Post partum micro nutrient levels and fatigue

I remember making my son's bed, he was 16 months, and falling asleep on the mattress while putting the sheets on it.    I wasn't "tired" I was fatigued.  My son had been sleeping all night by that point, since he was about 5 months.  An occasional night he would be awake for food or otherwise, but very rarely.  I was working full time, keeping a house and taking care of my family.  Yeah, I was stressed, but who isn't at that point.
I had lost most of the baby weight, I was eating a healthy diet, I was drinking an occasional caffeine drink to get me through the end of the days, and I was exercising to the best of my ability.  I have a lot of bite when it comes to wanting to get to my goals.  Weight loss, taking care of my family, I could do this and I was doing it, but I was always moody, tired, and every Friday seemed like an eternity to get to.  While the weekends flew by with not enough time to sleep, nap or get the things done that I needed to get to before the work week started again.
I was under stress, but I had felt the same stress before, with finals, 10 tests in one week, 16+ credit hours etc.  Life was a cake walk after the stress of school.  But why was I so tired?
I had my thyroid checked and iron levels etc.  All things  checked out.  I wasn't depressed, and "de stressing" myself with just yoga wasn't cutting it.
When I finally completed the Spectracell micro nutrient testing on myself I was shocked.  I was still taking prenatal vitamins religiously, just in case, and was surprised that my nutrient status was way below par.  I had previously taken the micro nutrient test a few years prior to my sons birth and I was in great condition, micro nutrient wise.  Something had changed since the birth of my son.  I lovingly state that my children suck the life out of me during pregnancy.  In all reality, that WAS/IS reality.  I wasn't the best at eating when pregnant.  Although I didn't gain a lot of weight, I did indulge in the pregnancy cravings every now and then.  McDonald's hash browns were awesome (although now I can't stand the taste, eww) and ice cream at the end of the day was hard to deny.  By the end of the pregnancy I was craving chocolate and sugar, but so were all my friends that were pregnant at the time.  You know what I mean!!  Night time cravings and afternoon chocolate snacks of any kind were all I could think of some times.  Again, I limited myself to small portions, but to say my diet was perfect was not the truth.  After the pregnancy I was eating better, more fruits, veggies, exercising, sleeping 8 hours with naps on some days.  I thought I was doing well.  So what happened between pre pregnancy and post pregnancy of 16 months?  Growing another human being happened. My husband would ask why I was going to bed at 8 pm at night while pregnant?  "Cause growing another human is hard work!"   It's a 24/7 job, even while I'm sleeping....I'm working. " What did you do today?" I would ask him.
My point to all this is that by the end of my first pregnancy and well into recovery, I was still so tired I couldn't keep up anymore.  I retested the micro nutrient test after my 1st pregnancy and it was awful!   You remember, I was still taking my pre-natal vitamins, religiously, and my micro nutrient status was almost non existent in places.  My B vitamins were tanked and all my micro nutrients that would lend any help towards energy were tanked along with my antioxidant levels. I wasn't breaking down my food at all, regardless of what I ate, which didn't help the absorption either.
I forgot to mention I had a C-section through all this.  I had tried natural birth, but 9lbs and 10oz of a healthy baby boy, sent me into an emergency C section.  Failure to progress, that's another story for later...My point is, I was eating well, exercising, and taking vitamins, but it wasn't enough.  After really looking at the vitamins I was taking, and seeing what therapeutic dosing of vitamins were, I was throwing a Dixie cup worth of vitamins at a bon fire and expecting to extinguish it!  Ha! right!!
My thoughts after seeing that micro nutrient test?  If we had become pregnant by accident or by choice, I don't think I would have carried that baby to term.  Not without a lot of complications along the way.  It may have been to term, but to the detriment of my sanity, body and quite possibly to my baby.

Chronic stress...who doesn't have it?

Answering that question would be easier than say who DOES have chronic stress.  In today's society, chronic stress is "normal".  A mortgage, 2 or more kids, 50 or 60 plus work week, homework with kids, sport activities, oh and then finding something other than fast food to fuel  your body with.  Not everyone has a personal chef, a nanny, and several assistants at their disposal to keep their lives running. 

