Tired of not getting answers

Sarah had always been interested in her health. So, at 34, when miscarriages were delaying her plans to start a family, she dove deep in search of clarity. Blood tests. Fetal tissue tests that looked for chromosomal abnormalities. Appointments with the top endocrinologists in the country. Acupuncturists. 

They had absolutely no idea why I was miscarrying. They didn't know what was going on.

Sarah turned to in vitro fertilization (IVF), hoping the additional testing embryos undergo before being transferred to the uterus would improve her chances.

It did. At 37, she gave birth to her first child. But she wanted a second and still didn’t have answers as to why her non-IVF pregnancies had ended in miscarriage.   

Not wanting to waste time seeking those answers, she opted to use stored embryos.

I didn't know how many more miscarriages I had in store for myself. So that was the very expensive route that I decided to take.

It was successful. At 39, Sarah had her second child.

But she wasn’t done asking questions.

Sarah had signed up for Function when she was still pregnant with her second child. She had been looking into advanced lab testing and researching local functional doctors.

She realized it was going to cost $1,200 minimum to even get started and it wasn’t going to be covered by insurance.

I was actually preparing myself to spend that kind of money, and then I got an Instagram ad with Dr. Mark Hyman.

For Sarah, Function’s annual member cost was “a no-brainer.”

Though her family was now complete, at 6 months postpartum, she was battling severe anxiety and depression. 

Going out in public and little things felt insurmountable to the point that I just stayed home because I didn't want to deal with them. I'd also have recurrent nightmares.

Sarah was ready to take charge of her health.

Once the results came in, she wished she had done it sooner.

The results

There were a few things she considered easy fixes, like nutrient deficiencies. Her Vitamin D and Omega-3 Total levels were both below optimal range.

Others were a wake-up call. 

Almost all of her heart biomarkers were out of range, including hs-CRP (a measure of inflammation linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk), multiple cholesterol markers, Triglycerides, and ApoB, a risk factor for heart disease that’s rarely tested.

Though Sarah has a family history of heart disease, she hadn’t been worried about her own heart health. 

There was another result she wasn’t expecting: a variant in the MTHFR gene.   

The MTHFR gene helps convert Folate (Vitamin B9) into its active form, the kind the body can actually use. Folate supports cell growth, neurotransmitter production, and both heart and metabolic health. It's especially critical during pregnancy, when it's needed for healthy fetal development.

Certain variants of MTHFR have been associated with an increased risk of autoimmune disease, migraines, cardiovascular disease, and depression.

Sarah wonders what could have been different if she had Function while she was trying to grow her family. 

I wasn't even really paying attention to how much I was actually suffering.

Though she was only diagnosed with depression and anxiety after her second child was born, she suspects she had it with her first, too.

It’s hard. But I don’t think it had to be that hard.

Moving forward

Instead of getting stuck on what could have been, Sarah decided to ask a more powerful question: What next?

She got to work addressing the out-of-range biomarkers. This time, there was no rabbit hole. No guesswork. Just real insights she could put into action. 

Before Function, Sarah “spent a fortune” on supplements. 

Being able to get my own labs and see where the gaps are, I was like, oh, I don't need to take all of this stuff.

She now supplements with methylated B vitamins that give her body Folate in a form it can use right away, and Vitamin D to address her deficiency. (Adequate Vitamin D is associated with mood stability, improved cognitive function, reduced inflammation, and reduced risk for cardiovascular disease.)

She’s also eating more fatty fish to boost her Omega-3 levels, which are linked to lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and may also help ease depressive symptoms.

As hard as it can be with a toddler and a baby, Sarah’s also making time for exercise, taking a walk almost every day and going to the gym twice a week. Just 80 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise like brisk walking and resistance training can reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms and the odds of postpartum depression.

I just want to be able to wake up and not be in a bad mood, be able to keep up with my kids all day, produce the best work I possibly can in my job, and just do the things in my life with all the energy I can give it.

Sarah’s decision to join Function has helped her whole family get healthier. Her husband has started reading nutrition labels and eating less processed food. She got a Function membership for her mother-in-law, whose results inspired her to cut out alcohol, start doing yoga, and go to the doctor for the first time in 20 years. And her dad’s Function results even caught an elevated HbA1c, a measure of average blood sugar over the past 2 to 3 months, right after his doctor gave him a clean bill of health. It turned out that he was pre-diabetic.

Sarah’s own follow-up lab tests with Function are around the corner.

It’s a motivator. I understand my biology better than I ever did. I'm excited to see where I've moved things along.

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