Miscarriages, MTHFR, Food Changes, and Health

Sierra when first trying beans & rice many years ago.
She would only eat them blindfolded.
I forced her to try it and she said she could not
stand the way the beans looked.
Now, at eleven years old this is her favorite food.
~This is kind of how I felt at first about the food changes I needed to make.~

Through my journey of four miscarriages I was told I should have genetic testing after the third miscarriage.  I did and it turns out I have MTHFR... It's a gene.  I have TWO copies of the gene which means that I got the gene from EACH of my parents.  It is really complicated to explain but the short story is if you have MTHFR your body does not rid itself of toxins like it should.  Instead it stores up the toxins.  This becomes a problem with SYNTHETIC vitamins.  Synthetic vitamins are made in a lab are not the same as NATURAL vitamins.  The MTHFR person can not process these properly.  These synthetic vitamins are almost all food products.  If it says it is "enriched", that means it has these synthetic vitamins in it. 

Enriched... Now, there is an interesting word:

    Enriched        ENRICH'ED, pp. Made rich or wealthy; fertilized; supplied with that which is desirable, useful or ornamental.


That all sounds good... unless you are talking about the enriched flour, enriched pasta, enriched cereals, enriched crackers, enriched cookies, enriched puddings, enriched cake mix, enriched everything...   The problem is that most everything you buy has something enriched in it.  For the MTHFR person that means TOXINS.  This means the only safe thing to do is eliminate everything enriched. 

I started health journey with eliminating the "enriched" foods.  I seriously cried over wanting pretzels in the chip aisle.  I was giving up so much.  I really just wanted some pretzels to eat with a healthy dip.  It was hard to adjust to.  After the fourth miscarriage I felt like all I was doing to fix my body was in vain because I still lost another  baby.  I quickly started letting my health diminish.  That went on for a few months and then, I finally realized I had to make a change if I wanted to be around for my children.  I had gained 30 pounds from January 2014 through January 2015 (exactly one year).  This was not a pattern I could continue and expect to have good health.  I decided to order the Trim Healthy Mama book that I had heard so much about.  So, in mid-January 2015 I started Trim Healthy Mama.  I also continued my MTHFR dietary restrictions.  This was truly the beginning of my new health journey.  I will stop here for now... but I will not end there... I will update what I have done over the last year.

Life is Like a Dance

My oldest daughter says I should blog, again.  I really did not mean to stop but life is busy and things happen.  Not all things are good, so not all things inspire us to keep writing.  I guess in the midst of some rough times I just really did not feel like "talking".  It's time to talk, I suppose.  I know at one point I shared about my third miscarriage (this month is the two year anniversary of that miscarriage).  I started blogging again some time after that and after we had made the decision to move.  I shared some of the beginnings of our new life on our our SIX acres (so, I really need to update my blog cover page).  It was shortly after that I had my fourth miscarriage.  I really closed up in many ways... the blog was one of those.  That has been well over a year now.  I can hardly believe the time has passed.  In many ways I have healed emotionally but in many ways I am very broken.  It's like a dance of two steps forward, one step back.  I have realized that each miscarriage in my life has escalated panic attacks for me.  I can wake up like today thinking I am going to do big things... and then, the sense that "I can't" creeps in and I sit frozen in a panic attack.  I guess I no longer feel "capable".  I used to feel like I could do anything I set my mind to.  Now, I just don't feel like I can.  I have never really felt that way so I don't know how to fix it.  It is a day to day walk for me.  In many ways I have learned to move forward, but again it is like that dance... two steps forward and one back.  I have come so far but I have so far to go. 

Post Miscarriage Test Results

I am going to go a little in reverse for now because telling some of my story is going to be quite lengthy.   One thing that happened after my recent miscarriage is that my midwife suggested that I have some genetic testing done since this was my third miscarriage.  There were some other tests we wanted to do, also.  For years every doctor that sees me asks right away if I have ever had my thyroid checked.  Apparently, I have a bulging neck or something, but I also have quite a few symptoms of thyroid issues like a raspy voice and some other minor issues.

The doctor that did my D&C ordered a thyroid test of some sort.  Being that we were uncertain what kind of test that was done the midwife decided to order a complete thyroid panel.  In addition she wanted me to have a CBC (normal bloodwork) and a MTHFR (genetic test).

