Talk to me of hormonal imbalances, hormonal changes, and all the tests that come with them

In My Humble Opinion
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I’m 39. And a half. I know this means menopause will start knocking on my door, but I say fuck off. I don’t think it’s taking me seriously, though, and is stubbornly refusing to leave. :::knock knock knock:::

I have a ridiculous female family history–every adult woman has had a hysterectomy rather than gone through menopause, going back at least 3 if not 4 generations; I count 6 individuals–wrought with conditions such as endometriosis (the most prominent condition), polycystic ovarian syndrome, and uterine cancer. There’s breast cancer, too, for a little extra fun.

Anyway, since the birth of my second child, my cycles have been much more severe, and my monthly symptoms (fatigue, insomnia, bloating, super heavy flow, migraines, irritability, etc.) are similarly wild-swinging. Despite eating healthier than I ever have in my life–I’ve never been a foodie and don’t care for most junk food–I have stubborn weight just around my belly, making me look perpetually 6mos pregnant. I’m about 10lbs overweight, so not terrible, but it’s weirdly nearly all in one place.

When I had my annual well-woman exam this year, I brought my concerns and my long female history. I didn’t want to seem hysterical–pun intended, heh–because when things start changing in my family, things go wrong, badly wrong. I’m hoping to be the first to duck the family history trend. (My oldest sister already (at 47) has had a partial hysterectomy due to her PCOS.) My doc understood and ran a complete battery of tests. I’m waiting for the results of the bloodwork, and the pelvic ultrasound was unremarkable except for a thickened uterine lining, which the doc said explains the heavy bleeding. Because of the history (aunt had precancerous cells in her uterine lining, leading to her hysterectomy), they took a biopsy and I’m waiting for its results as well.

I’m wondering if I have an estrogen-progesterone imbalance. The doc has started me on Lo-Estrin FE to try and get my hormones to calm the fuck down and balance out, but I don’t know if it will do that. Damn straight I’m hoping. The drunk-half-awake-fatigue/can’t relax or effing sleep monthly rhythms are getting in the way of me being me, dammit, and the super heavy flow doesn’t exactly make a day go well.

I confess I am hoping balancing the hormones will make me stop the crazy water retention and at least partially shrink the no-I’m-not-pregnant belly.

Anyway–ladies, who has BTDT with the joys of hormones not keeping their shit together? Will Lo-Estrin help my stormy seas calm a bit?

Being a woman rocks, but the maintenance is a bitch. So to speak.

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Moved MPSIMS --> IMHO, home of medical threads.

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I’m sorry I can’t answer your questions about hormones, but what you’ve said above rang a few bells for me. I started having a similar constellation of symptoms about a year ago and it turns out that I probably have adenomyosis (I say “probably” because technically, the diagnosis can’t be definitively made until the uterine tissue is examined in the pathology lab post-hysterectomy). Perhaps it’s worth having your doctor include that in the differential. It’s often seen in women over 30, those who’ve had previous pregnancies, and those who also have endometriosis.

Best of luck to you… and yes, I completely agree with your last paragraph. I’m having a hysterectomy on Thursday and I’m hoping that puts an end to the insanity!

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[ Off Topic ]

How’s Firefly doing? [ /OT ]

Sorry, I can’t recommend anything for GYN issues. My mother and three older sisters had hysterectomies before menopause. My own gynecological road has been so smooth it’s like Mother Nature is making up for what she did to the rest of my female relatives.

StG

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I can’t wait to see a good answer to this because I am in a similar boat to you.

No kids, 36 yo, similar family history. My doc just prescribed Lo-Estrin as well, but my full exam isn’t until October.

I gained 10 lbs after quitting smoking and they are all around the middle. It doesn’t seem like anything will get rid of them.

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StGermain, Firefly is her red-headed mini-pony mare self, meaning she is The Queen and everyone (no matter they are 4x her weight) knows it. :wink: My riding horse is both in love with her and terrified of her, heh.

mengvs, from what I gleaned in my brief Googling, adenomyosis is pretty common in older women and is treated only when it becomes exceptionally problematic. (It did say it was more common in women who’ve had a C-section or other uterine surgery, and my second child was in fact delivered this way.) But it’s another thing to ask about, certainly.

I still haven’t gotten my biopsy results, but my bloodwork came in. I had to redo it because the first time, my cholesterol and triglycerides were high–but you’re supposed to fast for those, and I hadn’t, so they rechecked them. This time, my cholesterol was fine, but the triglycerides were still high. Granted, they had been cut in half, but still above the 150 levels they’d like (were at 250). She wants me to start fish oil, monitor my eating, and increase exercise. I severely injured my ankle in April, so I’m limited (but I’m out of the cast and ina brace, woot), but I’m not a sit-still-type. Heh, I’m riding my horse, brace and all.

What I don’t get is how I have high triglycerides when I eat the way I eat.

A typical day:
Breakfast: 4 breakfast cookies (made w/oatmeal, raisins, bananas, vanilla, cinnamon, almond milk–no sugar, no flour) OR a bowl of MiniWheats cereal; large coffee w/creamer (cutting down to 2 spoonfuls sugar from 3).
Snack: cup of fresh fruit (normally I just have a banana).
Lunch: baked tilapia or boneless, skinless chicken breast w/lemon, olive oil, lemon pepper, salt; carrots and hummus; string cheese, yogurt.
Snack: ~ 1/4 cup raw cashews and almonds w/Craisins and iced brewed coffee (leftovers from the morning).
Dinner: roast chicken, salad w/balsamic dressing, and some sort of complex carb (roll, French bread, potato, rice).
I avoid eating anything after dinner (after 6pm), though sometimes I’ll grab a handful of cereal or have a big glass or milk around 9pm.

I’m not exaggerating–that is a typical work day. Now, on the weekend when I’m feeding the kidlets, sometimes I eat less carefully, but I hate fried food and sugary stuff. On the weekends I may eat more complex carbs and processed food (graham crackers are my downfall), but I don’t gorge on heavily junky stuff.

I’m wondering if this is related to my hormones being whackadoodle, if they are in fact whackadoodle. My oldest sister (the one with PCOS) has diabetes as a result of her condition so she has to monitor her eating carefully, but my ovaries looked good on the pelvic ultrasound so it doesn’t seem related.

Glad to know I’m not alone in my “WTF, body?” Just wish we had some answers! Or at least, ideas of answers.

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Still no word on the biopsy. I called my doc back yesterday at her request regarding the bloodwork, but currently am playing phone tag.

Bummed not to see new posts here. The mini-migraine I had yesterday just added fuel to the WTF? fire. Please start working LoEstrin.