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Light at the End of the Tunnel

by Angel
(Chicago, IL)

I started noticing changes right after I had my oldest 12 years ago. My monthly cycle went from being a light flow for 5 days to being flood gates for 3 days. I couldn't leave my house. I felt "off" and stated as much to my doctor. At the time, I was 28 and otherwise very healthy. He just nodded and told me that it was "normal" for a woman's body to change after having a baby. I dealt with this for about a year.

At about that time, I started noticing other changes; very slight weight gain was the big one for me. I was working towards being a fitness model, so I worked out 6 days a week, ate very healthy, and drank plenty of water. At first, I noticed that my clothes didn't fit the same. My first thought was that I was eating something I shouldn't be. So, I was extra conscientious about what I was eating. But, I was still slowly gaining weight. I was also beginning to have trouble getting up in the morning. Where I used to get up at 4:30am to work out and then start my day, I was getting up later and later all while going to bed earlier and earlier. At another doctor appointment, it was written off to being the mom of a toddler and that my weight gain was obviously due to me not being fully honest about what I was eating or how much I was working out. I was basically told it was all in my head.

I got pregnant with my 2nd child and dealt with major depression when he was born. I refused to take anti-depressants because I felt that there was something else going on. After becoming pregnant with my 3rd child, I sunk into a deeper depression. I found a holisitc practitioner (who had just retired and was moving) that was able to help me get a hold of the depression. I tried to find other doctors, and they just were not willing to run hormone panels (stating that I didn't have a hormone imbalance since I was having healthy, live births...it absolutely could not be hormones). Two years later, I gave birth to twins. Everything that was bad before was 10 times worse now.

I'd been to the doctor with their "hypothyroid symptom" signs on the wall...and even though I had every single symptom, I was always labeled "completely healthy" since my labs all fell within range. Endocrinologists would recommend me for sleep apnea tests, but insisted that it was not hormonal. When my twins turned 3 1/2, I found another doctor who pinpointed serious nutritional deficiencies and finally ran hormone tests (by this time, I've gained 75lbs., major depression, major digestive issues--couldn't eat without throwing up, muscle fatigue, needing to sleep 20 hours a day, 95* core temp, on and on). My progesterone test came back at 1.5 and my estrogen came back at 298. This was taken on the 17th day of my period (when I was almost done bleeding). I've since been prescribed progesterone, but I do not feel that it is enough (oral tablets) and the dosage is too low (on 5mg a day). At the same time, I'm afraid to just start dosing myself and so I am looking for more information to make sure that I'm getting what I need.

And that's how I found this place. :)

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