Rough Day

Thanks Elaine,

Im going to try some supplements and see how it works for me. I just got in from a GYN appointment and she mentioned that from my symptoms it could possibly be peri, but don't know for sure since my cycles are somewhat still regular. They did a routine annual exam and took some bloods to check my thyroid, hormone levels and vit D. I was anxious while I was sitting there the whole time. Now I'm just hoping they don't call back with any thing being wrong.

Don't stress out if they say your TSH was high....find out what that number is. Also, if your Vitamin D is low, which it probably will be, get a Whole food vitamin D3 and not a synthetic if she doesn't put you on any. Keep in mind...hormone testing can be really tricky as the fluctuate all day long. That's why they sometimes say they can be innacurate but can maybe give you an idea. Remember also...conventional Dr's will look for things they can throw meds at you for, so do your homework. I am never quick to jump on the medicine wagon after seeing a Dr because I've learned to research stuff first...finally got my husband on board in doing that now too. He went one time and his sugar was a little high...like 110 and they want it to be under 99 and threw a medicine that had WAY more risks so he threw them away and got it back down below 99 in 30 days with diet change and exercise and when he went back in for his follow up, the Dr thought the medicine was doing it's job and when he told the doctor that her never took it and explained the changes he had made, the doctor was shocked because he said that he's never known that to happen. So just do your homework. Doctor's go by the Merck Manel so they are very text book and that's it!

I was thinking about. Im not a pill person and will only take them if I really need them. I've researching how I've been feeling the last couple of months. I know those hormone tests can be funny and you are rite they fluctuate all the time. I just can't stand that when I was telling the doc my symtpoms she was just looking at me like what I was saying didn't make sense. Which was the same way my GP was looking at me. I can't get any straight answers. I was so anxious in the office that i started crying while i was talking. She immediately said i needed to talk to a pyshchiatrist and maybe I'm depressed. I am far from depression. I'm just fed up with it all.

See, that's what really ticks me off about Dr's...just because we have health anxieties they automatically go to text book thinking and say everyone's depressed or we need a shrink....really??? That would tick me off enough to where I would find another Dr. We know our bodies best and while we may not describe how we feel in the right way, does not justify being treated like that. A pill is not always the answer and shame on these dr's who can't think outside of their text books. I've read one of those Merck Manuel and I can always tell when I Dr is going strait by the book. You need to find a doctor who will listen to you...calm your fears and anxieties and look for ways other than a pill to deal with some of this. Maybe go to a holistic or Naturopathic Dr. They are more expensive but I tell ya, it may very well be worth the investment. The biggest help for yourself is you being one step in front of what's going on. If these Dr's cured what ails us, their wallets wouldn't be so fat. That why they want to "manage" SYMPTOMS instead of getting to the root of the problem.....ugh....Dr's....they just infuriate me.😣

Hi Jamie..............are your periods really heavy though! thats a sign of early peri.  Im sure nothing will be wrong, but even if it is, they can deal with it for you, and you have an answer then to whatever it is, knowing whats wrong is big part of it,remember if they have those blood tests that says nothing wrong with you, its allin your head, dont let them do that to you, it can be really hard to get the proof you need early on, unless hormones are really low at the time of the test, and if nothing else shows,  dont let them send you to a shrink if you dont feel you need one, dont let them do that, my depression did get really black,  the anxiety side i get on with dont have panic attacks can cope with that, but the depression, so, went on sertraline which is one specifically for pmt depression, helps with migraine as well, off it now,  i think a better dr would be an endocrinologist to be honest, they deal with all the endocrine system which the menopause affects. so, sugars, thyroid, menopause, adrenal glands all linked, i know gyn is womb, but in UK were sent to see endocrinologists for menopause, can understand why  gp would give us funny looks as their not specialists in any one field, plus their idiots anyway, but a specialists speaks for itself really doesnt it!! beggars belief, but had the same problems with drs myself, they make everything so much worse, let us all know jamie how you get on, get some magnesium, and vit d this weekend see how you go.  

