Recent POI Healing Progress: Mindset Shifts, Deep Inner Work, Gut Protocol, and Supplements
I’m going to start out this blog post on an extremely positive note and then dig into some of the inner things I’ve been working on as well as other changes I’ve recently made. I attribute my recent hormone healing progress to these key shifts.
POI healing progress!
March 6: Guess what?! I started getting daily CM (cervical mucus) the past few weeks. I couldn’t even believe it! It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve had any. This is proof that POI (premature ovarian insufficiency) can be reversed and fully healed.
Eeek!! It’s so exciting! I could barely believe it at first!
I hope this motivates you to keep going. If I can have CM after a history of high FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) of 117, several years of a missing period, and being dry as a bone “down there,” I believe it is possible for you too.
Now for a little story time leading up to this event.
I was behind on my hormone healing goals … again.
In my previous blog post, I wrote about my fertility goals for this year. I included a long list of the things I was going to try next. I wrote this on January 1st. The month was pretty dynamic, so I didn’t get around to everything on it. Around mid February, I pulled up my post to look at what I’d written. I thought to myself, “I guess I should reset my start date to now since I’m a full month-and-a-half behind.”
My goals looked a bit lofty as I sat there reviewing them. “Get rid of my hot flashes by the end of March? Yeah … I haven’t made much progress in that area. Lower my FSH in 6 months? Probably not: Over 2 years, I’ve managed to lower it by 30 points, but I still have about 80 points to go. What was I thinking? I must’ve been caught up in the motivating ‘new year’ mindset.”
It’s fairly common for me to push back start dates on things. Life tends to get busy, and I usually have a tricky time staying on top of everything. Thank you hormone imbalances for reducing my capabilities.
“It’s okay. I can restart my 3- and 6-month goals now. Or even at the beginning of March.”
I took a moment to reframe my expectations and add on an extra 6 months to my POI healing timeline.
“I guess I’ll have to postpone my dream of becoming a mom for yet another year. It’ll be okay.”
After all, that’s what I’d had to do for the past bunch of years.
“Oh well, one day at a time. At least I feel happy inside while I wait.”
Yeah, not a very motivating goal check-in session.
It felt like an ever elusive dream.
But really, I felt okay. Even though I’ve wanted to be a mom for somewhere around 7 years, I haven't been sitting around waiting or feeling empty.
I’ve been too preoccupied with trying to get my period back so I could get through a day without enduring over 15 hot flashes. Yup, I’ve had other priorities. Like sleeping through the night, having more than 3 bowel movements in a week, and keeping the rashy acne off my face. Plus figuring out what the heck to eat.
Thankfully I’ve had that last one figured out for the past 6 months, so that’s been a huge win.
But then, BAM! My body started waking up again! My ovaries began to work and produce estrogen, and thus, I started to see cervical fluid!
My goals were NOT lofty; they were rooted in the big dreams I have for my life. I truly believe our bodies can heal—they were designed with that ability!
So I want to encourage you to keep your dreams and goals alive. Don’t let doctors or research papers tell you that your wellness and health isn’t possible. Women were created to ovulate and become pregnant. If those signs have somehow disappeared on you prematurely, do NOT lose hope!
There is so much more for us to learn and discover, so stay tuned for more info here on the blog.
What changed?
You’re probably eager to know what I’ve changed in my regimen to kick-start cervical mucus production again. Here are the details of what I’ve been working on lately (in addition to eating balanced high-calorie meals every single day).
My new protocol to heal my gut infections
While I was behind on starting all of the tasks and supplements on my list for this year, I had started my new protocol for clearing my gut infections. And I was working on my mindset and thoughts. I was very hopeful that my gut dysbiosis was playing a big part in my POI and high FSH.
The gut clearing protocol changed a few things up with the way I’ve been eating since the summer. Instead of eating within 1 hour of waking up, I now have to take my herbal supplements and then wait at least 1 hour before I can eat. And after a meal, I have to wait at least 3 hours before my next dose. Three doses per day. I was a little worried about that at first since I’ve been aiming to eat every 3-4 hours without any longer gaps, but it’s been pretty good so far. It shows me that my blood sugar has regulated, so that is encouraging!
DEEP inner work on a soul level (the hard stuff)
Clearing out the dragging baggage that needs to go away
A few months ago, I was having a tough time getting those pesky worries out of my mind. So I came up with a method to help. It’s essentially an exercise for clearing away all of the annoying baggage that can spin over and over in your mind.
While I hadn’t created the actual resource yet, I was going over it in my mind to mull over how I would execute it. The funny thing is, visualizing it and mentally working through the steps seemed to have helped. I haven’t been bothered by those thoughts since, and it’s been very freeing to have that burdensome weight off my shoulders.
If you’re interested in this exercise, it’ll be in an upcoming workshop inside The POI Circle Membership.
Letting go of velcro feelings and emotions
I had a similar freeing experience while working on another resource too.
I was creating a list of affirmations similar to the ones in the self-paced Healing Mindset Class. Some of them were easy enough to write, but others were tough. I knew what I wanted to write, but I felt resistance while writing them. Like I could identify the truth in them, but I didn’t want to surrender in those areas, but I also knew I needed to. It really surprised me. It was so interesting.
I took some time to think about them as I wrote them, and I felt a change as I let those things go. It was powerful.
The process of creating those two resources brought so much peace to my mind, and that’s been amazing. My thoughts are so much lighter, and I’m so thankful for that change.
Believing 100% in my body’s ability to heal
Another huge mindset shift has been to trust that my body knows how to heal. It’s been a long road to get to this point—especially after feeling like my body let me down for so many years. But I think I was also letting my body down by not giving it enough nutrition and taking on too much. It really is a 2-way street. Focusing on high caloric meals really is the first step to recovering a missing period because it takes SO much energy.
I no longer doubt my body, and I can look at the medical research straight in the face without fear. Why wouldn’t my body be able to ovulate again? My ovaries are still there! I’m excited to finish figuring out how to support my body to heal.
If you’re struggling to regain trust in your body, sign up for the FREE 5-Day Encourage Mindset Challenge below.
Evening primrose oil & a few other supplements
I started taking Evening Primrose Oil again. I’ve seen great results with it several times in the past and almost my period back a few times while using it. I actually did get my period more than once when I supplemented it, but that was before I understood how many surplus calories I needed to be eating, so I kept unintentionally losing a few pounds and my period would disappear again. Now I know better!
This time, I almost immediately started seeing cervical mucus again. EPO is like the icing on the cake, so the first step really is to eat enough food and focus on nutrition to see a huge effect. After 6 months of focusing on eating 2,500 calories every day, I decided it was time to add it back in every day.
In addition to Evening Primrose Oil, I’ve also been taking Vitamin D, Omega-3 fish pills, and Vitamin C Powder. I’ve recently tried a few other supplements, but I think these are playing a role in my cervical mucus production.
So there are my recent thoughts on what changes and steps contributed to the long-awaited return of my cervical mucus. Reach out with any questions you have, and defiantly work through the FREE 5-Day Encouraged Mindset Challenge if that sounds helpful for you.
