What to do???

[Hexy]

I am 35 years old and I am confused. I have been having very very heavy periods and as the months go by they are terribly painful. I am not a whiner usually, but this pain can get so bad I am not able to care for my family. I went to GYN today and he says my uterus is swollen and thinks I have fibroids. He has prescribed Provera 10 mg. for 10 days on days 15-25 of my cycle to try to control the bleeding. And ordered internal and external pelvic sonograms. I asked him if there are fibroids, what is the next step. He said well, nothing unless they are bad enough for hysterectomy. NO NO NO I want none of that! I feel that I may be in early stages of menopause. There is no family history of this so Im not sure. So, I guess what I would like to know is are there any others out there my age that have similuar symptoms? Has anyone taken Provera before? Are there side effects I should know about? I did some research and found possible side effects of severe acne and mood swings. ACK! This I need to know so I can forewarn family of what to expect. OK thank you in advance for any responces.

[Hexy]

Well, my thyroid wasnt checked by blood test, but my doctor did rule out thyroid by the manipulating of the glands on my visit... not sure though.. there is family history full of thyroid problems.. not so extensive as to having them removed, but family is medicated to keep it under control. I will check out the site you gave me. I have been all over the net searching for possible answers to my question. Only thing is, most comments I read from actual sufferes of this.. are all over 45. I am not so sure there is anyone out there my age and having such problems. And on a different note, how do you make your husband understand that while this may or may not be life threatening, it still rattles the nerves and a little understanding is needed?

[JB*]

You may need a Dr. that will do more than feel your throat and say your thyroid is fine. Even blood tests aren't working these days. Here's the TOP DOC list from about.com

[url="http://thyroid.about.com/health/thyroid/cs/doctors/index.htm"]http://thyroid.about.com/health/thyroid/cs/doctors/index.htm[/url]

Maybe you can find a Dr. there. Chances are if there is thyroid problems in the family then that is one of your problems.
The only thing I can think of for husbands is to let them read the newsgroups and see how hard it is to go through these hormone problems. Not fun at all.
Jackie