Help, please
Green...@att.net
Late 30s - periods went wonky,then got better.
41 - had severe internal shaking and periods got lighter again.
Thought the shaking was blood sugar (was probably prediabetic then
anyway as I'm overweight). FSH was measured at 45.
6 months later FSH measured at 12.
Lost 70 lbs on low carb.
Family history:
Grandmother was institutionalized in a mental hospital 3 times from
age 50 - 65 (last baby was at age 41 - bad postpartum which morphed
into a terrible menopause experience.).
Mother had severe menopause symptoms - same anxiety and craziness that
hospitalized my grandmother. She was on HRT (estrace/provera) for 15
years.
Is off it now but isn't 100% (at 72 still has the flashes and
anxiety).
Mother has borderline osteoporosis even with 15 years on the HRT.
I'm now 43. Last period was Oct 2007. Up until this time they were
mostly regular but very light. The really heavy flashing started at
this point.
Starting in December the wheels completely came off my brain -
terrible insomnia (avg 3 hours sleep a night ), hot flashes preceded
by adrenalin surges that felt like I stuck my tongue in a light
socket, anxiety out the wazoo (just like my mother and g-mother). OTC
stuff like Estroven and Remifeminin didn't touch it anymore (tried
everything I could choke down starting in October).
Brain fog was so bad I got in 3 minor car accidents and was in danger
of losing my job. I couldn't even finish the first paragraph of a
newspaper article. Watching an entire movie was out of the question.
Started packing on the weight and couldn't exercise as I was so tired
and clumsy I kept hurting myself.
Tried OTC progesterone cream in a very small amount for 3 days - it
stopped the flashing and anxiety but sent me into such a crashing
depression that I tried to passively kill myself by going out back
and lying in the snow to try and freeze to death. Hubby found me and
convinced me to go back in the house. Spent a whole weekend sobbing in
bed and trying to get at the kitchen knives while DH tried to keep me
away from them.
After emergency visit to GP went on Combipatch HRT (FSH was 67).
This was great for the first week - I felt like I'd been let out of a
POW camp. The desire to kill myself left 4 hours after putting the
patch on.
In 24 hours I was sleeping normally again, and the flashes that had
been coming every 20 minutes around the clock for 3 months were down
to 6 or 7 a day (completely tolerable for me, compared to 60 a day).
But now I've traded one set of symptoms for another:
I've got SEVERE bloating - to the point where I can hardly breathe.
If I don't suck my stomach in it looks like I'm 9 months pregnant.
Cutting out wheat and dairy made no difference (and before the HRT I
never had problems with either).
Severe constipation which laughs at laxatives.
The weight won't move, at all, despite low-carb diet and exercise (now
that I'm not hurting myself anymore). I've put back on 50 of the 70
lbs I lost since last September.
My blood pressure, normally low even with the extra weight up until
the HRT, is up - I can feel it in my neck. Salt restriction doesn't do
anything for this, I tried that.
My asthma has gotten worse.
I'm wondering if my thyroid is ok - TSH tests out fine but I'm cold a
lot, still kind of brain foggy, low level depression, dry hair and
skin, so so tired all the time and feeling not so great.
Most of you will say "go to your doc" but I don't have a lot of faith
in him to help. There's no way I can get any additional thyroid tests
run other than TSH because he doesn't believe in them (already asked).
And I had to beg his female NP for the HRT despite nearly ending up in
the psych ward like my female family members.
They wanted to put me on an SSRI (which I'm already on, which they
forgot about!).
What I need help on (and I know this board is very anti-HRT but it was
a life/death thing for me in January):
What can be done OTC for the bloating and water retention?
Where do I go from here? If I go off the HRT I won't be able to
function at all again and will want to kill myself again.
And I'll probably end up unemployed.
If I stay on it I'm fat, bloated, hypertense, and still not feeling
great.
Do I try cutting the patch in half for a trial?
Does it take the body some time to get used to the new level and stop
bloating?
I'd like to be able to breath again sometime soon and I BADLY need to
lose weight but can't. And I know the BP isn't good to be up for
long.
Would changing HRT work? I don't want the horse urine.
Is this bloating a result of the estrogen in the patch or the
progestin?
----Beginning of vicious rant that I badly need to have -------
I want my OLD BODY BACK. This SUCKS. I felt pretty decent up until
last October, now THIS.
I'm only 43, I have a full time job, a husband, a life to live, and a
house to keep up, I REFUSE TO SPEND DECADES FEELING LIKE CRAP!!!!
Which is what a lot of docs and a lot of women seem to think is the
right approach.
I don't understand that - if my life span is 83 years and I'm 43 that
means I have 40 years to go. And if I feel like crap for 10 of them
that means I'm going to waste 25% of the years I have left. That's
just not acceptable.