I was a little angry when I left. I'm not depressed. This anxiety and all other stuff just started with me and I don't even know where it came from. I've never dealt with anxiety. I don't mind talking with a therapist as to how to deal with the anxiety, but I'm not depressed.

I totally know what you mean!  I went to a doc because I was having heart flutters, joint aches, pains, and shaky all over, some vertigo.  She told me it was anxiety and prescribed Xanax and said see a therapist.  I hate taking pills too, and while I'm not agains seeing a therapist I just wanted to scream "I'm not imagining this physical sh*t, and THAT is what is giving me anxiety!!"  Started researching peri and found this forum, thank God, it saves my sanity knowing that there are so many more people like me going through the same stuff (though no one I know close to home understands).

Hang in there, get through the sh*tty days, and enjoy the few good ones until this all passes I guess.  I'm so glad I found this place to listen to others, and vent myself

The anxieties can be due to hormones fluctuating. Any good doctor should know that. Try an Endocrinologist like Elaine suggested. At this point, I'm not sure if a GYN would be who you want to go to now.

Thanks Elaine. I will let you know how ever thing goes. I will look into seeing an endocrinologist. The docs here in the US don't really recommend a specialist unless they really feel they have reason too or you insist on seeing one. So I will insist on seeing one.

That's what I was thinking about the anxieties. My bloods usually come back with nothing wrong. So I will see what happens from here. I am definitely going to find an endocrinologist.

Jamie.............. In UK if you decide to go private and pay, you can see who  you need too, at any hospital you want, and if you pick a specialists who also works in a NHS hospital, but you see him in his private clinic, you pay for his time, the tests, but for treatment if, needed,  you can then switch back to NHS to see him again and you dont pay for treatment then, but you do have to be referred by your gp in that case, but but if you went totally private, you dont have to be referred by gp, we have to pay for prescriptions, but in Wales, and i think Scotland, their prescrptions are totally free, its only certain conditions in UK that prescriptions are totally free, like cancer, or, other life threatening conditions, but when you reach reitrement all prescriptions fees in UK are then free, but when i say we pay its only around £9.00 which is about $11 an thats per item, however, you can take out health insurance as well and go totally private, you dont have to be referred by gp to do that, but they advise to do so to be sure of who your seeing.

Ive paid to see an endocrinologist, not for the menopause, something else, I had tests i never knew existed, and that you dont get offered on the NHS more reliable testing techniqes, i was told that some of my symptoms were not normal, which, i knew in my own mind, but couldnt prove it, and my gp kept telling me the opposite, you get seen much quicker,  treatment by staff i recieved whilst having my tests was brilliant, and ive been private before and it hasnt always been like that, so doesnt always follow, that paying for it means you get the best which, i accept, more and more people in the uk are doing this, either to save money for the NHS, but mainly  because the care has gone here on the NHS,and people are getting scared, the waiting times to get in to see a specialists can be up to 4 months depends on your area and type of specialists you require, but for cancer your seen in 2 weeks, some sooner, otherwise your met with a stoney faced gp, whose got the brick wall up before you open your mouth, at my surgery, there is a 2 week waiting list to get in, by which time your better anyway..........ha  and worse at ours, your only allowed to discuss one problem, so, if you have a bad back, and a bad arm, you have to make another appointment for that  2 weeks down the line again..........ha you sit in the waiting room for 15 mins on average, 45 mins if your unlucky, but if your a migrant and shout assylum seeker at the receptionist you get in first, because thats the EU law which, we have to abide to, eventhough English people pay insurance out of their pay which goes directly to NHS for your care, the migrants havent paid into the system, infact it gets worse, the English people then pay tax which, goes to pay for their health care on the NHS also, and we could have dying parents, who, cant get cancer treatment because tourist migrants have taken up to 200,000 poundsworth of cancer treatment off the NHS, so someone else doesnt get their treatment as a result whose been waiting for it, and then the person whose taken it, goes straight back home to his own country, which, is totally legal!!!!, that can only happen in England............(sorry getting on the political soap box now)  you get an average  3 mins consultation, your allowed 10 mins but you never get that because the gp controls how the show goes, so you end up forgetting why you went in........ha  as a general rule, they argue with you over your symptoms, then get defensive if you ask for other tests, cant get to see specailists because general blood tests which, arent worth the paper their written on were normal, so, your then labelled as being a neurotic time waster, or, suffering with  an anxiety dissorder.

