Desire to have children, hormone problems, liver problems – Sharon

Generally poor hormone levels
Sharon’s hormonal problems became apparent during her youth. At the age of 14, a 4 liter cyst is found on the left fallopian tube. Her period stops. Even after stopping the pill at the age of 21, Sharon sometimes gets her period once a year, sometimes 4-6 times a year. When she gets her period, she suffers from menstrual pain. Sharon has always eaten “healthy” compared to the people around her, even in her childhood and also during her studies when she lived alone. That’s why those around her don’t understand why Sharon starts to put on weight in her mid-twenties.

Liver problems despite abstaining from alcohol
Sharon has probably been suffering from liver problems for some time, even though she rarely drank alcohol and when she did, it was very little. At the age of 25, the doctors diagnosed poor liver values. Since then, Sharon has avoided alcohol completely. Once a soup contains a little cognac, it becomes very hot and the skin turns bright red.

Desire to have children, PCO syndrome, hormone therapy
At the age of 28, Sharon gets married and agrees with her husband that they would like to have children. But in addition to her previous poor hormone levels and liver problems, the doctors diagnosed PCO syndrome (polycystic ovary syndrome). While her husband has normally fertile sperm, the doctors recommend hormone therapy for Sharon to be able to have children. Sharon takes hormones and is injected with them, but she doesn’t get pregnant. Her doctors think her testosterone levels are too high and Sharon is too fat.

Ovarian surgery, artificial insemination
Sharon and her husband make many attempts to fertilize the eggs artificially, outside the body. But the doctors can’t get to the eggs because the ovaries are too high up in the body. On the recommendation of the doctors, Sharon has an operation to lower her ovaries. This is followed by another hormone treatment. Finally, 5 eggs are retrieved and fertilized. One of the fertilizations is successful and this egg is reinserted. All hope is now pinned on it working out this time.

The last attempt
But two weeks later, menstruation starts and the egg is released. Before Christmas, the doctors called and suggested a different method to Sharon to fertilize the eggs: “They wanted to retrieve the eggs through the abdomen, but I didn’t want that. We knew that the failed fertilization was the last attempt for us to have our own children.”

Saying goodbye to a life with children
“We finally decided to apply to adopt a baby. But we ended up 396th on the adoption list, which would have meant the prospect of adoption about 8 years later. So we also said goodbye to the desire to adopt.” After 6 years of trying and hoping, saying goodbye to a life with children is difficult for Sharon and her husband, partly because many of their friends have children on the way or have just been born. Sharon realizes that her friends feel bad because they can have children and Sharon cannot. She and her husband throw themselves into their careers, work very hard and buy a small, charming house – “We won’t need space for children.”

“I was miserable”
Sharon is successful in her work. But her health is not good: “I was in a very bad way in 2014, my liver values were abysmal and I had put on 6 kg within 4 months. I was so tired that I could hardly get up in the morning and get into the shower, I was always hungry, always tired and felt lost. When I was in Frankfurt for work, my mother sent me to a doctor and she took my blood to do the Cytolisa test. Two weeks later I had my results and started to change my diet. I can even remember the date:

“On Sunday, 11.05.2014, I embarked on the adventure of nutrition.”
The changeover was difficult at first. “In the beginning, I banned bread from the house completely, and it was only after a few weeks that my husband was allowed to eat bread at home again. Fortunately, my husband is understanding and he supported me. During the first few weeks of changing my diet, I couldn’t eat.” From morning to midday, Sharon drank green smoothies, occasionally eating rice cakes with them, and at lunchtime she had rice or millet, potatoes and lots of vegetables, including raw vegetables and salads. She cooked every evening and ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. “I went to work with a basket full of food and had to listen to my colleagues say, ‘You eat more than you used to’ or ‘Those smoothies look disgusting’.”

Significant improvements after 2-3 weeks
“After 2-3 weeks of changing my diet I felt significant improvements, I started to lose weight and my energy came back. I lost a lot of weight quickly in the first few months, 23 kg in total. 3 months later my period came back, now my cycle only lasted 30-45 days and not a whole year like before. Two months after changing my diet I had decent liver values and six months after changing my diet I had great liver values.” Their vitamin and mineral levels also improve.

“I’ve never felt so good and so pretty”
Because of her work, Sharon often has to go out to eat with customers. That’s why she chooses the restaurants and clarifies in advance what she can eat. “It took a while before I knew how to talk to the catering staff so that they would actually prepare things properly.” At work or when traveling, she always has a basket full of different alternatives with her, sometimes even a rice stove, so Sharon always has something tasty with her. The effort is worth it: “I’ve never felt as good and as pretty as I did in the months after changing my diet. My friends and colleagues said: ‘Wow, you look great’.”

“Congratulations, you’re pregnant.”
Thanks to the change in diet, Sharon feels fit and healthy and in spring 2015 she has the feeling that she might get pregnant after all. As she and her husband do not use contraception, she shares her premonition with her husband and they realize that in the unlikely event of a pregnancy, they would still look forward to having a child. “I actually got pregnant in July 2015. On August 19, 2015, my doctor said: ‘Congratulations, you’re pregnant. I was shocked because we had given up hope for so long. On September 1, we knew that the heart was beating.” Contrary to the doctors’ predictions, the pregnancy went largely smoothly and Sharon was able to give birth to her daughter 9 days after the due date without a caesarean section or anaesthetic. Sharon’s husband and the whole family are overjoyed and their friends are also relaxed and happy for them.

“Every effort was worth it a million times over.”
Sharon’s conclusion after three very eventful years: “It’s worth it! The first few weeks of changing my diet were incredibly difficult, but every effort was worth it a million times over.”

 

Find out more about the Cytolisa Immune Test and the nutrition program here

 

Recorded on 14.11.2017