I have been meaning to make this post for quite some time. I have struggled with anxiety for a long time. Before I had kids and was working, my anxiety was quite useful at times. I was very organized, on top of my work load and I remembered everything. The flip side was that my brain was going full-speed all the time. Sometimes it was hard to sleep and sometimes I would get really restless with the monotony of life.
Once I had kids and was home more and working less, the anxiety became solely a burden. I would get stir-crazy really easily. I would get restless and anxious when I was alone with kid/kids. It was hard! I thought something was wrong with me so I mentioned it to my OB-GYN (since I don't have any kind of general doctor because I never go to the doctor other than for pregnancy). I was put on anti-depressants. They helped, sort of. They took the edge off a little bit but I still felt pretty anxious. It wasn't crippling so I never sought help from a psychiatrist or therapist.
Fast forward to when my third baby was about 9 months old. I was with my hairdresser and loooooong time friend, Stephanie. I was telling her about my struggles with losing the baby weight. I had done everything that I could do to lose weight, short of starving myself. Crazy exercise and dieting and the weight would hardly budge. I knew it had to be hormonal of some sort. Stephanie referred me to a hormone doctor that she knew of called Balanced Body MD (in Draper, UT).
And just a side note, the office itself is a little bit unprofessional. I think they are still trying to get their bearings. I had an appointment for a blood draw and dragged all 3 of my kids down there and after I got there and after having waited for 10 minutes, the girl who was supposed to draw my blood called and said she was going to be 30 minutes late... I couldn't wait in their little waiting room with 3 kids. Didn't she know she had an appointment at 10 am? And didn't she know earlier than after 10 am that she was going to be at least 30 minutes late? Maybe something crazy happened to her that morning, I don't really know. I had to reschedule. BUT they do sell Isagenix products and Quest bars there and I love both of those brands.
I went to my appointment and they took 7 vials of blood to test all of my hormone levels. My thyroid was low and my testosterone was low, among some other things. They wanted to insert a testosterone pellet into my butt cheek. I almost turned it down because it was such unfamiliar territory for me. They told me it would help with anxiety, exercise recovery and low libido (aka sex drive), among a few other things. I went with it and got the pellet inserted into my butt cheek through a small incision.
Have you ever had a shot in your butt cheek? It HURTS! I remember thinking that this better be worth it.
Within a couple days, I felt like a new person. And not because I was losing weight rapidly (which I wasn't) but because the anxiety was completely GONE! I felt so content and without stress. Suddenly, I was content just staying home and playing with my kids (versus being home with kids and constantly being anxious about what was going on in the world around me). I was less restless, I was sleeping better and I just felt so great. I quit taking my anti-depressants within two days and have never looked back. And the sex drive, oohhhh the sex drive. Without saying anything more, the sex drive....
An added bonus is that I was finally able to lose 10 pounds and I feel so much better now about my weight (who knew that 10 pesky pounds could make such a difference).
The pellet was $288 and lasts 3-4 months. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover it because it is considered alternative. Insurance is more than happy to cover the anti-depressants which were more expensive and less effective, though. Hopefully that will change someday. But for now, I will gladly pay $288 every 3-4 months in order to feel as good as I feel. Our quality of life has increased substantially. I love it!
There are a couple of down sides to the pellet, which the doctor did warn me about. The main one is acne, which I have been getting on the back of my neck. It is weird but I am happy I am not getting acne on my face! I am still learning to control it because I have never struggled with acne in my life.
I also sweat more now and I am more forgetful. SO much more forgetful because I am no longer anxious and so I am not constantly replaying my schedule and commitments in my head. If you ever make plans with me, you should probably remind me that same day. :) It will just take me some time to get organized now that my high-strung brain isn't doing it all for me.
If you can relate to any of this, maybe you should get your hormones checked, too. It has helped me tremendously! And who knew that anxiety could be caused by a testosterone deficiency?!? THIS has changed my life. I am so thankful to my friend for suggesting that I get my hormones checked!
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