In all honesty I thought I knew how these tests would come out.  I thought:

• there would be a thyroid issue of some sort;
• the CBC would be all normal (because the hospital had to have done that one already);
• and, the MTHFR would be normal (negative).

 It is funny how we get to thinking we have things figured out.... 

The test results were actually pretty much the opposite of what I thought. 

• Thyroid Screening-- All good (the doctor never let me know the results of the testing she ordered... sigh... doctors!).
• CBC-- My iron level was low (the doctor nor the hospital let me know this either).
• MTHFR-- I am positive for 2 copies of the A1298C MTHFR.  That means I inherited a copy of the gene from my mother and I inherited a copy of the gene from my father.  

So, the thyroid thing is a huge blessing to know.  I have wondered about this for years, but never really invested time in having it fully checked out.  Amongst life and eight pregnancies over the years somehow it just never got tended to.  That is a huge weight off my shoulders.  My raspy voice is something that is probably just an allergy issue since my allergies are really bad... even though I choose not to treat them for the most part.  I might take a little Benadryl a few times a year and I use Lavendar Oil and vapor rub for coughs and the cruddy throat.  And, yes, I know it is weird that I mix the use of essential oils with Vapor Rub, but it works for me and I am not too concerned about a little petroleum jelly.  I just love Vapor Rub too much to give it up.  Back to the result of the other testing...

The results of the CBC show my iron is a little low and is something I think I should have been told about.  This is good to know on those days that my energy level is low.  I know to watch what I am eating or take some iron supplements.  It frustrates me that with doctors there seems to be a breakdown in the doctor/patient relationship and some information just does not get shared that really should.  (I have way more coming regarding that part of my story... way more.)

Even though I am not happy to find out I have a gene mutation, MTHFR, I feel it is a blessing to know that I have this.  Since I know I have it I feel I can better my health by making changes.  It is also likely that my children have it and I feel I have a responsibility to educate them and maybe when they are adults they will not have miscarriages and other health issues.  You can read my last post that has some links to go to to learn more about MTHFR by clicking here.  I want to be clear that I do not think the MTHFR is for sure why I had this miscarriage or my others.  I do believe it could be, though.  If you want to learn more, I suggest you do some research starting with the links on my other post and other sources.  There are way more issues that area caused by MTHFR.  It is worth looking into a bit. 

In the future you can expect to hear how my family is changing our diet.  I also hope to eventually have my kids tested.  We already do some great things for our health regarding diet and I just see this as one more step in the right direction.  There are moments I want to cry because the changes are hard, but I know those changes would be better for any person's health, so it is a win-win situation to make the changes.  The only thing I am finding difficult is that some things are just difficult to acquire, but we do what we can. 

Jumping Back In Blogland & MTHFR Testing

I don't quite no where to pick up blogging.  I want to go back and fill in some of the gaps and share some information that I have learned through the last few months.  And it needs to be shared.  There are medical issues that should be shared.  

And part of me wants to just fill you in on our critters and gardening but that seems somewhat awkward under the circumstances.  And even that topic has many crazy stories.  We have had multiple tragedies including the animals during this time.  

I guess I will tell those stories... later.

For now I want to inform my friends.  If you have had multiple miscarriages you might want to have some genetic testing done.  There is an MTHFR test.  Stop taking folic acid immediately and replace that with natural forms of folate.  If it turns out you are positive for MTHFR it can be controlled by diet, but it is very extreme.  I want to start sharing my journey here, but for now I just want to share some links:

     www.biobirths.com/mthfr-and-your-pregnancy 

     www.mthfrliving.com

Read a little.  Then, take a break.  I warn you it is overwhelming.  When I found out I had the gene mutation I had to sit back and let it just soak in for about three weeks.  After that I was ready to start implementing changes, so I started reading more about it.  I have begun to make some of the changes but when I feel myself getting overwhelmed I have to  take a step back and walk away for a bit.  

Also, I have added little check boxes below my posts.  Even if you don't want to comment will you take a moment to click one if those boxes? This will help me out a little.  Got questions or comments?  I would love it if you will leave a comment.