Would men just roll over and accept not being able to get out of bed
for a decade without doing something about it?
Did I mention I'm a bit irritable right now? ;). I'm really angry
that we can put a man on the moon and make Bob Doles willie stand
straight up but that there aren't better treatments for the millions
of women who go through this and are completely debilitated.
-----------end of vicious rant -------------
Thanks in advance.
Jette
> Most of you will say "go to your doc" but I don't have a lot of faith
> in him to help. There's no way I can get any additional thyroid tests
> run other than TSH because he doesn't believe in them (already asked).
> And I had to beg his female NP for the HRT despite nearly ending up in
> the psych ward like my female family members.
Change doctors? You have that right.
--
Jette Goldie
je...@blueyonder.co.uk
http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://wolfette.livejournal.com/
("reply to" is spamblocked - use the email addy in sig)
Keera Ann Fox
> Where do I go from here? If I go off the HRT I won't be able to
> function at all again and will want to kill myself again.
> And I'll probably end up unemployed.
I would get that thyroid looked at, first and foremost. So many of your
symptoms suggest thyroid problems.
Switch doctors, if that's what it takes. Really. That is some serious
stuff you're describing.
> If I stay on it I'm fat, bloated, hypertense, and still not feeling
> great.
I have tried EFT (emotional freedom technique) with some luck, and I
swear by psyllium (Metamucil) for the constipation. Take a lot of it
througout the day.
> Do I try cutting the patch in half for a trial?
There's nothing to suggest that that would be harmful, so go ahead. BTW,
estrogen can affect depression adversely.
PS: Good rant. ;-) And welcome to asm!
--
Keera in Norway * Think big and then ask for more.
http://home.online.no/~kafox/
WWWSC #4
> I'm wondering if my thyroid is ok - TSH tests out fine but I'm cold a
> lot, still kind of brain foggy, low level depression, dry hair and
> skin, so so tired all the time and feeling not so great.
One person's experience -- take it for what it is worth.
I had hypothyroid symptoms for several years before low thyroid showed up
on the tests. Symptoms went away for over a year on Levothroid. Symptoms
started returning a few months ago, and I scheduled another thyroid test,
which came up within normal ranges. So I'm guessing that I'll have to go
through a few more years of this before it registers on the test again.
In other words, given a wide range for what is considered a standard
level, it may be that a change from what you normally are will cause
symptoms, even though it is still within the normal range. My last
'normal' test -- with symptoms -- was higher than the one without symptoms.
--
Karen R.
Cathy F.
"WWWSC #4" <kre...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:13rce13...@corp.supernews.com...
I echo this, only on the hyperthyroid end of the deal. I'm quite sure I was
hyper-T for a good 5 years - in my 40's - before the bw actually confirmed
it at age 48. Plus, within the last year I experienced hormonal symptoms
that indicated I was hyper again, when my med (Tapazole/methimazole) dosage
was changed slightly. After starting out at 5 mg/day nine years ago, I was
down to taking a very minimal dose of 1.25 mg/day, & then went to no med.
since it had been so stable for a long time. The subsequent bw showed a
change, although it was still within the "normal" range. But my body was
telling me that there was a definite difference, & it sure didn't feel like
it was within normal limits to me! Went back on the med...
Cathy
>
> --
> Karen R.
sage hen
wrote:
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Green, the sudden big changes caused by your patch (both good and bad)
mean it's probably too much. When I first tried hormones I had too
large a dose. Hot flashes went away and I was sleeping better, but I
also gained weight and my fibrocystic breast problem came right back
(a sign of too much estrogen). Eventually I went to nice, cheap
estradiol at a low .5 mg. a day. It alleviates but doesn't banish
symptoms, and my weight is stable.
Lots of women cut their patches in half, thirds, two-thirds,
whatever. But you shouldn't cut it down to half immediately--try
cutting a quarter off at first and a smaller sliver until you reach a
happy medium. Your hot flashes and insomnia will come back with a
vengeance if you don't taper hormones down slowly.
Les
jacquie
Even 13 years ago when my Daughter had pregnancy complications, the male
residents in the teaching hospital listened much better, than the attending
males. The Chief resident was a female who has since gone into private
practice and my Daughter still goes to her today....:) I myself prefer older
female Drs as I have found them more sympathetic to peri-menopause:) I now
have a younger female Dr...but when I was going through peri I had a Dr
close to 50...we suffered our problems together...LOL...she was great but as
always with a military hospital the Dr's move on. I once had a nurse
practitioner that would stand up to the stuffy male GYN's if the argument
was to help her patient. She even went to GYN appointments with her patients
if they asked her to, for support...she was a civilian working at the
base...alas she retired in the beginning of my peri thanks goodness she told
me which GYN to go to before she left:)
"DanaŠ" <Anee...@ownmail.com> wrote in message
news:njldr391781uk400m...@4ax.com...
