A couple months ago I did a post on the DUTCH Test and how I found it to be a great tool in figuring out some of the (hard to diagnose) hormonal issues that have been plaguing me for years. After sharing the post, I got quite a few DMs on Instagram inquiring about my results and what I am doing to correct them. While I’m choosing not to go over all my results in detail (mainly because they’re 14 pages long!) I will go over the “spark notes” version of what I found out.
It was no surprise seeing that I have very high cortisol levels starting in the afternoon and going into night time. While I am not in adrenal fatigue as of yet, I was told if I don’t manage to lower my out of range cortisol levels, I will be soon. The reason I was less than shocked with this result is because I get extremely wired come night time. I struggle all morning with my energy levels being low but they typically arrive in full force as the day starts to wind down. For months it has been really hard for me to fall asleep, and although I’ve tried many different remedies to wind down, I never actually get sleepy. When I eventually manage to sleep, I go from wide awake to passed out (usually in the early hours of the morning). It has been a problem I’ve struggled with for awhile, so I fully expected the DUTCH test to show some abnormalities within that area. I also happen to have a high adrenaline form of POTS, so getting my “fight or flight” response under control is already a constant struggle.
Basically, my nighttime cortisol levels are 3 times over what they should be and seeing that concrete number was a nice validation that what I was assuming had been correct.
The other big takeaway that I had from the Dutch test was that one type of my estrogen (Estradiol) was disproportionately higher than the other types (Estrone & Estriol). I didn’t really know what the implications of high Estradiol was until going over the results with the doctor. Turns out it’s the “bad” type of estrogen and can mimic symptoms of estrogen dominance even if your estrogen levels are not particularly high.
I’m now currently taking two supplements to gently correct these issues.
DIM for the Estradiol and Metacalm for the cortisol (as pictured below).
After two weeks on DIM, my skin has cleared up tremendously – which was not even a side effect I was anticipating. I definitely feel strongly that this is helping balance my hormones.
I remember taking this pic because I was in mild amazement about how quickly the brake out along my chin and jaw area cleared up after starting DIM.
Side note – I’m extremely hesitant about any new thing I put into my body, so I ran this by my nutritionist and she explained it’s just made up of cruciferous vegetables so it’s safe for anyone to take (my skin actually improved so much my friend just ordered a bottle for herself!).
As for the Metacalm, this is the first time in over a year that I’m starting to get sleepy towards nighttime and not feeling wired all the time (BIG yay). I’m delighted to finally feel like I’m on the right step to correcting these imbalances that I’ve dealt with for so long.
* I spent way too long reading these reviews on Amazon in my research about DIM before I started taking anything. Although it’s not the brand I take, the reviews speak for themselves and got me really excited about what DIM could do for me. Turns out, it can do wonders for those suffering with PCOS or other hormonal imbalance issues.
The DUTCH is not a sponsored post, I just know how infuriating it can be to KNOW that something is wrong with your hormones and blindly be guessing what it is while trying to correct the problems on your own. Unfortunately, I feel this specific area in medicine has a long way to go. It has been my experience that hormonal issues get dismissed by doctors a shockingly high amount of the time, so I love that this test places the power back into your own hands.
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