what test should I get for hormone levels???

I am getting close to the one year mark and am so happy I had my surgery but I need some advice as I am not sure how to start getting help on whats happening.

I've been using Premarin .9 and it's been working pretty good but lately I have been having mini hot flashes with flushing red patches on my chest and neck and also having panic attacks. My digestive system is also out of wack too and I'm afraid my estrogen levels are too low.

Which tests are recommended for the one year mark? Are some tests better than others? Should I just ask for my levels to be tested and hope the right ones get done? The reason I ask is that my levels all looked good prior to my surgery but once they had me open, they found so many cycsts in my ovaries (that didn't even show up on the ultrasounds) they were surprised they worked at all. I just want to make sure I am going in the right direction. Ijust turned 40 this year so I have a long way to go on my menopausal road.

Thank-you!! Stacy Tah-bso

The 1st step is to find a physician that is educated in these things. My OB/GYN was not. Initially, I found a compounding pharmacist that recommended an over-the-counter saliva test that gave her a baseline of where she needed to determine where I needed to start with bioidentical hrt. My GYN signed the prescriptions for awhile, but.....understandably.....didn't feel comfortable in continuing to do so, knowing he was relying entirely on the pharmacist.

Eventually, I found a local endocrinologist. She does blood testing, and is very thorough. That might be the ticket for you, as well?

Take care, and let us know...OK?......s....Deb

Hi!

I'm so glad to hear that maybe an endoccrinologist as I was wondering it the testing would be more thorough. The anxiety is probably the worst as I can deal with the hot flashes but the heart pounding really stinks! I'll keep you posted!

Thank-you again!! I just wanted to make sure I was headed in the right direction!

Stacy