Strengthened During the Saliva Panel

This past Sunday, I did a saliva panel that would measure the amounts of hormones my body was producing and also my cortisol levels throughout the day.  I filled four vials with saliva – one in the morning, one at noon, one in the afternoon, and one before bedtime.  I could not take any hormones or other medications at all that day that would reduce or eliminate the accuracy of the panel.

All day, I went without progesterone cream, thyroid medicine, adaptogens (adrenal help), and other supplements that assist with hormonal and reproductive healing.  I felt okay in the morning, but right before leaving for church, I felt weak.  I hadn’t eaten any quality protein, so I grabbed a can of lentil soup on our way out.  I almost put a spoonful of the soup in my mouth before remembering I couldn’t eat garlic or onions either while doing the saliva panel.  Frustrated, I told my husband that the soup had garlic and onion.  He was sorry that I couldn’t eat the soup that I was craving.  We turned around and returned home, already late for church.  My husband found a can of plain lentils.  We put that in a container, added salt, and started for church again.  I ate and thoroughly enjoyed those lentils.

By the time it was 1:30 pm, an hour after I usually take my second thyroid pill, I felt drained and incredibly weak and fatigued.  I was too tired to sing the hymns, and I didn’t even want to move out of my seat after Sacrament meeting was over.  I was afraid that if I went to Primary, I would only be able to sit and do nothing else.  I was afraid I would literally die from exhaustion or a stopped heart.  I wanted to go home, take a thyroid pill, and curl up in bed.  My husband told me that I would be okay and that if I took a thyroid pill, it would affect all of my hormones and render the saliva panel inaccurate.  I wanted badly to have accurate results, so I listened to my husband’s advice.  I prayed silently for comfort and for strength enough to move and to help my husband teach in Primary.

For the first 45 minutes of Sharing Time, I didn’t sing, but I felt a little more cheerful and peaceful.  I left for a few minutes to eat something, because I couldn’t eat anything an hour before filling a vial.  When I returned, I began singing some of the songs, and I felt a small increase of energy.  When it was time for my husband and me to teach, I helped, and I felt the Spirit.  When we got home, I prayed for help to get the saliva quickly into the vial so that I could eat and bring my blood sugar levels back to normal.  I filled the vial in 30 minutes, as opposed to the 45-60 minutes it had taken to fill the previous two vials.  I thanked Heavenly Father for blessing me with strength at church and for helping me to quickly fill the vial.  I, then, with my husband, helped myself to a hot meal.