As much as I’ve healed from my journey, I never want to forget how it felt and what it took to get to where I am now.

It started with fertility issues. Maybe like you, I was put on the pill at the ripe age of 14 to manage my period pain and breakouts. I continued with it until my wedding night at 28yrs young. You know- that old cliche plan that seemed to work for everyone else- get married and announce the bump 3 months after, that’s what I was going for.

Ya see, I grew up on the Standard American Diet (S.A.D. it truly is) poptarts for breakfast, corndogs for lunch, candy, slurpees and chips after school, canned veg, burnt bbq’d hot dogs, white bread, margarine and milk for dinner and so on. I took antibiotics for every illness without question, inhaled 2nd hand smoke, artificial scents, toxic cleaners and put toxic beauty products on my body all day, every day. You get the picture. The body works so hard to filter out all the junk we mindless, unknowing humans put into it but at some point it’s going to let you know about it. 

So fertility looked like, 2 miscarriages, 1 false postive, a Doctor that told me nothing is wrong but unlikely I’ll ever get pregnant, 2.3 years of monthly disappointment, LOTS of tears, sex becoming pressured with timing, confidence shot, vulnerable as hell. Not knowing where to turn nor trusting my body. I now know people experience much worse, most of us just keep it personal and I bow my head to women for their strength in this process.

At this point I decided to go full health nut, type A style, nothing in halfs. Do not get in the way of a woman trying to get pregnant! I enrolled in my first Health Coaching course at Integrative Nutrition (IIN) while working 60-70 hrs a week in a management role at lululemon. If no one was helping me, I needed to educate myself and get my power back. I had turned vegetarian, was eating all organic from the farmers markets, taking supplements, getting in tune with my body or so I thought. This was an improvement for sure but a healthy, organic diet alone cannot compete with a stressful lifestyle. Now, in hindsight, I can still see all the missing pieces. 

This is where I turned to what's labeled as ‘Alternative Medicine,’ where we go when nothing else works. Insert eye roll. I felt seen, heard, safe and hopeful for the first time in this journey. My genes, vitamin and stress levels were all looked into through the lens of optimal health rather than through the lens of disease. It was discovered that I have the MTHFR gene- an inability to detox properly which leads to a whole host of other issues. Did you know that 40% of the population have the MTHFR gene mutation? So my body was clogged up and depleted. I even got asked if I was an alcoholic by my acupuncturist because I had the liver of one. I was never a big drinker even in my prime and at this point I hadn’t had a sip of alcohol for over 18 months. 

If you're still with me, I’ll cut to the chase. It took 4 months of consistency with my Naturopath and Acupuncturist (after 1.5yrs with Drs). Implementing everything they told me to a T. This is the baby we would finally get to keep. Our baby boy, Beau. I had a wonderful pregnancy and the birth of my dreams. I thought my lowest of lows was over with … but you’ll soon find out that this was only a taste tester. The first serving of a 12 course meal.

Going into my second pregnancy, having woken every 2 hrs for 2 years and breastfeeding like a diva on demand, was it inevitable? Or was it the international move at 30 weeks, the lost passport, selling everything we owned, moving to Canada with suitcases and a toddler? Maybe it was the breech baby, stress of trying to flip said baby, trying to advocate for myself and get a midwife, find a home, furnish a home, be told this baby is only coming out via my biggest fear other than sharks- a c-section? Maybe it was no community, no friends, no family around and thinking I didn’t need childcare either in a place that was -20C for 8 months a year. The financial stress, holy shit, that definitely didn’t help. I think what really topped it off though was my now perfectly delicious 4 month old, reacting badly to a vaccination.

Can you see how it's never just one thing, it's typically an accumulation over time that leads to overload.

Never have I seen so many Doctors and Specialists in my life. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any success in their methods and in my gut I knew I was going to have to take this one into my own hands.

But Mama (me) was getting very tired, very irritable, angry, sad, depressed, gaining weight, completely exhausted, losing hair in clumps, crying and swearing a lot. Brain completely mush. Totally tapped out, flatlined, could have stayed in bed all day every day, only I was a Mama, and we can’t do that. I wanted nothing more than to literally tap out of life. Pffff …. Those are tough memories to relive but there’s a point to me telling you all of this.

I came across Dr Stephan Cabral’s work and began devouring his podcasts daily. I have no doubt he came into my life for a damn good reason at just the right time. I joined the very first group of Integrative Health Practitioners out of pure desperation to save my life and get my healthy boy back. I studied every night when the kids went to bed and all day on Saturdays for a year and half. I implemented everything I could and got extra support from my Naturopath, and Acupuncturist.

Completing ‘The Big 5’ lab tests confirmed that yes my hormones were completely imbalanced or didn’t exist rather, I had Hashimotos autoimmune disease, my cortisol was non existent so I had effectively reached ‘burn out’. I had some food sensitivities, low serotonin and dopamine levels, small amounts of candida, low minerals and heavy metals present. Nearly all of this is because of continuous levels of high stress and depletion, which works in a self feeding cycle.

Slowly but surely, I got through all the protocols, made the life changes, invested in what was pertinent and didn’t take my eye off being the healthiest I knew how to be. If that makes it sound easy, don’t worry, it definitely wasn’t. It took about 2 years until I can say I was steadily back on my feet and feeling great. Lots of ups and downs, tons of support needed and taken. I’ve since retaken all my labs a few times and have managed to reverse the autoimmune disease (TPAob at 47 IU/mL on Thyroid Adrenal Hormone functional lab test ), get into optimal ranges for thyroid, hormones and cortisol. I’ve healed my gut and can eat now without consequences. Depressive thoughts haven’t crossed my mind at all for almost 2 years, meaning serotonin and dopamine levels are good and my gut brain connection is positive. I feel as though I’ve reversed my biological age 10-15 years (although haven’t tested) and gained so many lessons and insights from my experience and education.

So now that you know where my experience is coming from, all I want to do is connect with you!

In Health,

Jess