Hormone Imbalance? - Hormone Problems Message Board

luckyme · 07-16-2003, 01:07 PM

Sorry, this is kinda wordy...

I have always had "girly" issues. For several years now I notice that just before and during my menstrual cycle I feel flu like. Sometimes actually vomiting. This past year it has gotten more serious. Several times now my PMS symptoms never go away. I will get bloated, have a great deal of breast swelling and tenderness (my breasts swell so much I actually have a different bra size for "that time of the month")and suffer from that strange flu like feeling. I will have my period but the symptoms do not go away. When my next period comes around the symptoms increase to the point I get dizzy (this last period I fainted three different times) sometimes I stay dizzy all day. I get nauseous even vomiting. My breasts get so swollen and sore that when I role over in my sleep the pain wakes me up. Occasionally (too often in my point of view) the constant breast tenderness/pain is accompanied by a periodic stabbing sensation through the nipple. (what I imagine a needle would feel like being poked through my nipple) I even have a feeling of fluttering in my chest. I get shaky, confused, have migraine quality headaches (per my doc based on the description of the headaches) and feel very worn out. I went to see the doc and all my blood work came back fine.(he did not check hormone levels) They even did a CT because I had a TIA (micro stroke) last fall and they wanted to be sure I had not had a stroke. That also turned out fine. My blood sugar was 114, I hadn't eaten all day because the dizziness was so severe I was vomiting (actually I was dry heaving), however, I did manage to stay hydrated. I had just eaten a couple of cheese/peanut butter crackers from the vending machine that the nurse brought me. My doc was convinced I was anemic due to my symptoms and because my face and lips were almost an even shade of white. However, I was not. When the dizziness is at it's peak I get a tingly sensation in my hands, feet, and or face. My periods are very light and short in duration, although it ended on the 13th, I am still having a great deal of symptoms. I do not typically have mood issues with my PMS and have no complaints now in that area. I am in a point in my life where I am very content. I do not feel stress is an issue. I am a pretty busy person and like to stay on the go and this is truly hindering my quality of life. I have a GYN appt. on the 25th. Any ideas on what could be going on and any tips on questions to ask during my appt.?I am starting to get scared and I really need to feel better soon. Can anyone help?

Thanks

jessilynn68 · 07-16-2003, 02:20 PM

Hi there -

Sorry you have been through such a miserable time.

When you fainted, did you go to the ER? Fainting always means something is wrong - people don't just faint. If it happens again, go.

In the meantime, I would ask for every single blood test known to man (or woman). Ask for thryroid, even if its been done before as it sometimes takes several tests to show anything, hormone levels, a pregnancy test for sure even if you have had periods, CBC, liver, anything. You have so many different symptoms, but the bloating and breast pain sound hormonal. Make sure they test ALL levels, not just estrogen. I don't know all the specific tests, but I am sure someone else here does.

Good luck, and I hope you feel better.

dea4 · 07-16-2003, 03:20 PM

Other hormone tests besides estrogen are testosterone, DHEA (and there are different forms of that one) and estradiol, you may also want to get a cortisol test. Thyroid tests you need other than TSH would be T4 free, T3 free and thyroid antibodies. Have you ever had a glucose tolerance test done? If your blood sugar was 114 it was probably reflecting the cheese PB crackers you had just eaten, but you still may want to have your blood sugar checked out. I think a lot of it is hormonal, although it doesn't sound like it is all hormonal so you need to get some testing done.
Good luck.

luckyme · 07-16-2003, 04:38 PM

Thank you for your responses. I did go to the ER (the third time I fainted) which is where the tests I stated were done. That is who referred me to the GYN. They also ran a PG test (although my boyfriend was "fixed" a couple of years ago) and it was negative. My thyroid was tested about two years ago and it came back fine. Since then I have had increasing symptoms to this climactic point where I am fainting or "blacking out". (sometimes I just experience a vision black-out, spots, and a far away feeling/tunnel effect.)I feel reassured that the initial blood work came back fine as well as the CT so I am not as scared as I have been but it makes the burden no easier to bare for me or my family.

Thanks Again!