You are what you eat...

About a month ago, a workshop was advertised on the Shine page. It was going to be given by Jen, an award winning nutritionist, about female hormonal health and wellbeing. It would be given on a Monday evening on International Women's Day and Shine were offering to pay toward the workshop, so I didn't have to pay as much to take part.

I'm not sure what prompted me to do this workshop. I thought I ate OK, although my diet had gone downhill a little and I'd been eating more and more unhealthy foods in an attempt to boost my weight back up. I think seeing the words "hormonal" and "wellbeing" sold it for me though, coupled with my belief that food can be medicine as well as nourishment.

That workshop was a game changer. Jen is so knowledgeable and talked the women on that Zoom call through the basics first (for example, the first sign of dehydration is not thirst, but fatigue - it's so simple, but even drinking more water has helped to improve things for me!) before moving on to more complex information such as the importance of protein.

Everything she said made complete sense and really resonated with me. The food choices that she recommended were easy to make too and she suggested making small achievable and sustainable changes.

Jen also mentioned that if we had any questions, she would be happy to speak with us individually on the phone later that week. I wasn't sure whether or not to bother her, but I am so glad that I did.

A few days later, we spoke on the phone. Jen recommended some different things that might help with my specific symptoms. She also mentioned near the end of our call that it sounded as though I might have low progesterone levels and to perhaps get those checked through my GP. 

I was stunned. 

I'd told my GP at Lyra's 6 week check that I thought I had low progesterone and that's what I believed was the cause all of my symptoms. The list I had of all my symptoms couldn't have shown a hormonal imbalance more clearly, yet he'd told me he hadn't heard of low progesterone having an effect in that way and that he would research it and get back to me. He looked it up and got back to me - it wasn't linked, apparently. The matter was left and I struggled on. It was now 7 months later and here I was being told by a nutritional therapist that it sounded as though I did have low progesterone after all.

Jen reassured me that it was possible to level out my progesterone a bit through nutrition and she also promised me that I would get better. She revealed that she had suffered from horrendous Postnatal Anxiety, just like me - that's how she knew about Shine and offered her knowledge to the Shine mothers. She's been there and she knows just how awful it is. But she also knows that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and she passed on a little bit of that light - a little bit of that hope - to me. I won't ever forget her words. I think she realised how bereft I was and she said, "I promise, promise, promise that you will feel better." 

By the end of the phone call, I was crying tears of relief. It was so lovely to talk to someone who had been there and who was telling me that I would be myself again, in time. It was exactly what Lauraine, founder of Shine, had told me too. It was also really empowering to be given practical things that I could do; it felt as though I was able to take back control.

Progesterone is linked to blood sugar levels, so I'm being really careful to make sure I don't have any blood sugar crashes. I'm eating complex carbohydrates rather than simple ones to keep everything balanced and have reduced my sugar intake. I don't drink caffeine or alcohol anyway and have been drinking raspberry leaf tea to try to balance my hormones naturally.

Jen also mentioned that a hormonal imbalance may not show up in a blood test and that saliva tests are more accurate, but they are also pricey. They measure progesterone levels at different stages of your cycle and therefore give a more accurate picture of what's going on. I'm hoping though that the blood test will reveal something for me, so that I can get treated.

Watch this space.

Pictured: Easter Bunny Lyra munching a strawberry. We have been enjoying loads of recipes from the book 'What Mummy Makes'. Definitely recommend it to anyone out there who is struggling for easy meal ideas!