My daughter is 32, i had to go to our surgery with her,because, our gp wouldnt send her for further indepth specialists testing, as she was getting worse, i wasnt happy, turns out she had Crohns disease, and our gp and lovely A&E waste of time dept,  had diagnosed her with IBS for 4 years and was told to get her anxiety dissorder that she hasnt got, under control instead, and that was because, they werent doing the right blood tests..........arrrgh, everything is a fight with them, is it like this in the US, because im about to burst with it all, so sorry its long jamie just had to get all that out, i hope i can sleep now when i go to bed, which is right now. 

It's crazy here in the US. Everything is a money issue. I know docs have to be paid but they got in the profession to help care for people and it just all seems out the window. A lot of times you can't get in depth testing because insurances doesn't want to pay for them. Insurances don't want to pay for anything past standard treatment. I'm going to see a new GP. I don't like the one I was seeing. The GYN I saw today was new also. I'll see how things go with her. She did mention that I could be in peri with my symptoms but she would check my hormone levels. I'm not expecting to hear much from that since hormones fluctuate. But when telling her of my other symptoms she just looked at me crazy. I'm just so over. I know my body and how it feels. I will look into getting a referral for an endocrinologist. I've had dozens of bloods and all kinds of grams and scans. All come back good. So I'm almost certain it's hormones. I'll still wait for the other tests though.

jamie..............you have hit the nail right on the head, it is all about money, gps here, are told not to send people to hospital unless its really necessary, and if you do that, we will give you more money, so, gps dont send you, your totally right, why get into the caring profession if it all becomes about money, and i hate insurance compaines, their the worst arent they, so, for you its the insurance companies who say what tests you go for, makes sense now, Im 56 and we have finally learnt, that, i think its better to save it in the bank, then you pay for who you want to see, and what you want to tested, or, what you want to get fixed in your home, when i think of all the money we give them, and when we need it we cant get it, insurance companies were rubbing their hands when the credit crunch hit, Governments just given themselves another payrise in two months, low paid workers get nothing until 2200.

Dont understand why your gyni was like that with you, it makes me mad whent hats happened, he/she was probably thinking, i think this ones been on a patient forum what am i going to do, i know ill just look dum,  and no, if it is the menopause thats your problem, then your tests for other things will be totally normal, but yes wait for other test results to be sure, let us know though how you get on, at the end of the day if nothing comes back, at least you know its nothing serious, so you could just go along with it being hormones, because at the end of the day, seeing someone else, for more tests possible repeating the same ones you have just had, think about how much your using on your insurance, just go down the supplement route sought it yourself.............good luck jamie, had a lovely nights sleep by the way..............im totally calm now...........ha 

I'm glad you slept well. I slept from 9:30 pm to 12:30 am, then from 5:00am to 8:00am. I'm not going to another doc for repeated test. I'm almost certain it's hormones. The anxiety should habe been the first clue being as though i've never had an issue with anxiety and nothing traumatic has happened for me to be this anxious until the first of the hard symtpoms hit me a few months ago. I do have to see a new GP though. Mines called me yesterday and no longer accepts my insurance, so he can no longer accept me as a patient. I've had him for years. It's always a money thing. I'm over it. I needed to see a new doc, one that listens to me and cares about its patients. I don't really go to the docs that much except for when something is really wrong. So when these test come back I will know. Hopefully they are ok. You are right. I will be taking some suppplements, managing with some dietary adjustments, reducing stress and adding some more light exercise. The change is happening wether I want it to or not so I might as well learn to cope with it.

