the next post! Until then, sending hugs!

SB