thank goodness for nutrition!

As most of you know, I've been quite sick through out this entire pregnancy. 24-7 morning sickness, migraines, muscle cramps, etc. Needless to say, it has not been the joyous, glowing pregnancy we'd thought I'd have. However, thanks to our incredible families, Jordan & I were able to travel up to DC in mid-November to have some nutritional testing done. Dr. George Mitchell, a phenomenal internist & old family friend, collected & shipped blood & urine work to the MetaMetrix Laboratory in GA to have an ION (Individual Optimal Nutrition) Profile done on it. MetaMetrix is the world's leading functional laboratory, performing services for medical & research groups globally. The ION Profile is a sophisticated testing process that analyzes the individual's nutrients on a molecular level, determining on an individual basis what the body is getting too much of or lacking & how best to supplement it for optimal cellular health & function. This Profile performed tests on the amino acids in blood plasma, homocysteine in blood serum, mineral (element) analysis in the red blood cells, fat-soluble vitamins & lipid peroxides in blood serum, & organic acids in the urine. If it sounds complex & confusing, that's because it is! For more information on the ION Profile & all the specifics therein, visit http://www.metametrix.com/TestServ/default.asp?PageID=1.
Three weeks after the blood & urine work was collected, we received the full 16-page Profile report. No wonder I had been feeling so sick throughout this pregnancy & even weak before conceiving...I'm a nutritional mess! The results allowed us to determine that I've had a chronic yeast infection in my digestive system for quite some time now, explaining the multiple symptoms I constantly was experiencing as well as the depletion of my nutrients even though I'm a healthy eater. So between the chronic infection & this little baby, I was nutritionally depleted in many areas. The ION results were then compiled to create a customized formulation to restore & balance my entire nutritional spectrum, down to the amino acid level - which of the 10, I was alarmingly low in 8 of them. Dr. Mitchell also put me on a strict yeast-free diet to eliminate the chronic infection through nutrition, as I can't take any medication currently due to pregnancy. No sugar, white flour, lactose, or eggs. While it has been difficult & at times creative adapting to this new eating plan, words cannot describe how much healthier I feel! Between the diet & 25 supplements I'm taking daily (no worries...all natural, custom-formulated, & pregnancy friendly), I'm feeling more like myself than I have in a long, long time. People seriously underestimate the difference good nutrition can make! The migraines have gone, no IBS problems, edema has not recurred, muscle aches don't haunt me throughout the day, I can't remember the last time I had a bought of morning sickness since beginning this regimen. And to top it all off, our baby is now getting the full nutrition he needs to grow healthy & strong! Dr. Mitchell has formulated my supplements to specifically strengthen the development of cardiac tissue, so as to give our son the best chance possible while still developing. Isn't God good?!?!?!!!!
Jordan & I are truly humbled & grateful to have had this opportunity. Thank you to the Leino parents for providing the means for us to get to DC to have all this testing done. Thanks to the Roddy parents for both arranging & supplying the testing & necessary supplements. This is all something we could never have had the opportunity to do on our own. Thank you, thank you, thank you to our families!!! Once again, God has provided what we needed most & has brought us closer together through the process. Its wonderful feeling healthy again, able to enjoy time with Jordan before the baby is here & simply experience more of life once again rather than being bound by physical ailments.
Praise be to our loving God & thanks again to our amazing families! We love you all so very much!