On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:05:41 GMT, Jette <boss...@scotlandmail.com>
wrote:
>> Most of you will say "go to your doc" but I don't have a lot of faith
>> in him to help. There's no way I can get any additional thyroid tests
>> run other than TSH because he doesn't believe in them (already asked).
>> And I had to beg his female NP for the HRT despite nearly ending up in
>> the psych ward like my female family members.
>
>
>Change doctors? You have that right.
And I would suggest a young female doctor. Come to GA I have found one
that is wonderful. I wish I had switched to a woman doctor years ago.
They sympathize with what you are going through and understand more
than a man would.
I remember my male doc telling me that something about being pregnant
and I stupidly asked "What will that feel like?" He said, and rightly
so..."I don't know, I've never been pregnant!" Duh. :)
Good luck. :)
Dana
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons,
for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
Jette
> I think the younger male Dr's are more intune then the older male Drs too.
> Even 13 years ago when my Daughter had pregnancy complications, the male
> residents in the teaching hospital listened much better, than the attending
> males. The Chief resident was a female who has since gone into private
> practice and my Daughter still goes to her today....:) I myself prefer older
> female Drs as I have found them more sympathetic to peri-menopause:) I now
> have a younger female Dr...but when I was going through peri I had a Dr
> close to 50...we suffered our problems together...LOL...she was great but as
> always with a military hospital the Dr's move on. I once had a nurse
> practitioner that would stand up to the stuffy male GYN's if the argument
> was to help her patient. She even went to GYN appointments with her patients
> if they asked her to, for support...she was a civilian working at the
> base...alas she retired in the beginning of my peri thanks goodness she told
> me which GYN to go to before she left:)
There are several female doctors and a couple of male doctors in my
local GP practice. Some years ago I had to get an appointment with
one of the other doctors, instead of my own GP, because my own doctor
was on holiday. According to this female doctor (young - younger
than me), "there's no such thing as peri-menopause - you're either
menopausal or you're not". She should be in for a shock in just a few
years, I reckon <g>. (she's also a twit about some other matters, and
singularly unsympathetic - we've had run ins on a couple of things -
so if I have to take an alternative doctor in the practice for an
appointment I make a point of avoiding her)
FurPaw
> Did I mention I'm a bit irritable right now? ;). I'm really angry
> that we can put a man on the moon and make Bob Doles willie stand
> straight up but that there aren't better treatments for the millions
> of women who go through this and are completely debilitated.
>
> -----------end of vicious rant -------------
Hi, Green, and welcome to asm!
Good rant!!! Many women go through menopause with mild to no
discomfort - they usually don't show up here on asm. Most of us
have had moderate-to-severe problems, although yours sound worse
than most!.
My first thought, like several others, was that you need to find
a new primary care physician. Yours sounds like he's way behind
the times (not "believing in" thyroid tests besides TSH) and
incompetent (forgetting that you already take an SSRI).
My first take, after reading this, is that you also need to
consult a gynecologist and a good internal medicine specialist to
help you sort all of this out. You will need to keep your brain
plugged in as best you can, because as you clearly have
experienced, an MD degree doesn't guarantee anything about how
well the person practices medicine.
With respect to your specific symptoms - I'd venture that they
all result from your hormones being out of whack, and I don't
mean just estrogen and progesterone. Hormones interact with each
other in very complex ways, and one being too high or too low can
trigger imbalances with the others.
Someone else suggested that you cut the estrogen patch down
gradually until you find a level that reduces some of the
symptoms you experienced - I'd agree with that.
For the constipation - I've had a life-long problem with that,
even when eating a lot of vegetables. What works for me is
taking about a tablespoon of ground psyllium husk mixed in with a
cup of yogurt in the morning. It changes the texture of the
yogurt, but otherwise doesn't have much taste.
Another thing that you could try is increasing your omega-3s,
either by eating cold-water fish like sardines, anchovies, tuna,
mackerel, salmon, or by supplementing with fish oil capsules. If
you get the capsules, I'd suggest that you look for the type that
are made from small-bodied fish (sardines, anchovies, small
mackerel), because the larger fish tend to concentrate more
contaminants, being near the top of the fish food chain. How
will this help? There's some research that suggests that
omega-3s help with mood, as well as with cardiovascular health.
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/Omega-3.htm .
I hope this helps, and that you get relief soon!
FurPaw
--
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched,
every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense
a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and are not clothed."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
To reply, unleash the dogs.
Cathy F.
"jacquie" <happi...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:13reb30...@corp.supernews.com...
>I think the younger male Dr's are more intune then the older male Drs too.
