Everyone knows that when you first become a parent – especially a breastfeeding mom – you’re signing yourself up for night time wakings and, ultimately, absolute exhaustion. We were lucky because our daughter was only waking up once a night pretty early on; and, by 5 months she was sleeping through the night. It took me a while, though, to feel like I had caught up on all the sleep I missed out on in the first 5 months. (Yes, I know you technically cant “catch up” on sleep, but I still like to think you can.) And, to be honest, until recently, I don’t know that I have truly ever felt rested since before pregnancy. Mom life, right? That’s what I kept telling myself, anyway, for the first year of being a mom.

Once my daughter had weaned around 9 months, I finally decided to try to lose the last 20-25 pounds I had been hanging on to since pregnancy. I was finding the whole ‘breastfeeding helps you lose the weight faster’ a total lie. By her first birthday, I was feeling lighter and a little better. I was hoping this weight loss would also help with my pain. But, once the first year had come and gone, and the weight had gone, I was still in pain and so, so tired. I was tired of being in pain. I was tired of not sleeping because of the pain. I needed an out.

I FINALLY (in August of this year) decided to schedule an appointment with a doctor who my best and oldest friend had told me about months beforehand. I was hesitant initially because 1) he doesn’t take insurance and 2) he is a spinal injury guru. My pain was NOTHING compared to the stuff he deals with.

I am so glad…major understatement…that I got over any hesitations about going to see this doctor. Based on the past misdiagnoses, one of my blood pressure readings (lying to standing up), and my pupils being super dilated….he know that my “piriformis syndrome” was likely just a symptom of another health issue. CRAZY. He tested my piriformis and calf strength, he pinpointed areas on my spine that were sore that I had never really noticed being sore, etc. During this appointment, I just felt like I was SO close to answers. He hypothesized that iron deficiency and a hormone imbalance were the cause of all of my issues – including fatigue. But, I needed to do a blood panel and urinalysis just to make sure. I went home to tell my husband and brother about my appointment and started to cry. I really felt like I was on the final road to recovery. I was at the lab to get my blood drawn as soon as they opened the next morning.