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| Doctor, Are these symptoms of Menopause? | ||
| Question: I
am an athletic 39-yr-old recently having PMS, breast tenderness and
bloating for half my cycle. No other menstrual disturbances or changes
in cycle times, just the usual bleeding and some cramps. I have
put on a resistant 8 pounds over the last year and suffered hair loss,
yet my thyroid panel is only low to mid side of normal range not
indicative of treatment. I have had some mental changes, but this
could be life stresses. My cycle Day-3 blood work showed estradiol 26
pg/ml, testosterone 27 ng/d, FSH 11.7 mIU/ml, LH 3.6 mIU/ml. The
doctor said I was very perimenopausal and put me on 0.1mg estradiol
patch and testosterone shots, even though I have absolutely no other
symptoms of perimenopause. Am I really menopausal? Is there a
danger of being medicated if I don't need it yet? Answer: This kind of results can be seen 10 years before menopause. It reflects a rather low follicular pool in the ovaries and it has some meaning in fertility clinics. The chance to become pregnant is much lower than with normal FSH. But one can not conclude that you are perimenopausal with a shortage of estrogens. Usually the estrogen level during most of the cycle is completely normal. Without typical complaints there is no reason at all to take estrogens, just because of the blood results. Also the need for testosterone is questionable. Testosterone shots are helpful in some women with libido problems and exhausting after bilateral ovariectomy, but there is no proof of benefit in women with intact functioning ovaries. And when estrogens are needed, they have to be combined with progestagens. Perimenopause is characterized by a lack of progesterone and shortage of estrogens is only a late manifestation. With estrogens of yourself and of the patch, there is an urgent need for progesterone or progestagens. It is a myth that progestagens are not necessary as long as a woman has regular periods. The periods can be anovulatory and extra estrogens give extra risk for atypical endometrial lining or even carcinoma. |
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| Question: I am a
49 years old. I had a hysterectomy about 15 years ago. I have taken
estrogen orally for the last 4 years. For the last 2 years I have
experienced a constant low grade throbbing pain in my gums. I would
like to know if there is any connection to menopause?
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| Question:
After going thru the exact same symptoms for the last three
years...hot flashes, weight/loss/gain, nausea, hair loss, severe acne, No sex drive at all, etc., I found a doctor that
actually tested me several times and concluded that it was early
menopause. Based on my age, which is 37, he put me on hrt but it
didn't work. The first time my tsh was 1.53 which is good. My fsh was
62.1. The second time it read 74.7. Everyone is telling me to get
tested for a autoimmune disease. Should I ask
for this test or just deal with it? I gained 65 pounds in a little
over 5 months and this is why they are telling me to get tested.
What is your opinion?
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| Question:
I am almost 50 and have not had a period for a year. Today I
started bleeding again. Is this normal? For the past while
I have been having bad pains in my right side. I am not on any
kind of hormone therapy. Answer: Every bleeding after more than one year of amenorrhea is by definition a postmenopausal bleeding and there is a need for further investigation. There is a small risk of endometrial hyperplasia or carcinoma. But it is also possible that this bleeding is the result of ovarian activity, as we see this not infrequently. Consult your gynecologist. She (he) will probably perform an ultrasound to consider endometrial thickness and/or perform an endometrial biopsy to rule out the small chance of malignancy. |
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| Question:
I am 37. After the birth of my third child three years ago, I noticed
some changes in my regular 28 day cycle period. One month my period is
heavy for 5 days. One day three the bleeding stops for about 24 hours.
Day 4 will see continuation of bleeding until Day6. The next month my
period will be light and lasts only 3 days total bleeding (again with
one days rest on day three).
About 5-7 days before my period starts I have light spotting and
cramping. Could I be in perimenopause? Should I discuss these changes
with my physician? Answer: This cycle pattern has some characteristics of ovulatory disturbances. I do not know if this means the start of menopause. Maybe it is temporary. When it is disturbing you, a visit to your physician is worthful. But it does not harm you when you postpone that until there are really bleeding problems. |
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| Question:
I have suffered from symptoms including bleeding from fibroids,
headaches, hot flashes for two years. During this time I was on
Estrace, Estradiol, Lupron injections and progesterone. Two weeks ago
I had a total hysterectomy. Was taking Estradiol 1mg but still having
headaches and hot flashes. Switched to .0625 of Estratabs but still
having hot flashes and headaches. Dr. doesn't think it's hormonal, but
I believe it is. The exact same symptoms. When I get the headache I
also start sweating. Any suggestions? Do I need more Estrogen or
less?