When I mentioned the heart flutters and weird head pressure the GYN said thats probably coming from your pressure and anxiety. I just shook my head. The anxiety should have been a clue since I've never had a problem with it and it just stared when all these weird symtpoms started. But of course she gave me a referral to a therapist thinking the anxiety is linked to depression. At this point, I'm over it. I'm almost certain that my issues are hormone related. I've had dozens of tests and scans and all are normal so I'm expecting these to come back normal also. I'm only interested in the thyroid, hormones, and pap smear results. I don't need a repeat of all those other test. It's a waste of my insurance.

Doctor's prey on stupidity. Jokes are on them!

In the words of tin man....if only they had a brain! (Doctor's)

jamie...........all my family and i have 3 sisters, plus 3 girlfriends friends, there first symptoms during peri were increased pms,  it is a first sign, but try this, dont say to your new drs, im anxious and feel full of anxiety constantly etc, say instead, my pre menstural symptoms for some reasons are through the roof, he may link it to hormones then, ive had pms since i was 17, and it got much worse during early peri, if you didnt have pms before peri, it doesnt matter, it just means your picking it up now due to it being bad, it may have been in the past you did have it, but your symptoms were so sutle you never picked up on it, because like menopause my pms symptoms, sometimes were stronger than other months, it varies due to hormone flucts, try saying that jamie, see what happens.  your sleep patterns are going to be out as well, if you become fatigued, it knocks our body clock out and then your sleep pattern, that can cause achy joints and adrenaline rushes, insomnia can also be a sign of low magnesium, salt and sugar.

God so if were not shafted by our nhs gps, your being shafted by your medical insurance people, its really not on is it, what the hell are people supposed to do.  

Like that lyn

 

I'm going to try that. My pms symptoms were horrible the last three years. It's just been the last couple of months, I don't have the breast soreness, or the really bad headaches. I still have the interrupted sleep, night sweats bad when I'm having my cycle, the mood swings and the chocolate cravings. It's so weird. I used to could tell when my cycle is coming by the pms, but now I cant. I get the weird symptoms instead.

jamie..............i think all that is normal for peri jamie, including the weird symptoms, those weird symptoms are your sign its happening then, so go with that, do you need proof in the test because you want HRT, is that whats driving you with the tests? or, are you  concerned that there may be something else going on with you other than the menopause?

I'm not interested at all with HRT. Unless this gets unbearable. I'm not really concerned about other tests to be honest. I've had soa y tests and scans and all come back fine. I've been to the ER while I was having weird symptoms, and they didn't find anything. I was only going to the docs because after expressing my concerns to my GP who wouldn't say anything but see a GYN which is what I did. After telling her my concerns she didn't really say much but keep tracking my cycles for any significant changes and she was testing the thyroid and hormone levels and said I could possibly starting peri. So I left it at that. I don't have reason to think it's anything else.

jamie.................thats sounds positive then for you.   For drs who suspect your on it, they listen for  you to say you have had period changes, which is a drs SIGN hormones can be declining, they tend not to always go on symptoms because so many illnesses come with all the same symptoms as one another, as there are other illnesses  that cause night sweats, so initially they would do general tests first, to rule those other things out, but would also test hormones as well, so, thats really all they go on at first, but symptoms they would look for could be  hot flushes. sweats, increase in pms/depression all of which you have had, and as far as a gp goes thats it, anything else, they wouldnt have a clue,  really hope you get some relief soon jamie, understand and totally sympathise with what your going through, let us know how you get on with your next results, best wishes speak again.

You are right about that. It scared me when I was having night sweats, I just knew I had some horrible illness. Then I realized that I only get the night sweats a day or two before the cycle and while it's on. I don't get them no other time. When I get them, I have an odor like I did when I was pregnant. I knew then it was hormones. After thinking about things, I believe it was peri from the first traumatic expierence in November. I will certainly keep you posted about the results.