Sadly I'm in the US and I don't have the money to spend on a trip to Belgium for healthcare. I can barely afford the healthcare I have now. I stopped the bioidenticals because my insurance won't cover it. :-(
No meds for dep/anx right now; have been on pretty much everything in every combo in the past; nothing really helped much except for nardil (an MAOI) which is off the market and eventually gave me such bad side effects that I was even more depressed than before taking it! It's pretty clear that it's hormonal that makes things much, much worse. (And has been the case since I was a teenager...)
Haven't been checked for PCOS but I don't think I have many of the symptoms (my period is fairly regular, 24-27 days; I have low cholesterol & low BP and am thin with no real weight gain, no extra hair, etc.); I do have VERY slight hypothyroidism and lots of symptoms of hypothyroidism, but only the naturopathic doctors think it counts since it's in the "healthy" range...
Do I go to an endocrinologist to get hormone things checked?
Not sure about the endocrinologist, can you ask your GP about this? I'm in the UK, where not only is healthcare free (though waiting lists for specialists can be tricky), but all referrals to specialists go through your existing doctor, you don't self-refer. Not sure if it's the same with you.
Out of curiosity, how's your sleep? And how much sunlight do you get? Bright light therapy may be worth a shot. It's best known for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter depression caused by insufficient light exposure), but it has a pretty good success rate with non-seasonal depression as well, in fact it's as good as anti-depressants, or nearly, according to the research I've read. The Zadro light box is fairly cheap on eBay, I've just noticed, and that's meant to be one of the good ones. I've actually written a website about sleep problems, light therapy and darkness therapy, so if you're interested go and have a wander around there.
Have you ever tried FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) charting? It's easy to learn, fairly practical for most people, and will tell you a fair amount about your hormones. If your temperatures are consistently low, for instance, that strongly suggests hypothyroidism. If you're not ovulating, that's telling as well. 24-27 days is a pretty regular cycle, though. Mine varies from about 20 to 36, though usually less than that, and mine's only considered mildly irregular. Seriously irregular is when your cycles can last for several months. Of course, you can have fairly regular cycles and still have buggered-up hormones.
No meds for dep/anx right now; have been on pretty much everything in every combo in the past; nothing really helped much except for nardil (an MAOI) which is off the market and eventually gave me such bad side effects that I was even more depressed than before taking it! It's pretty clear that it's hormonal that makes things much, much worse. (And has been the case since I was a teenager...)
Haven't been checked for PCOS but I don't think I have many of the symptoms (my period is fairly regular, 24-27 days; I have low cholesterol & low BP and am thin with no real weight gain, no extra hair, etc.); I do have VERY slight hypothyroidism and lots of symptoms of hypothyroidism, but only the naturopathic doctors think it counts since it's in the "healthy" range...
Do I go to an endocrinologist to get hormone things checked?
Thanks for the feedback!
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Out of curiosity, how's your sleep? And how much sunlight do you get? Bright light therapy may be worth a shot. It's best known for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter depression caused by insufficient light exposure), but it has a pretty good success rate with non-seasonal depression as well, in fact it's as good as anti-depressants, or nearly, according to the research I've read. The Zadro light box is fairly cheap on eBay, I've just noticed, and that's meant to be one of the good ones. I've actually written a website about sleep problems, light therapy and darkness therapy, so if you're interested go and have a wander around there.
Have you ever tried FAM (Fertility Awareness Method) charting? It's easy to learn, fairly practical for most people, and will tell you a fair amount about your hormones. If your temperatures are consistently low, for instance, that strongly suggests hypothyroidism. If you're not ovulating, that's telling as well. 24-27 days is a pretty regular cycle, though. Mine varies from about 20 to 36, though usually less than that, and mine's only considered mildly irregular. Seriously irregular is when your cycles can last for several months. Of course, you can have fairly regular cycles and still have buggered-up hormones.
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I have an endocrinologist appt, any suggestions on what else I should ask about besides thyroid and estrogen/progesterone?
I'll look up FAm, thank you!
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