Answer: It is absolutely not certain that your problems are caused by hormonal problems. I agree with your doctor about that. My advice is: stop all hormonal therapy and perform FSH and estradiol tests twice with two weeks in between. Your gynecologist can tell you after that test that your ovaries are still working or not. You have had serious problems with your bleeding and with the major surgery. This can disturb you emotionally and that can be responsible for both headaches and flushes. |
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| Question:
I'm 39 years old, and average weight. I exercise every day by
power-walking 3 miles, I'm under greater than average stress due to my
profession. I recently went to the doctor since I haven't gotten
my period since November, and I'm experiencing mood swings. According
to my doctor, my blood test came back with an estrogen level at
"post menopausal". More of a concern is my white blood cell
count, which is at 2.9. Prior tests were normal. Is there a connection
between my decreased estrogen and white blood cell levels? Answer: There is no connection between estrogen levels and white blood count known. Maybe a second check is prudent because fluctuations of white blood counts are seen very often. In our laboratory normal levels are from 3.0 to 10. So 2.9 is not very low. |
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| Question:
I am a55 years old woman, after one year without period, last month I
was bleeding , my doctor did some treatment in the hospital, he did a
biopsy and he told my I had endometrium with moderate to severe atypia.
He recommend the hysterectomy. I am very confused. I want to
know if I really need one.
Please check-out the OBGYN.net Hysterectomy and Alternatives Section for more information concerning your question. |
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| Question:
One year ago my wife, age 47, had a complete hysterectomy
because of extremely bad endometriosis. She has had migraines
associated with menstruation all her life. Her OBGYN told us that the
hysterectomy would not make her migraines worse and in some cases it
had made migraines less frequent. We have found out since that this
was bad information and indeed, since the operation, her migraines are
almost constant. She takes imetrix and it helps a bit. Currently she
uses "vivelle" patch, .0375, having started with .05. She
has tried estrotab, climara patch, adding natural testosterone, over
this year and nothing seem to blunt the almost constant migraines. She
drinks soy milk and even cut the .0375 patch in half recently,
thinking that she didn't need as much- and now she is having mild hot
flashes (something she would be glad to tolerate if migraines got
better) and unfortunately ongoing migraines. Do you have any
recommendations?
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| Question:
I need to know if I'm going through early menopause. I had a hysterectomy
on in January 2000, I did keep my ovaries. I'm having all the
symptoms, physical and emotional. I've seen my Doctor and he had told
me that I'm to young and that I still have my ovaries. And I can't be
going through menopause. So he put me on anti-depressant. Now I know
that I'm not depressed and I know my body very well. So I know there's
something wrong, because I don't feel right.
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| Question:
Can a fertile egg be "extracted" Manually, after Menopause
is over?
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| Question:
What is the purpose of a D&C? Is this used to correct
irregular bleeding during menopause?
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| Question:
I will try to make this as short as possible. A year ago about a
close friend had a total hysterectomy. Following the surgery her
doctor put her on premarin. For a short period of time she was OK.
Then she began to experience hot flashes, she began having trouble
sleeping, her skin began to turn a tan color with no time spent in the
sun. On several occasions she was rushed to the emergency room because
her excessive thirst caused her to flush her electrolytes, each time
they found a UTI. The diagnosed her with Psychogenic Polydipsia.
She is now at the point where she never sleeps, her skin is bronze
colored, she is constantly hot, and she has no memory. She behaves
psychotic - like she has a bunch of nervous ticks and she has no idea
of what is going on. All the doctors, and it feels like we have
been to all of them refuse to believe this could be hormones and
outright won't do the tests - they just say she is crazy and since
they cannot find anything in her head that is wrong - they just want
to try medications and see if any work. Could this be menopausal
and have you ever heard of this?
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