Lives are lived and people start to slow down and wonder why they can't get out of bed without feeling exhausted, or why that 3rd or 4th or 5th cup of coffee doesn't seem to boost them like it used to.  Stress creates a pathway called Cortisol Escape where, instead of making energy (ATP) or producing hormones that your body needs to feel "alive", it produces cortisol all the time.  Your body needs certain nutrients to support your systems to run at an optimum level.  When cortisol is constantly up for one reason or several reasons, then your body stops doing other processes and just fights the constant cortisol that your body is producing.
What are those nutrients?  There are several, from B vitamins, minerals, amino acids,  to hormone precursors that your body might need to keep itself running optimally.  I often speak with patients that tell them they take a multi vitamin and that they don't feel better when they do.  Well I say, if you have a bonfire raging (cortisol production), throwing a dixie cup (standard multi-vitamin) on it, won't make much difference. 
I work with patients to help find the root of the problem.  Blood tests from Spectracell allow us to see a 6 month window into what is being stored in your body, AND being utilized.  Some doctors might run serum tests and tell you that you are not low in B12, but serum tests are what your body is pushing out into your system at that time.  If your body needs something and you have anything in your system stored, your body will push it out into your blood stream to help.  You can be 30 % or more low, before a serum test picks up any sign of deficiency.  Spectracell testing shows us whats in our storage tank for utilization.  It looks at B12, but it also looks at D, Magnesium, Zinc, B5, antioxidant levels such as Coq10, alpha loipoic acid, Glutathione, and several other nutrients.  The nutrients named are a few that work towards energy AND antioxidant levels to help increase your ability to fight stress (ors).
Stop waking up to 3 or 4 or 5 alarms with the same amount of coffee.  Sleep first! Then wake up feeling better, refreshed, able to work, exercise, take care of kids or other life demands and not feel so tired, worn out and on the edge. 

PRE, Prenatal.. How to prepare your body for pregnancy.

What is PRE Prenatal?
Pre prenatal is really the period of time BEFORE you get pregnant.   When planning to get pregnant, the period before the pregnancy is just as crucial as the time during your pregnancy.
Hormones and especially nutrients are vital to the health of you and your growing baby.    Unfortunately, our American diets are lacking in nutrition and often our hectic lifestyles along with stress decreases the ability to  get pregnant AND carry that pregnancy to term.
What can you do?  Some of the easiest things to accomplish and the no-brainers should be started at least 6 months in advance to the "planning" of getting pregnant.  No smoking, decreasing and often stopping caffeine consumption, exercising 3-4 days a week, eating a better nutritious diet, and most importantly, filling in the gaps that our diet may be missing
Lets break some of this down to better understand what all of this might mean.

Obviously smoking is best when never practiced.  Often times, people find out that they are pregnant and then stop smoking, we hope anyway.  If they find out in time, in the first few weeks of life (babies life), they are still behind the "8" ball.  Smoking is not good for you, for the obvious reasons, but what about the micro nutrient levels that you may need due to smoking for long periods of time?
Caffeine consumption can be a huge barrier to overcome.  Consuming coffee, teas, and energy drinks of all sorts can be a huge detriment to your over all health.  Again, we all know that we should stop consuming these things while pregnant, but what about the month prior to pregnancy.  Caffeine robs the body of several nutrients such as magnesium and calcium to know a few.  Magnesium alone has 300 enzymatic processes that are utilized on a daily basis in our bodies.
Exercising 3-4 days  a week can creates a huge advantage for muscle health, cardio health, and stress relief. Getting exercise before pregnancy can help lower levels of cortisol, increase hormones for health, and create a better environment for the baby and YOU as your body changes with pregnancy.
Eating a better, more nutritious diet.  This doesn't mean that all you can eat for the 6 months up to pregnancy is salads, salads, and more salads.  You can't think of a diet as short term, it has to be a lifestyle change (more on that later).  Diet changes can be as simple as eating a few more servings of fruits and vegetables in your lunches or dinners.  Adding green things into your meals creates health in your diet.  I often sneak some kale and spinach into my morning smoothies with Designs for Health "Paleo Greens" .  Some almond milk,  a little frozen fruit, a tablespoon of Paleo Greens with "Pure Paleo Vanilla Protein"and I've given myself a great start to a hectic day.  Not only a healthy snack, but no artificial sweeteners or extra sugar.   I have also created a great tasting smoothie for cents instead of dollars.
Now the biggie.  Filling in the gaps that might be missing from your diet or your lifestyle.  How do you fill in the gaps?  What ARE the gaps?  Gaps are micro and macro nutrients that have been depleted for one reason or another.  Lifestyle choices such as birth control and other party favors like smoking or drinking can deteriote your mineral and nutrient reserves.  High stress jobs, getting out of college and finding a job, kids, bills, and LIFE!  These these can be stressors or things that deplete your body.  You may have subtle symptoms you have ignored over the years, but those symptoms mean something.  When it come time to get pregnant and carry the baby to term, they become a bigger problem then you will be able realize.  When nutrients are missing,  this leaves you with little for yourself and even less if you were to get pregnant.

Since nutritional deficiencies can be passed

from a mother to her baby, accurate and targeted diagnostic

testing is important before, during pre, prenatal, and post-partum. Targeted

supplementation may also reduce pregnancy complications:

coenzyme Q10 and selenium reduce risk of pre-eclampsia, vitamin

D can decrease bacterial infections, vitamin A and B2 can alleviate

pregnancy anemia, trace elements can reduce pregnancy induced

hypertension, and folic acid, biotin and B vitamins may help in the

reduction of birth defects.  *spectracell.com*

Getting your body to an optimum level prior to pregnancy is very important when planning your pregnancy.  Whether is this the first pregnancy or number 2 or 3 etc, it makes the environment as well as the post partum period easier when your body is at optum health.