My own experience also happens to second this; I presently have a youngish
ob-gyn, after the older previous older ones - also male - retired. This guy
is *way* more in tune with the realities of peri & post menopause than they
were.
I had a female primary physician many years ago, and really like her, but
she changed professions... I saw the NP of my present primary care doctor
(the endo guy) a couple of months ago; she appears to by approx. my age &
could totally relate to the meno-related insomnia.
Cathy
WWWSC #4
> Another thing that you could try is increasing your omega-3s,
> either by eating cold-water fish like sardines, anchovies, tuna,
> mackerel, salmon, or by supplementing with fish oil capsules.
Chak suggested taking the capsule right before going to bed if you are
bothered by fishy burps. I've been doing that and it has helped a lot.
Karen R.
jacquie
miles to the nearest military Hospital. We had two midwifes ..one was from
Ireland and one was American. The one from America delivered a young girl's
first child..she was so mean,You could hear her shouting at the girl all
through the labor ward, and I heard later you never wanted her to do a pap
on you because she was very rough. I lucked out and got the midwife from
Ireland..she was Great. She thought I was fantastic...I had my baby within
an hour after I got there and two hours later I was up taking a shower..well
heck this was my third kid in five years my body was getting used to
delivery..LOL.
I sure would like to be a fly on that young Drs wall when Peri hits
her...LOL.
"Jette" <boss...@scotlandmail.com> wrote in message
news:3mGtj.8361$XI....@text.news.virginmedia.com...
Priscilla Ballou
WWWSC #4 <kre...@gmail.com> wrote:
I got "enteric" fish oil capsules (from Puritan?) and never have a fishy
burp.
Priscilla
WWWSC #4
I get the enteric ones from Food Science. My husband and daughter do not
have a fishy burp problem, but I do.
Karen R.
Green...@att.net
vitamin D) or Fish oil (in the summer) for a couple of years now. It
doesn't taste fishy at all - it's so mild you could use it as salad
dressing. I like the lemon flavored one the best.
I'm still bloated but a good dose of laxatives and a lot of water with
lemon in it this weekend seemed to have purged me a bit and my pants
don't feel quite as vise-like this AM.
I know the doc issue is there - I already changed once a couple of
years ago because of the blood sugar issues and the horrible shaking I
was getting (which now in hindsight was probably a hormone thing).
That previous doc (not a gyn) also wanted to do an endometrial biopsy
on me (in the office) because I was havng erratic periods, even though
I was clearly in peri and had an FSH of 45. That's what finally shoved
me to leave her.
The new guy is a lot better than the old one was but is still not
real receptive to anything other than the standard party line,
especially on tests. I think he's fine as a GP for non-endocrine/
hormone things.
This weekend I found a lab where I can order my own tests and pay out
of pocket and I'm going to get my free T3 and free T4 checked there
(though I have drive 2 hours each way to get there). That will at
least answer my questions about if I have a problem with that and if
that's the answer to why I'm freezing all the time etc.
And I'm going to try cutting the patch down a bit. The flashes etc do
come back near the tail end of the patch period before I change it so
I'm not sure how it will go but if it gets rid of the bloating it
might be worth it. Plus my boobs are HUGE and they weren't small to
begin with - hubby seems to like them but he's at risk of being
suffocated LOL.
Green...@att.net
in dealing with the likes of Kurt so I don't post there anymore.
I've read about your health issues - I'm sorry you're dealing with
that but at least you seem to know what it is.
The shaking stopped about 6 months after it started, and I ended up
losing about 75 lbs on low-carb. Unfortunately due to carb creep, a
new job where I'm more sedentary than I would like, and the hormone
thing I've put about 45 of that back on, 30 of it in the last 3 months
when the female hormones completely went to hell. I'm
trying to get back on the wagon now but it's been tough. What really
killed me is that I stopped exercising because I was so exhausted and
felt so awful.
My blood sugar has been ok - too many carbs will shove it to 120-130
or and then it goes screaming back down really fast to about 85 and
will keep dropping unless I eat again and I feel lousy so the reactive
hypo tendency is still there. I just try not to test it like that too
often, and if I'm in a carby situation I try to use fiber, alcohol,
and acid to blunt the rise. I never eat them on an empty stomach
either.
I'm still on the inhalers, though I try not to use any more than I
have to.
I did get checked for Cushings when I went to the endo during the
shaking 2 years ago but despite flunking the first dex suppression
test the 2nd round (I think it was the spit test) came out normal.
If I can't even get them to check the free thyroid hormones there's no
way they'd check me for anything more exotic.
ellen
just want to wish you luck. sorry for all the misery that you are
enduring, but i hope that you'll be able to sort things through & find
a good doctor to work with. i sent you a pm with what little
references/suggestions i had.
hoping for better for you,
ellen