The Importance of Micro-Nutrient Testing in Unexplained Infertility

Unexplained infertility is when the standard infertility testing in western (allopathic) medicine has failed to find the cause for the infertility.  By this point, the male partner has gone through sperm analysis with a clean bill of health, as well as the female partner having been checked for ovulation patterns, ovarian issues, endometriosis, hormonal issues, pelvic scarring, sometimes chromosomal DNA compatibility and sometimes a laparoscopy is done to make sure everything is clear and not blocked by scarring.

This means that the couple trying to conceive get the news from their doctor that their infertility is "unexplained" which means that with those means they have utilized up to that point, they haven't found anything.

A lot of couples I'm aware of are then consequently told they will never conceive unless they go through in-vitro or intra-uterine insemination.

This is ridiculous and absolutely not true.

Let's go back to the understanding of how the human body works.

The human body is a machine. If something major is out of balance, it can throw the rest of the body out of whack as well.  Compare this to your car: if it doesn't have gas, it's not going to move forward, is it?

Well, neither is your body.  Your body knows innately when it has enough nutrients to handle a pregnancy.  If it doesn't have enough of what it needs to create life, it won't let you... and western medicine won't be able to tell you why.

But micro-nutrient testing CAN.  Testing to see where someone is at nutritionally should be one of the first things that should be done, not only in the case of infertility, but also in the case of disease.  See this study which showed that vitamin B6 helped create pregnancies, and how vitamin C supplementation helped those with a luteal phase insufficiency.

Let's take a look at some of the micro nutrients that are tested in one major test that is done in the US.

In Spectra Cell Laboratory's Comprehensive Nutrient Panel, they test for the history (not just a static number of what it was at that moment) of where each vitamin is at.

See SpectraCell Lab's Site

Yeah, that's a lot of vitamins and fatty acids to be checking for.

With today's average American diet, the majority of us have some sort of vitamin deficiency.  One of the largest deficiencies today in the population is vitamin D.  While a vitamin D deficiency does not create infertility, a vitamin D deficiency can be a signal that there are other problems as well.

Therefore, this micro-nutrient panel should be run.  A lot of insurance companies will cover at least part of it. The way I look at it, it's WAY cheaper than paying for in-vitro or intra-uterine insemination... and you don't have to go through the hormonal crap those ladies have to go through for those procedures, where you don't even get a 100% guarantee that you will get a baby out of it.

If you get tested and you start supplementing properly (properly is key... you should see a nutritionist if you have a number of deficiencies so that you don't throw your body out of whack even more) you could get pregnant on your own, without all those procedures.

I have a friend who has been trying for a baby for 6 years now.  She writes in her own blog about her frustrations with TTC and just life in general. She has some pretty heavy duty stories.

Serenitysomedayttc.com

I met Mandy on the Babycenter Message board Actively Trying: The Next Level, which she moderates.

Ever since I got my nutrients tested, I have been trying to convince her and her hubby to get tested.  They have a serious case of unexplained infertility... everything comes out clean for them.

Yet she's not pregnant.

So I threw the information for the SpectraCell labs at her the other day, hoping to plant a seed, and hoping that they might try it before moving into IVF or IUI and spending tens of thousands for a possibility of a baby that she could still miscarry because of her lack of good nutritional status.

If she ever does and she ends up pregnant, I promise to come back because if she can get pregnant from this, ANYBODY can.

Too many medicines being shoved at us

It really irks me that doctors and nurses in today's western medicine really try to shove medication down your throat.  I have friends who are immediately put on Prometrium (which is progesterone) once they find out they are pregnant, no matter what their progesterone numbers look like, and it's their first pregnancy, so it's not like they've had problems in the past... so what the heck?!

I went to my OB appointment today to get my 6 week 4 day ultrasound.  Ultrasound went very well...  got to see the gorgeous heart beating at 108bpm.

After the ultrasound and waiting in the waiting room, I was guided back by the nurse. Before stepping on the scale, she asked me how I was feeling.  I mentioned that I've been feeling kinda "off" but nothing huge.  No vomiting or anything... just the occasional nausea and uneasy feeling.... and I made it clear it was nothing.

She then proceeded to ask me if I was on any nausea medicine. I looked shocked at her, I guess, because she then quickly asked me, "Do you need some nausea medicine?"

Um... NO. I'm not vomiting, I'm not miserable, I'm not unhappy, I can still work (unfortunately... LOL)... why are you trying to shove Zofran down my throat?

What is with that? Why can't we just let our bodies do what they are supposed to do and be happy with it?? Most of us are okay without all this intervention!!

"Oh, but what if something happens?"

Then I'll go to the frickin' hospital... just like if I break my foot! In the mean time, I'm not going to preemptively put my foot in a cast, just to avoid the issue!

Western medicine is all about the money making, it seems. They want to charge all of us hundreds of dollars for a few pills, and then when we get sick still, we wonder what's going on, thinking that we get what we pay for right??

WRONG.

Just because it's expensive and people say it's the right thing to do, doesn't mean it actually is.

See this article for proof positive that there is an issue with the pharmaceutical industry!!

Let your body do the talking. If your body needs something, it will let you know. Yes... take advantage of the wonders of modern medicine IF YOU NEED IT. Not "just in case".  It's those "just in case" situations that create terrible situations.  The risks associated with some of these things, like Cesarean section, are NOT WORTH IT.

Yes, I'm very passionate about things like this, and I feel that western medicine steps in way too much and completely forgets that Mother Nature knows all and ALWAYS wins.