I'm a 21 year old female, just turned 21 a few weeks ago... always been petite....thin but I have a lot of belly bloat....
.....and I feel like I've lost my life due to the following symptoms.
It all started this past Valentine's day, I started my period as I normally did every 28-35 days since the age of 10. Then a week later, it returned, this went on for 3 months. I was having a period every other week, and the week I wasn't menstruating, I was PMSing! And I broke out in horrific acne everywhere....and began having dizzy spells, and anxiety attacks on a regular basis (I've always had anxiety but never this bad and never this frequently) with Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) ranging from 120-180 beats per minute! I went to an endocrinologist, and a gynecologist, hell I even went to a chiropractor. The Gynecologist assumed I had a hormal imbalance and recommended birth control. Every method I tried made me violently ill. Moved on to the Endocrinologist, tested my hormones and said I have elevated prolactin, but she wants me to retake the test, because I took it too late in the morning ...
I told her...I took it when I first woke up! Which is technically morning for me! But she still wants me to take it again.
Well by this time summer was ending and the panic attacks became so bad that it was difficult to go anywhere.
My last period was on September 2nd of this year. 3 months late and I'm not pregnant. I've NEVER been 3 months late before, nor have I had such irregular cycles at all. So I went from a period every other week from Feb-June, then back to a few normal cycles, then to no periods at all...and the anxiety attacks turned into fits of sheer panic...to the point where I can't even leave my house and I'm addicted to Xanax.
The panic attacks are the ab****e worst part of it. I'll get what feels like hot flashes, shots of adrenaline and the feeling of impending doom for no reason at all.
On top of this, all my friends abandoned me cause I never go anywhere anymore, the acne never went away, just keeps getting worse, the dizzy spells have gotten so bad that I ended up in the ER where the doctor there told me I have severe inflammation of the inner ear along with swelling and Labyrinthitis.
I even had a low-grade fever (99.5).
Despite the fever and the fact that it was snowing outside I was sweating profusely. I was so HOT that I didn't wear my coat to the ambulance (they had to carry me cause the dizziness was so bad).
I'm scheduled to double-check my prolactin levels again with my endo and I'm seeing my pcp tomorrow following up on the inner ear issues.
Hello,
So many of your symptoms are similar to mine. Last winter, I had vertigo and nastagnas (spelling?) terribly. My ENT said that former could be benign paradoxyl positional disorder--doing the Epley maneuver at home works--and the latter was rapid eye movement. He said that if they weren't gone in 6 weeks, that he'd do a MRI. They went away well before that, though. For the last several years, I get irregular heartbeat. It is scary and so uncomfortable. I always restore a regular sinus rhythm w/in a 48 hour period. I started drinking over a gallon of water a day to help with dehydration. I, too, am tall and thin, but I have to work like crazy to be that way. I don't smoke, I don't do caffeine, I don't do sugar, only vegetarian, and I work out every day. I've been to the ER as well for irregular/rapid heartbeat. So, I went to an internist and a cardiologist. They did panel, thyroid, calcium, potassium, cholesterol, an echocardiogram, a 24 hour holter monitor, they even CT scanned my brain because I had passed out once. Everything came up roses and they said the cholesterol was the best that they've seen.
So, unable to pinpoint everything. My internist said it was "Lone atrial afib". My cardiologist said, "No, your EKG shows flutter, not fib." Yet, I still feel irritable, lack sexual interest, get dizzy and offbalance a lot, I get rapid/irregular heartbeat for no known reason, and my periods have changed--they are more irregular now and vary from being light for some days to flooding for an hour to a day other times. So, like you, I was frustrated. Then, I was reading that all of my symptoms are consistent with perimenopause/menopause. I didn't know that irregular heartbeat was a sign--all the press goes to hot flashes, which I don't really get. I am 40. It is not too early. My grandmother was 32 when she started. Plus, I got my period late in life--18. I've read that the later you get your period, the earlier you go into menopause. Not sure if that is true or not? In any event, have you been to a cardiologist just to be sure? Or, an ear/nose/throat specialist for the vertigo? It amazes me that none of my doctors--not even the ER doctors--have suggested perimenopause as a possibility or menopause. Seems like everything else has been ruled out. I intend to get my FSH levels checked by my OB/GYN. The only thing is that I won't do HRT. I haven't taken birth control pills in years, I don't like to take anything. But, many of these symptoms started after I stopped taking them. Could be that my hormones are way out of whack? I've read mixed stuff on black cohosh, hawthorne, and soy estrogen. Good luck to you--go to a really good, board certified doctor! You're not alone!
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